Guus Bosman

A couple of weeks ago I found Grolsch in Wholefoods, a supermarket nearby. I bought a six-pack but a week later they didn't have it in stock anymore.

So, when I saw last week that Safeway had a stack of Grolsch beer I bought a supply that will last for longer.

Safeway is half-way on my way home from work and it was very warm the day that I found it, so it was quite a sacrifice.

But now I'm happy with my "own" beer in the fridge. Many people say that there is a difference in taste between Dutch beer in Holland and their export-variants but I must say I have not noticed such a difference, if there is one.

The United States has a large amount of beers to offer, by the way. The Ommegang brewery that I mentioned before is very promising, but there are also many small, local breweries that are called micro-breweries. A beer that I particularly like is Sam Adams, a large beer brand from Boston, as well as Sierra Nevada from California.

Yesterday afternoon Sasha left for Nice, France.

In July 2004 she signed a contract with her employer for one year, and that expired last Wednesday. She has a new contract in place, but this was a great opportunity to take a couple of weeks off, so her new employment starts in about 6 weeks. An excellent chance to go and do what we both have been talking about often: study a foreign language abroad.

Monday she will start a full-time French language course in Nice, France. It is an intensive course at Actilangue, une Ecole Privée de Langue Française that will take three weeks. She's staying in a residence near the school, and she'll have 30 hours of lessons per week. Last year Sasha studied French a few hours per week through her work as well, because speaking French is useful when dealing with the countries that she works with at the Bank.

Thursday and Friday Sasha was at home, preparing for the journey and arranging some stuff. Saturday morning we went to Dulles airport together, and she took a flight at 5 pm. I miss her a lot and I regret that I can't join her. It's really strange to be alone again after having spent so much time together. Luckily it's only six weeks this time.

Saturday evening I spent alone. I updated the website, went shopping and did some things in the house. I also had a whole bottle of Allagash Triple, another beer by the Ommegang and I had pizza for dinner; not exactly something to make into an habit. Later I went to the cinema near us and I saw War of the Worlds.

Monday was the 4th of July, Independence Day in the United States. Sasha and I both had a day off so we enjoyed a nice long weekend that we spent very well.

I came back from Puerto Rico late Friday evening. On Saturday we went to Georgetown. It was a beautiful day, so we walked from Court House across the Key Bridge to D.C. We spent the day walking around, looking in shops and having a good time. Of course we payed a long visit to Barnes & Nobles. We had coffee and read a bit but we restrained ourselves and didn't buy anything. I now feel the need to visit the library soon. Books are so addictive!

Saturday night we saw a movie, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, in the big Loews theater in Georgetown.

On Sunday we went to the central part of downtown D.C. On the Mall was the annual Smitsonian Folk Life festival, an event with information about many different cultures. There was a large delegation of Oman, and we had an Oman snack, bread with humus. We visited the American History museum and stayed till late in the city. Everywhere were preparations for the big day, July 4th.

Monday morning we went downtown again to see the Independence Day Parade. It was a large parade that took almost two hours and although it was very hot there was a large crowd. The group of Hare Krishna was especially interesting -- a huge cart was being pulled by 30 or 40 people.

It is a great feeling to have such a long weekend, and without any work as well. I came home from Puerto Rico late Friday night. I worked a little bit on the plane, but also spend time studying Spanish words. I am now at eight hundred out of the thousand words in my list.

The plane had a little bit of a delay when we left San Juan, but the arrival time was as usual. I was selected for a seat in an exit-row, which was very pleasant because it gave me more space for my legs. The plane was overbooked, just ahead of the 4th of July weekend, and some people were offered alternative flights in exchange for money.

I always buy my tickets online, so I can immediately select a seat when I get the ticket. However, last week when I bought the ticket it did not offer me that option... a sign that the plane was fully booked and I was glad when on Wednesday I did get a seat assigned.

Unfortunately, my camera is broken, which is why there are so few pictures on the website these days. I guess the intensive use was just to much. Not sure if I want to buy a new one or have it repaired.