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About us
We are Indonesian-Dutch couple, married in 2002, resident of Utrecht - The Netherlands, have one spoiled dog named Milo and one "gonna be spoiled" baby Isabelle.
This webpage mainly is use to share our story and pictures to our family and friends. But of course we always welcome for new friends.
The idea of this webpage is to share our story and pictures to our family and friends.
Since Ira's Dutch language is far from perfect and Dimitri's Indonesian language is even worse, we decided to use English as the main language in this blog,
eventhough lately due to the laziness of Ira, Indonesian language seems to take over.
Please feel free to browse around and give us your comment.
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Friday, September 29, 2006
Telemarketing
iseng.com
Ringggg.... ring... ring.....
Me: Met Ira (Ira disini)
TM: Goede morgen/middag/avond mevrouw. Ik ben van Firma Huppelepup. Spreek ik met Mw. Groenewegen? (Selamat pagi/siang/malam bu. Saya dari perusahaan blablabla. Apakah saya berbicara dengan Ibu Groenewegen?)
Me: Nee, ik ben de schoonmaakster. (Oh bukan, sayang tukang bersih-bersihnya)
TM: Ohh, kan ik met Mw of Dhr. Groenewegen spreken? (Oh, bisa saya berbicara dengan Bpk/Ibu Groenewegen?)
Me: Ze zijn niet thuis (Mereka lagi pergi)
TM: Hoe laat komen ze? (Jam berapa datangnya)
Me: Weet ik niet (Nggak tau deh saya)
TM: Ik probeer nog later te bellen. Dank u wel mevrouw. Prettige dag verder!(Saya akan mencoba lagi nanti. Terima kasih bu. prettige dag verder apa ya terjemahannya have an nice day-lah kira-kira)
Me: Graag gedaan. U ook. (Terima kasih kembali. Kamu juga) 
semakiniseng.com
Ringggg.... ring... ring.....
Me: Met Ira (Ira disini)
TM: Goede morgen/middag/avond mevrouw. Ik ben van Firma Huppelepup. Spreek ik met Mw. Groenewegen? (Selamat pagi/siang/malam bu. Saya dari perusahaan blablabla. Apakah saya berbicara dengan Ibu Groenewegen?)
Me: Ja, dat ben ik (Ya, saya sendiri)
TM: Ohh, gefeliciteerd mevrouw. Ik heb een aantrekkelijk aanbieding voor u. Wij hebben blablablablablabla(Oh, selamat. Saya mempunyai penawaran menarik untuk anda. Kami bla blablablabala)
Me: Oh, dank u wel, maar ik heb geen geld(Terima kasih. tapi saya nggak punya uang)
TM: Maar u kunt eerst proberen. De eerste drie/vijf/zes weken/manden zijn gratis. (Tapi anda bisa mencoba dulu. Tiga/empat/lima bulan pertama ... (isi sendiri)gratis)
Me: Ik heb helemaal geen geld, ook niet na zes maanden (Saya nggak punya uang, 6 bulan lagi ya tetep nggak punya uang)
TM: Maar het is helemaal niet duur. Het is blablablabla!(Tapi ini nggak mahal lho... bla bla bla)
Me: Ja, ik wil wel. Maar ik heb geen baan, ik heb lekkage thuis die moet nog gerepareed wordt. Mijn droger is kapot en nu is bijna winter. Blablabla (Ya, saya seh mau mau aja. tapi saya bener-bener nggak punya uang, mana rumah bocor lagi, kudu diperbaiki. Mesin pengering saya rusak, mana udah mau winter lagi... blablabla.... )
TM: Ok mevrouw, ik probeer wel volgende keer. Dag (Ok deh, saya coba lagi kapan=kapan, Dahhh)
Me: Daaaggg.... hehehe emang enakkkk diajak ngobrol orang iseng 
judes.com
Ringggg.... ring... ring.....
Me: Met Ira (Ira disini)
TM: Goede morgen/middag/avond mevrouw. Ik ben van Firma Huppelepup. Spreek ik met Mw. Groenewegen? (Selamat pagi/siang/malam bu. Saya dari perusahaan blablabla. Apakah saya berbicara dengan Ibu Groenewegen?)
Me: Nee, verkeerd nummer. Daag(Oh bukan, salah sambung. Bye) 
*Glotak*
sibuk.com
Ringggg.... ring... ring.....
Me: Met Ira (Ira disini)
TM: Goede morgen/middag/avond mevrouw. Ik ben van Firma Huppelepup. Spreek ik met Mw. Groenewegen? (Selamat pagi/siang/malam bu. Saya dari perusahaan blablabla. Apakah saya berbicara dengan Ibu Groenewegen?)
Me: Ja, maar ik heb geen tijd nu. Sorry. Volgende keer dan. Daag(Ja benar, tapi saya lagi sibuk. Sorry. Lain kali aja ya. Bye)
*Glotak*
males.com
Ringggg.... ring... ring.....
Me: Met Ira (Ira disini)
TM: Goede morgen/middag/avond mevrouw. Ik ben van Firma Huppelepup. Spreek ik met Mw. Groenewegen? (Selamat pagi/siang/malam bu. Saya dari perusahaan blablabla. Apakah saya berbicara dengan Ibu Groenewegen?)
Me: Ohh, sorry I don't speak Dutch. Bye(Oh maaf, saya nggak bisa bahasa belanda. Bye)
*Glotak* hehe emang enak 
That's me.... I never able to say no even to telemarketer. Usually when they called, I just give it directly to Dimitri. But when Dimitri not home, I just to be creatif hehe . I guess, I should take some assertiveness course. Dimitri said better to said directly that we are not interested to whatever they try to sell than giving them hope.... but I like to give people hope hehehehe beside that I think it also looks good for those telemarketing in the eye of their boss if they looks busy talking to their prospects.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Photo Italy
Lupa ngasih link kemarin hehehe...the rest of the photos that are taken during holiday in Italy can be seen here. Please leave us your comment.....
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Italy 2006 - part 4 (end)
Day 6:
First we planned to go to Siena for some more sight seeing, but as I still felt abit sick, we decided just to stay close and just do some shopping errrr... lots of shopping actually . We both like Florence very much and planned to go back next year, so we thought Siena and Lucca can wait till next year. Not much happenings today except shopping.
Back to the apartment, did some packing, had dinner and went slept early.
Day 7:
We had breakfast on the complex and check out at about 11.00 am and headed to Venice. We booked one room in Elite Hotel in Mestre. Mestre is just outside Venice, about 9 km far. We choose Mestre because it is more convenient. We can't park the car in Venice and also impossible to look for place to walk Milo in Venetia. If we would have booked hotel in Venice, we would have to park the car in Mestre anyway and take the waterbus so might as well stay in Mestre.
Arrived in Mestre at about 15.00 pm. Unpacking a bit and then walked Milo, we are ready to explore Venice. Venice is basically built on islands and canal. You can reach them by waterbus, watertaxi or gondola. And what do you know! The very day, the only day, the last day that we prepare to visit Venice.... The public transportations are on strike! Talking about luck! They were on strike for 24 hours and only works between 6.00 9.00 am and 16.00 19.00 pm. Means we only have 3 hours for sight seeing, tomorrow we have to check out from hotel at 10.00 am. We tried to extend our stay and visit Venice on Saturday but it is also impossible since the hotel is fully booked.
Memenuhi permintaan penggemar... ehem... ehemm... ini foto kita waktu nunggu waterbus yang nggak jalan-jalan karena lagi on strike
After 20 minutes of waiting, finally we could still take a boat to the central market of Venice; Piazza San Marco. Lots of pigeons there, completely comfortable with all the people since everyone is giving them some snacks to get nice pictures. Piazza San Marco is the heart of Venice. In here stood the Basilica di San Marco, which is a perfect mix of East and West. It reminds me abit of the palace in the sroties of the 1001 arabian nights. This basilica originally built to house the body of St. Mark, the patron saint of venice who wrote Gospel of Mark in New Testament. On the Piazza you can see that the square is completely under water sometimes; especially on a high tide; there were plenty of places where the water was already coming up in the streets. I read on the history board there that in 2002 Basilica San Marco was 2.5 m under water. No wonder it looks so dirty. But still it's a spectaculair view, considering it's been there for hundred-hundreds of years.
Venice has lots of nice buildings, narrow streets, expensive clothes, everything is there. But still, it seems a bit messy. Dimitri have been to Venice before, about 8 years ago, and he said this time it seems that the houses were less maintained, less clean. Of course the main attractions looked good, but the areas around it were not really in a good shape. Anyway, its a very special place and worth a visit for sure! What I noticed the most is, like Basilica San Marco, some of the buildings in have the nice shape of windows like what you usually found in mosque.
Day 8
Woke up at 8 and getting ready to go back to Netherlands. Had breakfast in hotel and left at about 10.30 am. Drove smoothly in Italy and stuck in traffic jam for more than two hours before the long tunnel in Switzerland. We arrived in Utrecht at 12.30 am.
Switzerland's view, taken during traffic jam... I was bored
Summary:
Italy was greaaaaaaaatttt. View is great, food is great..... Florence is over the top, definitely going to go back there. Venice is so-so but still I want to go back there again, when they are not on strike!
Switzerland is suck, especially the tunnel hehehe
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Italy 2006 - part 3
Menjawab pertanyaan Win, sewa appartment lebih murah dari hotel karena appartment nggak pake room service hehehe, should made up your own bed, bersihin alat makan, nyapu dll... enaknya seh tempatnya lebih luas dan semuanya di sediain, mulai dari microwave, kompor, panci, piring, gelas dll. Biaya yang kita bayar untuk appartment itu 335 euro untuk 7 hari plus gratis satu hari, total 8 hari, plus biaya administrasi 20 euro ama biaya cleaning 45 euro. Total ampir 400 eurolah... biaya cleaning ini untuk cover biaya mereka bershin appartment ssetelah kita pergi. Logikanya, kita terima appartmentnya khan bersih, sprei terpasang rapi dll... ngebalikinnya juga kudu bersih... kalo nggak mo bayar juga bisa seh, tapi kudu bersihin sendiri including cuci sprei... ogahlah hehehe
Anyway.. terusin dulu ceritanya....
Day 4:
Today we went to Pisa. I have to say its a bit disappointing to me. Don't get me wrong, Pisa Tower is magnificent. But after hearing all about it, I'm expected something more spectacular...something more like Florence. Took us about 1 hour drive to Pisa. It is close to the coast so the landscape is more flat compare to Florence.
According the book that I read, Pisa Tower built in 1173 as a companion piece for the Duomo and Baptistery in city square known as the Campo de Miracoli (the Field of Miracles). The tower began to tilt when they finished building the third level in 1178. They stopped the building for about 100 years and it was completed in 1350. Today the tower is dizzying 5.2 m to the vertical or about 5.5 degres.
Pisa Tower is very much touristic, street vendors everywhere try to sell you souvenirs and stuff from watches to handbag. It reminds me of Kuta. But they are more polite in here, they dont push you or try to follow you around.
One of the funny things that I noticed is that most of the tourists try to take picture by stretching their hand as if they are leaning against the tower or pretend to hold the tower from falling down. And how about Yours Truly? Im very original (read: boring).... I just stand in front of it.
On the way back we drove along the coast to the small city, Livorno. We planned to have lunch there but alas! Its siesta time, every shop/restaurants/pizzeria are closed..... no other option than going back to Figline Val d'Arno.
Back to the apartment, take a rest and followed with a quick shower, we went to check some leather outlet. It was nice but the price is not much different than in Netherlands. But they do have better models than Netherlands. We leave Milo in the apartment because its not really allowed to bring dogs to shop. We had dinner in restaurant in Florence. Bit of disappointment, doesn't taste as good as I expected. And very expensieve!!!
Day 5:
Our plan for today is to go to visit some churches and museums in Florence, last time we were with Milo so we are not allowed to get inside churches and museums. Milo had to stay home. We parked just outside the centre and walked to Santa Croce, the most famous church in Florence. Why is it famous? Because of those famous Italian that buried there! Among them are Michelangelo, Galileo Galilei and Machiavelli. There are also some nice renaissance sculpture and paintings. It is very beautiful. Some of them are looking really alive. Santa Croce built in 1294 and completed in 1450. This Fransiscan church is originally built normal like any other church. Few hundred years ago, many wealthy families gave their donation and change the façade with marble as we can see it now.
Finished with Santa Croce, we walked to the Piazza della Signoria and had lunch there. Dimitri had penne and I got risotto. It was superb!
By the way, I found another fascinating facts about why I felt so familiar with Florence... just like in Indonesia, in most of the junction/red light, there is guy that offered to clean the car window or selling newspaper ... hehehe we let one to do our window so that I can take picture of him.
After lunch, we dont feel like being in the line to get into museum, so mostly we just wandered around, looking at all the beautiful building and checking things in the shops. We do quite a bit of shopping and headed back to apartment.
Afternoon, we took it slowly as Dimitri felt bit stiff on his back and I also got a bit sick. So, we decided to eat in the apartment. We picked up pizza and lasagna in the restaurant and brought them back.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Italy 2006 - part 2
Day 3:
In the morning we got up at about 9.30, after that having breakfast at a restaurant nearby with a magnificent view of the Tuscany landscape: our apartment complex is located on a hill in an old Italian villa. During breakfast/lunch we decided to go to Florence again, this time to see some of the tourist views. We left the apartment at 12 am and drove to Florence again. We parked just outside the centre, so after a short walk we were in the middle of the tourist scene on the Piazza del Duomo. This is a beautiful sight of the Renaissance period, looking very impressive from every angle.
Its a great view to see when youre walking in the narrow old street of the city and when you turn a corner theres suddenly a huge church in the middle of the street, with an incredible amount of details on the marble panels all over the building.
After this impressive view, we thought it was time for some Italian lunch! We walked to the Piazza dei Mercato Centrale; there are lots of street vendors here, mainly selling leather jackets, handbags and small items. When we walked there we decided to go there again for some shopping at another day. Lunch was good and colorfuland a great opportunity to sit and relax a bit, before hitting the next sites.
With a full stomach, it was a good time to walk to what seems to be the main attraction in Florence: the Piazza della Signoria with many statues, including the copy of Michelangelos David (the original was placed in one of the museums, to preserve the statue). There are plenty other statues there, including Neptune and around the corner are the statues of Dante, Machiavelli and others. These are actually outside of the museum Uffizi, with lots of artwork from Italian artists, but also from other European artist, like Rubens and Rembrandt.
If you turn another corner from this museum, theres a nice view of the Ponte Vecchio, just an old bridge, exactly what the name is saying. Its crossing the river called Arno, which is running through Florence. The famous Ponte Vecchio has stood on the river Arno since 1345. The bridge was originally built in 1218, the present structure was built to replace the bridge that swept away during flood in 1333. Nowadays, thebuilding on the top of the bridge is use as shopping centre for jewelry and gold.
This was enough for us for the day .. we headed back to the car, with the plan to go back to Florence in the coming days for shopping and some more culture!
Tuesday, September 19, 2006
Italy 2006 - part 1
Day 1:
Leaving later than we planned because we don't hear the alarm. Riding through 5 different countries.... started with Belgium then Germany and then France back to Germany again then Switzerland and finally Italy. We stopped many time to get some restfrom the whole time sitting, a bit walking for us and of course also for Milo.
Milo sat quite comfortable with the seat belt.... A bit whining at first because he wants to sit in front with me. He kept changing position, try to find the comfortbale position.... at the end, he can find a good position and sleep nicely through the whole trip. Some positions are even looks too comfortable
We arrive a bit late then we expected because of the speed limits in Switzerland, they do a lot of street maintenance so at many places we have to drive only 60 to 80 km per hour. We arrived in Norcenni Girasole Club, located in small city, Figlini Val dArno outside Florence/Firenze, we went to the reception and get the keys to our rented apartment. It located in resort complex. Our appartment is an old big house that divided into few small apartments. Ours is half located in cellar. Its very unique. The main door and small kitchen is on the same height as the street but our bedroom is half in the ground. One toilet upstairs and one bathroom+toilet in bedroom.
the appartment building, ours is located in the back
our bedroom viewed from kitchen/living room
the other way around, kitchen viewed from bedroom
We dont have much time to explore the whole area. But what we saw on the brochure was quite promising. It is like a small village here with their own market and shopping center and restaurants. We ordered pizza for dinner and bring it back to the apartment. Het was lekker!!!! Somebody told me that if you ever taste a pizza in Italy even its only from street vendor and not from expensive restaurant, you would never want to eat other pizza. And I just prove that! Hmmm yummmy 
Day 2:
As I said before our bedroom is located in such a way that its half way under the street level. And we closed our window to minimize noises for Milos sake (he barks every times he heard noises, such a guard dog hehehe). The result is, we dont woke up till 9.30 am hehehe.... But hey! Thats what holiday is for! Wake up late...indeed. I open the window a bit to get sun and a bit fresh air and back to bed.... Until 11.30 am.... Hehehe
We walked around a bit, checking for places where Milo can do his number 1 and number 2. Made some pictures of the area.... got to the supermarket, bought waters, cola, ice tea... and having brunch.... Back to the apartment...and as I wrote this note, Milo and Dimitri are sleeping again.... As the old saying; When youre in Rome, do like the Rome... yeah baby!!!! Siesta time...... it is normal in here that everything closed down between 13.30 15.30, offices/restaurants/shops/etc. I read that it getting less in big city but in small town they still do that.
ready to explore the city
After nap, we went down to the shopping center and had pizza again for late lunch. Then we rode to Florence or Firenze (Italian name), its about 24 km from here. We planned to explore Florence tomorrow or day after tomorrow but Dimitri just wants to make sure he can find place to park in the center. By the way, do you know that Florence is used to be the capital of Italy, back 19th century, between 1862 - 1871.
The minute we arrived in Florence, I felt home hehehe its totally like Indonesia. The traffic, the people that hanging around, the street vendors. Its a mess compared to the neat Netherlands but I love it! The traffic made Dimitri crazy; cars stopped in the middle of the street to load passenger or just talk to someone on the street; drivers cut each others, motorcycles try to squeeze them self in between the cars, horns all the time..... its a totally mess but its my kind of mess. Florence is just like Jakarta/Surabaya with extra beautiful buildings. I would love to live here.....
Guess what we had for dinner???? Yep... pizza!!!
to be continued
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Back!
Permisiiiii mo unpacking dulu and download foto ke kompie... ceritanya nyusul yach.... maseh capeeeekkk
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Tot 16 sept !!!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Repot... ribet... ruwet....
Never thought that we have to prepared so many things before we can bring Milo on holiday in Italy.... I assumed that Italy is part of Europe anyway so it won't be much trouble... after all it's just one big island... I can understand if it's UK or USA or even Indonesia....
Last month we had to bring Milo to vets to get anti rabies vaccin.... in Netherland is not a mandatory to get your dog anti rabies vaccin because Netherland is free of rabies while the rest of Europe not. Since we want to bring Milo along to Italy, he has to get anti rabies vaccin. I thought that was it..... nooooooooo..... in Netherland dogs are also consider free of heartworm, ticks and fleas. Dus, Milo also has to have those treatment before go to Italy and another one, one month after holiday just to make sure if he ever gets infected in Italy, it will be cleaned and will not infect other dogs in Netherlands.
Not mention all the no-no's from the vets... no tap water, no eating from the street... always give water from the bottle.... bring own food from Netherlands.. bring his toys since dogs are tended to get stress and confused in strange area. We also have to have muilkorf (mouth basket?!?!?) apparantely it's a must in Italy. The vets says for a small dog like Milo is not really necessary, but he suggest to get one anyway just in case they (police) check. In addition we also get him a travelling bag; Italy is not a dog-friendly country; dogs are not allowed freely in the restaurant/shops like in Netherlands.
Milo has his own EU passport which is contain his chip number and his vaccin history. The chip is self in being planted on left neck. But as Italian vets is not as sophisticated as their fellow vets in Netherland, not all vets in Italy has the gadget to read his chips in case of he gets lost. So we were suggested to get him a kokertje that contains his name and our telephone number.
So, let's check if Milo gets everything he needs:
1. Wallet contains plastic bag to scoop Milo's poep (yikeess)
2. Plastic bag refill
3. Muilkorf
4. Anti fleas treatment
5. Car's seat belt
6. EU passport
7. Anti tick treatment
8. Heartworm tablet
9. Travelling bag
Preparing the kokertje, I have no idea what it called in English
open the lid, fill in the paper
put the paper in, close the lid
Milo with all his tags/bagdes/penning
Close up of Milo's badges
1. Red one: Utrecht's tax number... yep.. Milo pays tax every year
2. Yellow one: Anti rabies badge
3. Silver koker: contains our telephone number, in case Milo gets lost
Last..... test on Milo sits in the bag.... heheh so cute.... hope we don't have to use it much... I noticed that Milo doesn't really like it.... but at least it's quite comfortable... I bought big bag so that Milo has more room to move around
OK.... now we are ready to go! 
oppsssss... not yet... we have to packing our stuff too
Monday, September 04, 2006
Boekenfestijn
Last thursday we went to boekenfestijn that held in Jaarbeurs Utrecht. This is like the 8th time I'm going there. they are having it like 12 time per jaar in different cities. I always going there when they come to Utrecht or Nieuwegein. The place is like heaven!!! Thousands of book there... hehehe and it's much much cheaper than in book store
Since we are planning to go to Italy for holiday, we bought plenty books about places we want to go... about Milan, about Venetia, about Toscanna... and of course book about how to make simple conversation in Italy..... hehehe so chessy... Dimitri can speak a little bit of Italian but it goes rusty by now... so we need to refresh it abit.
For me, of course the paperback..... while in Broese and Ako it cost me about 12 euro per book... in here I can get it for 3 to 5 euro... and the dutch version is even more cheaper.... I have to admit that I still prefer to read my books in English than in Dutch... I know I should read more in Dutch but sometimes they have strange way to translate something.... or even change the name Harry Potter series, Hogwarts School became Zweinsteins Hogeschool  , Sirius Black became Sirius Zwarts.... ok.. I'll give it for this one.. black = zwart, still make sense... but Albus Dumbledore became Albus Perkamentus... .. no way, Jose! Give me the English version anytime!
Dim checking out the books
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