Fourth of July

The beauty of the Fourth of July is that Americans all know what it stands for: Independence Day. In Holland we get time off for Pentecost and Ascension Day (which I accidentally lovingly referred to as Assassin Day once….) neither of which any one can explain what those days stand for. I can explain due to my loving, Christian upbringing but I won’t bore you to death right now.

In the US July 4th is a day of good old Amurrican cook outs. Is that area related that they are not called BBQ’s around here?……Apparently it is! BBQ is the act of slow cooking over indirect heat, “grilling” is fast cooking over a direct flame….also known as a cookout. We definitely “cook-out”. What would we do without Wikipedia? (Pull out the encyclopedia!!)

Two authentic fresh Brazilian lime caipirinhas on dark rustic wooden table at outdoor bar; alcohol; alcoholic; american; authentic; bar; beverage; brazil; brazilian; caipi; caipirina; caipirinha; caipiroska; caipivodka; cocktail; copy; copyspace; drink; fresh; glass; horizontal; lime; mixed; outdoors; photo; photograph; photography; refreshment; restaurant; south; space; summer; table; two; wooden

In the spirit of the fourth of July I started to research if burnt meat is bad for you…..because I love everything very crispy of off the BBQ. But that turned out to be depressing. It boils down to everything else; it’s “aight” if done in moderation. The same goes for all the other goodies presented around this holiday! Including alcohol…I myself am a light weight. I don’t drink a lot or not at all but I will be the first one on the dance floor…like Billy Idol “Dancing with myself”. I am by no means a wall flower and most likely the designated driver. To keep this a celebratory blog I will not get into the calories in alcohol either. Especially around holiday and vacation time; all bets are off!!

Then there are the fireworks of course! A few years ago I was able to watch them over the East River in NYC from a private roof top terrace. So magical! I may be partial because NYC is an enchanting place to me…

I wonder why we are so mesmerized by fireworks. Sources of moving lights entice us; same thing goes for lighting bugs and shooting stars. Supposedly we also enjoy the “scare” of fireworks. Speaking of fireworks and being scared of it: there is nothing like being in the Netherlands on New Year’s eve. It is indescribable and definitely one of the few things I miss, plus one of the reasons why I never recommend to my Dutch friends to come celebrate new years eve over here. Can’t explain it…the whole country lights off their own fireworks…you have to be there to experience the sound, the smell and the aftermath! But lets enjoy the summer for now!! Happy Fourth of July!!! Eat, drink and be festive!