The Closing of Year Two

We might have found the best ice-cream
place in The Hague

Well, if one ignores politics, the last week has been quite lovely. The intensive period came to a close and, I can safely say this now that it's over, I actually enjoyed it this time. Got to say that is completely down to my partners in crime (a.k.a. my class mates) who were both great moral support and great fun. Got to admit that our post-exam lunch was the highlight for me - you know, no work - but they were awesome throughout. And somehow I managed to take no photos... I have let myself down! Anyway, I managed to get an A grade for German which I am so happy with. I actually got an A for the speaking which is amazing considering last year I basically failed that part. Immensely grateful to my class and teacher for their enabling in that regard.

I then had a few days to attempt to catch up with friends and socialise a bit before leaving. I failed to see half the people but I did go to The Hague with Leonoor on Saturday to look at a potential apartment and visit a wonderful paper and bookbinding shop. I'd bought from them online before but oh my goodness, the shop is a treasure chest. We also found an amazing bookshop. I was kinda lucky that the pound had plummeted as it was a good motivation to not buy everything! We were joined by Ryan for a drink in the evening and it was thoroughly delightful.

We did also eat, in my defense!

Sunday was equally lovely as Dania, Leonoor and I headed into the centre of Amsterdam for brunch at one of our favourite places. As it was a celebratory brunch we might have decided that cocktails were in order. We had planned to go shopping afterwards as I had quite a lot to get for the summer trip but, let's put it this way, I didn't manage to get much shopping done afterwards!

And then it was back to England. I'm here for just over a week and I have so much to do before my month (!) on the road. Seriously, I have so much to pack into the next week. Today, for example, I had my trial with contact lenses and the weird lesson of how to put them in and take them out. Really excited that I won't have to choose between seeing the stage and taking photos/protecting my glasses when at events but my eyes are feeling it now! 

So yep, enjoying my not so relaxed time with my parents before the complete insanity of the summer really gets underway. Who am I kidding?I'm so excited... and maybe a bit nervous too ;-)

A month in summary form

As I commence writing there is but half an hour until my dinner date with The Usual Suspects. Laura, Dania and Thijs are coming round to my, rather bedraggled, flat and we're skyping in the absent pair (Sonja and Leonoor). It's not really enough time to write even a short post but, as I've been absent for so long I felt I should really try to do something.

So, what has happened since I last wrote here? Well, firstly, the lovely Zoë came out once again but this time aiming to explore the museums. Sadly for both of us, it was right in the middle of finals time and I couldn't really spend much time with her. I think we both enjoyed ourselves regardless. We did take time out to go to the Midwinter Fair again and, to be quite honest, that has got to be my favourite festival of the season.

With the Zoë

The evening Zoë left was another social time, this time with the normal lot as we hung around and I painted Sonja's nails. It appears that, if I drop out of university for whatever reason I have a secondary career lined up. I also got to see my delightful neighbour Robbert before I left for England for Christmas and he left to study in Singapore, on exchange. However will I manage without his faultless optimism for a whole semester!

Sonja didn't look this bored the whole time, I swear!

As for Christmas, naturally, I spent it with my parents. We actually spent this Christmas in Wales in this tiny old cottage. It was owned by someone who was from quite a historic family and had worked as a antiques dealer so, as you can imagine, it was full of little bits and bobs to fascinate me. Did I mention we had to drive over a mountain track and through several fields (sans roads) to get there? The first time I've been grateful for there not being snow at Christmas!

Christmas dinner

Actually, this was probably the best Christmas I've had in a long long time. For that matter, it was probably one of the least stressful years my family has had in a long time and I guess it showed in the festivities. It was really relaxed, really pleasant. A lot of time together, a lot of good food, a lot of painting.

As for New Year, that was lovely in quite a different way. We went spent it in a local restaurant (in England) and had a thoroughly wonderful evening. Again, there was a lot of good food, good company, a bit of dancing. My father helped the staff pour the champagne for everyone - somehow that's become a tradition at this place - and that kind of meant we ended up with almost a full magnum on our table at the end of the toast... couldn't let it go to waste!!

This photo was taken before any alcohol was consumed, in my defense!

And then it was back to Amsterdam (which is honestly starting to feel like home) and to my second German intensive period. I've got to be honest and say that I am not enjoying it. I'm naturally very shy and use my language ability to cover that up... take away my language ability through making me speak in another language and it is hell for me. Not to mention the fact that, in the six months since the last intensive I have forgotten everything. That said, i still adore the German language and I am a quarter of the way through. Just another three weeks to survive. I may not be online or blogging while I fight with speed learning but oh well, I shall get through!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my speed recount of the last month. Wow, I managed it in circa. twenty minutes. If only I could write that quickly normally!

Getting into the Christmas Spirit!

As if Düsseldorf wasn't enough to get me in the Christmas mood, I put the Christmas decorations up
on Monday ready for Tuesday when we were having our super early Secret Santa yesterday

This is going to be an incredibly short post (rather than just ignore the fact that it happened) because I am completely drowning in deadlines right now but it's not going to do justice to the wonderful evening.

So, instead of writing down what happened I'm going to do things a little differently.

Special thanks to Leonoor for being my now not so Secret Santa and getting me a teapot that is actually large enough to serve multiple cups of tea. Your beautiful wrapping really stole the show! Thank you for letting me paint your nails too, even if it took forever and wasn't as effective as we'd hoped!

Thanks to Thijs for accepting my teasing (and thoroughly disastrous) poem with good grace and humour.

Thank you to Sonja for providing what was possibly the most thoughtful, handmade gift of the year - lets be honest, this girl is through and through special. I think I speak for us all when I say that, even though most of us weren't your giftee, your gift brightened all our evenings!

Thanks to Laura for her thoroughly good company, for finding amusing videos on youtube, and for providing potatoes. No joking, those potatoes were wonderful.

Last but not least, thank you to Dania for providing henna so we could all draw on each other and for fetching drinks for me so I could stay home and get things ready as opposed to popping to the shop.

Oh, and I forgot one very important person who wasn't there but made a big difference:
Thank you to Robbert, the best neighbour I've ever had, for loaning us a lighter at short notice so we could light incense... and thank you for giving the same lighter to me when I told you it was the first lighter I was able to use. I am now the proud owner of a lighter with a picture of a scantily clad man and I will remember you every time I use it*.


*This was Robbert's condition upon giving me said lighter, if I remember correctly ;)

Not for facebook

Three Countries in Two Days

So, having got back from England on Thursday (very kindly met at the airport by Ryan because I would not have made the journey back home alone), I promptly set out on my next adventure. This time I was off to Düsseldorf with Dania and Leonoor to explore the Christmas market.

Leaving Amsterdam Centraal! No prizes for guessing
which one of us noticed the photo being taken!

It's got to be said, mainland Europe is so easy. We popped on an international train in the centre of Amsterdam and in about two hours we found ourselves in Düsseldorf.

Our first evening in the town was a lovely, if a little bit of a cold one. We walked through the various market although, as we later found out, we actually missed a few on this first day. I had to laugh a little though, what with the fact that the 'German' Christmas market back home is actually bigger... so much for authenticity ;-)

I was trying to photograph the stalls but the Dania was quite sure she wanted
to be in the photo. Who am I kidding? She makes it even prettier :)

What was delightful was the way that each mini market had its own theme and atmosphere. It's got to be said that, although we didn't find it on the first day, the Sternchenmarkt was my favourite. It was super busy and seemed to be food and drink focused mainly but it was completely lit by blue white lights making it absolutely magical.

When I booked the trip, my mother made me promise to go on a carousel as I have literally been on one every year at Christmas, well, until I moved out to the Netherlands, that is! Sadly, there were only children's carousels. However, there was a big wheel so we went trip on that and, frankly, I think it more than made up for it. Seeing a bird's eye view of the city by night, lit up for Christmas, was really rather magical. We also got way more than we bargained for and went round so many times that I, quite frankly lost count. We expected to go round twice, or maybe three times tops... by the fifth time we, and the couple who were sharing our car, were both amused and bemused!

On the Big Wheel...pretending we weren't terrified of the height!

We actually set off for home quite early on that day due to the cold and spent most of the night cuddled up in the hotel room watching Abraham Lincoln Vampirjäger despite the fact only 1.5/3 of us could understand what was going on! We did try to get the television in English, and apparently there should have been English channels but it didn't work out so Dania got a quick German lesson instead!

Enjoying the hotel bunk-beds. "Creation of Adam", anyone?

The second day we went into town a bit earlier to go into the shops themselves. It's actually a really nice city with some lovely places on the main drag and, like all cities, there are bound to be hidden gems that we simply didn't find sticking to the central streets. I would like to go back when it's a bit warmer, just to explore the city more thoroughly.

Ready for day two!

Naturally, we spent the evening wondering through the markets a bit more and discovering some really good food, mainly. It's funny, that, whenever Dania, Leonoor and I go somewhere together we end up exploring the food more than anything!

Not every day you come across a field of decorated Christmas trees.

On the Sunday it was time to return to Amsterdam and, for me, to face the start of the deathly stack of deadlines. Distressingly, the train was delayed leaving us waiting on a freezing cold platform for over an hour. On the bright side, Leonoor and Dania used that time to buy a six pack of very good doughnuts for on the train.

What did I tell you? We always end up eating!!

Not for facebook

Sinterklaas in Amsterdam

Today was the arrival of Sinterklaas in Amsterdam and, before I start, I'll preface this with pretty much the same disclaimer as last year:

I'm still not Dutch so I'm talking about my understanding of things as an English person who's heard about all the traditions as such second and third hand. To any Dutch readers who might be here - if you notice any mistakes then please point them out and don't hate me ;-)

This year was, in many ways, similar to last year in that Leonoor, Dania and I went into town and had breakfast before the parade. The difference was that we weren't in quite so early because I didn't misread the times this time (I royally messed up last year!) However, just like last year we got completely drenched in the rain so I guess some things never do change! That said, it did dry up as the parade came by so I managed to get some slightly better photos this year.

So, as last year, I'll start with something of an explanation for those who would be completely flummoxed without one. 

Sinterklaas, as you can probably guess from the name, is the Dutch version of the embodiment of Saint Nicholas and stays a little closer to the figure of the Saint than our own Father Christmas or, indeed, Santa Claus. We'll not get into the fact that Father Christmas and Santa Claus are technically different figures who got merged in the Victorian, I think, era right now... that's just going to complicate matters!

So, in mid-November each year, Sinterklaas arrives in the Netherlands by boat from Spain which is where he spends most of the year (well, where did you think he got mandarins from if he lived in the North Pole!!). Once he arrives in the Netherlands he has separate 'arrivals' in different cities around the country.

He's also assisted by Zwarte Piet, or multiple of them, a character who traditionally wears blackface which, quite understandably, has caused a lot of controversy over recent years. To be honest, other than the fact it's Sinterklaas and I'm basically a large child, part of the reason I enjoy going is to see how what is a very alive political and social issue develops from year to year. I believe they're currently trying to gradually change it to reflect soot, with the story already being that he's black because of going down chimneys, and it was possibly to see a bit of a difference this year. It's probably not fair to change him instantly or without some story-line continuity when it's a children's character who they believe in so I understand why there's desire for a more gradual development as opposed to instant change.

We decide not to ask for pepernoten - the little biscuit things that are associated with this time of year and are given out by the Pieten along the route - and leave them for the real children. Weirdly enough, however, one gentleman came over quite enamoured with my handbag and basically forced me to take quite a lot so I think Dania was happy in the end - thank you Sisi handbag!

So, after a while of standing out in the cold - and minus Dania as she was volunteering that afternoon - Leonoor and I decided to go and grab a warm drink and head back quite content. I mean, for all it's something for children it's a really interesting thing culturally and politically to experience as a non-Dutch person. And, lets be honest, I'm never going to grow up!!

Not for facebook

Belated Birthday Party

"I never want to see another cake"

For the majority of last weekend, and the beginning of this week, I was frantically baking with one event in mind. I felt my sanity wearing away. Dinner was frequently cake off-cuts. Tuesday evening came and it was all so worth it.

I have the best friends ever, you know.

The day before the get together saw Leonoor and I running around town grabbing last minute buffet food and, more importantly, perhaps, bubbly wine. We then came back and started setting up the room ready for the evening itself. I've got to admit that, considering we started with a completely empty room, it looked pretty cosy by the time we'd finished with it. Dania and Leonoor's trek through the rain to collect balloons the day before had paid off.

I think it's pretty safe to say that Sonja was rather happy when she arrived. I'm not quite sure what she was expecting but I hope we lived up to expectations!

After food, it was Leonoor and Dania's turn to surprise both of us, coming into the room with streamers and coordinating tiara's for Sonja and me. Sonja somehow managed to get rid of hers part way through the evening, something I didn't quite manage! As usual when streamers and my lot are concerned, chaos reigned for a period of time ;-)

We then did the great 'gift exchange' which was really special, got to be said. Sonja is going to make me dinner and wrote me the most touching letter imaginable. Laura made a cushion which both fits into the colour scheme of my room and has my initial on it. Leonoor and Dania combined to buy the most stunning quill. While gifts aren't something that I would consider important, the fact that each of my friends gave me something so very personal was something that I found thoroughly touching. Oh, except for Thijs, he forgot! (Love you Thijs!!!)

After that, it was cake cutting time. As it was both our party, and the cake looked a bit like a wedding cake (oops!), we used the opportunity to take some 'romantic' wedding cake shots... you'd have done the same!

It was, without doubt a delightful evening for all the above reasons but, more importantly, because of the company. Various friends popped in and out through the evening adding their own special touch to the happenings. Sonja and I having a casual sing and then Sonja singing us all the most stunning lullabies. It was relaxed, good fun, perfect. Pretty sure this is where I would use that untranslatable Dutch word... if I could pronounce the thing!!! 

The Best Friend visits.

Just over a week ago, on Thursday, I sat here waiting for my best friend to message me to say that she knew her arrival time. There had been some crash that had delayed traffic and she was somewhere in the Rotterdam vicinity with little knowledge of exactly how delayed she was. Not to mention the fact that her phone, had once again decided not to work when off of British soil making it tricky to contact one another. Eventually, and a little later than planned we managed to meet up and we made our way back to my flat ready to spend the next week together.

Friday, we were quite happy to spend the morning sleeping and chatting. A short stroll around my flat (to the nearest Albert Heijn) was also  undertaken. I had a class in the afternoon and it seemed illogical to attempt to do anything major that morning what with the general exhaustion of the journey still having something of an effect on Aimee.

The evening saw Leonoor, Dania, and Thijs join us for a trip into town. Aimee felt she had to see the Red Light District while over here and so we made an evening of it, grabbing something to eat and drink before wandering around a little. We also managed to introduce Aimee to the wonders of poffertjes (little fluffy pancakes of delight)

Saturday was supposed to be a day trip day but I was feeling a little unwell in the morning so we decided it was better to stay closer to come. Instead we wandered around the museum district and I bought Aimee a fresh stroopwafel - she loves the shop bought ones in England so it seemed only right!

Sunday saw us visit Paleis Het Loo, the place we were supposed to visit on Saturday. I'd particularly wanted to go here because there was an exhibition on Empress Elisabeth (Sisi) running. It focused mainly on the myth of the films compared the reality, a little on her visit to the Netherlands and gave a basic overview of her life. A lot of the items I had seen before or were replicas of things that I had seen before but some things on display were new to me and of great interest. Aimee, who knew little of Elisabeth except what she'd picked up from me, seemed to enjoy this exhibition rather a lot too.

As for the palace itself, well, it was a mixed place. Some aspects were lovely and some were... confused, I guess. Some rooms were exquisite, some seemed like less vibrant versions of palaces and houses that I'd seen elsewhere and some were full of badly placed art. I mention the latter because there were some quite lovely artworks that were incredibly difficult to see, and impossible to fully appreciate, because of their positioning in rooms that really did not suit them. You understand how much that pained me!

Something that must be said of the place, however, is that the gardens were truly lovely. The grounds are, as I understand it, quite extensive and we did not have time to see much of them, staying in the formal gardens. All the same, it was lovely. I would like to return just to spend a day looking around the grounds, in all honesty.

Monday was spent vastly apart as I had classes all day and Aimee went into town for the day. We did spend the evening together eating a roast dinner and drinking mead or, in my case, spilling aforementioned mead all over my carpet and Budapest scrapbook. I somehow managed to get the mead out of the carpet (miraculous as the carpet is off-white and it was a summer berry mead!)  and have only done minimal damage to the scrapbook...

Tuesday was another trip into town for a stroll through the shopping areas and a 'farewell' dinner. We decided to have our main evening meal out a day early in awareness of Aimee's early departure on the Thursday. 

Finally, the Wednesday we decided to spend in my flat. It was tipping it down with rain and we were both too lazy to go out. That aside, we are quite capable of entertaining ourselves and it was nice to have some time whereby we were simply hanging out as friends as opposed to attempting to be tourists together. Admittedly, though the entire week we had stolen moments were we could watch films, chat, or play silly computer games but it was nice to have a day of relaxation.

When Thursday morning came we were both pretty upset both because Aimee was to leave and because we both had to get up at an insane hour in order to get her to the bus station. Eventually, and after much hugging, I put her on the bus. Once she'd got on, the driver jokingly told me not to cry to which I replied that I wasn't going to cry... I'd finally got rid of her. He threatened to tell Aimee what I'd said and I wonder if he did... either way, his joking was exactly what I needed because, without it, I would have undoubtedly been in floods of tears. Why are goodbyes so difficult?

Anyway, Aimee promised me faithfully to let me know when she crossed back into England and  also when she got back home to Cardiff and I've not heard from her since I put her on the bus. I'm not worried because she's hardly the most reliable woman ever (and I've spoken to her mother!) but, just in case you read this before I speak to you next Aimee, you're in big trouble ;-)

Back in Amsterdam at last

A week today and my best friend will be out in Amsterdam. At last, we will be reunited for more than a couple of hours as I am kidnapping her she's chosen to visit me for a week. I can't quite put into words my unbelievable excitement about this fact. Aimee is someone I grew up with, a part of my family and, frankly, it's about time she got to see Out Here. I'm sure you'll hear much more about that soon enough but this is supposed to be a blog post about things that have already happened, right? It's not like there hasn't been a lot happening!

As you're no doubt aware, due to the crazily short holidays here compared to back in England, I am once again in Amsterdam and am part way through my first week of my second year at university. 'Second year' of university sounds way more advanced than I currently feel so I'm pretty pleased I took time out before starting else I think I would have felt even more overwhelmed!

I'll probably put up a post giving a bit about my classes at some point in the next few days but I'll stop it from going on facebook so if you're interested in that then check back here in a little while!

Sonja's semi-posed photo from pancake-meet up. I'll give you a clue,
the two of us smiling awkwardly were the posed ones!

Aside from classes,  it's been great to be back. I've managed to meet up with my main little group a couple of times although I've been neglecting a lot of people and that really does need to change. I've also found out that some messages I've sent over the past few months haven't sent so I need to work out who I've been unknowingly ignoring! Oh and I probably should study a bit.

But I digress...

Yesterday, probably deserves a special mention as the pancake themed meet up. The wonderful Sonja, who seems to have got better at hiding from my camera again over the summer, made us all pancakes and we sat and chatted for a while, just catching up on stuff that had happened while we were apart.

Dania's Pancake, created by Sonja.
Seems to sum both giver and recipient up nicely!

Other than meeting up with some friends, and with plans to catch up with some more, I've spent a fair amount of time rearranging my flat. It's a complete mess right now, partly because I've pulled out a lot of papers in attempts to clear some desk drawers, partly because I've brought over a lot of (beautiful) scrapbooking materials, and partly because I still need to assemble my new IKEA bookcase because one was never going to be enough for me. It'll keep me busy over the next few days, for sure!

All in all, it's strange but good to be back. I'm currently in that weird state of feeling like I've never been away but also feeling like everything's quite new again. I guess, I've not really been alone for two months and now I'm in my own flat once more. I've not had a structured work schedule and suddenly I have hundreds of pages to read a day. And let's not mention the early mornings! It's great but it is undoubtedly odd!

Here comes trouble!

End of the semester and home!

Well, this post is the first of what will undoubtedly become a fair few to be written in England. That's right, I'm home and it is lovely to be back.

But, since my last incredibly rambling post a little bit has happened so lets attempt to do this in some logical order! As I mentioned, I went to pick my mother up from the airport on Saturday evening. The plan was to explore the Netherlands a bit before I returned home but, suffice to say, that didn't work out as I managed to get (if that's the right word) tendonitis in my foot again. So yep, I spent the last half a week sitting with my foot in the air doing basically nothing... actually quite nice if a little frustrating.

Anyway, it also meant that my picking up my mother from the airport was pretty tricky and I was quite lucky in the fact that Leonoor went with me to assist. Weirdly, my mother's flight got in half an hour ahead of schedule... which is really strange when you realise the flight is usually only 50 minutes or so.

Mother also brought over a suitcase full of stuff from back home, bit of non-perishable food for next year and some of the stuff that I've ordered to the UK to save on shipping costs. Can you blame me? Anyway, one of those things is a print of a drawing that I've wanted for a long while by The Picsees, called Sleepy Time. The idea just really fit with my own outlook on life and I knew I had to buy it. It had, sadly, sold out at the time I was able to buy it but, with some lovely conversations via facebook, I was able to get my print. Really rather happy about that!

Even the packaging of the print was lovely. An all round wonderful service.

The week itself, other than a brief foray to the cafe down the road with the lovely Maria, was spent in my flat with my mother. We watched a lot of films (The East was one that we both really enjoyed and would recommend) and lurked a bit. It was relaxing and enjoyable even if I felt so guilty not to be able to show her around as planned. Nothing I could do but all the same!

No prizes for guessing how we made
up for our inability to go out!

And then today it was time to fly back home. We had a right old time getting to the airport as, even in the early morning the heat and humidity made for an intense experience. Not to mention the fact that I was bringing a lot of breakable heavy hand luggage home for the summer... well, we made it but I'm not sure either of us knew quite how we did!

The airport was chaotic, as normal, it seems. However, everyone seemed to be in a really good mood. Even the security people were chatty. Mind you, I have never been so happy for a broken violin string as I was when going through security because I was seriously pressurised to play. So lucky I had an excuse... and didn't mention the whistles ;-)

Proud that we got this the airport without resorting to a taxi.
We regretted not resorting to a taxi!

I also had some glorious news at the airport in terms of my German grade. I was waiting on my portfolio grade - so basically a varying load of written coursework - and I was, shall we say pleasantly surprised. When you bear in mind how awful I felt it was all going at points... well, I'm over the moon. Pretty sure that all my grades are in for that subject now so I'm pretty sure I've got my A grade overall. The A grade is significant as I need a 4 GPA, including all years of the degree, in order to apply for the course I want to go onto. It basically means I need an A, minimum, in every subject which is a hellish pressure but 100% worth the work if it gets me where I want. I seem to have managed it last year... I can say that now it's the summer!

But back to today:
The flight itself wasn't overly pleasant. The flight was over booked and staff were overly stressed and it was a bit of a mess. There was a large group of unaccompanied children on the flight too which I think was putting some pressure on the cabin crew. Mind you, as I tried to leave the plane I got really seriously told off by the one woman who'd been so rudest for whole flight. She was telling me off for moving from my seat because someone was "coming to collect me"... took me a moment to realise she somehow thought I was part of the under-14 group (how!?) but her embarrassment when I said that I was an adult was kinda worth it! We both ended up having a bit of a laugh about it in the end and hopefully she will think twice about being rude even when under pressure because she seemed quite nice when, well, embarrassed!

Anyway, I got home, ate a beautiful dinner out in the garden with my parents and then sat down and painted. I've started preparing my Castlefest scrapbook because I know that takes me some time. I'm also expecting my Budapest photos to be coming any day now so that's another full scrapbook to be made and assembled. Holidays and festivals take so much time but I never regret the scrapbooking habit!

Anywho, this got a fair bit longer than I had planned! Off to bed with me! It's midnight back home and I've had a long old day ;-)

Eep!

I'm free! I'm free! I'm free!

Oh my! What is this strange feeling of euphoria?

Eating ice-cream and pretending we're back on holiday holiday.

Yesterday, despite having a lovely raging temperature the day before, I sat my final exam of German and walked out into the world of (temporary) liberty. Due to the lucky fact that most of 'my' German group finished the exam at the same time we decided to have a celebratory drink (of iced tea... pushing the boat out!). I've been incredibly lucky with my German class and with my teacher as both have been so supportive and lovely. While I may not like the intensive period very much, I can safely say that this has been one of my favourite classes in a lot of ways.

Of course, I've also finished my first year at university which is weird as anything. In some ways I'm glad it's summer... in others it's strange. My friends are going to be jetting all over the place, or they're staying here but I'm not.

Dania steals Leonoor's phone to take a photo of me cleaning dirt off
Leonoor. Mothering the world as always ;-)

Dania, Leonoor and I, as the only ones who are here right now, managed to get into town for the day which was nice although, to be quite honest, I'm still fighting off illness and have managed to injure my foot so I'm both in pain and out of it. In fact, I think I'm going to say that this post is not for facebook and saved just for my 'loyal fans' because heaven only knows it's rambling!

Oh, and even better - I'm going to pick the mother up from the airport in a few. So excited!

A quick checking in post about next to nothing!

Dragging myself out of bed last Sunday was simply agonising. Most people classify me as a morning person. Personally, I disagree but I have to admit that I don't struggle with getting up most of the time. However, I guess that phoning my mother late the night before was a bad idea - we don't seem to be able to have a short conversation - and it ended up with me getting under five hours sleep. 

Oops. 

However, it was well worth the pain as I dragged myself around the room, attempting to get dressed without bumping into every piece of furniture. I was off to Utrecht to see someone who I have not seen in way too long, the lovely Annelies.

We had planned on climbing the Dom (Cathedral) tower but it was kinda miserable weather so we decided to leave that for a nicer day and mooch generally. She kindly showed me some of her favourite shops (and she has great taste) and we explored a little. It was great to see her after so long and a truly welcome break from all the studying even if it wasn't sensible to take aforementioned break!

I also managed to go out briefly with the fearsome Leonoor and Dania-duo on Tuesday. We all ate out, despite none of us really being able to afford it, were joined by Fietje and had a thoroughly enjoyable evening!

Other than that, I continued my fight with German. I don't know if I'm winning the fight but it's not taken won yet. As I've said, I love my teacher, I love the syllabus, I love my class - it's the intensive period speed that I cannot manage. That said, I think I did well in my exam today.

I also had an group examined presentation which generally went well. I had a flare up with my heart problem in the middle of the presentation which sucked because you try speaking a language you're quite new to speaking while your heart is doing a jolly good impression of a bee and you're aware that if it doesn't stop in a few you're likely to collapse! Anyway, that's something that's been flaring up more over the last few months so it sounds like someone's going to have another cardiologist appointment soon (urgh!!!) It's also not a big deal so I'm not overly bothered. Just hope the grade hasn't suffered!

I do feel that, in the six months (plus) between this German course and the next it will have time to sink in and I will actually be able to process what I've learned. I get it. I love it. My brain's just saturated!

And now I am spending the evening doing nothing that requires any thought at all. A bit of Wyldwood Radio, perhaps some painting... a lot of sleep!

Celt-n-Folk

I've been rather spoiled when it comes to good music, recently. 

Last weekend saw the usual group of Thijs, Hester and myself joined by Leonoor, Dania and Hester's boyfriend heading off to Almere once more for one of the Celt-N-Folk events. The sound was a bit off for most of the evening which was a shame but says nothing about the musicians involved and their skill, combined with an energetic (to say the least!) crowd made for a delightful evening.

First up was Sowulo. It was quite funny to watch Leonoor during this set as she looked around her like a rabbit caught in headlights at times. However, luckily, this was apparently because she was "fascinated" both by the band and the general atmosphere. And, of course, atmosphere is something that Sowulo do incredibly well. Their set doesn't play through as a group of songs but rather as a singular progressive entity which encompasses all the senses. Dania and Leonoor were thoroughly impressed with one song which was accompanied by a storm complete with thunder, lightening, and wind (thanks to some conveniently placed fans). It was pretty impressive.

We then relocated to the small stage and sat on the floor to listen to Tipsy Gypsy who plays, to quote his facebook, "ambient ethnic world fusion" using multiple instruments, the most predominant being handpans in various forms. I think Thijs was the only one who had heard Tipsy Gypsy before and I have a feeling that was only because he googled prior to the event (I'm sure he'll correct me if not). Anyway, we were all rather pleasantly surprised, to say the least. It's quite amazing how one gentleman can sit on stage and create such intricate layered sounds that hold an audience entranced but he managed it. I would hazard a guess that this was Dania's favourite part of the evening if her cry of "that was so cool!" when asked about it later was anything to go by! Certainly, we were all left wanting to hear more and, if we're completely honest, wanting to have a go!

Back to the main stage for Rastaban who I've not seen since last year's Castlefest but who always manage to deliver a high energy set. They played a mixture of older and newer tunes and, performed a rather rounded set. Add to this the fact that they're a group of really talented people with a "crazy awesome violinist", to quote Thijs directly, and you can be sure that you're going to watch something quite special each time you see them, even if external conditions aren't quite favourable. I'm sure I've said this before but Rastaban manage to transfer energy to the audience via their stage performance and, if anything, this is their greatest talent. It was means that there was the opportunity for some rather vigorous dancing - although, personally, I stuck to my usual bobbing along - despite the heat in the venue which was quite intense. Indeed, Dania and Leonoor had to withdraw from the front, in search of cooler areas (and ice-cream) before the end of the set.

In fact, it was only Hester and Christiaan who braved the small room for Robert den Hartigh with the rest of us choosing to sit out in the main hall where it seemed a bit cooler and where we could kinda hear, partially. I believe the music went down well with Hester, at least, because, unless I'm mistaken, she decided to purchase one of his CDs. I can't really comment for myself. I've heard Robert den Hartigh from a distance and partially a few times now and keep meaning to catch one of his sets properly. One day!

Finally it was time for Cesair and they really did go down well with everyone, no surprise. Both Dania and Leonoor said that their set was "really fun" and agreed that they would like to see the band again. I even think they kinda danced along a little bit. You know, as much as they do! 

When I asked Dania if my plans to convert her to this kind of music had finally worked she replied with her trade mark "I'm not sure" which simply means I'll have to arrange for her to go to another show with me to continue the process ;-)



This post was finished quite a while after seeing the show hence why it gets a bit more rushed towards the end - I cannot remember vividly enough to write properly and did not take enough notes straight after the event.

Not for facebook

Budapest: Saturday

Relaxing, Lurking, and Crying.

In a way, Saturday was the best day for me. No matter how nice it is to share somewhere you love with people it was nice to relax on Saturday and get off the complete tourist track, just relaxing a little bit with no real aim.

Saturday saw the group split into two halves once more with Leonoor, Dania and I hitting the city alone while the other three went to the Széchenyi Baths. First item on the to-do list was to have a drink in my usual cafe. Lemonade was as good as ever - seriously the best in Budapest in my not so humble opinion! Not so sure that the same people are managing the place now though which is a shame because they were always good fun. Could just be that they weren't there the day we went though, of course.

Lemonade for breakfast is now a thing that I fully endorse.

After that, we decided to venture into the unknown to get the CD of the Hungarian version of Miss Saigon. One promising looking CD shop was closed - I've got used to shops being open every day in Amsterdam - but we did have to leave the touristy parts in order to get there so that was actually really nice and successful in some senses. We also were blessed with some sun once again so we sat out on the bench in the street by the closed shop and relaxed for a bit. Really, that was the focus of most of Saturday... we loosely aimed for something (most of our plans were unsuccessful) and then used the time to just enjoy watching the world move around us.

This day also saw what was probably one of our poshest meals of the trip, and that is saying something! We went to this glorious restaurant for lunch and had really rather stunning salads and cakes which both looked and tasted sublime!

Hungarian Apple Pie 1 - Dutch Apple Pie 0

The afternoon was spent looking for a tacky touristy picture frame so that I could put a nice picture in it to remember the trip. Seriously, we saw so many awful picture frames in the preceding days but no matter how many tourist shops we went into we simply could not find one! Ah well, I guess the photo will just have to go in to an elegant frame which is simply not the same. At least I know which photo I am going to choose:

A lady saw us swapping round trying to take photos and she stopped with her
toddler, put down all her shopping and took serveral photos of the three of us.
Kind people are still around in the world.

The evening saw the group come together for our final meal of the trip which was accompanied by a fair amount of wine, champagne and cocktails from those who drink; they celebrated the end of the holiday while I mourned its end.

After that, a rather bouncy Leonoor and Dania, energised by the meal, and its accompanying beverages, joined me to meet up with Gitta once more. She and her boyfriend very kindly took us to one of the ruin pubs in Budapest which was a new experience for me (got to love new experiences). Didn't take any photos, sadly, so nothing to share but I can safely say that the place was like nothing I've ever seen. As the name may suggest, the pub was situated in the run down shell of one of the courtyard-houses but one that had been decorated with some of the most surreal things from a room full of television screens to some statue of a dragon-ish type thing that one could potentially sit on.

Sadly, with a stupidly early departure on the Sunday looming we didn't get to stay for very long and we wandered back the apartment. As I settled down for my very short night's rest I could hear Scottish folk songs drifting up from the bar below the window and it struck me that I was leaving one of the places I love dearly while listening to music from home... and going back to the Netherlands. That was a difficult moment for me - hello homesickness!

A Bit of Sunday

Oops.
At silly o'clock in the morning, the others all woke up and I got up out of bed. Because I'm a complete and utter pillock I had managed to get sunstroke again. Luckily, it was rather mild - more so than I've had previously - and I managed to catch the flight with the others. I rather imagine I worried them though and they must be commended for really looking out for me, especially Nora who had to put up with me both ill and crying. Poor girl.

I tell you what was interesting though, walking through the streets at 3 A.M.-4 A.M., something that I can't say I often do in my own countries and, clearly, have never done in Budapest. It was busy, busier than I would have expected, and with surprisingly sober people. Yes, there were a few people who'd clearly had a few too many but the majority were quite with it. Normal coffee shops were open, public transport was running. It was a little surreal!

Several hours later... okay, about nine hours later, we were back in Amsterdam, collapsing in our respective beds.

As for me, well, I will be back to Budapest pretty soon. Nora seems to have fallen for the place too and we discussed returning this summer but our respective flight home plans clash so we cannot do that. However, I have talked with my university and there is the potential of me studying in Hungary for a couple of months next year, perhaps. It will involve a lot of paperwork and discussions with the board of examiners but my tutor seemed pretty hopeful and willing to champion my cause. If that doesn't work out, I'll be back anyway... not leaving it this long ever again!

Not for facebook

More on Budapest:

Wednesday
Thursday
Theatre (to come)
Friday (to come)

Budapest: Thursday

Touring, Eating, and Going to the Theatre

On Thursday I suggested that we took one of the hop-on hop-off buses around the city as they make it rather more accessible, aren't bad value, and have a night line which the others could use while I was out on Friday (although they didn't!). Everyone seemed to agree with the idea in principle so we bought tickets and off we went, deciding to do the near side of the river on that day as people wanted to do a bit of shopping in the afternoon and the main 'known' shopping street is on the Pest side of the city anyway. Whoops, that was a long sentence.

Some people were less enthused about the bus ride!

First stop was Hősök tere or Hero's Square which is pretty impressive, to say the least. It's pretty much a blending of Hungarian history and figures of significance. The central column features the Archangel Gabriel holding the crown of Hungary and the double cross. Surrounding this is a colonnade featuring Kings of Hungary and freezes showing a key scene from their life... and this is topped by statues of key ideas.

Because no-one would notice that giant statue unless you pointed it out!

We then ventured into the park a little which is something I've not really done before. To be honest, with the heat of my last trips, it's lucky I've seen anything in the city! Anyway, we made a bit of a bee line for Vajdahunyad Castle which is a sweet replica castle complex created for an exhibition at some point - I know my history, right? Despite the castle itself being really pretty there is a little medieval style church which simply captured my imagination. I mean, I love religious architecture and medieval art history and regardless of my personal interests, replica or not, it was stunning.

See, it's not just me... it is stunning!

After our little exploration it was back on the bus for a drive around a bit more of the city towards Váci utca to grab a couple of things from the shops there, and eat some more really good food. There was rather a pattern emerging here!

It was also the day we wrote loving postcards to our families telling them about the trip and snarky postcards to our friends telling them off for not coming with us. If you're reading this, Aimee, you can't run away for ever - you're going to have to come with me one time!

Posting the Aimee's card. It was a momentous occasion
which warranted photographic documentation.

With theatre tickets booked for that night we had to head back to the apartment quite early to get ready - with shared bathrooms, shock horror! Actually, considering four of us were trying to get ready with shared bathrooms and male presence limiting us to said shared bathrooms for the majority of tasks... we were pretty darn efficient and when the time came to leave, I was lucky enough to be accompanied by three stunners!

Anywho, I am, at the request of the darlin' Laura write a full review of the theatre trip, including the trip, so I won't go into it now but will link when it's done. Suffice to say, we had a wonderful evening.

Not for facebook

More on Budapest:

Wednesday
Theatre (to come)
Friday (to come)
Saturday and Sunday

Budapest: Introduction and Wednesday

Lounging on my bed, waiting for the others to wake up fully on the first morning of our holiday I started to note down all that happened the day before ready for these blog posts. I'd never be able to remember all that had happened upon my return. Fighting with my phone keyboard I wrote away... and then accidentally pressed the delete button losing all my hard work. I decided to give up.

So, the following series of posts promise to be a lengthy but incomplete description of what was an exquisite four days in the wonderful city of Budapest. And, if any of my companions are reading this and feel I've missed something out.. drop me a line and edits shall be made ;-)

Does anyone else get the feeling I was really excited?

Wednesday

Arriving, Walking and Checking in to the Flat

The cheapest flights to Budapest, from the Netherlands, leave from Eindhoven which is a fair way away. The cheapest flights when you leave it until the last minute to book are the early morning ones. We had an early, early start ahead of us and, as people may know, extreme lack of sleep makes me quite ill so I was a bit of a mess that morning. Anyway at four a.m. Dania came round to mine to add the final touches to our shared suitcase and we toddled down to meet Nora, Laura, and Thomas. The taxi turned up... we texted everyone to hurry up. Eventually, Nora turned up as it turned out she had set her alarm wrong and only woken when the taxi had called her! A taxi ride and a bus ride later and the five of us were at Eindhoven, where we met up with Stefan, and we were on our way.

It's amazing just how much joy a pink plane can induce!

The whole flight process was pretty simple with no border control - something I've never known - and the cases arriving quickly. The transfer from the airport was filled with the others attempting to learn 'useful' words and phrases in Hungarian such as "jó napot", "köszönöm" and the obviously useful "kék" (which is not useful in basic conversation at all but caused much delight due to its similarity to the English word "cake"). 

We were soon in Budapest, with me feeling really rather overjoyed, and the others feeling really rather hungry. After the compulsory "hungary in Hungary" joke, Nora decided to stick to similes such as "famished" and "peckish". It was the first of many high quality meals from that trip. We had a rather magnificent time as far as food is concerned.

While the others relaxed and finished their drinks, Dania and I went to check into the flat with the cases. I've stayed in flats owned by this company before so knew that they were reliable - and their contact goes above and beyond if you need something which matters when you're a young group traveling alone - but I'd never stayed in this particular flat. It was in a good location on the same street as the Operettszínház stage door and a few bars which meant it was a little noisy at night but in a highly convenient location.

What's the first thing you do when you arrive in a new country?

The afternoon saw us wander over to the other side of the river with plans to take some night photos. To be honest, that was always overly optimistic after the early start we'd had. However, we did manage to ride the funicular up into the Castle District and see that area in the less busy evening time.

It wasn't a wasted trip, however, with various little moments which are sure to be some of the more lasting memories of the trip. Selfies on the bridge over and random people copying Nora's nervous of heights sounds as the walk past, Stefan and Dania running after a bride and groom in order to get a selfie with them, finding pieces of street furniture with faces painted on them... you know, the kind of things that could never be replicated another time.

For those of you who haven't worked it out by now: Dania is the selfie Queen!

At the end of the first day, people seemed pretty happy with the city and we were having a great time. Success!

Not for facebook

More on Budapest:

Thursday
Theatre (to come)
Friday (to come)
Saturday and Sunday

Booking a trip and terrifying yourself because you realise this means you're somewhat Grown Up.

If I've been quite silent recently - which I have, I know - then, once again, it's not for lack of stuff going on but rather that there is so much stuff going on that I simply do not have time to sit down and write about it. It's poor because, not only am I neglecting talking to friends directly, but I am also cutting off my little 'here's what I'm up to' space! Oops!

See, even now I should be revising for my logic exam. I mean, I feel quietly confident but I am also aware that I need a high A on this test in order to get comfortably get an A over all and I need that because I want to go straight to PhD but yeah... lets not get ahead of ourselves. The point being, I'm ignoring that right now because I feel the need to write about the events of last night. I mean, I actually wrote a facebook status about last night so we know this is serious!

Last night, in a bit of a tumble of "Oh no! Prices are going up!", and after about a month of juggling on my part, we finally booked our ascension holiday trip. And we're going to Budapest. Yep. I'm going back. So, so, so over the moon. 

I mean, the flights are painful. They're from Eindhoven and we need to be there at six a.m. For those of you who don't know the geography of the Netherlands and are interested, Eindhoven is down there in the Not-Amsterdam. For those of you who are really interested, find a map and look near the Belgian border. It's going to be an early as sin start. Flight back departs at six a.m. so I'm just ignoring that one.

I'm also currently in the process of booking our apartment for the stay. The ones in the building I normally stay in are all booked but we've been offered an alternative owned by the same people, right next to the Operettszínház which amuses me slightly. I gave Leonoor's name and phone number (because we all know how often I answer my phone) so am having to write to them under her name now which amuses me even more (*). I have become a Nora! We will also be joined by Dania, Laura, Thomas and, last but not least, Stefan, so I'm guessing you'll see them mentioned a fair bit over the next few weeks as we continue to work stuff out.

So yeah, things are slowly falling into place... well, violently tumbling into place with no warning more like! Just got to wait until everything is booked and then I can start getting really excited. Actually, with my next few weeks booked up as they are, I am going to start getting exceptionally excited for the rest of the semester the minute this darn exam is over and done with!

(*) She does know, and gave me permission, and I am running all emails past her before I send them with her name, just to clarify that I've not stolen one of my best friend's identity!

This post is not for facebook as I've already written a status about it and there is such a thing as overkill in this world. Also it's rambling and not elegant and yeah, many, many reasons.

That time we almost watched the eclipse...

Who cares if cloud was forecast? With the promise of a pretty full eclipse I was determined to be outside, attempting to see it. Well, I managed on the first part, the last part wasn't quite so successful.

After a quick ask round last night, Dania and Leonoor decided that they were both free, and stupid lovely enough, to join me. So, this morning, ignoring the ominous overcast nature of the sky, I filled several plastic bottles with tea (I don't have a multi-person flask), we bought croissants and orange juice, and we set off to the park.

Other than the constant cries of "I'm cold" coming from a certain person - no prizes for guessing who -  I think we had a pretty good fun time. I mean, sure, it wasn't exactly picnic weather but there's something rather enjoyable about sitting outside eating breakfast. It's certainly more worthwhile than being stuck in the flat working or, just as likely, in bed sleeping!

Just in case you do struggle to guess who was the moaning one!

However, sadly, the cloud cover didn't break for us and we didn't really catch a glimpse of the eclipse itself. I mean it did get a bit darker but, with the amount of cloud, that change felt more like the herald of a storm rather than an unusual event!

So, I'm just going to pretend that we weren't trying to see the eclipse at all. Instead we were having a casual picnic to celebrate the vernal equinox and that bit, at least, was pretty darn successful!

And it was fun too ;-)

I've found my calling as a tourguide!

Last Friday I was busy bouncing around with excitement. Some of my gig friends from the UK were coming out to visit and also to go to a couple of the Within Temptation theatre shows and somehow the mass facebook chats had made me feel as if I was going on holiday. Of course, Friday is also the day of my stupidly late class but somehow I managed to get out of class a bit early and somehow, with a fair bit of running involved, I managed to get on an early train. Because of this, I arrived at Schiphol just as their plane was landing which was a good thing considering they were up a strange end of the airport and it took me a fair while to find where they'd be arriving. That said, I'm a bit of a Schiphol pro now !! Waiting for them to come through the doors I did consider making a name sign simply because I've never had one before but y'know... didn't happen.

And then the group of five arrived. Kim and her mother Sarah, met on various occasions at a few shows, Marc and his mother Sandra, met once at a Within Temptation acoustic show in London, and Gemma who I had never met.

We then had the utter joy of the admin tasks. Buying five anonymous OV cards, charging them and counting out the Euros wrong was embarrassing enough, I tell you. Seriously Euros still feel like Monopoly money and large numbers... yuck! Oh and then the good old trains were all moved around, delayed and cancelled. It's a bit frightening when you feel responsible for a group, especially when you struggle to get them all to fit on one train!

Late at night - perhaps the only time you can get a photo without
hundreds of other tourists being in shot!

That said, we managed to get into town safely and, once checked into the hotel, we went for a little stroll into town. Our search for food led us to Rembrantplein (it seemed the most promising direction to head in) and it was worthwhile. For all that area may be a complete overpriced tourist trap, it is beautiful at night, and during the day, and I love it. A drink back at the hotel and everything seemed to be getting off to a great start.

Saturday

The annoying amount of work meant that I decided to stay home during the day while the group explored. I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped because I was still reading on the train that evening but I needed that time, and more!

Anyway, that evening was the first of the two Within Temptation dates and so all of us, sans Gemma, made our way to Almere. Walking through the closed shopping centre, totally deserted but yet a complete mass of neon lighting, Kim happened to remark on how it would make a perfect setting for a zombie film. With not another soul around, just rubbish blowing in the wind, it was hard to contradict her. Seriously, if my old urban studies teacher ever needed more proof that modern media uses zombies to represent consumerist culture...

We made it through zombie-land and found the theatre itself. After a preshow drink, we went into the hall only to discover that we were in the fourth row - why no-one had realised this from the tickets I do not know! I'm usually loathe to sit so close to the stage because you usually end up looking up and getting neck ache but, at this venue, we were at perfect eye height and it was wonderful. It made for an intimate show which was totally different to the show in Amsterdam a few days later.

When I eventually arrived back home I was bouncing off the ceiling. The show itself was something quite unlike anything I'd ever seen and I really needed some time to come down. Admittedly, phoning my mother and keeping her up until the early hours probably wasn't the fairest way to do this but I think she enjoyed my ranting to start with, at least ;-)

Sunday

Second home in Amsterdam

It was no real surprise that, come Sunday morning, everyone was pretty much dead. My delightful body decided to wake me up at six a.m. and refuse to believe that I really could sleep until nine and even then would not have enough sleep! It meant that, by the time I got the message from the others that they were pretty much all feeling crappy and could we meet later I was way too awake to go back to sleep. Worryingly, I can't remember what I did with that morning which should have been so productive. I ate toast, at least.

When we did meet, everyone feeling a little more alive than earlier, at least. we made our way to the Hard Rock Cafe. This was somewhere that Kim had been on her previous trip and somewhere that I had never been, basically. Having been unable to eat properly for the past week now (yay for health crap!) I stayed away from the rather exciting looking cocktails and the large very meat based dishes and had a strawberry lemonade and a caesar salad. I'm not complaining, to be honest, although my order did seem overly sensible, it was delicious.

After that, we made our way to the Anne Frank House. This was something that the group really had wanted to do and something that had never really attracted me so much. Her story is wonderful in its human poignancy, as are those untold or unshared stories of those whose humanity has been reduced to just names in registers. The people who helped hide her and others - amazing people who risked consequences upon themselves for doing the right thing which is something, sadly, I don't think many people would feel able to do. The only reason I'd not been so interested in the museum itself is that I had heard it was rather a let down. I found quite the opposite. It had been set up in a way that wasn't tacky, didn't glorify anyone, and allowed people to elegantly follow the story of those people involved. It allowed you to 'touch' the human beings involved in one event, to feel some connection to them, and then to expand it out, if not to every person then to some. Personally, I'm so pleased that I did visit and would now recommend it wholeheartedly.

After what was rather an emotional stop for all of us (I know I cried a bit going round), it was time to replenish with some cakes. I took the group to one of my favourite grab-a-cake shops and we grabbed cake ;-)

Well, you have to be a stereotypical tourist too, right?

After that we went for a quick stroll around the red light district because they had been told by so many people to behave and 'not' go there that it simply had to be done. I guess I don't need to describe this bit - women and the odd man in windows etc etc etc. It's also the best place for overheard conversations as slightly inebriated tourists speaking loudly about sex related things makes for an entertaining time. I'll leave that bit completely to your imagination!

Monday

Somehow, although I didn't realise it at the time, we managed to explore until super late again which meant getting up on Monday was even more painful, made worse by the fact I had three classes, all of which I was rather ill prepared for. That meant that, not only did I somehow have to get ready for the evening over the morning and the lunch period but I needed to juggle my final class prep work too. Somehow I managed and, at around six in the evening I was running for my tram in a veritable gale ending up with complete earache... but also getting there in time ;-)

The Amsterdam show was held in the Carré, a theatre that I had heard about but never visited. Seriously, it was so stunning. We were on the balcony this time, except for Gemma who was down in the stalls. We had a great time waving at her and having other people wave back... like those guys who returned my flirty wave interpreting it as aimed at them... oops. The show was exquisite and the setting really did do it a lot of favours... it was a bit wow!

After the show itself, the group, quite naturally, decided to gravitate towards the stage door in order to attempt to meet the band. I waited for Leonoor and Dania who had very kindly agreed to meet me after the show so I didn't have to make my way back late at night alone. However, a few minutes after their arrival we checked train times only to find that all the late trains had been cancelled and we were basically stranded by the delightful Amsterdam public transport system. We decided that there was no rush if we couldn't get home anyway. Dania and Leonoor being the complete heroes that they are waited with us until after 1 a.m. and put up with the usual pain of numb toes just to allow me to hang and meet some of the band. For all I detest the way in which fans gravitate on lead members of bands, Sharon in particular was so very lovely, and spent a lot of time making everyone feel special despite her PA rushing her, that I can't help but feel her status is well earned.

Waiting for the band in the cold. Worth it? Oh yes!

We eventually made our way back to the hotel although, as the bar was closed, I still owe my personal bodyguards a drink for their services. We also managed to get a taxi from the hotel which got us home in record time and for a lot less than I had thought so I can't complain at all there. It was such an amazing night and it ended so easily.

Tuesday

I had managed to switch to an earlier science class on the Tuesday so that I could spend a little more time with the group and see them safely to the airport. It seemed like a really good idea at the time but it was one of the most painful things I've ever done. Getting up at 6a.m. and staying awake through two hours lecture on the origins of the universe... well, it wasn't easy! That said, it was 100% worth it!

Magnums are not the most elegant things to eat ;-)

In town we first gravitated towards de Bijenkorf as Gemma wanted a frozen yoghurt and I just so happened to know a that they sold some good stuff. The rest of us gravitated towards the make your own magnum area. Not only are custom magnums tasty but they are also surprisingly fun and creative to design, bringing out the inner child in everyone.

After that it was back to the Hard Rock cafe for a farewell drink... or two... or three... or, in Gemma's case, four. Oh, wow, what a laugh! We were such a rowdy group but it was such fun. Something that I haven't managed to get across in this post is the amity. For a group that knew each other on a surface level to start with, we had spent a great deal of time with each other and had really gelled. Messing around on this final day seemed to sum up the trip in many ways, with all of us being totally relaxed and open. Okay, I'll admit it, I was a bit concerned about them missing their flight but other than that... ;-)

This image seems to sum up the craziness that was this final trip to Hard Rock <3

And then it was goodbye. It had only been a few days but they had been so special, so much fun, that parting was really difficult. I know it's only a temporary thing... there's no doubt that true friendships have been forged, but all the same...

Life is slowly returning to normal but I can't help but flick through the photos and remember the happenings of the last week as I look forward to, and start to plan, the Next Time.




Photos will be uploaded to my facebook as soon as I can fight my way through them all. Oh and I'm planning to do a separate write up of the shows (hence their absence in this post) so keep your eyes peeled if you're interested in that :-D