Amsterdam Planning Thoughts

Living, Laughing, Loving

Thoughts of Ireland and Amsterdam...sun on my arms through my window seat. I think about the canals, boathouses, flowers...bicycles, Van Gogh.
The Dutch Spirit - young people everywhere - I feel young.
Leidesplein, Energy, Vitality
Dam Square - a heartbeat.
Trolley's "ding ding" to alert pedestrians/cyclists.
Constant bustle...street performers, shoppers, tourists - take away food, fast food, good food-bad food, baked goods.
Eat and walk
Cameras click, pigeons everywhere, cobblestones, benches, shops
Bars, cafes, outdoor seats - windows to the show
People watching

I'm looking forward to going back to AMS - surrounded by the energy of the city - I feel a sense of calm and peace that is practically indescribable. Bad news is a million miles away. Joie de Vivre is what I feel...

Just thinking about Amsterdam brings me back - I smile widely, honestly.

Soon - I will be there.

Amsterdam in the off-season

I’m planning another trip over in mid March and thought now would be a good time to catch up on my notes from last year’s trip. I have included a few places visited on previous occasions.

Eet & Bierencafes De Beiaard ( Kloveniersburgwal 6-8 ) Amsterdam located in Nieumarkt square. 7 mins walk from Centraal Station
Home of the De Bekeerde Suster (Converted Sister) brewery…this place is an absolute gem in Amsterdam. It offers what I consider as the best bitterballen in the city and it’s Witte Ros is fantastic. The decor is warm with deep woods and earth tones. There are working brew kegs displayed inside the rooms. It is a perfect place for afternoon pints when the Amsterdam rain can be a bit of a deterrence for walking around.

Oriental City Voorburgwal 177-179 Amsterdam located in the RLD
One of my favorite foods is Chinese. Having grown up in Vancouver, Canada one can not avoid the abundance of good Chinese restaurants ( there also some reeeeeally horrible ones also but you won’t find me writing here about those). This brings me to my next great find in Amsterdam…located in the RLD this place is full on a rainy Tuesday afternoon – to be honest this place is always busy with tourists and locals alike. Table service is fast and efficient and our server was accommodating to my friends’ less then adventurous request for fries with curry. The food was piping hot and my friends curry evoked a response very similar to what some other customers may have experienced in the RLD! My dim sum was great and reminded me of Vancouver especially with the rain falling outside of our window seat.
They still have smoking in restaurants so be aware of this when choosing a seat, although smoking is being banned through various countries – The Netherlands has not adopted this law – yet.

A little weight loss

"Woo Hoo"...as my dear Mom would say. I've lost about about 10 pounds now since I've ben running and I've been able to fir into some clothes I've been keeping just for such an occasion - Leather Pants! I know it sounds weird but I've always loved the feel of them ever since I owned my first pair of custom made leathers back when I was in my early 20s. I now have 2 pairs of off the rack cheapos but I adore them. I can now fit into 1 pair and look forward to the second pair within a month.

Back soon.

AP

Travel Planning

So I’m doing one of my favorite activities…planning travel. I’m heading back to Ireland in March. Yes St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland ! What fun this will be. We’re planning from the 12th-24th . I’m secretly hoping to get over to Berlin and London as well…flights from London are dirt cheap if we book far enough in advance. Accommodation will be free in Ireland and England (if we stay with my Aunt in Croydon) . I’ve never been to Berlin and think it would be fun to go for a wee bit of beer drinking.
Since I’m working for a hotel I may not be able to travel again this year since we’re restricted on numerous days off.
I enjoy the planning part almost as much as the travel itself. I look at travel books for the places I intend to visit, learn the language ( “please” and “thank-you” ) goes along way. I see myself as a goodwill ambassador as well. I try to get people to warm up to Americans…our foreign policy has really hurt our standing in the world (IMHO). It amazes me how Americans are viewed with utter disdain in some places. Last year I actually saw a billboard in Croydon that read “Nothing Good has Ever Come out of America” I’ve had so many discussions with people in Ireland, England and Holland regarding our country and president…I’ve fared quite well in convincing people I’ve met that we’re not all war mongering, arrogant(in a bad way), wealthy(in a bad way) loud, stupid people.
I do love going to Europe…the history is amazing and meeting new people is one of my favorite activities.
I’ll be pouring over travel sites, looking for festivals, shows museums of note and my favorite band Aslan to see where they’re playing. March is considered “off-season” so the flights are cheaper and the places are less crowded. I'm trying to get over on miles from my good sister. We'll see.

Very excited right now. :-)