Well I’m at DFW airport waiting to leave for Tokyo. I really don’t understand why I have to be here 2 hours in advance for an international flight. I’m absolutely exhausted and I haven’t even left Dallas yet! This is due to the fact that I’ve gotten 4-6 hours of sleep each night over the last 4 nights… staying out too late, stressing about my flight, stressing about packing, stressing about sleeping through the 2 alarms that I set this morning, and finally feelings of excitement/anticipation. Luckily I have 23 hours to sleep! I decided that Tylonal PM was not going to do it for me this time. Nope, I needed something stronger so I thought I’d give Ambien a try. My British friends tell me that Americans are way too self-medicated. So true. So true. Haha. So I’m armed with my sleeping pills and ready to rock. Mom, I know you warned me that people can die from taking these. Rest assured though that I will not be operating any large machinery while in my Ambien-induced coma. This also got me thinking about death. Statistically speaking, I wonder if I’m increasing my chances of being in a plane crash since I fly so much? Hmm. I guess that’s the risk that I take. Then again, this is how I feel about death.
When it’s my time
Then it’s my time
I’m not really worried
I know where I’m going.
No point in worrying about it. Whether I die at 24 or 104, there’s not much I can do about it… besides preventative measures like a healthy diet, exercise, etc of course.
But if I were to die in the sky
I would just hope it would be quick
And you know what
I think I would die
Happy.
Let’s hope I get to Singapore without any troubles though!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
I'm headed to Singapore!
Welcome back friends and family! In lieu of the most recent events, I will be starting up my blog again. But first, I thought I’d do a quick recap from my last post until now since it's been awhile. Lots of fun-filled adventures to report...
First off, London was amazing. I know I rarely posted updates, but that's because I was so busy having fun! I enjoyed the city so much in fact that I plan on moving there once the opportunity presents itself. Whether that be 6 months from now or 6 years, I do not know. There's just so much to do... salsa dancing, live jazz, amazing architecture, great clubs, Broadway shows, incredible shopping, tons of super fun British people... awesome city. Can't wait to go back.
After returning from London, I hit the beach. And by the beach, I mean the bench. I sat on the sidelines un-staffed for a couple weeks, which was actually a nice change. I found several things to help out with though so by no means was I bored, but I got to enjoy a nice work-life balance. I also had some time-off planned for a lovely trip to New York with some fabulous friends and fellow Deloitters! Nancy was interviewing with Stern so why not make a weekend out of it? I am so proud of her - she is dominating the grad school application process! Here are some pictures from the long weekend:
The shopping tour through the garment district was fabulous... highly recommended. I got some amazing jewelry for a great deal and Elana got, well, a ton of awesome things including a coat from Paris for $200 that retails for $900. Here's the website if you want to go: The Elegant Tightwad
We celebrated Nancy's birthday first with cupcakes from Magnolia's Bakery, and then a night out in NYC that started off at the Comedy Cellar. Minus the fact that the waitress spilled a whole tray of pink drinks all over us and our table, it was a good show. Funny comedians!
Of course after a night of heavy drinking, late-night food at 3am is a must. Elana and I dined at Cafeteria - a 24 hour restaurant that serves absolutely delicious food. I think it's even Rachel Ray recommended.
and a trip to New York would not be complete without seeing Mary! and Katie Egan too! Mary joined Elana and I on Saturday for the Sex and the City tour - a tour that takes you all over New York pointing out scenes from the show and movie, and showing clips as you go. We also hit up a winebar in the Lower East Side called, well, Winebar. Such a creative name. The above picture though is from the beer bar that we went to called Spitzer's. Oh and we had brunch at the Mercer hotel on Sunday... delish!
Ok back to the present. I was asked back to my old project on Saturday and long story short, I leave for Singapore tomorrow morning. 23 hours of flying time plus a 3 hour layover in Tokyo. Definitely the longest flight I've ever taken!
As tradition whenever I leave Dallas for a long period of time, I enjoyed some American things over the weekend… Starbucks, Eatzi's, DRIVING, more Starbucks, etc. I also tried a new frozen yogurt place in Dallas called Yogilicious since Elana had raved about it for umm every day since she's tried it. The website actually calls it a "Dessert Lounge" ooo fancy schmancy. You walk in, self-serve to fro-yo and toppings, and pay by the weight. Check it out if you haven't yet! It's in West Village on the other side of Blackburn.
Well, it was a fun little evening up until we couldn’t find Allison’s car – only to find out that it was towed from my apartment complex! Note-to-self: going to the impound lot at 10pm is not-so-safe. It was in the middle of nowhere where the land is cheap and the boogie monsters are probably hiding behind every tree (or navy blue G35). $144 later, we got blueberry back (yep, that’s her name haha). And we (luckily) made it back to the bubble safe and sound!
Alrighty back to my main point... I am going to Singapore tomorrow and thus, this blog will be the communication link between me and all my fave people back in the states (and/or Europe). I'll have my cell though if there are any big updates where a phone call is necessary! It's just a bit expensive to chat... more so than when I was in Europe. So how did this all come about... well as my mom says, sometimes we need to be careful what we wish for. As many of you know, I started off 2009 with one new year’s resolution. No, it wasn’t to lose weight or eat healthier or budget better like many of the traditional American resolutions. It was to be more spontaneous! I actually do not enjoy being spontaneous since I like to be able to PLAN my every move, but the goal here was to jump completely out of my comfort zone and just enjoy living. living hard. So there I was. Late Saturday afternoon on Valentine's day and my old manager emails me requesting that I fly to Singapore as soon as possible for a previous client, and that I would be there for a month. what? huh? how really am I going to pull this off??? but I have plaaaaans. And that's the thing about being spontaneous, you pretty much don't have plans or you scratch the plans you have for new plans and new adventures. So first I was uncomfortable and unsure, but now that it's sunk in, I'm excited!
I have never been anywhere in the Asia Pacific so this should be quite the adventure. In trying to explain Singapore, one of my friends said it is like “New York on steroids.” Well, I love love love New York so this should be good. And for those of you wondering where exactly Singapore is located on a map, here ya go:
I don't know much about the country, but I do know that it's incredibly safe and incredibly clean. In fact, you can eat off the subway floors. As far as the crime, there is none because there is zero (ZERO) tolerance for anything disrupting the peace. If you bring drugs in, prepare to get hung. If you litter, you'll get caned. If you have a weapon, they'll kill you. The laws are very strict! I hope I don't get caned...
As far as everything else, I don't know much. I didn't even get any Singapore dollars yet. I'm winging it! I do know though that I will be staying here:
Swissotel Stamford
Also, the time difference (from U.S. Central Time) is 14 hours. Yes, I will be half way around the world.
I'll check in with everyone when I get over there!
xo
First off, London was amazing. I know I rarely posted updates, but that's because I was so busy having fun! I enjoyed the city so much in fact that I plan on moving there once the opportunity presents itself. Whether that be 6 months from now or 6 years, I do not know. There's just so much to do... salsa dancing, live jazz, amazing architecture, great clubs, Broadway shows, incredible shopping, tons of super fun British people... awesome city. Can't wait to go back.
After returning from London, I hit the beach. And by the beach, I mean the bench. I sat on the sidelines un-staffed for a couple weeks, which was actually a nice change. I found several things to help out with though so by no means was I bored, but I got to enjoy a nice work-life balance. I also had some time-off planned for a lovely trip to New York with some fabulous friends and fellow Deloitters! Nancy was interviewing with Stern so why not make a weekend out of it? I am so proud of her - she is dominating the grad school application process! Here are some pictures from the long weekend:
The shopping tour through the garment district was fabulous... highly recommended. I got some amazing jewelry for a great deal and Elana got, well, a ton of awesome things including a coat from Paris for $200 that retails for $900. Here's the website if you want to go: The Elegant Tightwad
We celebrated Nancy's birthday first with cupcakes from Magnolia's Bakery, and then a night out in NYC that started off at the Comedy Cellar. Minus the fact that the waitress spilled a whole tray of pink drinks all over us and our table, it was a good show. Funny comedians!
Of course after a night of heavy drinking, late-night food at 3am is a must. Elana and I dined at Cafeteria - a 24 hour restaurant that serves absolutely delicious food. I think it's even Rachel Ray recommended.
and a trip to New York would not be complete without seeing Mary! and Katie Egan too! Mary joined Elana and I on Saturday for the Sex and the City tour - a tour that takes you all over New York pointing out scenes from the show and movie, and showing clips as you go. We also hit up a winebar in the Lower East Side called, well, Winebar. Such a creative name. The above picture though is from the beer bar that we went to called Spitzer's. Oh and we had brunch at the Mercer hotel on Sunday... delish!
Ok back to the present. I was asked back to my old project on Saturday and long story short, I leave for Singapore tomorrow morning. 23 hours of flying time plus a 3 hour layover in Tokyo. Definitely the longest flight I've ever taken!
As tradition whenever I leave Dallas for a long period of time, I enjoyed some American things over the weekend… Starbucks, Eatzi's, DRIVING, more Starbucks, etc. I also tried a new frozen yogurt place in Dallas called Yogilicious since Elana had raved about it for umm every day since she's tried it. The website actually calls it a "Dessert Lounge" ooo fancy schmancy. You walk in, self-serve to fro-yo and toppings, and pay by the weight. Check it out if you haven't yet! It's in West Village on the other side of Blackburn.
Well, it was a fun little evening up until we couldn’t find Allison’s car – only to find out that it was towed from my apartment complex! Note-to-self: going to the impound lot at 10pm is not-so-safe. It was in the middle of nowhere where the land is cheap and the boogie monsters are probably hiding behind every tree (or navy blue G35). $144 later, we got blueberry back (yep, that’s her name haha). And we (luckily) made it back to the bubble safe and sound!
Alrighty back to my main point... I am going to Singapore tomorrow and thus, this blog will be the communication link between me and all my fave people back in the states (and/or Europe). I'll have my cell though if there are any big updates where a phone call is necessary! It's just a bit expensive to chat... more so than when I was in Europe. So how did this all come about... well as my mom says, sometimes we need to be careful what we wish for. As many of you know, I started off 2009 with one new year’s resolution. No, it wasn’t to lose weight or eat healthier or budget better like many of the traditional American resolutions. It was to be more spontaneous! I actually do not enjoy being spontaneous since I like to be able to PLAN my every move, but the goal here was to jump completely out of my comfort zone and just enjoy living. living hard. So there I was. Late Saturday afternoon on Valentine's day and my old manager emails me requesting that I fly to Singapore as soon as possible for a previous client, and that I would be there for a month. what? huh? how really am I going to pull this off??? but I have plaaaaans. And that's the thing about being spontaneous, you pretty much don't have plans or you scratch the plans you have for new plans and new adventures. So first I was uncomfortable and unsure, but now that it's sunk in, I'm excited!
I have never been anywhere in the Asia Pacific so this should be quite the adventure. In trying to explain Singapore, one of my friends said it is like “New York on steroids.” Well, I love love love New York so this should be good. And for those of you wondering where exactly Singapore is located on a map, here ya go:
I don't know much about the country, but I do know that it's incredibly safe and incredibly clean. In fact, you can eat off the subway floors. As far as the crime, there is none because there is zero (ZERO) tolerance for anything disrupting the peace. If you bring drugs in, prepare to get hung. If you litter, you'll get caned. If you have a weapon, they'll kill you. The laws are very strict! I hope I don't get caned...
As far as everything else, I don't know much. I didn't even get any Singapore dollars yet. I'm winging it! I do know though that I will be staying here:
Swissotel Stamford
Also, the time difference (from U.S. Central Time) is 14 hours. Yes, I will be half way around the world.
I'll check in with everyone when I get over there!
xo
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Found the Bench!
A quick update from London... I know I have not been good about letting you all know what I have been up to, where I have been in the city, how much fun I have been having, etc., but rest assured that I have been busy and I am loving it! I got up today and decided I would venture out to find the Hornblow bench. It was quite the treasure hunt. I first thought Grovesner Park was the right park until I realized none of the benches said Hornblow on them and that I really wasn't at the right spot after all. I eventually found it though based on the landmarks that Caroline provided me with. Here is a video I took!
After I found the bench, I walked down Park Lane and toward Knightsbridge. Visited the huge Harvey Nichols and Harrod's sales. Very overwhelming. Sales were good, but a lot of things were still quite expensive (i.e. Burberry purse that I liked: originally $3000, on sale for $1200 or something) haha. So I mainly just window-shopped. I've found that the clothes in London are either really cheap [fabric and cheap-looking] or incredibly expensive. Still searching for that happy medium...
Also - on two different occasions today, people asked me for directions. First, a British lady was looking for the Dorchester. I was able to give her good directions! Then, an American couple approached me and I was able to lead them in the right direction. They wanted to go to the Hard Rock cafe. Typical Americans. haha.
Additionally - visited London Business School yesterday.
It's awesome. I may just be moving to London. First I went to the tour of the school and brief info session - every Monday and Friday at 3pm - found this on the website. It was a small group of about 5 of us. Most had already been given an offer and were just checking out the school. The school is literally 2 tube stops away from my hotel at Marble Arch (had to switch trains once). LBS is relatively small at around 320 people per class size, 25% women, but it would give me the perfect global MBA experience - should that be what I want. So the tour/info session was 1.5 hrs long and then it just so happened that they also had an Admissions meeting later that evening. What are the chances? I think these are offered about 3 times between Jan and May. So I went back for the Admissions meeting where they talked about getting in, had a short mock class on Fixed Income, had a panel of 5 current students and alum, and a Q&A. So for the panel, there is a a German girl, an Italian guy, a girl from Holland, a guy from the U.S., and a British guy. We get into the panel and the American guy mentions that he went to a small college in MN for undergrad - St. Olaf!! He then moved to NYC for work, and is now in his first year at LBS. Seems like a great school. The average age though is a little higher than schools in the U.S. at around 29. And it would be more expensive than any other school I'm looking at in the U.S. Ok gotta get going... ttyl!
After I found the bench, I walked down Park Lane and toward Knightsbridge. Visited the huge Harvey Nichols and Harrod's sales. Very overwhelming. Sales were good, but a lot of things were still quite expensive (i.e. Burberry purse that I liked: originally $3000, on sale for $1200 or something) haha. So I mainly just window-shopped. I've found that the clothes in London are either really cheap [fabric and cheap-looking] or incredibly expensive. Still searching for that happy medium...
Also - on two different occasions today, people asked me for directions. First, a British lady was looking for the Dorchester. I was able to give her good directions! Then, an American couple approached me and I was able to lead them in the right direction. They wanted to go to the Hard Rock cafe. Typical Americans. haha.
Additionally - visited London Business School yesterday.
It's awesome. I may just be moving to London. First I went to the tour of the school and brief info session - every Monday and Friday at 3pm - found this on the website. It was a small group of about 5 of us. Most had already been given an offer and were just checking out the school. The school is literally 2 tube stops away from my hotel at Marble Arch (had to switch trains once). LBS is relatively small at around 320 people per class size, 25% women, but it would give me the perfect global MBA experience - should that be what I want. So the tour/info session was 1.5 hrs long and then it just so happened that they also had an Admissions meeting later that evening. What are the chances? I think these are offered about 3 times between Jan and May. So I went back for the Admissions meeting where they talked about getting in, had a short mock class on Fixed Income, had a panel of 5 current students and alum, and a Q&A. So for the panel, there is a a German girl, an Italian guy, a girl from Holland, a guy from the U.S., and a British guy. We get into the panel and the American guy mentions that he went to a small college in MN for undergrad - St. Olaf!! He then moved to NYC for work, and is now in his first year at LBS. Seems like a great school. The average age though is a little higher than schools in the U.S. at around 29. And it would be more expensive than any other school I'm looking at in the U.S. Ok gotta get going... ttyl!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
(Another) Change of Plans
I'm staying until Saturday.
Re-booked my flight this morning.
I need more time in London.......
Re-booked my flight this morning.
I need more time in London.......
Saturday Morning.
I am in London!
My morning went a little like this…
.
Alarm went off around 6:15am and I found myself craving a day of sleeping in, but I couldn’t argue with myself since I knew London was only a few hours away.
Was too tired to take the train from Amsterdam into Schipol so I jumped into a cab from the hotel. Or maybe it was my booze-induced headache; whatever. I didn’t feel like schlepping my luggage over in up down and around the station.
I get to the airport way too early, but I guess better too early than too late.
Killed some time in the shops and bought some of my favorite Milka chocolate… the kind with the huge hazelnuts engulfed in a sea of milk chocolate. I was never a chocolate person, but this stuff may make me convert.
Ate chocolate hazelnut deliciousness for breakfast.
Why? Because I felt like it. Haha..
Planned my London arrival in my head.
Find ATM. Get pounds.
Buy 1-way Gatwick Express ticket. Get on Gatwick Express. Double make sure it’s the right train. Keep track of belongings.
Don’t lose passport.
Went to the terminal way ahead of time. Waited for the gate to be announced.
Waited.
Waited.
Waited.
There is no seating area. Just a huge crowd of people staring up at this one monitor waiting for the gate to post.
Waited some more.
Finally it posted 25 min. before the flight was due to leave.
Everyone flying to Gatwick took off to the gate like a herd of cattle.
Waited in boarding area like a herd of cattle (no assigned seats since it’s one of those discount airlines).
Finally boarded and said good-bye to Amsterdam. Very short flight, under an hour in the air.
Oh and I was able to buy my Gatwick Express ticket on the plane via credit card. 16 pounds. What a deal.
Got into Gatwick. Walked about a mile or more to customs.
Got my passport stamped!
Picked up luggage. Went to South terminal to catch the train. Now here is where I can see that it’s easy to get on the wrong train. Yes, there are signs everywhere saying which train is going where, but when all you’re thinking about is getting to the city to
Eat
Drink Pimms & Lemonade
Shop
See a play
Visit a museum
Get lost in the city
It’s easy for the mind to wander and just step on the wrong train in over-excitement.
Luckily this didn’t happen to me. I asked to be sure and then asked again. I was headed to nonstop Victoria station.
And here I am.
On the Gatwick Express.
Weather is cold. As in -7 degrees Celsius. Whatever that converts to? Very cloudy and foggy. Feels a tad warmer than Amsterdam though.
I’ll try to find some Wi-Fi somewhere around my hotel to post this.
More to come!
Xo
L
My morning went a little like this…
.
Alarm went off around 6:15am and I found myself craving a day of sleeping in, but I couldn’t argue with myself since I knew London was only a few hours away.
Was too tired to take the train from Amsterdam into Schipol so I jumped into a cab from the hotel. Or maybe it was my booze-induced headache; whatever. I didn’t feel like schlepping my luggage over in up down and around the station.
I get to the airport way too early, but I guess better too early than too late.
Killed some time in the shops and bought some of my favorite Milka chocolate… the kind with the huge hazelnuts engulfed in a sea of milk chocolate. I was never a chocolate person, but this stuff may make me convert.
Ate chocolate hazelnut deliciousness for breakfast.
Why? Because I felt like it. Haha..
Planned my London arrival in my head.
Find ATM. Get pounds.
Buy 1-way Gatwick Express ticket. Get on Gatwick Express. Double make sure it’s the right train. Keep track of belongings.
Don’t lose passport.
Went to the terminal way ahead of time. Waited for the gate to be announced.
Waited.
Waited.
Waited.
There is no seating area. Just a huge crowd of people staring up at this one monitor waiting for the gate to post.
Waited some more.
Finally it posted 25 min. before the flight was due to leave.
Everyone flying to Gatwick took off to the gate like a herd of cattle.
Waited in boarding area like a herd of cattle (no assigned seats since it’s one of those discount airlines).
Finally boarded and said good-bye to Amsterdam. Very short flight, under an hour in the air.
Oh and I was able to buy my Gatwick Express ticket on the plane via credit card. 16 pounds. What a deal.
Got into Gatwick. Walked about a mile or more to customs.
Got my passport stamped!
Picked up luggage. Went to South terminal to catch the train. Now here is where I can see that it’s easy to get on the wrong train. Yes, there are signs everywhere saying which train is going where, but when all you’re thinking about is getting to the city to
Eat
Drink Pimms & Lemonade
Shop
See a play
Visit a museum
Get lost in the city
It’s easy for the mind to wander and just step on the wrong train in over-excitement.
Luckily this didn’t happen to me. I asked to be sure and then asked again. I was headed to nonstop Victoria station.
And here I am.
On the Gatwick Express.
Weather is cold. As in -7 degrees Celsius. Whatever that converts to? Very cloudy and foggy. Feels a tad warmer than Amsterdam though.
I’ll try to find some Wi-Fi somewhere around my hotel to post this.
More to come!
Xo
L
Friday, January 9, 2009
Last Day in Amsterdam
Last night in Amsterdam so I'm going out with some colleagues and then I head to London tomorrow!! At first I thought 5 days in London may be a little bit much all by my lonesome, but now I'm thinking it's not enough! I'm flying on a discount airline called EasyJet so hopefully that gets me (and my luggage) to Gatwick without problems. Luckily for me, Aunt Caroline has given me the 411 on how to get from Gatwick to my hotel off Park Lane without having to take out a small loan for a taxi (the Marriott website recommended a taxi). I'll be flying out of Heathrow back to the U.S. so that will be much closer and convenient. Anyway, not much time for a post tonight as I have one last call in 30 minutes with some folks in the U.S., and then I have a week off to myself. Also, not sure how the wi-fi situation will work out so I'll try to keep yall updated, but no promises until I arrive and scope out the situation. I've been paying 20 euro a day on the client's dime for internet, but on my own dime, I think I'll pass. haha. In any event, I have my iPod touch so if I do find wi-fi, I can at least check my Gmail if anyone wants to email me!
So I'm still not sure exactally what I'll be wandering around doing, but I found this list of 101 things to do to help get me started (in addition to lots of great suggestions from C). Like I said, I've already done a lot of these 4 years ago, but some might be fun to go back to. Here's the list:
1. Visit the Big Ben.
2. Photograph the Thames River.
3. Take a river cruise on the Thames.
4. Visit the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. You can take a river cruise to get there!
5. Ride on the London Eye, the largest ferris wheel in the world.
6. Stop by Grosvenor Square.
7. Immerse yourself in culture at the British Museum.
8. Watch a Broadway show.
9. Buy gifts for friends and family at the over 300 shops located on Oxford Street.
10. Stroll down The Mall, a road that leads to the Buckingham Palace.
11. Visit the Buckingham Palace.
12. Experience the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
13. Hike up the geometric staircase at a St. Paul's Cathedral tour.
14. Take a bus through one of London's largest transportation hubs: Victoria Station.
15. Pub much? Be sure to visit one of the J.D Wetherspoon chain pubs.
16. Take the London Underground: These trains have cushioned seats and there's a nice LED display overhead that gives riders the estimated time for the next train.
17. Make sure to "mind the gap."
18. Go on the Circle Line ... in a circle. (I did this in college.)
19. Witness the fountains in Trafalgar Square, or photograph the great Christmas tree that is erected during the winter
20. Tour the Tower of London, where you can see the very precious Crown Jewels.
21. Find out where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown lives: 10 Downing Street. Visit his residence.
22. Sherlock Holmes fan? Visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
23. See hundreds of books, writings, and photographs related to the Holocaust at the Wiener Library.
24. Be amazed when you visit Stonehenge, which is outside the city.
25. Grab lunch at the Porter's English Restaurant (17 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden).
26. Enjoy the scenic nightlife in Piccadilly Circus, which is likened to the Times Square of England.
27. ...and spend some time with the teenager in you at the Funland or Golden Nugget Casino located within Trocadero. The centre is packed with dining and other entertainmnent venues as well.
28. Visit the global headquarters of Reuters at Canary Wharf.
29. At the Victoria and Albert Museum, walk through rooms filled with ceramic and glass designs, as well as beautiful paintings.
30. Take the family and have a picnic in Battersea Park.
31. ...then take the kids to the Battersea Park Children's Zoo.
32. Experience the diversity of the Golders Green borough, with a mix of Kosher, Japanese, Turkish, and Italian restaurants.
33. Get seen on the London cam.
34. Check out Belgravia's beautiful streets of townhouses and famous embassies.
35. Go shopping at Harrod's in Belgravia.
36. ...and sample some ale at the Grenadier pub in Belgravia after you finished shopping (18 Wilton Row).
37. Stop through Bayswater.
38. Explore the galleries at the National Army Museum.
39. Set aside at least two hours to explore the extravagantly decorated rooms at the St. George's Chapel in the Windsor Castle.
40. Witness Evensong at the Windsor Castle. (Be sure to check the schedule!)
41. Embrace the vastness of Queen Mary's Dolls' House, which is also located inside the Windsor Castle.
42. Check out the wax sculptures at the Madame Tussaud's museum.
43. Step through the academic city by stopping in Bloomsbury.
44. ...then enjoy the lunch you packed for your trip at Bloomsbury's nearby Russell Square.
45. Absorb the history of Covent Garden in central London.
46. Wake up early and experience the local flavor of Spitalfields and be sure to check out the fruit and vegetable market!
47. While in the Spitalfields area, go to Dennis Severs' House.
48. Explore the city by water (and in comfort) by taking a lunch or dinner cruise.
49. Learn about the Bank of England at its museum.
50. Set your sights on the beautiful architecture at Westminster Abbey.
51. ...and be sure not to leave without viewing the monuments at Poets' Corner.
52. Relive the life of The Beatles.
53. See a show at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
54. Buy your children toys from Hamleys Toy Store.
55. Go to Hampstead Heath to see the city from afar.
56. Catch a movie premiere at the cinema in Leicester Square.
57. Take a train to Dover, and witness the famous White Cliffs.
58. Witness the protestors at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, and take a guided tour or attend the London's fair during the winter holidays.
59. Prepapre for an expensive dinner at the highly regarded Michael Moore restaurant (19 Blandford Street).
60. Stroll down Whitehall.
61. Contrast the city lifestyle to the village life in Canterbury, home of Geoffrey Chaucer's famous tales.
62. See where the Mayor of London lives: City Hall.
63. Get overwhelmed by the massive monuments at the London Wall.
64. Photograph one of the many red phone booths on the city streets.
65. Read a book at one of London's specialized libraries.
66. If you're in London between March and October, check out Legoland Windsor with the kids.
67. Book a night for a show at the London Palladium Theatre.
68. Step into royal history at the Hampton Court Palace.
69. Enjoy an organic meal at the Lavendar Lady restaurant (644 High Road, North Finchley).
70. Stroll around the aisles in the National Gallery and see some of the greatest European artwork.
71. Wine and dine at the House on the Bridge Restaurant.
72. Take advantage of free admission to the Science Museum.
73. Pay tribute to the late princess Diana by visiting the Diana Memorial Playground where you can dash by teepees, see a pirate ship, and then enjoy a light meal at a cafe.
74. Relax and have a drink at the Salisbury Pub (90 St. Martin's Lane).
75. See the city on a Original London Sightseeing Tour: book your ticket (which includes a free cruise) online at a discounted rate.
76. Watch a judicial hearing at the UK Parliament.
77. When it reopens (Summer 2007), walk through the newly transformed London's Transport Museum.
78. See the animals at London Zoo.
79. Ride in a traditional London black cab.
80. Shop at the elegant Burlington Arcade, which has its history dating back to 1819.
81. See where Princes William and Harry went to school by stopping in Eton.
82. Be up close to The Da Vinci Code movie and explore the Temple Church.
83. Relive the Harry Potter books and movies by stopping at Platform 9 3/4 in the Kings Cross station.
84. See the exhibitions at Tate Modern, a museum of international modern and contemporary art.
85. Get spooked at the London Dungeon.
86. Visit the Notting Hill district.
87. Take the kids to a puppet show at the Little Angel Theatre.
88. Sample some Italian food at Carluccios.
89. Feed the ducks at St. James's Park.
90. Cross the River Thames on the Millennium Bridge.
91. Read Charles Dickens much? Take a Charles Dickens Museum stop to see paintings, manuscripts, and more memorabilia relating to the famous author.
92. Explore Chinatown at night.
93. Plan an adventure at Chesssington, one of England's most famous theme parks (it's 12 miles outside of London!)
94. Eat lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (150 Old Park Lane).
95. Take a tour of Wimbledon, even if you don't love tennis!
96. Go to Bath and see the magnificent Roman bathing complexes that give the city its name.
97. Enjoy the culture at the Somerset House.
98. Feel scholarly after taking a trip to Oxford.
99. Buy some Cadbury sweets.
100. Watch a live Gilbert and Sullivan operetta performance at the historical Savoy Theatre.
101. Buy a London Pass for more tips and discounted rates!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
So I'm still not sure exactally what I'll be wandering around doing, but I found this list of 101 things to do to help get me started (in addition to lots of great suggestions from C). Like I said, I've already done a lot of these 4 years ago, but some might be fun to go back to. Here's the list:
1. Visit the Big Ben.
2. Photograph the Thames River.
3. Take a river cruise on the Thames.
4. Visit the Prime Meridian at the Royal Observatory and the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. You can take a river cruise to get there!
5. Ride on the London Eye, the largest ferris wheel in the world.
6. Stop by Grosvenor Square.
7. Immerse yourself in culture at the British Museum.
8. Watch a Broadway show.
9. Buy gifts for friends and family at the over 300 shops located on Oxford Street.
10. Stroll down The Mall, a road that leads to the Buckingham Palace.
11. Visit the Buckingham Palace.
12. Experience the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
13. Hike up the geometric staircase at a St. Paul's Cathedral tour.
14. Take a bus through one of London's largest transportation hubs: Victoria Station.
15. Pub much? Be sure to visit one of the J.D Wetherspoon chain pubs.
16. Take the London Underground: These trains have cushioned seats and there's a nice LED display overhead that gives riders the estimated time for the next train.
17. Make sure to "mind the gap."
18. Go on the Circle Line ... in a circle. (I did this in college.)
19. Witness the fountains in Trafalgar Square, or photograph the great Christmas tree that is erected during the winter
20. Tour the Tower of London, where you can see the very precious Crown Jewels.
21. Find out where British Prime Minister Gordon Brown lives: 10 Downing Street. Visit his residence.
22. Sherlock Holmes fan? Visit the Sherlock Holmes Museum.
23. See hundreds of books, writings, and photographs related to the Holocaust at the Wiener Library.
24. Be amazed when you visit Stonehenge, which is outside the city.
25. Grab lunch at the Porter's English Restaurant (17 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden).
26. Enjoy the scenic nightlife in Piccadilly Circus, which is likened to the Times Square of England.
27. ...and spend some time with the teenager in you at the Funland or Golden Nugget Casino located within Trocadero. The centre is packed with dining and other entertainmnent venues as well.
28. Visit the global headquarters of Reuters at Canary Wharf.
29. At the Victoria and Albert Museum, walk through rooms filled with ceramic and glass designs, as well as beautiful paintings.
30. Take the family and have a picnic in Battersea Park.
31. ...then take the kids to the Battersea Park Children's Zoo.
32. Experience the diversity of the Golders Green borough, with a mix of Kosher, Japanese, Turkish, and Italian restaurants.
33. Get seen on the London cam.
34. Check out Belgravia's beautiful streets of townhouses and famous embassies.
35. Go shopping at Harrod's in Belgravia.
36. ...and sample some ale at the Grenadier pub in Belgravia after you finished shopping (18 Wilton Row).
37. Stop through Bayswater.
38. Explore the galleries at the National Army Museum.
39. Set aside at least two hours to explore the extravagantly decorated rooms at the St. George's Chapel in the Windsor Castle.
40. Witness Evensong at the Windsor Castle. (Be sure to check the schedule!)
41. Embrace the vastness of Queen Mary's Dolls' House, which is also located inside the Windsor Castle.
42. Check out the wax sculptures at the Madame Tussaud's museum.
43. Step through the academic city by stopping in Bloomsbury.
44. ...then enjoy the lunch you packed for your trip at Bloomsbury's nearby Russell Square.
45. Absorb the history of Covent Garden in central London.
46. Wake up early and experience the local flavor of Spitalfields and be sure to check out the fruit and vegetable market!
47. While in the Spitalfields area, go to Dennis Severs' House.
48. Explore the city by water (and in comfort) by taking a lunch or dinner cruise.
49. Learn about the Bank of England at its museum.
50. Set your sights on the beautiful architecture at Westminster Abbey.
51. ...and be sure not to leave without viewing the monuments at Poets' Corner.
52. Relive the life of The Beatles.
53. See a show at the Shakespeare's Globe Theatre.
54. Buy your children toys from Hamleys Toy Store.
55. Go to Hampstead Heath to see the city from afar.
56. Catch a movie premiere at the cinema in Leicester Square.
57. Take a train to Dover, and witness the famous White Cliffs.
58. Witness the protestors at Speaker's Corner in Hyde Park, and take a guided tour or attend the London's fair during the winter holidays.
59. Prepapre for an expensive dinner at the highly regarded Michael Moore restaurant (19 Blandford Street).
60. Stroll down Whitehall.
61. Contrast the city lifestyle to the village life in Canterbury, home of Geoffrey Chaucer's famous tales.
62. See where the Mayor of London lives: City Hall.
63. Get overwhelmed by the massive monuments at the London Wall.
64. Photograph one of the many red phone booths on the city streets.
65. Read a book at one of London's specialized libraries.
66. If you're in London between March and October, check out Legoland Windsor with the kids.
67. Book a night for a show at the London Palladium Theatre.
68. Step into royal history at the Hampton Court Palace.
69. Enjoy an organic meal at the Lavendar Lady restaurant (644 High Road, North Finchley).
70. Stroll around the aisles in the National Gallery and see some of the greatest European artwork.
71. Wine and dine at the House on the Bridge Restaurant.
72. Take advantage of free admission to the Science Museum.
73. Pay tribute to the late princess Diana by visiting the Diana Memorial Playground where you can dash by teepees, see a pirate ship, and then enjoy a light meal at a cafe.
74. Relax and have a drink at the Salisbury Pub (90 St. Martin's Lane).
75. See the city on a Original London Sightseeing Tour: book your ticket (which includes a free cruise) online at a discounted rate.
76. Watch a judicial hearing at the UK Parliament.
77. When it reopens (Summer 2007), walk through the newly transformed London's Transport Museum.
78. See the animals at London Zoo.
79. Ride in a traditional London black cab.
80. Shop at the elegant Burlington Arcade, which has its history dating back to 1819.
81. See where Princes William and Harry went to school by stopping in Eton.
82. Be up close to The Da Vinci Code movie and explore the Temple Church.
83. Relive the Harry Potter books and movies by stopping at Platform 9 3/4 in the Kings Cross station.
84. See the exhibitions at Tate Modern, a museum of international modern and contemporary art.
85. Get spooked at the London Dungeon.
86. Visit the Notting Hill district.
87. Take the kids to a puppet show at the Little Angel Theatre.
88. Sample some Italian food at Carluccios.
89. Feed the ducks at St. James's Park.
90. Cross the River Thames on the Millennium Bridge.
91. Read Charles Dickens much? Take a Charles Dickens Museum stop to see paintings, manuscripts, and more memorabilia relating to the famous author.
92. Explore Chinatown at night.
93. Plan an adventure at Chesssington, one of England's most famous theme parks (it's 12 miles outside of London!)
94. Eat lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (150 Old Park Lane).
95. Take a tour of Wimbledon, even if you don't love tennis!
96. Go to Bath and see the magnificent Roman bathing complexes that give the city its name.
97. Enjoy the culture at the Somerset House.
98. Feel scholarly after taking a trip to Oxford.
99. Buy some Cadbury sweets.
100. Watch a live Gilbert and Sullivan operetta performance at the historical Savoy Theatre.
101. Buy a London Pass for more tips and discounted rates!
Have a great weekend everyone!!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Change of Plans
Surprised? Me neither. But before I go into what the next few weeks holds, here’s a quick update from the past two days…
I got all caught up on sleep the first night and have enjoyed feeling well-rested so honestly, I have not so much been up for going out in the city. I want to take advantage of being in Amsterdam of course, but it’s been so cold so I’d rather be in bed at a decent time, and not curse my alarm clock when it rings at 6:30am for work. So with that said, my update isn’t too exciting. We’ve been working until around 7pm, then taking the 7:30pm train back to the city so we don’t really get back until a little after 8pm. Tuesday, 4 of us Deloitters went out for a Mediterranean dinner. Mediterranean is one of my favorite cuisines! I love hummus, the yogurt-based cucumber sauces, the greek vinaigrette flavors, pita bread, etc. I was very tempted to get the chicken dish, but decided to go for the yoghurt and grilled lamb entrée on top of a pita. It was dark meat, but quite tender oval strips of grilled lamb on top of pitas and a little bit of tomato-based sauce with yoghurt dipping sauces on the side, with an authentic hummus appetizer. We also tried a Turkish alcoholic drink called Raki. It tastes kind of like Sambuca and black licorice. In Turkey, raki is the unofficial 'national drink' and it is traditionally drunk mixed with water. The dilution causes this alcoholic drink to turn a milky-white color, and possibly because of its color, this mixture is popularly called aslan sütü (or arslan sütü), literally meaning "lion's milk" (Wikipedia). So we drank some lion’s milk… and it wasn’t very good (not sweet enough for me), but I tried it.
Wednesday was business as usual. Not much to report here. Oh I did run into one of my friends on the train that I had met back in December. We randomly got to talking last time and he was telling me all about his move from Mirabella (France) to Holland. It’s very interesting learning about the difference in schooling, culture, etc., and he speaks about 5 languages. Anyway, I pretty much worked all day Wednesday, got back to Amsterdam around 8:15pm, walked by my favorite soup place, picked up some soup, went back to my lovely hotel, did some research for a new project, and went to bed.
Ok now onto the latest updates on my travel plans. Basically, a lot has changed! I was originally planning on being here for 2 weeks, then traveling to Barcelona, then flying to London, then flying back to the U.S. on 1/21. Well, we are ahead of schedule so we were all asked to move our flights to this Saturday, and then plan to be in Santa Clara next week. I am determined to go to London so I explained my former plan to my manager’s manager and asked if I could at least take Monday off and then go to London Saturday-Tuesday, and then fly directly to Santa Clara from Heathrow on late Monday or early Tuesday. Well she proposed that I just move my vacation week (scheduled for 1/19) up one week and then go to Santa Clara the following week (1/26). Yay. That means I get to go to London! I am skipping Barcelona since my colleagues are no longer going. So I am headed to London on Saturday… flying out of Amsterdam on Saturday morning 9am, and staying until 1pm on Wednesday, so about 5 days. Looks like I will be making friends when I get there. Since it’s kind of last minute planning, I’ll most definitely be flying by the seat of my pants, but I do know that I will be staying at the Marriott on Park Lane (and using 110,000 Marriott points!). So I’ll get back late Wednesday evening next week, then I have a meeting with a partner in Irving the following day, and I need to look for a new project, then I’ll get to enjoy the long weekend (MLK on Monday) and get caught up on sleep. On that Tuesday after MLK, I head back to Santa Clara for my final week on Sun. I rolloff the project for good on 1/23 and it looks like I may be un-staffed for awhile… not sure if that means 2 weeks or 2 months or more…
I got all caught up on sleep the first night and have enjoyed feeling well-rested so honestly, I have not so much been up for going out in the city. I want to take advantage of being in Amsterdam of course, but it’s been so cold so I’d rather be in bed at a decent time, and not curse my alarm clock when it rings at 6:30am for work. So with that said, my update isn’t too exciting. We’ve been working until around 7pm, then taking the 7:30pm train back to the city so we don’t really get back until a little after 8pm. Tuesday, 4 of us Deloitters went out for a Mediterranean dinner. Mediterranean is one of my favorite cuisines! I love hummus, the yogurt-based cucumber sauces, the greek vinaigrette flavors, pita bread, etc. I was very tempted to get the chicken dish, but decided to go for the yoghurt and grilled lamb entrée on top of a pita. It was dark meat, but quite tender oval strips of grilled lamb on top of pitas and a little bit of tomato-based sauce with yoghurt dipping sauces on the side, with an authentic hummus appetizer. We also tried a Turkish alcoholic drink called Raki. It tastes kind of like Sambuca and black licorice. In Turkey, raki is the unofficial 'national drink' and it is traditionally drunk mixed with water. The dilution causes this alcoholic drink to turn a milky-white color, and possibly because of its color, this mixture is popularly called aslan sütü (or arslan sütü), literally meaning "lion's milk" (Wikipedia). So we drank some lion’s milk… and it wasn’t very good (not sweet enough for me), but I tried it.
Wednesday was business as usual. Not much to report here. Oh I did run into one of my friends on the train that I had met back in December. We randomly got to talking last time and he was telling me all about his move from Mirabella (France) to Holland. It’s very interesting learning about the difference in schooling, culture, etc., and he speaks about 5 languages. Anyway, I pretty much worked all day Wednesday, got back to Amsterdam around 8:15pm, walked by my favorite soup place, picked up some soup, went back to my lovely hotel, did some research for a new project, and went to bed.
Ok now onto the latest updates on my travel plans. Basically, a lot has changed! I was originally planning on being here for 2 weeks, then traveling to Barcelona, then flying to London, then flying back to the U.S. on 1/21. Well, we are ahead of schedule so we were all asked to move our flights to this Saturday, and then plan to be in Santa Clara next week. I am determined to go to London so I explained my former plan to my manager’s manager and asked if I could at least take Monday off and then go to London Saturday-Tuesday, and then fly directly to Santa Clara from Heathrow on late Monday or early Tuesday. Well she proposed that I just move my vacation week (scheduled for 1/19) up one week and then go to Santa Clara the following week (1/26). Yay. That means I get to go to London! I am skipping Barcelona since my colleagues are no longer going. So I am headed to London on Saturday… flying out of Amsterdam on Saturday morning 9am, and staying until 1pm on Wednesday, so about 5 days. Looks like I will be making friends when I get there. Since it’s kind of last minute planning, I’ll most definitely be flying by the seat of my pants, but I do know that I will be staying at the Marriott on Park Lane (and using 110,000 Marriott points!). So I’ll get back late Wednesday evening next week, then I have a meeting with a partner in Irving the following day, and I need to look for a new project, then I’ll get to enjoy the long weekend (MLK on Monday) and get caught up on sleep. On that Tuesday after MLK, I head back to Santa Clara for my final week on Sun. I rolloff the project for good on 1/23 and it looks like I may be un-staffed for awhile… not sure if that means 2 weeks or 2 months or more…
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Uh-MAZE-ing
So I was in a bit of a rush last night, not to mention a state of exhaustion, so I forgot to properly welcome everyone back to my blog. I have returned to Amsterdam for who knows how long, and thus, decided to keep the blog alive for the remainder of my stay here in Holland or wherever else my European travels take me. Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and I hope 2009 is a year full of joy for all! And I guess what better way to kick off the year than a trip to Amsterdam? Granted, it is starting to feel routine flying out here, but I’m hoping this time I will finally get a chance to explore, jump over to the UK, and do what I want to do, un-interrupted by client demands and my inbox. We will see! For now, I am content knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, i.e. I have definitely been confirmed for roll-off on January 16th.
Anyway, Christmas break is over and here I am. In Amsterdam. Again. Remember when I was here a couple months ago and I had small creatures in my hotel room? Well because of the infamous mice that ate my granola bars at the Victoria, I decided to book a different hotel this time around. Let me preface this by saying that I am a hotel snob. Yep, that’s right. I learned early on in my consulting career the difference between good (W Hotel New York) and bad (Best Western, Houston). In both the former and the latter, I faced flight cancellations and had to scramble for an overnight stay until I could get home. So anyway, this time I booked the Marriott Renaissance. I had stayed there back in August a few nights and remembered the nice beds, but that it had been under construction so the entry way was kind of ghetto (read: in an alleyway). Well, the complete renovation has been finished because when I walked into the new glistening lobby, my mouth about dropped. It’s an amazing hotel! Not only was I impressed with the lobby, but it looks as if I have been upgraded to a nicer room (thank you Platinum status), free breakfast every day (thank you again), and free drink coupons for the bar (woo-hoo!). I am finally reaping the benefits of my Marriott loyalty. I stayed 97 nights last year alone (which by the way does not include all my stays at Sheraton properties or Hilton properties… yes, this may be why I am a hotel snob). I will post pics of the hotel later...
Anyway, Christmas break is over and here I am. In Amsterdam. Again. Remember when I was here a couple months ago and I had small creatures in my hotel room? Well because of the infamous mice that ate my granola bars at the Victoria, I decided to book a different hotel this time around. Let me preface this by saying that I am a hotel snob. Yep, that’s right. I learned early on in my consulting career the difference between good (W Hotel New York) and bad (Best Western, Houston). In both the former and the latter, I faced flight cancellations and had to scramble for an overnight stay until I could get home. So anyway, this time I booked the Marriott Renaissance. I had stayed there back in August a few nights and remembered the nice beds, but that it had been under construction so the entry way was kind of ghetto (read: in an alleyway). Well, the complete renovation has been finished because when I walked into the new glistening lobby, my mouth about dropped. It’s an amazing hotel! Not only was I impressed with the lobby, but it looks as if I have been upgraded to a nicer room (thank you Platinum status), free breakfast every day (thank you again), and free drink coupons for the bar (woo-hoo!). I am finally reaping the benefits of my Marriott loyalty. I stayed 97 nights last year alone (which by the way does not include all my stays at Sheraton properties or Hilton properties… yes, this may be why I am a hotel snob). I will post pics of the hotel later...
Monday, January 5, 2009
Here we go again...
I am back! And I am very sleep-deprived… the flight was around 10 hours and quite uncomfortable, but I maybe slept an hour or two. Come to think of it, I believe I have pulled more all-nighters post-college than I did in college! We landed in Amsterdam at 8am local time (1am Central U.S. time). My Deloitte manager happened to be on my flight which was pretty nice since he had already reserved a car for us at Schipol upon arrival. He also informed me that travel plans could be changing, and that we may only be here one week – flying back to the U.S. this weekend and working in Santa Clara next week. This is a problem for 2 reasons… one, have been planning on going to London and two, I packed enough clothes to stay here for several weeks (a girl has got to have options). Had I known I would only be here a week, I would have carried on my luggage and packed extremely light. But, in true [consulting] fashion, we will not know what the next few weeks hold until later in the week. More to come on that. Anyway, I watched the sunrise from the cab ride over to the client, and have managed to make it through the day… somehow… only with 1 redbull. I haven’t been too productive since my eyes have really just been glazing over my computer screen, but hopefully I am at least LOOKING like I’m being productive. Gotta get going for now, but check back for more updates shortly.
Xo Laura
Xo Laura
Monday, December 15, 2008
Belgium.
Well it's Monday again so I thought I'd provide a weekend update. But first, the news of the day... I didn't want to say anything until it was "official" since things change so easily on this project, but now that it's been confirmed, I thought I'd share it with all of you. I will be coming back to the Netherlands in January. I need to be back January 5th to be exact so I'll be flying out on Jan. 4th from the states. As of now, it's only a 2-week stint, but I may extend it a little bit and actually take some vacation days since I currently have 25 in the 'bank.' I'm thinking London, but could be persueded otherwise if any of you will be or want to be in Europe around mid-January. Think about it!! The british pound is not very strong right now which means things are much cheaper there than in previous years. Also, with all my Marriott points, the hotel will probably cost me, well... nothing. Some of my colleagues are considering renting a car and driving through Germany which may be equally as fun. Let me know if anyone has any thoughts on this! And since I'm headed back to the Netherlands in early 2009, I'll most likely be keeping the blog alive so hope you all are still enjoying the updates!
Now, onto the weekend recap...
You know how during the week you can look forward to a weekend of no work, sleeping in, relaxing, and rejuvenation, right? Well my weekend was nothing of the sort. First of all, I worked Saturday, second of all, Sunday night hit and I've never been more tired in my life. So extremely and utterly... exhausted.
So Friday came around and it was a bit of a teaser. It didn't FEEL like Friday since I had to work Saturday, but I ended up going out anyway. ha. Two of my colleagues and I (aka the three Stooges as we are starting to be known as) had plans to hit the one, the only, the hottest club in Amsterdam: JimmyWoo. We had tried before and hadn’t gotten in, but this time, the concierge had made sure we were on the exclusive list. Just to paint the picture, it’s one of those clubs that enjoys it when a bunch of people crowd around the black velvet rope waiting to get let in, only to be turned away for the sake of turning people away. It’s dumb really, but we had heard all about the hype (and especially with both of them being from L.A.), we wanted to see what it was all about. Well we head down to Leidseplein where JimmyWoo is located and lo and behold, we get in. It was a neat club, two levels, great music, lots of people. The club is really neat inside too... lined with hundreds of lightbulbs on the ceiling and walls, and flashing in different patterns. We drank. We danced. We observed the European-ness. It was a good time. We capped off the night with a stop for food at 2am, where we got some delicious kip sharmas, and finally to bed around 3am. Oh a kip sharma is like a pita with chicken inside. I really wasn’t planning on staying out until 3am since it was a work night, but life is about choices, and I was fine with being a bit tired the following day. Plus, the boss had told me that I didn’t need to come in until 10am. I didn't take many pictures at JimmyWoo, but this one illustrates the light-bulb effect that I was talking about:
Saturday morning comes a bit too early and I wake up to gather my belongings and check out. Oh yeah – forgot to mention that we decided to go to Antwerp, Belgium for Saturday night through Sunday. I get my luggage stored away and just bring a small duffle with me to the office so that we can cruise on over to Belgium after work. I decide to start a book on my way over to Amersfoort which I'm sure many of you have red: Eat, Pray, Love. It has been on my bookshelf for quite some time, waiting for me to get into the reading mood which is rare for me since (1) I am a terribly slow reader and (2) who has time to read? Well for whatever reason, I was in the mood to bury myself in a book for the train over and I’m really enjoying it so far. Anyway, fast forward through the work day to the evening where the 3 of us get on a train to Antwerp. It was very last minute since we were on the fence about going up until literally Friday night. I had tried to find a hotel and 99% of the hotel rooms in the city were completely booked and those that weren’t booked, were like $400 euro. The only option was to risk it and book a room at the Hilton for $390 euro, hoping that Super Diamond Platinum status would get us upgraded to a suite or something. My initial reaction to the plan was no, but hey you only live once and it’s only one night so... there I was, on a 2 hour train ride to Antwerp. We arrived that evening at the Hilton and to our dismay, there were no suites available to upgrade us to, but we did get an executive room on the executive floor and a roll-away which meant we all each had our own bed (the European standard of 2 twin beds + a roll-away). We pretty much threw our stuff into the room and bee-lined it for the executive lounge (read: complementary open bar) and were able to enjoy some more benefits of being at the top of the Hilton food chain. The rest of the evening was packed with more drinks, first at a Jazz bar, and then at a club in Antwerp (discotech as they're called in Europe). It was neat because one of my colleagues had two friends that recently moved to Antwerp so we met up with them and they knew where to go. We didn’t have an appropriate dinner so somehow decided to eat Falafels at 3am (which is becoming a trend...), which is like a big pita with vegetarian- how do I explain them.. meat-balls? Except they are vegetarian.
The following day, I, being the morning person that I am, got up around 10am and headed out to see the city. The Hilton is located in the heart of the Centrum so I was literally across the street from the massive Cathedral. It was so beautiful inside and out. I’m talking completely ornate, massive, unbelievable. Around 11am, the KerstMarkt opened, also known as the Christmas Market. It’s basically all these portable houses lined up, selling tons of Belgium food and drinks, clothes, Christmas things, etc. It was definitely fun to people watch too. The guys got up around 1am - in time to get checked out and do some more exploring. It's customary to drink a lot on Sunday so we sampled a few of the Belgium liquers in the market called Jenever. They come in all different flavors, in a little shot glass, and I tried the Amaretto... yum. We stayed pretty close to the Cathedral and all the tourist-y areas, but it was really neat to see everyone out and everything decorated for Christmas. Here are some pics:
Antwerp Cathedral of our Lady: Built between 1352 and 1521 as one of the world's tallest buildings at the time. It is one of the finest gothic buildings in Europe.
The Hilton - located right next to all the Christmas markets
Getting our Jenever shots... a very delicious liqueur. Europeans love to drink.
KerstMarkt
The portable houses with the Cathedral in the background
The beautiful Antwerp Centraal train station, decorated for the season
More pictures to come...
I left Antwerp around 6:15pm, enroute to catch the 7pm train back to Amsterdam so that I could get checked back into the Victoria, and catch up on SLEEP!
Now, onto the weekend recap...
You know how during the week you can look forward to a weekend of no work, sleeping in, relaxing, and rejuvenation, right? Well my weekend was nothing of the sort. First of all, I worked Saturday, second of all, Sunday night hit and I've never been more tired in my life. So extremely and utterly... exhausted.
So Friday came around and it was a bit of a teaser. It didn't FEEL like Friday since I had to work Saturday, but I ended up going out anyway. ha. Two of my colleagues and I (aka the three Stooges as we are starting to be known as) had plans to hit the one, the only, the hottest club in Amsterdam: JimmyWoo. We had tried before and hadn’t gotten in, but this time, the concierge had made sure we were on the exclusive list. Just to paint the picture, it’s one of those clubs that enjoys it when a bunch of people crowd around the black velvet rope waiting to get let in, only to be turned away for the sake of turning people away. It’s dumb really, but we had heard all about the hype (and especially with both of them being from L.A.), we wanted to see what it was all about. Well we head down to Leidseplein where JimmyWoo is located and lo and behold, we get in. It was a neat club, two levels, great music, lots of people. The club is really neat inside too... lined with hundreds of lightbulbs on the ceiling and walls, and flashing in different patterns. We drank. We danced. We observed the European-ness. It was a good time. We capped off the night with a stop for food at 2am, where we got some delicious kip sharmas, and finally to bed around 3am. Oh a kip sharma is like a pita with chicken inside. I really wasn’t planning on staying out until 3am since it was a work night, but life is about choices, and I was fine with being a bit tired the following day. Plus, the boss had told me that I didn’t need to come in until 10am. I didn't take many pictures at JimmyWoo, but this one illustrates the light-bulb effect that I was talking about:
Saturday morning comes a bit too early and I wake up to gather my belongings and check out. Oh yeah – forgot to mention that we decided to go to Antwerp, Belgium for Saturday night through Sunday. I get my luggage stored away and just bring a small duffle with me to the office so that we can cruise on over to Belgium after work. I decide to start a book on my way over to Amersfoort which I'm sure many of you have red: Eat, Pray, Love. It has been on my bookshelf for quite some time, waiting for me to get into the reading mood which is rare for me since (1) I am a terribly slow reader and (2) who has time to read? Well for whatever reason, I was in the mood to bury myself in a book for the train over and I’m really enjoying it so far. Anyway, fast forward through the work day to the evening where the 3 of us get on a train to Antwerp. It was very last minute since we were on the fence about going up until literally Friday night. I had tried to find a hotel and 99% of the hotel rooms in the city were completely booked and those that weren’t booked, were like $400 euro. The only option was to risk it and book a room at the Hilton for $390 euro, hoping that Super Diamond Platinum status would get us upgraded to a suite or something. My initial reaction to the plan was no, but hey you only live once and it’s only one night so... there I was, on a 2 hour train ride to Antwerp. We arrived that evening at the Hilton and to our dismay, there were no suites available to upgrade us to, but we did get an executive room on the executive floor and a roll-away which meant we all each had our own bed (the European standard of 2 twin beds + a roll-away). We pretty much threw our stuff into the room and bee-lined it for the executive lounge (read: complementary open bar) and were able to enjoy some more benefits of being at the top of the Hilton food chain. The rest of the evening was packed with more drinks, first at a Jazz bar, and then at a club in Antwerp (discotech as they're called in Europe). It was neat because one of my colleagues had two friends that recently moved to Antwerp so we met up with them and they knew where to go. We didn’t have an appropriate dinner so somehow decided to eat Falafels at 3am (which is becoming a trend...), which is like a big pita with vegetarian- how do I explain them.. meat-balls? Except they are vegetarian.
The following day, I, being the morning person that I am, got up around 10am and headed out to see the city. The Hilton is located in the heart of the Centrum so I was literally across the street from the massive Cathedral. It was so beautiful inside and out. I’m talking completely ornate, massive, unbelievable. Around 11am, the KerstMarkt opened, also known as the Christmas Market. It’s basically all these portable houses lined up, selling tons of Belgium food and drinks, clothes, Christmas things, etc. It was definitely fun to people watch too. The guys got up around 1am - in time to get checked out and do some more exploring. It's customary to drink a lot on Sunday so we sampled a few of the Belgium liquers in the market called Jenever. They come in all different flavors, in a little shot glass, and I tried the Amaretto... yum. We stayed pretty close to the Cathedral and all the tourist-y areas, but it was really neat to see everyone out and everything decorated for Christmas. Here are some pics:
Antwerp Cathedral of our Lady: Built between 1352 and 1521 as one of the world's tallest buildings at the time. It is one of the finest gothic buildings in Europe.
The Hilton - located right next to all the Christmas markets
Getting our Jenever shots... a very delicious liqueur. Europeans love to drink.
KerstMarkt
The portable houses with the Cathedral in the background
The beautiful Antwerp Centraal train station, decorated for the season
More pictures to come...
I left Antwerp around 6:15pm, enroute to catch the 7pm train back to Amsterdam so that I could get checked back into the Victoria, and catch up on SLEEP!
Friday, December 12, 2008
My Nepalese Experience
1 week left!!! At this time next week, I’ll be heading back to the states. Time flies when you’re having fun… and even when you’re not! Haha. (For the record, we are having fun, but it’s not always fun and games… such is life). Truth be told I really can’t believe I’ve survived this long without Starbucks. Yes I miss my bed and I miss my friends and family and car and home, but I have a bed to sleep in (albeit not a very good one, but I am usually too tired to notice) and due to the wonderful world of advanced technology, I am able to get in touch with the people in my life to fulfill that aspect. I have yet to find a substitute for Starbucks though! There is just no replacement here for a giant extra-hot triple-shot vanilla latte. The coffee here comes in one size (small) and in one strength (not strong enough). Ah yes, I long to give my lovely Starbucks gold card some good wear and tear; it has been so lonely in my wallet from not being used! Ok ok I know I talk about Starbucks far too much, but it really has become my make-a-bad-day-better "vice." I mean, wake up late? Case of the Mondays? Missed the train/bus? Bad hair day? No problem. With a $4 latte, you too, can turn that frown upside-down. In just 7 days, I will have access to around 8 starbucks within a 1-mile radius!
Ok I’m off my soap-box. lol. Onto the reason y’all read my blog… travel updates!
Yesterday was pretty unproductive. And that is an understatement. The team in the U.S. decided that the application environment needed to be brought down at the end of their day in order to fix a few things and apply patches. Well, their day-end affects our day-beginning so we got in to work to find out that the environment was not in service. It was only supposed to be down half a day (Europe time), but it ended up that this down-time window kept getting longer. They finally told us to head home around 3:30pm. Needless-to-say, we did not meet our testing targets yesterday, but it was an extremely nice surprise to be able to head back to the city when the sun was still up. My 2 colleagues and I went back to the hotel and all took naps! All this traveling, working hard and then partying hard to compensate for the work/stress/craziness that defines this project was definitely catching up to us. I actually feel like I’m getting a slight cold, so I increased my sleep and tea intake earlier this week to hopefully ward it off. Anyway, we all slept a little while and then woke up in time to head out for a late dinner and perhaps after-dinner adventure.
We bundled up and took the tram to Leidseplein, in search of some good food and drinks. Walked around a bit and settled on a Nepalese restaurant which the other two had eaten at and absolutely loved the first time around. Me, the American girl, was just thinking, I don’t even know where Nepal is on a map?? And I have no idea what is involved in Nepalese food, but I was in a very laid-back mood so I went along with it. It literally felt like I had stepped into Nepal with all the authentic decorations in the little restaurant and it looked as if the owners were sporting clothes straight from Nepal. So my colleagues and I sat down and began discussing the Middle East and it just proved even more how incredibly white American I am. This may be a blanket statement, but I really do think that Americans are clueless when it comes to the rest of the world – the languages, the culture, the traditions, the way of life. Yes, this includes me – I am a bit clueless – but I am learning, and probably the best thing we all can do is to travel! It’s interesting that the U.S. doesn’t really focus on world news, but when you turn on a radio or TV over here, they always start with the world news. And furthermore, most people over here know at least 2 different languages (fluently) as they all grow up speaking multiple languages at once. So we are sitting at dinner and then we start talking about India (they are both 100% Indian, but now live in L.A. – one is a U.S. citizen and one is an Americanized Indian although not a citizen), and it dawns on me that the U.S. was originally populated by Indians. Now granted, I was not exactly born with the gift of remembering history (or geography for that matter), so once I brought this up, it pretty much proved my ignorance. I started remembering the story though… 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He planned on reaching India so when he hit America, he thought it was India and thus, called the people that inhabited it, Indians (ok now that you mention it, U.S. History 101 is coming back...). And Laura the politically correct term these days is Native American. Gosh I am so blonde. For the record, Native Americans and Indians are unrelated. So back to the food. It was good – a mix between Indian and Chinese palettes since (as I found out), Nepal is between India and China.
I tried a little of (almost) everything including the Nepalese cocktail.
Post-dinner plans entailed a Jazz bar across the street. I had read about it and wanted to check it out so we headed over and it was actually quite crowded. It was a narrow, dark bar with plenty of locals, but a good spot to have a drink, enjoy the scene, do a little people-watching, and then head back to the Victoria.
----
For entertainment, some work photos:
Yes, this project makes us all a little border-line crazy at times!
Ok I’m off my soap-box. lol. Onto the reason y’all read my blog… travel updates!
Yesterday was pretty unproductive. And that is an understatement. The team in the U.S. decided that the application environment needed to be brought down at the end of their day in order to fix a few things and apply patches. Well, their day-end affects our day-beginning so we got in to work to find out that the environment was not in service. It was only supposed to be down half a day (Europe time), but it ended up that this down-time window kept getting longer. They finally told us to head home around 3:30pm. Needless-to-say, we did not meet our testing targets yesterday, but it was an extremely nice surprise to be able to head back to the city when the sun was still up. My 2 colleagues and I went back to the hotel and all took naps! All this traveling, working hard and then partying hard to compensate for the work/stress/craziness that defines this project was definitely catching up to us. I actually feel like I’m getting a slight cold, so I increased my sleep and tea intake earlier this week to hopefully ward it off. Anyway, we all slept a little while and then woke up in time to head out for a late dinner and perhaps after-dinner adventure.
We bundled up and took the tram to Leidseplein, in search of some good food and drinks. Walked around a bit and settled on a Nepalese restaurant which the other two had eaten at and absolutely loved the first time around. Me, the American girl, was just thinking, I don’t even know where Nepal is on a map?? And I have no idea what is involved in Nepalese food, but I was in a very laid-back mood so I went along with it. It literally felt like I had stepped into Nepal with all the authentic decorations in the little restaurant and it looked as if the owners were sporting clothes straight from Nepal. So my colleagues and I sat down and began discussing the Middle East and it just proved even more how incredibly white American I am. This may be a blanket statement, but I really do think that Americans are clueless when it comes to the rest of the world – the languages, the culture, the traditions, the way of life. Yes, this includes me – I am a bit clueless – but I am learning, and probably the best thing we all can do is to travel! It’s interesting that the U.S. doesn’t really focus on world news, but when you turn on a radio or TV over here, they always start with the world news. And furthermore, most people over here know at least 2 different languages (fluently) as they all grow up speaking multiple languages at once. So we are sitting at dinner and then we start talking about India (they are both 100% Indian, but now live in L.A. – one is a U.S. citizen and one is an Americanized Indian although not a citizen), and it dawns on me that the U.S. was originally populated by Indians. Now granted, I was not exactly born with the gift of remembering history (or geography for that matter), so once I brought this up, it pretty much proved my ignorance. I started remembering the story though… 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. He planned on reaching India so when he hit America, he thought it was India and thus, called the people that inhabited it, Indians (ok now that you mention it, U.S. History 101 is coming back...). And Laura the politically correct term these days is Native American. Gosh I am so blonde. For the record, Native Americans and Indians are unrelated. So back to the food. It was good – a mix between Indian and Chinese palettes since (as I found out), Nepal is between India and China.
I tried a little of (almost) everything including the Nepalese cocktail.
Post-dinner plans entailed a Jazz bar across the street. I had read about it and wanted to check it out so we headed over and it was actually quite crowded. It was a narrow, dark bar with plenty of locals, but a good spot to have a drink, enjoy the scene, do a little people-watching, and then head back to the Victoria.
----
For entertainment, some work photos:
Yes, this project makes us all a little border-line crazy at times!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
An Amsterdam First
Tuesday night, I did something that I had not done in a
Long
Long
Long
Time.
Drum roll please.
I worked out.
Granted it was not the best of efforts since there was only 1 treadmill which was being hogged the whole time I was there (learn some gym etiquette people!), but it was an attempt nonetheless. I really can’t remember the last time I went to the gym which is sad since I used to be a gym rat. It did feel good to get back in there, lifting some weights, and getting my heart rate up. However, I still longed for a breezy run outdoors or a blade down the katy trail, hair blowing in the fresh air. The gym wasn’t bad though considering that it was after all a hotel gym. I paid the $13.5 euro to get in (ugh) and racked my brain, trying to remember the ol’ gym routine. The weights really threw me off though since they were not in pounds. Kilograms maybe? All I know is that what I lift in pounds was much more than the number on the weights that I lifted. Or maybe my muscles have shrunk considerably!
In other news…
We were told Saturday is a work day.
Not sure yet if that means I have to work.
We were also told that Friday, Dec. 19th is a work day.
I am flying back that day. In the morning.
We were asked to look into changing our flight for the following day.
Really?
No, REALLLLLLLY?
I’m going to pretend that conversation never happened.
This Saturday may be a work day, but I am going to Belgium Saturday evening - Sunday!
Long
Long
Long
Time.
Drum roll please.
I worked out.
Granted it was not the best of efforts since there was only 1 treadmill which was being hogged the whole time I was there (learn some gym etiquette people!), but it was an attempt nonetheless. I really can’t remember the last time I went to the gym which is sad since I used to be a gym rat. It did feel good to get back in there, lifting some weights, and getting my heart rate up. However, I still longed for a breezy run outdoors or a blade down the katy trail, hair blowing in the fresh air. The gym wasn’t bad though considering that it was after all a hotel gym. I paid the $13.5 euro to get in (ugh) and racked my brain, trying to remember the ol’ gym routine. The weights really threw me off though since they were not in pounds. Kilograms maybe? All I know is that what I lift in pounds was much more than the number on the weights that I lifted. Or maybe my muscles have shrunk considerably!
In other news…
We were told Saturday is a work day.
Not sure yet if that means I have to work.
We were also told that Friday, Dec. 19th is a work day.
I am flying back that day. In the morning.
We were asked to look into changing our flight for the following day.
Really?
No, REALLLLLLLY?
I’m going to pretend that conversation never happened.
This Saturday may be a work day, but I am going to Belgium Saturday evening - Sunday!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Weekend Update
Things are finally looking up! lots to update everyone on…
The end of my work week last week was pretty manageable. Without boring everyone with the exact details of what I’m actually doing out here, my part of the project (invoicing) is downstream and dependant on a lot of processes. So when there are issues upstream, these need to be resolved before anything can get to me. Anyway, my point is, we had issues upstream which meant that I wasn’t too busy and my other colleague from the client side said that I didn’t have to come in on Saturday! I found this out Friday evening so I didn’t have time to arrange a mini-vacay to Paris, but I did have a few things in mind to do around the city.
Also, Friday was Sinterklaas Day in the Netherlands. Sinterklaas is the patron saint of children, and is very similar to Christmas Eve in the U.S. The story goes, that Santa Clause and the Santa idea & tradition actually first started in Holland in the 1600s. Sinter Klaas became Sint Claes, and then transformed into Santa Clause. Every year on Saint Nicholas Eve (December 5th), Sinterklaas and his Black Petes ride in on a horse, usually carrying a bag, which contains candy for nice children.
Sinterklaas – look familiar??
So anyway, since Friday was Sinterklaas, we actually got back from the office at a reasonable hour (7pm). For dinner, I finally got to try Walk to Wok - It’s an Asian fast food chain in the area which I had heard rave reviews about. It was really really good! You basically choose what you want in the stir fry and they make it on the spot so it’s hot and fresh and quick. I got brown noodles with chicken, broccoli, peanuts, pineapple, and teriyaki. Yum!!
Friday night we went out to Leidseplein. We first went to the Zebra Lounge, but weren’t too impressed so we sampled some other places in the area. We met some English friends too that were in town from Manchester. That’s one thing I love about Europe… it’s so easy to meet people and make friends and it’s not awkward at all like it can be in the U.S. Anyway, I love English people and I love accents! Everyone has an accent in Europe. Or maybe it’s me that has the accent. But accents are fabulous. It’s also funny when everyone asks [instert accent] “Are you from America?” Like it’s this far away land or something. You mean the U.S.? ha. Also meeting English people reminded me that I may want to apply to London School of Business if/when the time comes to apply. Wouldn’t that be great? So we all partied until pretty late Friday night and I think I finally went to bed around 4am. Haha.
On the tram - headed down to Leidseplein
Saturday was a Laura day. I got to SLEEP IN for once and woke up around 10:30. I woke up to the SUN shining through my windows – a nice change from the rain/snow/clouds that we’ve been experiencing pretty much every day. I emailed work to make sure they still didn’t need me to take a train in since several people were working. Nope, I was in the clear. With that confirmation, I headed to the 9 streets which I had heard are full of good shopping. Here’s what the reviews had to say:
The Nine Streets - De Negen Straatjes - is in the heart of Amsterdam's canal district and is one of the city's most delightful shopping areas. Just two minutes walk from the Royal Palace in the Dam Square these picturesque streets straddle the 17th Century canals from the Singel to the Prinsengracht. Spend a fabulous day wandering from one to the next exploring the designer boutiques, art galleries, jewelers, gift shops, fashion shops, specialist businesses and there are plenty of great bars, cafes and restaurants to refresh you along the way.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself bopping in and out of the little shops in the sunshine. :)
I made it up and down all 9 streets and then it was time to head to the Anne Frank Huis (House) for my 3:30 reservation. It was GENIUS that I had bought my ticket ahead of time at my hotel. This means that I didn’t need to stand in the tourist mob to get a ticket; instead, I got to go in a different reservation-only entrance. Perfect. Oh but first I got a delicious fresh fruit and vegetable smoothie from this juice place that I found! It had carrot, apple, orange, and ginger and was actually very delish and fresh. So I got to the Anne Frank and it was much different than I remembered. Granted, I was 10 years old when I went, but still. It was much more commercialized and had obviously undergone a remodeling to accommodate all the tourists. I did remember the incredibly steep steps in the house though. And wow what a sad sad story. I had forgotten that Otto Frank (Anne Frank’s dad) had survived. The whole museum was very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated it since I had been there before.
Saturday night and time to go out again. We tried to get reservations at JimmyWoo in Leidseplein which is, arguably the hottest and hippest nightclub in town, but we had heard it’s very difficult to get in so we passed on that one and instead headed to Club Escape in Rembrantplein. It was a huge club, everyone dancing and having a good time. We got the full European disco experience and again, ended up staying out way too late. We also picked up some delicious pizza from “NY Pizza” on the walk back to the hotel. Mmm a slice of the U.S…
Sunday.
More sun!
I woke up with an urge for adventure and spontaneity. After a light lunch at my new favorite soup place, I headed to Centraal Station. Should I go to Haarlem or Delft? I couldn’t decide so I settled on both. After all, Haarlem is on the way to Delft. Armed with my guide books to read on the train, I headed to my first stop with pretty much one goal in mind: do like the locals do. I would find the main square, check out local landmarks (i.e. every Netherlands town seems to have an old Church and new Church), perhaps get an espresso, and just enjoy the day. Haalem is a short 15 minute train ride away from Amsterdam and I was pleasantly surprised! The cool thing about the Netherlands is that you can get off the train at nearly any town and just follow the signs to the Centrum. This will in turn lead to the main square, all the locals, restaurants, markets, and shopping. Haarlem was very charming. It was really nice to get outside of Amsterdam and away from the huge crowds of tourists and craziness that defines the city. I really just spent a lot of time walking around Haarlem and checking out different stores. There was also a festival going on. Although there were crowds, it was much more family-oriented or locals coming into the square from surrounding areas.
Haarlem Grote Markt / Main Square
I got a pretty late start so by the time I left Haarlem, en-route to Delft, I wasn’t sure if anything would be open. I really wanted to go to a Delft-ware painting factory, but unfortunately, by the time I got there, it was dark and after 5pm on a Sunday. I began my journey toward the Centrum anyway thinking maybe a few things would still be open, but everything was closed. Determined to get at least a little insight into the culture in Delft, I found a local bar and restaurant that, among the deserted shops lining the canals, looked pretty happening. I sat and ate (more) soup – I have been eating a lot of soup – and enjoyed a glass of white wine while observing the locals. My stay was short since I didn’t want to have to catch the train back to Amsterdam too late – and I was so exhausted by around 7pm. I (barely) managed to keep my eyes open for the 50 minute train ride back to A’Dam!
The only picture I took of Delft...
Oh and as promised, here are some of my room:
Living area
Dining area with "complementary" beverages
The end of my work week last week was pretty manageable. Without boring everyone with the exact details of what I’m actually doing out here, my part of the project (invoicing) is downstream and dependant on a lot of processes. So when there are issues upstream, these need to be resolved before anything can get to me. Anyway, my point is, we had issues upstream which meant that I wasn’t too busy and my other colleague from the client side said that I didn’t have to come in on Saturday! I found this out Friday evening so I didn’t have time to arrange a mini-vacay to Paris, but I did have a few things in mind to do around the city.
Also, Friday was Sinterklaas Day in the Netherlands. Sinterklaas is the patron saint of children, and is very similar to Christmas Eve in the U.S. The story goes, that Santa Clause and the Santa idea & tradition actually first started in Holland in the 1600s. Sinter Klaas became Sint Claes, and then transformed into Santa Clause. Every year on Saint Nicholas Eve (December 5th), Sinterklaas and his Black Petes ride in on a horse, usually carrying a bag, which contains candy for nice children.
Sinterklaas – look familiar??
So anyway, since Friday was Sinterklaas, we actually got back from the office at a reasonable hour (7pm). For dinner, I finally got to try Walk to Wok - It’s an Asian fast food chain in the area which I had heard rave reviews about. It was really really good! You basically choose what you want in the stir fry and they make it on the spot so it’s hot and fresh and quick. I got brown noodles with chicken, broccoli, peanuts, pineapple, and teriyaki. Yum!!
Friday night we went out to Leidseplein. We first went to the Zebra Lounge, but weren’t too impressed so we sampled some other places in the area. We met some English friends too that were in town from Manchester. That’s one thing I love about Europe… it’s so easy to meet people and make friends and it’s not awkward at all like it can be in the U.S. Anyway, I love English people and I love accents! Everyone has an accent in Europe. Or maybe it’s me that has the accent. But accents are fabulous. It’s also funny when everyone asks [instert accent] “Are you from America?” Like it’s this far away land or something. You mean the U.S.? ha. Also meeting English people reminded me that I may want to apply to London School of Business if/when the time comes to apply. Wouldn’t that be great? So we all partied until pretty late Friday night and I think I finally went to bed around 4am. Haha.
On the tram - headed down to Leidseplein
Saturday was a Laura day. I got to SLEEP IN for once and woke up around 10:30. I woke up to the SUN shining through my windows – a nice change from the rain/snow/clouds that we’ve been experiencing pretty much every day. I emailed work to make sure they still didn’t need me to take a train in since several people were working. Nope, I was in the clear. With that confirmation, I headed to the 9 streets which I had heard are full of good shopping. Here’s what the reviews had to say:
The Nine Streets - De Negen Straatjes - is in the heart of Amsterdam's canal district and is one of the city's most delightful shopping areas. Just two minutes walk from the Royal Palace in the Dam Square these picturesque streets straddle the 17th Century canals from the Singel to the Prinsengracht. Spend a fabulous day wandering from one to the next exploring the designer boutiques, art galleries, jewelers, gift shops, fashion shops, specialist businesses and there are plenty of great bars, cafes and restaurants to refresh you along the way.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself bopping in and out of the little shops in the sunshine. :)
I made it up and down all 9 streets and then it was time to head to the Anne Frank Huis (House) for my 3:30 reservation. It was GENIUS that I had bought my ticket ahead of time at my hotel. This means that I didn’t need to stand in the tourist mob to get a ticket; instead, I got to go in a different reservation-only entrance. Perfect. Oh but first I got a delicious fresh fruit and vegetable smoothie from this juice place that I found! It had carrot, apple, orange, and ginger and was actually very delish and fresh. So I got to the Anne Frank and it was much different than I remembered. Granted, I was 10 years old when I went, but still. It was much more commercialized and had obviously undergone a remodeling to accommodate all the tourists. I did remember the incredibly steep steps in the house though. And wow what a sad sad story. I had forgotten that Otto Frank (Anne Frank’s dad) had survived. The whole museum was very well done and I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated it since I had been there before.
Saturday night and time to go out again. We tried to get reservations at JimmyWoo in Leidseplein which is, arguably the hottest and hippest nightclub in town, but we had heard it’s very difficult to get in so we passed on that one and instead headed to Club Escape in Rembrantplein. It was a huge club, everyone dancing and having a good time. We got the full European disco experience and again, ended up staying out way too late. We also picked up some delicious pizza from “NY Pizza” on the walk back to the hotel. Mmm a slice of the U.S…
Sunday.
More sun!
I woke up with an urge for adventure and spontaneity. After a light lunch at my new favorite soup place, I headed to Centraal Station. Should I go to Haarlem or Delft? I couldn’t decide so I settled on both. After all, Haarlem is on the way to Delft. Armed with my guide books to read on the train, I headed to my first stop with pretty much one goal in mind: do like the locals do. I would find the main square, check out local landmarks (i.e. every Netherlands town seems to have an old Church and new Church), perhaps get an espresso, and just enjoy the day. Haalem is a short 15 minute train ride away from Amsterdam and I was pleasantly surprised! The cool thing about the Netherlands is that you can get off the train at nearly any town and just follow the signs to the Centrum. This will in turn lead to the main square, all the locals, restaurants, markets, and shopping. Haarlem was very charming. It was really nice to get outside of Amsterdam and away from the huge crowds of tourists and craziness that defines the city. I really just spent a lot of time walking around Haarlem and checking out different stores. There was also a festival going on. Although there were crowds, it was much more family-oriented or locals coming into the square from surrounding areas.
Haarlem Grote Markt / Main Square
I got a pretty late start so by the time I left Haarlem, en-route to Delft, I wasn’t sure if anything would be open. I really wanted to go to a Delft-ware painting factory, but unfortunately, by the time I got there, it was dark and after 5pm on a Sunday. I began my journey toward the Centrum anyway thinking maybe a few things would still be open, but everything was closed. Determined to get at least a little insight into the culture in Delft, I found a local bar and restaurant that, among the deserted shops lining the canals, looked pretty happening. I sat and ate (more) soup – I have been eating a lot of soup – and enjoyed a glass of white wine while observing the locals. My stay was short since I didn’t want to have to catch the train back to Amsterdam too late – and I was so exhausted by around 7pm. I (barely) managed to keep my eyes open for the 50 minute train ride back to A’Dam!
The only picture I took of Delft...
Oh and as promised, here are some of my room:
Living area
Dining area with "complementary" beverages
Thursday, December 4, 2008
true story
I’m doing my update from the train today since it seems as if the 30 minute commute from Amsterdam to Amersfoort and back is about the only free time I’ve been getting. So after the whole mouse incident, I came back to my hotel Tuesday evening to a new ‘executive’ suite. It had a great view, a king bed, and a fruit basket waiting. I literally popped in, saw that all my luggage had been brought over and arranged as I had left it in my previous room, threw my briefcase on my bed, and headed out for drinks and a bite to eat in the city.
Fast forward to after drinks… came back to my new room.
Heard a scratching noise.
Checked under the bed. Checked behind the curtains.
Nothing (was I just paranoid?)
Checked under the bed again
Nothing
Picked up my laptop bag from the bed aaaaaand...
out runs a little grey mouse, across the bed and towards the windows.
He was eating my kashi granola bar in the open flat in my laptop bag!
I screamed.
Then I called the front desk.
The manager came up and assessed the situation, apologized, and explained that this was a common problem they were having due to the construction going on around Centraal station.
Common???
Is there ANY room that you have that has not reported animal friends?
In fact yes, our large suite.
Third times a charm?
He helped me move all my luggage to my new digs
It was much larger. I now have a couch, chairs, dinner table, huge bed… definitely a step up from day one.
Finally got to bed around midnight.
Wednesday.
Typical day at the office.
Told that we’ll have to work this Saturday.
[bummed, but not surprised]
I still have a lot to do in Amsterdam anyway… maybe the Anne Frank Huis, the Heineken Brewery, the Diamond museum, etc..
Got back to the hotel around 8pm. Threw my stuff in my new suite, which by the way now had a whole complementary mini-bar waiting for me on my dining table. Excellent. Make up for my troubles with free water, beer, redbull, soda, and nuts. Considering a bottle of water is around 7 euro, I guess I’ll take what I can get. (note though that I will play the 'mouse' card the rest of my stay here and hopefully get plenty of free baileys & coffee out of the deal)
Headed to an Argentinean place with two of my colleagues. I had gone there back in August and thought it was worth a repeat visit. It was not as good as I remember, but maybe that’s because I took a risk and ordered the salmon. It came grilled, but had some bones sticking out of it. I ate around them and it actually didn't bother me so much. Maybe I am finally embracing the dutch food palate!
Post-dinner plans included a walk to Rembrantplein… one of the hip squares in the city. It was pretty crowded for a Wednesday night! We stopped for a hot waffle at one of waffle the stands. For those that don’t know, Suiker (sugar) waffles are a Dutch dessert here in Holland. Imagine a hot Belgium waffle with sugar crystals baked in and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delish! Made it back later than I had planned. Oh well… I will catch up on sleep one of these days!
Oh and I will post some new pictures soon, including a pic of my new suite!
Fast forward to after drinks… came back to my new room.
Heard a scratching noise.
Checked under the bed. Checked behind the curtains.
Nothing (was I just paranoid?)
Checked under the bed again
Nothing
Picked up my laptop bag from the bed aaaaaand...
out runs a little grey mouse, across the bed and towards the windows.
He was eating my kashi granola bar in the open flat in my laptop bag!
I screamed.
Then I called the front desk.
The manager came up and assessed the situation, apologized, and explained that this was a common problem they were having due to the construction going on around Centraal station.
Common???
Is there ANY room that you have that has not reported animal friends?
In fact yes, our large suite.
Third times a charm?
He helped me move all my luggage to my new digs
It was much larger. I now have a couch, chairs, dinner table, huge bed… definitely a step up from day one.
Finally got to bed around midnight.
Wednesday.
Typical day at the office.
Told that we’ll have to work this Saturday.
[bummed, but not surprised]
I still have a lot to do in Amsterdam anyway… maybe the Anne Frank Huis, the Heineken Brewery, the Diamond museum, etc..
Got back to the hotel around 8pm. Threw my stuff in my new suite, which by the way now had a whole complementary mini-bar waiting for me on my dining table. Excellent. Make up for my troubles with free water, beer, redbull, soda, and nuts. Considering a bottle of water is around 7 euro, I guess I’ll take what I can get. (note though that I will play the 'mouse' card the rest of my stay here and hopefully get plenty of free baileys & coffee out of the deal)
Headed to an Argentinean place with two of my colleagues. I had gone there back in August and thought it was worth a repeat visit. It was not as good as I remember, but maybe that’s because I took a risk and ordered the salmon. It came grilled, but had some bones sticking out of it. I ate around them and it actually didn't bother me so much. Maybe I am finally embracing the dutch food palate!
Post-dinner plans included a walk to Rembrantplein… one of the hip squares in the city. It was pretty crowded for a Wednesday night! We stopped for a hot waffle at one of waffle the stands. For those that don’t know, Suiker (sugar) waffles are a Dutch dessert here in Holland. Imagine a hot Belgium waffle with sugar crystals baked in and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Delish! Made it back later than I had planned. Oh well… I will catch up on sleep one of these days!
Oh and I will post some new pictures soon, including a pic of my new suite!
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Eeewwwww …what's next??
I am back I'm Amsterdam after a lovely visit to the states for
Thanksgiving. It was short and sweet but enough to feel refreshed and ready to get back to it at work. Once again, my flight was made very last minute so I was stuck in economy on the flight over the Amsterdam. I had my sleeping “kit” and took a sleeping pill, but as hard as I tried to get comfortable and snooze, I just couldn't get into an REM sleep. 9+ hours on the plane and unable to sleep. Uggh! I even got jealous of the sleeping man next to me, just snoring away. Wow, how pathetic! I know that I have mild insomnia but this was bad. Oh well, it will be a caffeinated day for me.
I finally landed in Amsterdam around 11 am (4am US time) and thought I'd take the train to drop off my luggage at my hotel. But then the ticket machine wouldn't take any of my credit cards (I tried all 3) so I gave up and jumped in a cab. I dropped off my luggage at the Victoria and decided to give the train station another shot. It was my usual route from Amsterdam to Amersfoort on the speed train, which I knew well. Apparently though, I didn’t know it well enough because there was in fact 1 stop before Amersfoort. Everyone was getting off so I figured I should get off too, thinking it was my destination. My gut told me to stay on but I didn’t listen. I ran up 50 yards, saw the train station sign that did NOT read “Amersfoort,” and turned around to watch the doors of the train closing. NOooooooo… Well, looks like I’ll have to jump in another cab. I grabbed a redbull (!) and a taxi and was off to the office. Suddenly, my cost to get to the airport went from 7.10 euro (train) to 100 euro (taxi + train + taxi). Ahhh!
Besides being incredibly exhausted the entire day, it was a pretty normal day at the office. My friends went to Paris over the weekend so it was fun to hear those stories. They were sad to go without me, but they didn’t think we’d have a completely work-free weekend coming up so they jumped when they got the opportunity. I guess I can’t blame ‘em.
After my eyes couldn’t take it anymore, I left work around 6 and headed back to the city. I had a delicious protein bar for dinner and hit the sack around 9am. I woke up this morning, well rested, and *hoping* that it would be a better day. I was wrong.
Before I left the states, I bought a bunch of granola and protein bars since European grocery stores do not carry anything like we have in the U.S. Well when I woke up, my 5-lb zip-lock bag full of granola bars had a hole chewed through it. There were also some wrapper scraps on the floor. Apparently, there was an animal in my room!!! Ew ew ew ew. I am not even in a hostel – I am at the Victoria! Here it is below-
Yet there is a fat rat running around and will probably be back for more. There goes my breakfast for the next 19 days! I got the heebie-jeebies and called a manager. He came up and confirmed that it must have been a mouse. At this point, I had to get to the train station so he assured me that he would pack up and move all my stuff to a different room which would be ready for me when I got back this evening. I then met my colleague and it was a mad dash to the train station. We were literally sprinting (me in heels) across the street and through the station. Which by the way, I can’t remember the last time my heart was beating this furiously. We finally got to the platform with our train… but the doors had closed. And off it went without us. Ahhhhhh! And then my mind resorted back to the whole mouse incident and I got to thinking… do mice like cashmere?? Oh no oh no! They better not or the hotel will be writing me a check! I think I may switch hotels….
At least my week can only go up from here, right..?
Thanksgiving. It was short and sweet but enough to feel refreshed and ready to get back to it at work. Once again, my flight was made very last minute so I was stuck in economy on the flight over the Amsterdam. I had my sleeping “kit” and took a sleeping pill, but as hard as I tried to get comfortable and snooze, I just couldn't get into an REM sleep. 9+ hours on the plane and unable to sleep. Uggh! I even got jealous of the sleeping man next to me, just snoring away. Wow, how pathetic! I know that I have mild insomnia but this was bad. Oh well, it will be a caffeinated day for me.
I finally landed in Amsterdam around 11 am (4am US time) and thought I'd take the train to drop off my luggage at my hotel. But then the ticket machine wouldn't take any of my credit cards (I tried all 3) so I gave up and jumped in a cab. I dropped off my luggage at the Victoria and decided to give the train station another shot. It was my usual route from Amsterdam to Amersfoort on the speed train, which I knew well. Apparently though, I didn’t know it well enough because there was in fact 1 stop before Amersfoort. Everyone was getting off so I figured I should get off too, thinking it was my destination. My gut told me to stay on but I didn’t listen. I ran up 50 yards, saw the train station sign that did NOT read “Amersfoort,” and turned around to watch the doors of the train closing. NOooooooo… Well, looks like I’ll have to jump in another cab. I grabbed a redbull (!) and a taxi and was off to the office. Suddenly, my cost to get to the airport went from 7.10 euro (train) to 100 euro (taxi + train + taxi). Ahhh!
Besides being incredibly exhausted the entire day, it was a pretty normal day at the office. My friends went to Paris over the weekend so it was fun to hear those stories. They were sad to go without me, but they didn’t think we’d have a completely work-free weekend coming up so they jumped when they got the opportunity. I guess I can’t blame ‘em.
After my eyes couldn’t take it anymore, I left work around 6 and headed back to the city. I had a delicious protein bar for dinner and hit the sack around 9am. I woke up this morning, well rested, and *hoping* that it would be a better day. I was wrong.
Before I left the states, I bought a bunch of granola and protein bars since European grocery stores do not carry anything like we have in the U.S. Well when I woke up, my 5-lb zip-lock bag full of granola bars had a hole chewed through it. There were also some wrapper scraps on the floor. Apparently, there was an animal in my room!!! Ew ew ew ew. I am not even in a hostel – I am at the Victoria! Here it is below-
Yet there is a fat rat running around and will probably be back for more. There goes my breakfast for the next 19 days! I got the heebie-jeebies and called a manager. He came up and confirmed that it must have been a mouse. At this point, I had to get to the train station so he assured me that he would pack up and move all my stuff to a different room which would be ready for me when I got back this evening. I then met my colleague and it was a mad dash to the train station. We were literally sprinting (me in heels) across the street and through the station. Which by the way, I can’t remember the last time my heart was beating this furiously. We finally got to the platform with our train… but the doors had closed. And off it went without us. Ahhhhhh! And then my mind resorted back to the whole mouse incident and I got to thinking… do mice like cashmere?? Oh no oh no! They better not or the hotel will be writing me a check! I think I may switch hotels….
At least my week can only go up from here, right..?
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