Normalcy

This weekend felt a lot like a weekend in Portland... most of the weekend was spent in Amsterdam, which is "home" now. I was so relieved for Friday to come... it had been a long week in the office. Some interesting notes from the week:

* It's a Dutch custom for the birthday boy/girl to bring in a cake for their co-workers, not the other way around like in the US. It was my boss's birthday on Thursday, and so he brought in some super yummy (lekker in Dutch) pastries.

* I am so blessed with nice people in my life. It seems like every time I start to get a little sad, there is someone there to help boost me up again. My lovely co-worker Claudia and her husband Manfred (who I kept thinking she was calling her "Man Friend" hehe) took me out for dinner on Thursday night, and then we went back to their home for coffee. It was a really nice evening.

* Friday night, after work, I had made plans with some lovely ladies, Karyn and Kristin, to try this amazing restaurant. I had called on Thursday, and was surprised that I was able to get a reservation. I got to the restaurant first, and was very disappointed to find out that our reservation had not been recorded, and so, we were politely dismissed. :( The other girls showed up eventually, and, disappointed, we found another place to eat. We settled with a cute Italian place near where Karyn lives. It was absolutely delicious, and we had a really great time chatting among "American" friends. Two bottles of wine later, we made our way home on our various trams. Fun times!

* Saturday, I was feeling really good in the morning. I was so glad, because I had to take nearly a week off of running and working out because I had been feeling just exhausted. The weather was gorgeous, and so I went out and ran my usual 9 mile run through Vondelpark - in shorts and a t-shirt! Summer is almost here! :) After that, I made my way out for some personal maintenance... I was in desparate need of an eyebrow wax and manicure, things that are surprisingly uncommon here. Three hours and a small fortune later (I think because waxing is not common here, they are able to charge a premium), I was on my way feeling like a new woman. :) The weather was absolutely amazing, so I just walked around, enjoying this beautiful city.

Beautiful Rowhouses along my walk...

The flowers... one of the best things about Holland. I'm not too proud to buy them for myself every once in a while! :)

A few hours into my walk, I started feeling really woozy, and decided I better get home. I took a nap, and woke up with a migraine. UGH. I was supposed to meet Siba for dinner, and I called to politely decline. I didn't think that a smokey and loud restaurant was going to make me feel any better. So, rather than being among people, I spent my Saturday night at home, planning my trip to London... I'm leaving on May 1st - I can't believe it! I booked a few tickets, including a ticket to see Chicago on London's version of Broadway, the London Eye, and my London City Pass, and I also came up with a basic outline of what I'm hoping to do each day. There is so much in London - I have a feeling I'm going to need to go back!

* Sunday I woke up with the same pounding headache. I'm really hoping that this is not the same thing that happened to me in October/November... during that time period, I had a migraine that lasted for nearly 4 weeks, which no doctor could quite figure out. Anyways... I was supposed to go to the beach with Nadia, a friend from work, and she called to tell me that she had... you guessed it - a migraine headache. She wanted to rest, which was definitely how I was feeling last night, but I was honestly a little tired of being kooped up in my apartment, so I decided to take the train to Zandvoort and take it easy. I'm so glad that I went. It was absolutely gorgeous when I got there. I spent about 2 hours walking the beach, then stopped at a little cafe on the beach for some lunch and beer. I read quite a bit of my book sitting there in the sun, and later continued my walk along the beach. It was starting to get a little dark and windy, which I have learned means that the storm is a'comin', so I started making my way back to the train station. I stumbled across downtown Zandvoort along the way however, and couldn't resist its quaint charm. I bought myself a yummy soft-serve ice cream cone and plopped myself down in the town square to listen to some accordian/guitar music. It was super relaxing. Eventually, I made my way home on the train, and I've arrived home, just in time to catch up with my friends in Portland, who are now just waking up. My headache is still lingering, but it's not quite the pounder it was when I woke up. Fingers crossed that it's gone completely tomorrow.

Here are some pictures from the beach and town of Zandvoort:

The other side of the Atlantic...

SBE... he's always on my mind!

The Train Station at Zandvoort

Young Dutch Engineers in the Making!

The beach had TONS of sea shells - beautiful for my eyes, and painful for my feet! :)

Musicians in the street

What European town would be complete without a beautiful church?