This morning when I woke up I was waiting on the internet at the hostel and trying to add up what I've spent and convert the euros in dollars so I know where I stand. As I was trying to do this my phone kept pulling cracked out moves every time I tried to open the little bitch. It began doing this the night before I left and I assumed it had something to do with the international plan I set up and if I turned it off for a hot minute and let it chill it'd be fine when I decided to reboot so that's exactly what I did. I was in the middle of buying my leopard print flats and when I walked out and turned my phone on. Just my luck that my phone should commit cellular suicide less than a week into my trip. I asked someone if Holland has AT&T and promptly got laughed at so I went into the first T-mobile I found and bought a new phone that resembles a black candy bar, has like 3 1/2 buttons and is so goddamn primitive I want to run myself over with my new bike. Thank the lord that I don't need to text people because in combination with all the shopping/no buying stress...I might have actually died.
Sans phone dilema, I walked around and tried to look for things to do indoors because it was chilly today. Today made me glad that I am travelling in summer because being alone in cold weather with nothing to do = non-stop eating. Eventually 6 oçlock rolled around and I met up with a guy named Ron and a bunch of people he studied abroad with including two Dutch guys, one Dutch girl, two Japanese people (guy and girl), a guy from Korea and Moi. He made us dinner (pasta with a ragout and a pudding thingy for dessert) and we watched the Holland/Mexico match and chatted over wine.
Staying in tonight...I'm walking my feet flat and I'm short that if I have disgusting feet its plausible people might think I'm a hobbit.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
One shoe, two shoe, red shoe, blue shoe
First of all, you're all out of control...I purchased ugly but practical tennis shoes from H&M the day before yesterday. They're blue and white striped like a railroad conductor's outfit and I'm pissed that I had to put 10 euro towards them instead of the pink blazer, navy leggings, or powder blue, lace up, suede saddle shoes that I so desperately want. I also managed to walk so much in my flats that I walked a hole right through them so they're going in the garbage and I'll be purchasing a lovely leopard print pair I spotted that I think will compliment my red lipstick nicely.
The good news is that I've managed to save a whole slew of money because the other night I went out with people from my hostel and an Amsterdam native who, after cooking us Asian dumplings, was asking me why I hadn't biked around at all. When I explained that I was on a budget and my feet were free he bought me a bike! So I am now the owner of my very own transportation here in Holland. He also fed us dinner and I still haven't paid for a single drink since I've been here (last night I swapped the bartender my pack of American bubble gum for a pint of Heineken). At this rate I could probably save enough to buy the blue shoes!
Today my plans include going to a flea market nearby, taking a boat ride on the canal and meeting up with some people in the park, then a dinner party at the Dutch guys apartment. I've run out of museums to visit that I actually want to see which is good because I'm taking a train either tomorrow night or Friday morning to Brussels and meeting up with Bertrand and his daughter Clementine who is 14. He told me he was going to feed me coffee, waffles, and french fries which is all I ever really wanted out of life.
P.s. mom my phone is breaking (fuck) and don't send me my keds. Btw I just want you all to know that my cowgirl boots have been excellent and were well worth bringing!
The good news is that I've managed to save a whole slew of money because the other night I went out with people from my hostel and an Amsterdam native who, after cooking us Asian dumplings, was asking me why I hadn't biked around at all. When I explained that I was on a budget and my feet were free he bought me a bike! So I am now the owner of my very own transportation here in Holland. He also fed us dinner and I still haven't paid for a single drink since I've been here (last night I swapped the bartender my pack of American bubble gum for a pint of Heineken). At this rate I could probably save enough to buy the blue shoes!
Today my plans include going to a flea market nearby, taking a boat ride on the canal and meeting up with some people in the park, then a dinner party at the Dutch guys apartment. I've run out of museums to visit that I actually want to see which is good because I'm taking a train either tomorrow night or Friday morning to Brussels and meeting up with Bertrand and his daughter Clementine who is 14. He told me he was going to feed me coffee, waffles, and french fries which is all I ever really wanted out of life.
P.s. mom my phone is breaking (fuck) and don't send me my keds. Btw I just want you all to know that my cowgirl boots have been excellent and were well worth bringing!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Cosmos Hostel
The new hostel I'm in is much smaller but in a more central location which comes with the perk of smelling like urine. When I got here I approached a staircase that has steps with a 3" depth, 9"rise, curves around to the right and should definitely be marked with a sign that reads "Come home drunk and expect death." I found a nice Canadian boy to carry my bag up the steps because I can barely lift it on account of all my shoes.
The ridiclous range of shoes I brought is already coming back to bite me in the ass. I 'm pretty sure I'm walking my feet flat so yesterday I wore my most practical shoes and people were looking at me thinking "There goes that tacky American with her god-awful shoes." For the most part no one thinks I'm American though until I open my big mouth and my ugly accent comes out so I've begun speaking in French to people who I don't think will know the language and if they do...run the other way.
I decided to venture out and shop a little...maybe for some tennis shoes since there are 6 H&M's on this street alone. Unfortunately I can't afford to buy anything and instead I wandered around in a state of depression looking at all the things I can't have. If at any point I came across something I could half-afford I considered buying it even if it was monkey-ass ugly just because I want things. At one point I took a wrong turn and walked right into the red-light district where I was startled by half-naked girls in windows at 10am offering up sex for a negotiable price...classy.
I was so exhausted at the end of all that that I came back to the hostel and it turns out...Argentina sent it's two ugliest citizens to be my roommates. One guy with the hairiest back I've ever seen insisted on rummaging through a stack of plastic bags while the other 300 lb Argentinian slept on the bottom bunk topless, very large nipples exposed, and snoring at full volume. I hadn't planned on going out but to sleep through this beer is a necessity.
The ridiclous range of shoes I brought is already coming back to bite me in the ass. I 'm pretty sure I'm walking my feet flat so yesterday I wore my most practical shoes and people were looking at me thinking "There goes that tacky American with her god-awful shoes." For the most part no one thinks I'm American though until I open my big mouth and my ugly accent comes out so I've begun speaking in French to people who I don't think will know the language and if they do...run the other way.
I decided to venture out and shop a little...maybe for some tennis shoes since there are 6 H&M's on this street alone. Unfortunately I can't afford to buy anything and instead I wandered around in a state of depression looking at all the things I can't have. If at any point I came across something I could half-afford I considered buying it even if it was monkey-ass ugly just because I want things. At one point I took a wrong turn and walked right into the red-light district where I was startled by half-naked girls in windows at 10am offering up sex for a negotiable price...classy.
I was so exhausted at the end of all that that I came back to the hostel and it turns out...Argentina sent it's two ugliest citizens to be my roommates. One guy with the hairiest back I've ever seen insisted on rummaging through a stack of plastic bags while the other 300 lb Argentinian slept on the bottom bunk topless, very large nipples exposed, and snoring at full volume. I hadn't planned on going out but to sleep through this beer is a necessity.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Moving on up
Yesterday I decided it was a great idea to walk to a farmer's market I had seen on a map and ventured out early in the morning with food I had smuggled from breakfast to try to save some money. When I got there it was packed with a ton of people selling produce, fish (wish I had something to cook longoustine >sp), and clothes! I spent a really long time oogling a pair of trouser capris that I desperately wanted before walking away and buying a salami instead. The market ended up being a lot closer than I had anticipated so I made the executive decision to walk to another that seemed far but not unobtainable. Wrong. It was hellaciously far and filled with pushy foreigners...which I suppose is also what I am. It was decent anyways and I managed to mull around a bit before treating myself to a tram ride home.
When I got back I peed and then wandered to the main strip in search of a journal because I forgot one and wanted to get on the bandwagon before I forgot what I had done. Then I plopped myself down at a cafe over a glass of rose wine and wrote until my nose was fried by the sun, then went home. I had intended to go out to a pub with two girls I met in the hostel from New Zealand but ended up being too tired and crashed instead.
This morning I am switching hostels to one uptown near the Anne Frank house and plan to explore a bit around that area. Wish me luck lugging my little but brick-like purple suitcase.
When I got back I peed and then wandered to the main strip in search of a journal because I forgot one and wanted to get on the bandwagon before I forgot what I had done. Then I plopped myself down at a cafe over a glass of rose wine and wrote until my nose was fried by the sun, then went home. I had intended to go out to a pub with two girls I met in the hostel from New Zealand but ended up being too tired and crashed instead.
This morning I am switching hostels to one uptown near the Anne Frank house and plan to explore a bit around that area. Wish me luck lugging my little but brick-like purple suitcase.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Mom, I need more money.
For those of you who are not yet aware, I am travelling through Europe over the course of the summer. I bought a one-way ticket to Amsterdam and that's it. I'd like to think I'm going to make it 3 months but my mom seems to think I'm going to run out of money in two...a likely possibility.
This whole journey began with a flight to Toronto on which I was presented a snack bag of corn chips marked "maized and confused" at which point I knew I was off to a very good start. I spent my 10 hour layover there wandering around and trying to stay awake based on the notion that I would be sitting for five hours on the way to Iceland (which is brown not green, but also didn't have any exploding volcanos so I'll take what I can get).
A million hours later I finally made it to Amsterdam and began calculating how much I was spending, minus the two bagels, three coffees and Chinois chicken salad I managed to eat in the Toronto airport. I hopped on a train and thought I was doing pretty well considering I had no idea what I was doing but then I got completely lost on my way to the hostel and even more lost after I had found it. Eventually I figured my ish out and walked to get a caffe and a tosti.
This morning when I woke up I went to breakfast and then walked to the Van Gogh Museum followed by the Rijksmuseum (Dutch people feel it's necessary to place random "j's" in the middle of their words). By the end of the two I was up to my eyeballs in art and decided to have a cafe and a baguette sandwich (prociutto with ricotta, salad, and sundried tomatoes...i died) in the plaza. After that I walked back to the hostel and met up with two new friends I had made and we spent the afternoon in Vondelpark.
Eventually I made my way to the main strip where I split from my group and stopped into a local grocery for dinner goodies. The guy working was my age and let me taste all kinds of noshies before I decided on a mini baguette, dutch cheese (his gift to me), salami...all for a sandwich and an apple strudel. The food is so good it's hard to pick. I munched, I napped, I'm staying in tonight to read some magazines and I'll keep everyone posted for when I venture into the redlight district etc etc.
This whole journey began with a flight to Toronto on which I was presented a snack bag of corn chips marked "maized and confused" at which point I knew I was off to a very good start. I spent my 10 hour layover there wandering around and trying to stay awake based on the notion that I would be sitting for five hours on the way to Iceland (which is brown not green, but also didn't have any exploding volcanos so I'll take what I can get).
A million hours later I finally made it to Amsterdam and began calculating how much I was spending, minus the two bagels, three coffees and Chinois chicken salad I managed to eat in the Toronto airport. I hopped on a train and thought I was doing pretty well considering I had no idea what I was doing but then I got completely lost on my way to the hostel and even more lost after I had found it. Eventually I figured my ish out and walked to get a caffe and a tosti.
This morning when I woke up I went to breakfast and then walked to the Van Gogh Museum followed by the Rijksmuseum (Dutch people feel it's necessary to place random "j's" in the middle of their words). By the end of the two I was up to my eyeballs in art and decided to have a cafe and a baguette sandwich (prociutto with ricotta, salad, and sundried tomatoes...i died) in the plaza. After that I walked back to the hostel and met up with two new friends I had made and we spent the afternoon in Vondelpark.
Eventually I made my way to the main strip where I split from my group and stopped into a local grocery for dinner goodies. The guy working was my age and let me taste all kinds of noshies before I decided on a mini baguette, dutch cheese (his gift to me), salami...all for a sandwich and an apple strudel. The food is so good it's hard to pick. I munched, I napped, I'm staying in tonight to read some magazines and I'll keep everyone posted for when I venture into the redlight district etc etc.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
