Day 124 (Cont.) - Alan in Amsterdam
I went and met up with Alan and Ankit in Amsterdam. We agreed to meet at Dam Square, and I saw Alan before he saw me and I snuck up on him and gave him the Gumby House "kakaw" and he wheeled around and gave me a giant hug, which I was predicting would happen.
We explored the Red Light District, as is the go-to move with new arrivals to Amsterdam. I realized that you really have to treat the entire Randstad (Amsterdam, Den Haag, Utrecht, Rotterdam urbanized region) as a destination, and not rely solely on Amsterdam to occupy your time. After a few hours catching up and soaking in seeing each other for the first time in four plus months I took them to the Central library, which is my favorite thing in Amsterdam. We explored that a bit and then ate dinner at Vapiano, a nice casual yet classy Italian food place inside the library that I've been to twice before with the family. After a delicious pizza dinner and enjoying the bustling ambiance of the restaurant we ventured back into the District and did a bit more exploring.
Afterward we wandered the streets of Amsterdam for a bit, stopped in at a grocery store and grabbed some drinks and snacks, and sat along a canal and watched Amsterdam breath - another of my favorite things to do in the city. We had a lot of fun trying to creep out tourists on canal boats by staring at them, which usually produced a visibly shaken reaction. It was chilly and I had a bit of a headache - and knowing I'd see them again in two weeks in Barcelona - so I went home to Leiden and sent them on their way.
Day 125 - Vamos Barca!
The day began with sleeping forever. I woke up and counseled Liz for a bit, which was a nice (not really NICE but you know what I mean if you're reading) role swap from this past February. I watched three movies - Cedar Rapids (a DVD rip finally popped up online) and the documentaries Anvil and Blood Into Wine - all of which were enjoyable. It's been a while since I've really watched movies, as I've been big into the TV programs as I'm sure you've grown to understand and denounce.
I finally rolled out of bed and made it to Vi-Kings to watch the Barca-Manchester United game with James, Stephen, and Chase. The bar was packed with drunk Dutch guys who treated us to all kinds of football chants, and we were dazzled by a spectacular football game. Barcelona is far and away the best club side I've ever watched play, and it was nice for Man U. fans to get a taste of the pain I felt when Barca completely dominated Arsenal in the second leg of an earlier Champions League matchup. Lionel Messi is so far and away the world's best football talent, it's simply a joy to watch him continue to discover new tricks to his game, and I'm certain I'll never forget coming into my football consciousness with Messi at the foreground.
Afterwards I accompanied James back to his place, as this was his last weekend in Leiden, and we hung out for a bit more. There wasn't a whole lot to this part of the story. It stopped raining just in time for me to make it home to the Swamp. The weather has been quite shit recently in comparison to the end of April/start of May we had a month ago.
Day 126 - Farewell James
More movies to wake up today, this time The Crazies, which was a terrible horror movie, and Casino Jack, a documentary about the vile scum that is Jack Abramoff and his band of corrupt friends. Really frustrating to watch and understand the level of corruption in government, in this case from the already abhorrent Right, and know that not only are we not doing enough to prevent this from happening again, but that we are in fact making it easier by eliminating corporate campaign ad spending laws. Disgusting.
I went for one last Eazie meal with James, as he leaves tomorrow morning bright and early. James was definitely my best friend here in Leiden, and I do think I've made a friend for life, which is a cool thing. Hopefully he gets to visit the mythical Gumby one day and it lives up to expectations.
Jordan comes back tomorrow for a final 1.5 days before he heads back to America. I've got some stuff to handle before heading off Friday to Dublin, so we'll see what happens this week of note.
Until then, thanks for reading. There will be one more post on Thursday before my trip, and you should then expect a 3-week hiatus as I trek through Ireland, Spain, France, and Italy. I'll post about the trip in installments when I return, and by that time I'll be gearing up to head back to the States. A whirlwind month ahead of me, I think. Should be fun to go out on a high note.
Nothing like Liz in panic mode! yikes third person. But seriously, thanks
ReplyDelete