The Amsterdam Journals - Part Three

There were 4 German guys at breakfast this morning, probably between the ages of 19 and 22. What astonished me was the amount they all ate. 5 slices of toast, 2 eggs and copious amounts of bacon...EACH! Then there's me - a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. Rather petite in comparison huh?!

So today we trotted off to Auntie Tini's - i say trotted, but actually it was tram, followed by train, followed by bus. I can honestly say i'm very experienced in the Dutch public transport system now - and my, it's far better than ours. Arrived at Tini's block of flats - all looks the same as i remembered and she greeted us at the door. On arrival we had a little almond cake and a cup of tea. This was followed by another few cups of tea, and some more Dutch delicacies. After this, we went for a long walk behind the town of Bussum and into the woods. Very warm and sunny today - rather nice. Returned to Tini's - drank another cup of tea (must have been a whole pot by now, surely) and chatted about the Dutch family, whilst being given several heirlooms. I was given a very expensive looking bracelet, dating back to the 18th Century or something, and one of Auntie Tini's favourite pieces of artwork, given to her by a friend in Mexico - "Folk Art". Something i'll treasure for years, i'm sure. My mother was given some shoes she couldnt fit her feet into, and a rather hideous sleeveless blue raincoat. Enough said!

After this the three of us caught the bus into Laren and went to the 'Pannekoken' house which i have been to several times before on my travels to Holland and remember fondly. I think we came here with Jan and Papa at some point, so i spent a lot of time reminising over my much loved Grandfather. We sat at a nice table, had some freshly squeezed orange juice (because Auntie Tini insists on eating/drinking fruit before each meal) and had an interesting collection of pancakes. Tini had bacon, apple and raisin. I had bacon, tomato and cheese, and my mum had half the tuna population on hers, accompanied by a few onions and mushrooms. Weird. Despite feeling incredibly full, Tini was adamant we should have pudding, so we shared an 'Oud Laren' - ice cream with hazelnuts and coffee liqeur. I made the mistake of thinking the liqeur might have been fudge sauce...it gives quite a kick! After feeling rather perky we got back on the bus, said farewell and 'Tot Zeins' to Tini and carried on to the station. Turned on my phone to find a text from Adam saying 'Bonjour Madame!' Haha..bless :)

Arrived back in Amsterdam where it had begun to rain, pounded the streets battling our way through piles of tourists (and following behind a very fat American boy with his pile of chips) back to the hotel. Threw myself up the stairs, and onto my bed. I then went in the shower, which for some unknown reason seemed far more powerful than yesterday -so much so, that i actually had fears of drowning whilst being pinned against the wall by this torrential waterfall. Managed to survive and came out looking like a drowned rat, lay on my bed resting my stomach yet contemplating what to consume at tomorrow's breakfast...

Farewell and Goed Nacht!
Love to you all x

Maybe...

Maybe i can't make a cup of tea without asking a question.

Secret Unsaid

A hidden feeling,
Our silent charm
A secret possession,
Our tightening balm.

Something true,
Yet left unsaid,
We watch it bloom,
The love is fed

And maybe time will be over
Before we’ve said -
Our hidden feeling
Our secret unsaid.

In Search Of Me

To find you was a dream I never thought I’d find
A dream that only comes true in my sleep,
When the blinds are drawn, the night sky consuming me
Unshaken by the fantasies I play
Silently sleeping, Head upon my pillow,
And you’re dancing through my dream,
Smiling hopelessly,
In hope I’d one day make you reality
Take you to the sea,
Watch the boats at dusk, Happy as we could be
So I live my dream hand in hand with thee
And I’m hopelessly happy
That I found me.

The Farmer's Son.

He watched the gun
As it shot the farmers son
Hid the bullet in grass and hay
Wiped the gun with the wool of miss may
Walked from the barn
In sweet disarray
Justice will come to him
One day.

To The Depths of Insanity...

I sometimes wonder if i'm insane.
My head drives me mad.
Creating things that don't exist -
Playing games and over-reacting.
I can't deny that it hurts
But when i realise i was actually worrying about nothing,
that it was all just in my head....
I realise that i am,
Quite simply,
Insane.

Today's Philosophy

Today's philosophy, as overheard being discussed by two women in Starbucks cafe :

''Don't take for granted what you already have"