tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44034209274965319462024-03-19T04:16:21.378+01:00Angela Rhodes - Perpetual TravelsAngelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-14564833940520985582013-03-29T14:42:00.000+01:002013-03-29T14:43:49.011+01:00Dine with NSW wine<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During the <a href="http://nswwinefestival.com.au/">NSW Wine Festival</a> the entire month of March has been dedicated to matching NSW wine with meals created by <a href="http://www.agfg.com.au/guide/nsw/sydney/listings/restaurants-dining/">Good Food Guide</a>-rated restaurants and for $30 and $40 it is an excellent deal and chance to try some of the best restaurants Sydney has to offer.<br />
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As a huge foodie of course I had to squeeze in as many of these meals into my Sydney trip as possible, unfortunately that meant only 3 restaurants but this was enough to give me a nice little overview of the Sydney dining scene. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Left: Barramundi with pumpkin brandade at <a href="http://www.ariarestaurant.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=21609">ARIA</a>. Right: Mulloway with black prawn risotto at <a href="https://www.thetearoom.com.au/">The Tea Room QVB</a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="http://flyingfish.com.au/" style="font-weight: bold;">Flying Fish</a><b>: Mulloway, white balsamic pink fir potato, grape, hazelnut and salt bush. 2011 De Iuliis Chardonnay, Hunter Valley. </b><br />
The mulloway was cooked to perfection, the flavors, textures and presentation were lovely and to top it off the wine pairing was heaven. One con however, with the restaurant only half full during lunch we were placed at a not so nice table in a corner where the air conditioner unit kept dripping right onto our table, that killed the nice dining experience mood.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.ariarestaurant.com/default.asp?action=article&ID=21609">ARIA</a>:</b> <b>Roasted fillet of barramundi with pumpkin brandade, caper and piquillo pepper vinaigrette. 2011 A. Retief Chardonnay, Tumbarumba. </b><br />
After constantly hearing that this is one of Sydney's (if not Australia's) best restaurants I have wanted to try it for quite sometime, it definitely was the best of the trio, the food was delicious, and very well matched with the wine, the service was flawless. I would spend the extra $$ and go back to ARIA to indulge in their regular a la carte and definitely take advantage of the seven sommeliers they have on hand, mmm!<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.thetearoom.com.au/">The Tea Room QVB</a>: Pan seared mulloway, sweet corn and prawn black risotto; dessert of passionfruit crème brûlée and almond tuile. 2012 A. Reteif Winbirra Rosé, Hilltops. </b><br />
It was really interesting to try the mulloway at two different highly rated restaurants and to see how differently they prepared and presented the dish. The Tea Room satisfied all my girlie desires, it was great sitting in such a gorgeous setting with a delicious glass of rosé.<br />
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This is the last weekend, so if you're in Sydney make sure you don't miss it! Click <a href="http://nswwinefestival.com.au/events.php?intcategoryid=115&intlocation=&intday=&intcuisine=&strrestaurantname=&strkeyword=">here</a> for a complete list of participating restaurants.</div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-58253717886781499782013-02-27T10:52:00.000+01:002013-02-27T13:17:58.951+01:00Watch Out Sydney, I'm Heading "Home"! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In just a few hours I'll be heading home to Sydney for six weeks. As an expat and traveler one of the hardest travel decisions I've had to make is spending money and more importantly valuable vacation days, to go back "home". For four years I have made plans to visit Sydney then postponed them, frustrating my friends and family by opting to go on more exciting adventures to places I have craved to see, to places I have never been before, places that add to my goal of seeing every country in the world.<br />
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But four years is a long time to be away from the people you love and the place you spent most your life. And I am excited to see all my family and friends, especially the ones I haven't seen in years, I am excited to revisit all my favorite hang outs and restaurants, to try new restaurants, to swim in Sydney's beautiful beaches and I'm excited to see the city from a new perspective.<br />
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And yet I'm also anxious about seeing the city from a new perspective. I never liked living in Sydney, dealing with racism on an almost daily basis made me bitter, never fitting in made me seek out new places to live. But leading up to the visit I find myself asking the same questions, will I like it more now? After all my experiences and travels I am far more self assured, or will I find I have outgrown it even more? Especially after adopting a European lifestyle and attitude so thoroughly?<br />
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Reading and listening to other expat stories I have noticed their experiences are the same, expats find them selves disillusioned when back home, and how can you not? after months/years of experiences of seeing and trying new things, going back home must surely be one huge anticlimax.<br />
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It's going to be an interesting six weeks, and it's going to be fun (and quite possibly frustrating) trying to get answers to my questions and uncovering more about where it is in the world I really fit in and want to be, it's such an exotic problem to solve, and the reality is that I love that these are the questions I'm trying to find answers to, it's pretty great to be a traveler and expat.</div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-29568464648813109392013-02-22T15:04:00.000+01:002013-02-22T22:43:30.199+01:00How to Choose a Hotel - Our Booking.yeah Moments<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Have you seen the new very hilarious, and very dorky ads from <a href="http://booking.com/">Booking.com</a>? Have you ever had a reaction like that?<br />
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I definitely have had this feeling (and probably something very close to that reaction) for several hotels I have stayed in in recent years, which I'm quite proud about because too often a bad hotel stay can ruin your entire vacation, at least I know it can ruin mine. But i'm quite lucky with 5 weeks vacation a year, so going wrong once or twice isn't as dramatic as it would be for those who only have 2 weeks vacation a year and risk it all on one hotel.<br />
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Our method is simple, we choose our hotels based on review score and rarely book anything that has a score below 8, but the higher the better and anything above 9 is sure to be a great deal and make us giddy. Since learning to use Booking.com's reviews in this way we haven't gone wrong once for whatever it was we were looking for- from 5 star decadence to rest your head for the night budget and everything in between. We then cross check the hotel reviews with those on <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/">Tripadvisor</a>, we have found that these generally tend to be in the same range.<br />
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The interesting thing is our budget has remained almost unchanged but the standard of hotels we stay in has shot up, on average we have spent around €89 per night, but we no longer let budget and price dictate the hotel we choose.<br />
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<b>And the result? </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/choupanahills.en.html">Choupana Hills Resort & Spa</a> - Funchal, Madeira. Probably the best hotel I have ever stayed in, set up in the hills and surrounded by eucalyptus trees we were blown away with a private bungalow overlooking the sea, but what truly stood out was the impeccable service. (I also wrote a very comprehensive review on <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g189167-d260894-r127793260-Choupana_Hills_Resort_Spa-Funchal_Madeira_Madeira_Islands.html">Tripadvisor</a>).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://www.choupanahills.com/en/en_index.html">Choupana Hills Resort & </a><a href="http://www.choupanahills.com/en/en_index.html">Spa</a></td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/lawrence-s.en.html">Lawrence's Hotel</a> - Sintra, Portugal. Few things are better than being upgraded and upon check-in we were upgraded to a suite. To top it off the setting is magical and the service is very attentive, it is also home to an excellent restaurant. Lawrence's was so good that we decided to have our wedding and wedding weekend there!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://www.lawrenceshotel.com/">Lawrences Hotel</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/mercador.en.html">Mercador</a> - Lisbon, Portugal. Jaw dropping decadence set in a gorgeous building that dates back the 16th-century with all the extra touches and luxuries, for such a high standard it was excellent value for money. Understandably one of the highest rated hotels we have ever stayed in.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image by <a href="http://www.anacarvalhophoto.com/">Ana Carvalho</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13.333333969116211px; text-align: start;">. U</span>sed with the permission of <a href="http://www.mercador.com.pt/">Mercador</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/ma/riad-chbanate.en.html">Riad Chbanate</a> - Essaouira Morocco. Imagine a super lux, exotic Moroccan riad, well Riad Chbanate is the reality. Not surprisingly it has also won a <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g298349-d1490667-Reviews-Riad_Chbanate-Essaouira_Marrakech_Tensift_El_Haouz_Region.html">Tripadvisor Travelers Choice Award</a>. The rooms have excellent attention to detail and lavish large bathtubs, the service is excellent.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNoKxgJwNsQplcIaXoouivVZ7llFzczCoinN0BC0RNXf0btfM5NY3bxMEc-sE_vVv4L3OlTZT91zbkOUSW0hEfy3-HgxmxJX9V9FuacS0ymBTinpDUNN3ySn10QDJgk3_UomSXe0FxftK/s1600/riad+chbanate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeNoKxgJwNsQplcIaXoouivVZ7llFzczCoinN0BC0RNXf0btfM5NY3bxMEc-sE_vVv4L3OlTZT91zbkOUSW0hEfy3-HgxmxJX9V9FuacS0ymBTinpDUNN3ySn10QDJgk3_UomSXe0FxftK/s640/riad+chbanate.jpg" width="426" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/no/frogner-house-apartments.en.html">Frogner House Apartments</a> - Oslo, Norway. Super stylish and housed in a beautiful grand building, the location is in a nice area of the city making it unbelievably good value and and quality for Oslo, which we usually find painfully expensive and horribly depressing. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-k-VU6iZCArw1XBg9J0kLHnyU4M0lQ-5p7r8gWgDdflx24XII-d_8C-H_S-7Wis1hQD3EhLtQ9enh0hteBcMcrXs6FlP_qqXoUbcVZotT9ZQZVLPe21T6fwpcfuV1a2u8cONujJbeB_Ql/s1600/Frogner+House+Apartments.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-k-VU6iZCArw1XBg9J0kLHnyU4M0lQ-5p7r8gWgDdflx24XII-d_8C-H_S-7Wis1hQD3EhLtQ9enh0hteBcMcrXs6FlP_qqXoUbcVZotT9ZQZVLPe21T6fwpcfuV1a2u8cONujJbeB_Ql/s640/Frogner+House+Apartments.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://www.frognerhouseapartment.no/">Frogner House Apartments</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/monte-santa-catarina.en.html">Monte Santa Catarina</a> - Monsaraz, Portugal. A relaxing little country house with friendly staff who went out of their way help us with anything we needed and who had excellent recommendations and insights into the surrounding area.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://www.montesantacatarina.com/">Monte Santa Catarina</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/albergariadocalvarioevora.en.html">Albergaria do Calvario</a> - Evora, Portugal. A boutique hotel in a lovely setting, some of the best service we received in Portugal hotels, they also offered a delicious breakfast full of locally produced products. Inspired by our stay I wrote a blog post about it <a href="http://angelarhodes.blogspot.nl/2012/07/a-quiet-gem-in-alentejo.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://www.albergariadocalvario.com/">Albergaria do Calvario</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/Hotel-Regina">Hotel Regina</a> - Vienna, Austria. One of our biggest gamble's on choosing a hotel was when we decided to recommend a hotel to the family for Christmas, but the Hotel Regina did not disappoint, although the entire hotel was booked out they fulfilled our request to have the room with the piano. Christmas Eve and Christmas day had a perfect setting.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://www.kremslehnerhotels.at/en/hotel-regina-vienna/">Hotel Regina</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/ma/riad-thaa-s.en.html">Riad Thais</a> - Essaouira, Morocco. My favorite Riad in all of Morocco, at just €50 per night. The entire riad was new and excellently designed and furnished, what really made it amazing though was the service, the owner went out of her way for us and even made me the most lavish breakfast imaginable when I told her I couldn't eat gluten.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://riadthais.com/">Riad Thais</a>.</td></tr>
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<a href="http://www.booking.com/hotel/pt/lisbon-story-guesthouse.en.html">Lisbon Story Guesthouse</a> - Lisbon, Portugal. Unbeatable value at just €30 a night, clean and a cute vintage chic design, it was the perfect place for an overnighter in Lisbon.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image used with the permission of <a href="http://lisbonstoryguesthouse.com/">Lisbon Story Guesthouse</a>.</td></tr>
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Vacation/weekend getaway bliss!</div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-43670188971160975042013-02-17T01:32:00.001+01:002013-02-17T01:32:27.532+01:00Holy Culture Shock, Batman! <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="color: #444444;">There are two questions I've been asked a lot lately; </span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444;">"Why did you leave Portugal?" and "What made you move back to Amsterdam?" </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444;">There is not one simple answer to these questions, living in Portugal for a year was an incredible experience full of ups and downs, it taught me many things especially things about myself, it gave me a thicker skin when it came to certain social situations, it gave me the opportunity to experience the frustrations and joys of a completely a different type of lifestyle and culture, and to wake up every morning to a gorgeous sunrise over the sea, none of this will be forgotten but what stands out the most is Culture shock and just how real it actually is.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;">cul·ture shock </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #666666;">Noun</span> </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;">The feeling of disorientation experienced by someone who is suddenly subjected to an unfamiliar culture, way of life, or set of attitudes. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">Experiencing this came as a surprise because after living in several countries and traveling extensively I not only (very naively) believed it was something that I was immune to - <i>me? culture shock? Yea right, I'm super cosmopolitan girl!</i> but a part of me also believed it only happened to a select group of people who enjoyed a little whinge every now and then, people who like to compare everything to their home country, people who never really appreciated or wanted to give any other way of life a chance. But I realized culture shock is more than an attitude problem and it can hit you no matter how much of a seasoned traveler or how open minded you are. And culture shock hit me hard, I vividly remember the sunny summer afternoon I decided to read a little about it and found myself ticking off every single symptom, </span><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="color: #444444;">suddenly everything made sense;</span> the constant judging and stereotyping of the locals, the complete and utter preoccupation with my health, the feelings of loneliness, powerlessness, the constant feeling that I was being cheated, overlooked, looked down on. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">Things began to look up after this realization and some powerful advice from my husband;</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">"Whenever
you're frustrated about something, rather than judge people, think
about and ask yourself why they might do things that way"</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444;">The culture shock eventually eased away and I have been left with a longing to understand, explore, see, taste and experience more of this amazing country, but as far as living goes Amsterdam is where we belong in this stage of our lives, Portugal was an awesome, crazy ride for a year but it feels good to be back in lovely Amsterdam. </span></div>
Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com1Lisbon, Portugal38.706931999999988 -9.135632100000066238.654692999999988 -9.2054631000000668 38.759170999999988 -9.0658011000000656tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-68732337098192936152012-07-02T09:41:00.000+02:002012-09-21T13:54:30.541+02:00A (Quiet) Gem in Alentejo<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When you live in one of Lisbon's pretty little seaside towns getting away from the crowds of locals and tourists is at times almost impossible, which is what made the little town of Évora roughly an hour away from Lisbon (or 2 hours by bus) in Alentejo such a little gem.<br />
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In Évora, keen to get some good quality, tranquil nature walking into our timetable my husband enthusiastically asks our hotel receptionist "where can we go for a hike around here?" the receptionist looks at us like we're mad and suggests another town 40km away where we can see a charming little town on a hill and have a coffee in one of the several charming cafe's. I didn't get the impression that walking is a national pastime here, actually, a couple of weeks earlier we found locals asking us why on earth we would possibly want to walk from Cabo da Roca to Sintra when we could easily drive there... but the Sintra forest is one of the prettiest forests I've seen in Europe and walking through there is well worth skipping a car for a day. And as it happens walking in Évora is also worth skipping the car and driving to the next town for coffee. Just outside the town you can follow a path along a 9km ancient aqueduct - the Água de Prata Aqueduct or Aqueduct of Silver Water built between 1531 and 1537. The walk takes you through some beautiful countryside with stunning orange, yellow and red hues speckled with green cork trees and the occasional white farm house.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Images by <a href="http://www.einarsen.no/">Mats Stafseng Einarsen</a>. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looking back on Évora</td></tr>
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Though you don't have to get into the countryside to enjoy peace and quiet because Évora itself lacked the crowds and had a tranquil quiet vibe all along it's charming narrow streets making it perfect for a quaint little weekend away.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Templo de Diana</td></tr>
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<b>Must eat: </b>local food in the countryside always has a tendency to blow my mind and the regional porco preto surely didn't disappoint but an interesting (and tasty!) regional dish that is a must try is the Alentejo gazpacho, chopped tomato, cucumber and green pepper are immersed in iced water and olive oil and then sprinkled with oregano, it comes with a side of bread for dipping. It was like drinking a Greek salad, and it definitely went down easy in the scorching 35c degrees and even easier with a delicious glass of white wine also from the region.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alentejo style gazpacho</td></tr>
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<b>Stay:</b> <a href="http://www.albergariadocalvario.com/">Albergaria do Calvario</a> a beautifully decorated boutique hotel with friendly staff, excellent service and a delicious breakfast offering the best local produce.</div>
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Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-33038975934326775692012-05-14T16:08:00.001+02:002012-05-20T19:44:46.347+02:00Morocco - Assault on the Senses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Our overland trip from Marrakesh to Lisbon started with an explosion on our senses the moment we arrived in Casablanca and made our way to Marrakech. The smells, the sounds, the sights were all different, chaotic and overstimulating. Morocco was the first country truly outside my cultural bubble and the culture shock I felt was as claustrophobic as the narrow covered streets within the Medina walls. </div>
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After working our way overland into Spain we were exhausted, exhausted from all the scams, all the hassles, all the garbage and all the foul smells, but at the same time strangely fulfilled - we finally stepped outside our comfort zone and got a taste of adventure again.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUWGhFycX4H3g4IO_mkCJ3emD9MsJXw6b_watAxdTZMfTgLRej4HKhZh0CvRr9cWHPGcoZUwVLTJIgvDRnIoLOwrfHFY_q7qfzUtiDvBQqnjPHpykxhWnKzrgsMU6iHbgd-mPhlQyhd1l/s1600/medina.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUWGhFycX4H3g4IO_mkCJ3emD9MsJXw6b_watAxdTZMfTgLRej4HKhZh0CvRr9cWHPGcoZUwVLTJIgvDRnIoLOwrfHFY_q7qfzUtiDvBQqnjPHpykxhWnKzrgsMU6iHbgd-mPhlQyhd1l/s640/medina.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b>Morocco is a country of contrasts</b> - it is ugly yet beautiful, chaotic yet peaceful. </span> <br />
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<b>Morocco is ugly. </b>One of the first things I noticed on arrival was the sheer amount of garbage floating around, it is everywhere and I mean everywhere, so much so that halfway through our journey we realised although great for sharing with our friends and family and for displaying on our walls, our photographs weren't really capturing all the truth and if we looked back on them in 30 years they wouldn't be a real representation of our Morocco adventure, so we decided to also start capturing the ugly truth and our photos suddenly got much more interesting. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtEVaFuxyits1s7E_HvJaip6h6wvntkml9kpHr6_e0kn13fdae-5rbzAs5cT1cJvMbBuzkfu8JxeVMNnsIsyEjigNbT1gzb66zAtHJjM6cuafsQOOuQMI5dr6qrO1jv6GZmikX0bR4RKa4/s640/real+morocco.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shepherd among the garbage in the Rif Mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vwTwUEKPT7RfaLoU3OQac97jjBE4YofVlBa9eJ4PVFw0mfkYiBbhEMb01KCrAq2BrlH__ABNNDUcd7izDBuR5-KQrM6UKDJLH1J2L2iB0jBR9oqISpwtcvsimE7jmt083LPP-IM6KTJs/s1600/essaouira+house.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4vwTwUEKPT7RfaLoU3OQac97jjBE4YofVlBa9eJ4PVFw0mfkYiBbhEMb01KCrAq2BrlH__ABNNDUcd7izDBuR5-KQrM6UKDJLH1J2L2iB0jBR9oqISpwtcvsimE7jmt083LPP-IM6KTJs/s640/essaouira+house.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaotic rooftop in Essaouira</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjew_xLLIAxtNKJTRuonvL-1UmRAaG9YWNlKR0qYaPg5_Dm65yk8DGldntRgjdqEO56RZQAivmTMGNcfcCTTFlkSVZuWcHQO6iAO1gbGrVaZLMTftUXAlYa8H2JO2KNQmc2ROFRE-k5GHui/s1600/marrakech+medina.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjew_xLLIAxtNKJTRuonvL-1UmRAaG9YWNlKR0qYaPg5_Dm65yk8DGldntRgjdqEO56RZQAivmTMGNcfcCTTFlkSVZuWcHQO6iAO1gbGrVaZLMTftUXAlYa8H2JO2KNQmc2ROFRE-k5GHui/s640/marrakech+medina.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marrakech Medina</td></tr>
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<b>Morocco is beautiful. </b>There are details and colors carved within the Medina walls that just leave you stunned and architecture that leaves you breathless. The call to prayer is eerily beautiful and a constant reminder that you're in an exotic destination. Outside the cities there is nature that is simply wild and beautiful. <b> </b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP246fdiCJJVsC6EE-4xEZFMKoIAjgbRI-f34qB5Zp8vKpFP3yBLyHEF3JS1tdbXeFs73KjNBI_3B9Y_P9xqBPgR6nJgS8vrlVTGfKXpI0KWruXBoTuK2D330zwFcwoc2SYIH9Bzw2ixdZ/s1600/fez.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP246fdiCJJVsC6EE-4xEZFMKoIAjgbRI-f34qB5Zp8vKpFP3yBLyHEF3JS1tdbXeFs73KjNBI_3B9Y_P9xqBPgR6nJgS8vrlVTGfKXpI0KWruXBoTuK2D330zwFcwoc2SYIH9Bzw2ixdZ/s640/fez.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Details in the Medina of Fez</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIR2tqX51dUBa_b8zXmI16c7AlQK9YWGpRxxGR6LmKC6H3h-iPtrPuHvyx8v5QQukbL15fT3TIi2oWDjQsPyQDAZJeRCSEY-v2MXHCRWtYaL475A0u7kdPAsnonx1ZItV3huFnsOX-P2d/s1600/rabat+medina.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEIR2tqX51dUBa_b8zXmI16c7AlQK9YWGpRxxGR6LmKC6H3h-iPtrPuHvyx8v5QQukbL15fT3TIi2oWDjQsPyQDAZJeRCSEY-v2MXHCRWtYaL475A0u7kdPAsnonx1ZItV3huFnsOX-P2d/s640/rabat+medina.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Details in Rabat</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVic1RJIcYiEEh5WqFwdNIcqoGtt1qfcpRFV9vl2vGlAiKq0wdxrjbLucdBgn6LRSq6ZJpniG_mq7W_v3t0ubn3Qt7wFzlwTgrih4BKWPVvTy9kac-hp8eSwaktvwB_zSWv6kW1mL2pmzg/s1600/marrakesh+medina.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVic1RJIcYiEEh5WqFwdNIcqoGtt1qfcpRFV9vl2vGlAiKq0wdxrjbLucdBgn6LRSq6ZJpniG_mq7W_v3t0ubn3Qt7wFzlwTgrih4BKWPVvTy9kac-hp8eSwaktvwB_zSWv6kW1mL2pmzg/s640/marrakesh+medina.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Intense color on Riad walls</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGh-WZULgwTnCS8aQdQM_75TtWMbThhIesJZe3Ou3uyEqsY22zc4CKakRIiOpu91xzkaCi3-XawD5a-zfWYZpjjEUI6ZRqmQdZaLATCh8eSni06QOdskDiGGfe8DAsXbRRniX9YviHNOyg/s1600/marrakech+morocco.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGh-WZULgwTnCS8aQdQM_75TtWMbThhIesJZe3Ou3uyEqsY22zc4CKakRIiOpu91xzkaCi3-XawD5a-zfWYZpjjEUI6ZRqmQdZaLATCh8eSni06QOdskDiGGfe8DAsXbRRniX9YviHNOyg/s640/marrakech+morocco.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat takes refuge under lush bougainvillaea </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdjvKtwYMsZQwG20NHvCwktXb25zDEE7ye_Np7Aj7tlwSDfJ-N57Mrhj4V4xw1yTWQTbSXW5rTV_vaFD7Mvxghyphenhyphenf7Yx0sGRIYA8fWGEBJM6h0poaEiDObiLgZaQ2LR7ExZ0WI-CR_kW4c/s1600/marrakech+cat.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBdjvKtwYMsZQwG20NHvCwktXb25zDEE7ye_Np7Aj7tlwSDfJ-N57Mrhj4V4xw1yTWQTbSXW5rTV_vaFD7Mvxghyphenhyphenf7Yx0sGRIYA8fWGEBJM6h0poaEiDObiLgZaQ2LR7ExZ0WI-CR_kW4c/s640/marrakech+cat.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another cat takes refuge in a broken pot</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sfFQW1W-p5B03rfbjv9bFDoUcC0OGaUw1NFLD37iSVAP_v78nMH-sgIeaUtQse4bwl8pOEFqlkWiv-HCbdZYq3dtUjBIs-eyhEh6wAZzS_nGp9SBA1jZBxoP_rBzTbBkUziuaTSP6zU5/s1600/azrou.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8sfFQW1W-p5B03rfbjv9bFDoUcC0OGaUw1NFLD37iSVAP_v78nMH-sgIeaUtQse4bwl8pOEFqlkWiv-HCbdZYq3dtUjBIs-eyhEh6wAZzS_nGp9SBA1jZBxoP_rBzTbBkUziuaTSP6zU5/s640/azrou.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful Azrou from afar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPUXCtdoWkVYIhDN_JmvYY2mOxBeHFFgDlr2jcRq86IOJxyRjFSdF82qjvvezIco_vNMMGX3JhrrhczwVZdMI7ZzeaebKijHESaueyPEbuYEeJ6eM8z9apGxkWCvscoL_XGUN3XokMPv-/s1600/the+rif+mountains.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifPUXCtdoWkVYIhDN_JmvYY2mOxBeHFFgDlr2jcRq86IOJxyRjFSdF82qjvvezIco_vNMMGX3JhrrhczwVZdMI7ZzeaebKijHESaueyPEbuYEeJ6eM8z9apGxkWCvscoL_XGUN3XokMPv-/s640/the+rif+mountains.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beauty. The Rif Mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwOR0FecLsugWFrMs_TrNba9eS1qFz2BnTp9y0kMU2PJnAsDY_kVnmo3FiXB3nrRsW521wzyeHwO8h9vjQXDKgC2XCu828lB5-vCmiDBD0neep6rUZ71y7hyphenhyphenZ8EW-8hS8xPeCY6wiXPMC/s1600/rif+mountains.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglwOR0FecLsugWFrMs_TrNba9eS1qFz2BnTp9y0kMU2PJnAsDY_kVnmo3FiXB3nrRsW521wzyeHwO8h9vjQXDKgC2XCu828lB5-vCmiDBD0neep6rUZ71y7hyphenhyphenZ8EW-8hS8xPeCY6wiXPMC/s640/rif+mountains.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beauty. Shepherd in the mountains</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GQgstrEjRyMKLn9oo7UNcMTGZYZZQRXmKQQLbPCjwcLvOlnx9TVAbl_9eZQDEl5nPkuRAuwz3fAoSPlNliMTGdzIq7af2doLg9iQNe8_IoOqO-2lvdgbTB1EgftWLTu45vcJambx6XWk/s1600/morocco.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3GQgstrEjRyMKLn9oo7UNcMTGZYZZQRXmKQQLbPCjwcLvOlnx9TVAbl_9eZQDEl5nPkuRAuwz3fAoSPlNliMTGdzIq7af2doLg9iQNe8_IoOqO-2lvdgbTB1EgftWLTu45vcJambx6XWk/s640/morocco.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink walls of Marrakech</td></tr>
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<b>Morocco is Chaotic. </b>Don't stop! Don't stop! It seems as though every time we stopped for any reason we were surrounded and hassled by beggars and absolutely everyone who had something to sell. Medina's and souq's are especially overwhelmingly chaotic on all levels: they are cramped, loud, smelly and colorful, they are never ending and winding. Shop owners yell at you, shop owners hassle you, people beg, loud music beats from Berber drums, colors stimulate you, stray cats everywhere, the smell of piss and shit overwhelms you, the smell of fresh leather, the smell of meat sizzling. The smell of all of these together. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNOIh1a2kFCHq1JBCmqsZgFyo9azV-wDPzjC8NCeJrG53Emi_nUBuUMXQeWFdGWlRI3cXmqODJX9fqjf-XWHkvxlo0tj0VRdJDOO3GVPM0KdLwtL-VNzdiWiz9vGv9TCYBw5Xt4zGmNnn/s1600/marrakech.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheNOIh1a2kFCHq1JBCmqsZgFyo9azV-wDPzjC8NCeJrG53Emi_nUBuUMXQeWFdGWlRI3cXmqODJX9fqjf-XWHkvxlo0tj0VRdJDOO3GVPM0KdLwtL-VNzdiWiz9vGv9TCYBw5Xt4zGmNnn/s640/marrakech.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marrakech Souq</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7_FjqJKjhyPapr2W5h9WT37A2QwA_sF_HIZOlDrwZMKN_JivBJf7aHlSmJ6EcJJ-Q2iICYfXHFwS2BANRMqEPNsZJiJbMI9YBNhNMFNJIHjPQsqZm_-65sIxBO2BQ4om0uux0wa6R9xt/s1600/essaouira.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv7_FjqJKjhyPapr2W5h9WT37A2QwA_sF_HIZOlDrwZMKN_JivBJf7aHlSmJ6EcJJ-Q2iICYfXHFwS2BANRMqEPNsZJiJbMI9YBNhNMFNJIHjPQsqZm_-65sIxBO2BQ4om0uux0wa6R9xt/s640/essaouira.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cramped and chaotic Essaouira.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windblown streets Essaouira</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Windblown in Essaouira </td></tr>
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<b>Morocco is peaceful. </b>There is nothing more peaceful than seeking refuge from all the chaos of the Medina within the walls of a riad. Quiet, seclusion and a warm welcome with mint tea is the norm. Some of the friendliest hotel hosts we have ever encountered on our travels around the world were in Morocco, many who went out of their way to make sure we were relaxed and well fed.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Riad in Essaouira</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Savoring mint tea</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rugs air out on a small quiet street that leads on a secluded nature walk</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stray cat in Azrou</td></tr>
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Morocco is truly an adventure but you will need a thick skin, street smarts and a good sense of humor. Be warned and be prepared because every day is overwhelming in so many ways. </div>
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</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com2Morocco31.791702 -7.0926224.895481 -17.200042 38.687923 3.0148019999999995tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-28232733513144263512012-05-12T19:30:00.000+02:002012-05-12T19:30:43.718+02:00A Box of Sweets in Morocco<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The little white boxes of sweets are very recognisable in Morocco and they stir quite a lot of emotions, our little white box caused a commotion, was ogled, begged for and almost stolen.<br />
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We bought our sweets in Djemaa El-Fna, which was probably not unlike most nights buzzing with music, snake charmers, henna ladies and hundreds of tourists. Restaurant waiters continuously tried to lure us in to eat and we retreated into one of many, pleased to have a moment to savor the peace of no one approaching us, of no one trying to sell us something, of no one trying to beg us for money, where we could take our time to observe the chaos around us. It was there, after filling our bellies with delicious grilled meat that a cart full of sweets rolled by, we (and the French couple next to us) couldn’t resist the opportunity for something sweet and carby after our protein fest. Noticing this the waiters began to yell at the cake man and shooed him away from their customers.<br />
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After some mint tea with a couple of our sweets, we took our time heading home through the souq, browsing the rich coloured spices and fabrics, and politely declining offers from shop keepers, all passing eyes locked on our box of sweets. Soon we realised we were lost, and that one second of stalling is all it took for us to be approached,<br />
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”It’s closed it’s closed” the boy lied as he pointed in the direction we were heading. <br />
”It’s OK” we say, we wanted to continue our lazy walk home without a guide.<br />
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But he persistently continued to follow and we continued to walk, suddenly he surprised us as he jumped and grabbed at the box, I held on and we were locked in a battle for the sweets that seemed to go on forever, but I won and he scurried off. Stunned I looked at the box in my hands now broken, the sweets a mess but salvageable, and although I no longer wanted them I held onto the box tightly anyway. We hurried on trying to find our way back to our hotel, but we were lost and we were getting deeper and deeper into parts of the souq we didn't recognise. And as shop owners began packing down for the evening I began to feel panic. But it wasn't long before we realised we had been going in circles, and on round three of circling the same streets we found our way back to Djemaa El-Fna where we could breathe a sigh of relief.<br />
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Back in the square we allowed a stall owner to pull us in for some spicy tea and cake. Relaxed we walked home via a route that worked for us the night before, a little girl approached us to sell a fluorescent wand, we declined and she raised her fingers to her mouth gesturing for a sweet ”you want a sweet?” I asked, she nodded and was left stunned as I handed her the entire box.</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com2Marrakech, Marokko31.6333333 -831.5251788 -8.1579285 31.7414878 -7.8420715tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-1113822419242212972012-02-06T16:53:00.005+01:002012-07-05T10:46:40.454+02:00Our Bleh Airbnb Experience<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Last month we packed all our things and made the big move, as travel lovers (and insiders) we were excited to try <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/">Airbnb</a> for the first time and so we booked ourselves into an apartment for a month while we looked for a more permanent place live. We were so inspired by the honest, cheap and friendly vibe the whole thing seemed to have, and what better than living it up like a local?<br />
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We arrived on the weekend and things were looking fantastic, the apartment was spacious and so beautifully decorated, I was in bliss and I swore this was a new, cool way travel. But come Monday morning we were awoken by loud drilling and banging resonating in our bones. Yep, The host neglected to tell us the apartment downstairs was undergoing heavy construction. <br />
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After contacting the host we were assured this only had a couple days to go and the rest of the work would only be painting, we were satisfied. But as the days continued the noise also continued. From here on the host was unhelpful and almost impossible to connect with, Airbnb offered no solution so we decided we would live with this, the beach just a couple blocks down would be our quiet retreat when the noise, dust and smells got too much for us.<br />
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But 3 weeks in the power company turned off all power to the flat, again the host was difficult to reach, a few hours later after Airbnb managed to get in touch with them the host explained to us that it was due to them not having paid their electricity bill the last few months (seriously?!) they then proceeded to rig us up with electricity by stealing it from the neighboring apartment.<br />
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I decided with one week left that it wasn't the end of the world, after all I could warn other travelers by writing an honest review of our experience. But that was not the case, because regardless of the evidence in videos, texts and pictures we sent to <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/">Airbnb</a> (by their request) it now seems like they have taken the hosts side and <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/234910">removed our negative review</a>. <br />
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I understand that this is a delicate issue for <a href="http://www.airbnb.com/">Airbnb</a>, after all who is telling the truth? But if Airbnb want to succeed they need to understand that their stakeholder is the customer and not the host. By all means don't banish the host from doing business after one negative experience, but what is the purpose of a trust based service when you can't leave a negative review? <br />
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Before the review was removed we received an apology and a coupon to use for our next booking and we may have given it another shot if our review was not removed, but if this is how Airbnb works then how can we trust that the next booking we make hasn't had a negative review that was simply removed? <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1vFtHaVFwASKMzwxclA3Cs-3g4K0ykSe3YI7xaXcFhGaMmhdmwhrAuuxKBIj_4GLz59IoCssKCZAIFVXDhlQU5wexvr8y9EuYhFrWooxhtKTT_wXQ5mP4DC3gr1NnFplQbnwlJIBB8WD/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-02-06+at+12.40.46+PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1vFtHaVFwASKMzwxclA3Cs-3g4K0ykSe3YI7xaXcFhGaMmhdmwhrAuuxKBIj_4GLz59IoCssKCZAIFVXDhlQU5wexvr8y9EuYhFrWooxhtKTT_wXQ5mP4DC3gr1NnFplQbnwlJIBB8WD/s320/Screen+shot+2012-02-06+at+12.40.46+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-29443375800942302412011-12-18T00:51:00.002+01:002011-12-18T00:54:09.881+01:00Finding Social Mecca - And Then Moving OnThis week we packed all our favorite things in a handful of boxes, and a little moving company came to take it all away. That's right folks, we're moving on from Amsterdam. <br />
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As a Sydneysider targeted by the cities social incompetence I’d daydream about moving and living around the world, always finding a new exciting place to explore and if I was lucky enough, to call home. In the most exasperating times I swore I would never go back as I imagined myself in some rural part of Hawaii living it up with the locals (that turns out only existed in my mind, but that’s another story).<br />
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But as it did turn out, it was Amsterdam with its socially forward thinking, beautiful in its old town charm and lively yet relaxed in its atmosphere that gave me everything I was looking for. Amsterdam revolves around pleasant social gatherings. The Dutch have a word for this; “Gezellig” and there is no direct translation for it, the closest I could come to describing it is “cozy” but even that doesn’t really capture the feeling of Gezellig. Gezellig is enjoying the company of good friends over food and wine, it is sitting by a lake in the sunshine with your partner chit chatting as you watch the boats go by, it is sitting on the back of your partner’s or friends’ bike with your arms around their waist as you ride back home from the theatre. When you experience it you’ve essentially hit social Mecca.<br />
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And in the last few months, it was exactly this that had me asking the questions; is moving away the right choice? Will I find this in my next home? Why am I leaving the friends I love so much? Why am I leaving this amazing community I built for myself? Am I crazy? Spoilt? or just stupid?<br />
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But, there is one solid reason why I’m leaving Amsterdam, the lack of being close to nature and beaches that are so fundamental to my happiness, without them I feel lost and find it difficult to picture myself living a fulfilled, happy life in any place.<br />
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So our adventure in Amsterdam may be over, but the adventure itself continues. Lisboa let’s see what you have to offer!Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-32652612608685473982011-11-23T11:44:00.000+01:002011-11-23T11:44:47.740+01:00Fitting In and Hofstede's Cultural DimensionsWhen I moved here almost 3 years ago I felt I slipped into Amsterdam so effortlessly that at times I wondered if I had lived here my entire life. I found the locals easy to understand and easy to deal with, I loved the sense of community that I felt all around me and I loved that women were completely liberated, independent and confident. <br />
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And recently this all made sense when I learnt a little about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geert_Hofstede">Hofstede</a> and his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstede%27s_cultural_dimensions_theory">Cultural Dimension Theory</a>, Hofstede identified several values (dimensions) that differentiate a country's culture and society form another; Masculinity, Power Distance, Individualism, and Uncertainty Avoidance. <br />
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So I ranked my home culture(s) using a really cool <a href="http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural-business-communication/tool.php">cultural differentiation tool</a> I found online, and this is what happened: <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Masculinity MA -</b> The degree to which a country’s society supports the traditional male/female roles. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Power Distance PDI</b> - the extent of equality and inequality between people in a country’s society, low PDI scores point toward more social equality while a high PDI indicates inequalities of wealth and power.<b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Individualism IDV</b> - the degree to which a country’s culture values and supports the value of the individual over the group. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Uncertainty Avoidance UAI </b>- the degree of which a country’s culture accepts uncertainly and ambiguity. A low VAI indicates a societies willingness to accept change and consider new ideas whereas high VAI cultures try to minimize the amount of unknown situations, high VAI cultures also tend to be more emotional. </span> </span></td></tr>
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All the things I hated and loved about growing up as a Greek in Australia were either toned down or toned up in the Netherlands; annoying, stifling gender stereotypes and crazy emotional reactions, gone, replaced by a better sense of community.<br />
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In fact the only thing I really struggled with in the Netherlands compared to Australia was power distance differences that I picked up on here in the work force, kudos to my fellow Aussies on that one!Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-58737228720722538412011-06-05T12:43:00.000+02:002011-06-05T12:43:48.586+02:00Rollende Keukens - Rolling Kitchens<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">The delicious <a href="http://www.rollendekeukens.nl/">Rollende Keukens</a> or Rolling Kitchens was in town again this long weekend for the 4th year in a row. Dozens of mobile kitchens head to the park at <a href="http://www.westergasfabriek.nl/">Westergasfabriek</a> turning it into a delicious open air restaurant with live music and theatre, and the atmosphere is nothing like what you would expect in Amsterdam: big trucks, carnival rides for kids, horses, music and smoking BBQ's all give the feel of a small American county fair. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;">Although our group missed <a href="http://koreantacoparty.nl/">Korean Taco Party</a> the Korean Mexican fusion stall from last year there was plenty of deliciousness to enjoy, smoked pork, BBQ ribs, pulled pork and coleslaw burgers, spit pork, fresh seafood and shellfish, delicious sweet crepes and gourmet savory galettes were just some of what was on offer and perfectly accompanied by sangria, fresh homemade lemon and mint iced tea's, cocktails, ciders and wines. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-25549223082782236212011-04-13T12:00:00.000+02:002012-07-05T10:47:22.197+02:00Crossing the Street in Rome<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When in Rome, do as the Romans do, you will have to if you want to cross the street.<br />
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During my 9 day vacation in Rome it was day 3 when I was finally fed up waiting for traffic to stop for me at zebra crossings and so with no Italians in sight to follow I decided that I would be assertive and cool and just like the Romans I would start walking across the street and not wait by the sidewalk, I even turned to my husband said “you know what? I’m just going to walk, I’m walking… I’m walking… I’m not going to stop” As the cars approached my husband hurried across (what not to do no.2) and I caught myself acting like a deer struck by the bright headlights of a car in the middle of the street, not knowing if I should run backwards or forwards, went forwards turned and went backwards then turned and ran forwards again (what not to do no.1), by then my husband was standing on the other side of the street looking at me with a huge grin on his face.<br />
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When in Rome, you will quickly realize that the endless stream of smarts, scooters, buses and cars don’t stop for pedestrians not even at zebra crossings and so the task of crossing the street is probably the scariest thing that will happen to you there. But it turns out there is a trick to it and although cars wont stop for you they will slow down and adjust their route for you. <br />
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Step 1: confidently step onto the street but watch out for scooters weaving between cars that might not see you. <br />
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Step 2: keep walking and keep calm, because cars adjust their route to it is important that you don’t stop or run.<br />
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Once you’ve mastered steps 1 and 2 you can do like the Romans and stride across the street cool and composed as cars and scooters buzz around you.</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-43757269716506878522011-03-28T00:58:00.007+02:002012-07-05T10:44:16.351+02:00The A-Z guide for moving to Amsterdam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On a regular basis I receive emails from people all around the world hoping or planning to move to Amsterdam, they ask for all sorts of things from how to find a job and an apartment to how to cope with the weather. I try my best to get back to everyone but a couple sometimes slip through the cracks – If I never got back to you I sincerely apologise, and if you’re still thinking of moving and need advice email me, I will reply this time, I promise… or you can just read this post. <br />
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<b>Apartments</b><br />
I keep hearing (and reading) that good apartments are hard to come by in Amsterdam, however most people I know who have stable full time jobs have found great apartments and found them relatively quickly too. I won’t lie though, apartments in Amsterdam are expensive and space is sparse, but the further you move from the city centre the apartments get bigger and cheaper. <br />
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Also, before you can get an apartment you need to show a work contract to confirm that you are able to pay rent. <br />
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And most importantly, do not use a rental agency, these agencies charge you the first months rent, a rate I think is ridiculously high after the costs involved with moving overseas in the first place. I always suggest the <a href="http://www.marktplaats.nl/">Marktplaats</a>, an online Dutch trading site great for finding an apartment.<br />
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<b>Banking</b><br />
You will need a job/proof of income, a local address and a <a href="http://www.burgerservicenummer.nl/veelgestelde_vragen/english_faq">BSN</a> to open a bank account. I have been using ABN-Amro and I find them easy to deal with, I am not sure what experiences other people have had with them, there are of course plenty of other options. <br />
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<b>Biking</b><br />
You wont need a car in Amsterdam but one of your first purchases should be a bike, it’s quicker, healthier and much more pleasant. If you’re a newb (like I was) Amsterdam is the perfect place to become confident on your two wheels, the bike lanes are amazingly well structured and a breeze to ride on. Because they get stolen often, go for something second hand and don't pay more than ~€150.<br />
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</b><br />
<b>Dutch</b><br />
Almost everyone in Amsterdam speaks fantastic English, so like myself it might be hard for you to find the motivation to take a Dutch class if you don’t really need to. However, if you want to intergrate (better than I have) and meet new people there are plenty of options and the local municipal also holds courses<br />
click <a href="http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/living/resources/learning-dutch">here</a> for more info.<br />
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<b>Employment</b> <br />
If you’re not an EU resident you will probably find it’s almost impossible to land here without having a job lined up and finding a job without speaking fluent Dutch isn’t easy, there are however a handful of international companies that don’t require Dutch language skills. Success on finding a job will mostly depend on your field and experience (a recent geology graduate like me has no luck) however I know several people in industries like finance and marketing who picked up positions fairly quickly. Click <a href="http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/living/employment/recruitment-agencies">here</a> for a list of recruitment agencies. <br />
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<b>Happiness</b><br />
Accept that you’re in a new place, that life here is different and don’t compare it to home otherwise you will never be truly happy (and you will probably bore the people around you). <br />
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<b>Hospitals</b><br />
Pray to god you never need surgery or anything else that requires painkillers, Dutch hospitals have a weird stance on them, that is they don’t think you need them (which I find totally contradictory when they allow pot smoking for leisure but not painkillers for… pain). A friend of mine commented something along the lines of home births being so popular in The Netherlands because at least then women can role a joint to ease the pain of labor. <br />
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</b><br />
<b>Medical</b> <br />
Once you’ve settled in make sure to register with a local doctor and dentist, click <a href="http://www.zorgkaartnederland.nl/">here</a> or <a href="https://www.huisartsen.nl/">here</a> to find the closest to you.<br />
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<b>Mice</b><br />
They’re everywhere and there’s not much you can do to keep them away for very long. Unless you don’t mind mice you should probably do as the Dutch do and get a cat. <br />
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<b>Patience</b><br />
Don’t leave home without it, Amsterdam moves at a slower pace than most other places, you will find yourself waiting longer than usual for service in most bars, café’s and restaurants but the best thing about it is no one rushes you either.<br />
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<b>Registration</b><br />
When you move here you need to register yourself with the IND and get a BSN, if you have a job already lined up then your HR department should be able to help you with the details for this otherwise click <a href="http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/living/official-matters">here</a> for more info. <br />
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<b>Socialising</b><br />
There is a HUGE expat scene in Amsterdam, you will probably not have a problem finding friends unless you don’t make an effort <a href="http://www.meetup.com/">Meetup.com</a> is a great place to start, there are several meet ups for both Dutch and foreigners in Amsterdam to choose from. <br />
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<b>Supermarkets</b><br />
I mean minimarkets. Be prepared to find that the supermarkets here are small and have a small selection, but there are some great alternatives if, as you will soon find, you are not tempted by the local Albert Heijn on your corner. My favourite place to shop is <a href="http://www.amsterdam.info/markets/noordermarkt/">Noordermarkt</a> a small farmers market in the Jordaan and the <a href="http://www.amsterdam.info/shopping/albert_cuypmarkt/">Albert Cuyp Markt</a> in the Pijp. Marqt supermarkets have a habit of disappointing me with overpriced, not really bio, just pretty packaged food so I opt for a <a href="http://www.natuurwinkel.nl/">NatuurWinkel</a> or <a href="http://www.biomarkt.nl/">BioMarkt</a> instead <br />
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<b>Taxes</b><br />
I’m not even going to try and help you with this minefield, like most other expats I know I have a consultant to do my taxes. Talk to your HR advisor they should be able to help you find a trusted tax consultant. Also prepare to wait a looooooong time before you see any €’s return. <br />
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<b>Weather</b><br />
It doesn’t rain nearly as much as people think or say it does. The autumns and winters can drag out a bit but Amsterdam is perfect for cosying up in your local bar or cafe with your friends over a beer or hot chocolate plus the vibe in spring and summer is incredible and totally worth the wait.<br />
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<b>The XYZ’s </b><br />
The <a href="http://www.iamsterdam.com/en/living">I Amsterdam</a> website on living in The Netherlands is by far the best and most updated resource, I would definitely recommend having a good read of it.<br />
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And finally, avoid the Expatica forums at all costs, they are full of negativity and whining that can really make you tear your hair out.</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-52170315288931998942011-03-08T11:19:00.006+01:002011-11-29T14:53:59.995+01:00The Work SituationSome numbers related to my professional life in Amsterdam since moving here almost 2 years ago;<br />
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~ <b>13</b> - jobs somewhat related to my career that I could apply for<br />
~ <b>28</b> - jobs not specific to my career that I would do out of shear desperation for something to do<br />
<b>1</b> - university course related to my career path I could apply for<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>5</b> - volunteer jobs in the Netherlands I would love to do</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>9</b> - recruiters that I am signed up with</div>~ <b>46</b> - job applications and cover letters sent<br />
<b>2</b> - emails regarding university studies sent<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>0</b> - rejection or follow up letters</div><b>2</b> - call backs for jobs somewhat related to my career<br />
<b>2</b> - call backs for jobs not related to my career<br />
<b>2</b> - interviews for a jobs somewhat related to my degree<br />
<b>2</b> - interviews for a jobs not related to my degree<br />
<b>1</b> - rejection letter following an interview (pointing out that I went to 4 here)<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>1</b> - job</div><b>1</b> - number of years employed<br />
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(If you're considering moving to Amsterdam and are reading this please don't let it discourage you, my field is very specific (geosciences, geospatial) so finding relevant work here is harder than many other fields).<br />
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Pretty pathetic and extremely frustrating. More frustrating is the pattern of never hearing back from any of these places in regards to my application. Not one rejection letter, do companies and institutions here lack that amount of common courtesy and good business practice? It boggles my mind.Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-53945014985308192912011-02-14T00:11:00.020+01:002011-03-08T17:29:58.828+01:00Milan In Less Than 3 Days<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">I'd never heard much about Milan but reading about heavy discounts on designer clothes, markets with vintage shoes and cheap flights from Amsterdam it felt natural to do a girls trip there. So last Friday <a href="http://amandablogandkiss.wordpress.com/">Amanda</a> and I jumped on a plane and headed toward Italy. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Unfortunately heavy discounts meant that instead of paying €4999 for an Armani (or; Dior, Gucci, Prada etc etc) dress you could pay just €1699 for it, and that vintage second hand items started at over €100. So there I was, shocked to find almost<b>*</b> everything was out of my budget.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Ok, so I wasn't going to shop on this trip but that wasn't the end of the world because Milan had so much more to offer. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Tea and cookies in Art Nouveau Heaven</b> at <a href="http://www.caffemiani.it/en/index.htm">Zucca in Galleria</a> located in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II just opposite the Doumo, completely over priced at €4.80 for a cappuccino but the cookies are to die for and in combination with the setting the tea and cookie option at €6 is totally worth it. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KRW2AzApjI6jzOxJZ0mAQJj-94hv7kmgGhJMMF54TJJLqBmsH09RzfT7eWfzdlUeHsrLMbBMQWIgm_cfJQCho1a1uD6kMfGhandSshuHeQ-sjLzXj8TY9lR4Ke5kXivKyvvQSHGYqclE/s1600/milan_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-KRW2AzApjI6jzOxJZ0mAQJj-94hv7kmgGhJMMF54TJJLqBmsH09RzfT7eWfzdlUeHsrLMbBMQWIgm_cfJQCho1a1uD6kMfGhandSshuHeQ-sjLzXj8TY9lR4Ke5kXivKyvvQSHGYqclE/s400/milan_3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Inside the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele ll</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica;">A quick hop over the Piazza Doumo to the <a href="http://www.museodelnovecento.org/">Museo del Novecento</a> (</span>the Museum of the 20th Century) is well worth a visit, on display is contemporary Italian art and it hosts several works of Umberto Boccioni and surprisingly some work by Pablo Picasso. Entrance until the end of February 2011 is free. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Happy Hour in Navigli</b> happy hour in Milan is unlike anywhere else I have seen, between about 6-10pm bars offer their take on the Italian aperitif (a glass of prosecco and some bar snacks before dinner) in the form of an all you can eat buffet with any drink/cocktail purchase (usually between €6-12), the buffet includes warm and cold snacks such as pizza, pasta, cured meats, cheeses, grilled and cured vegetables, salads, desserts… the list goes on and on and by the time you're done you're too stuffed for dinner anyway. The district of Navigli is a great area for Happy Hour, here canals are lined with some great bars and restaurants that all compete against each other when happy hour roles around, lavish buffets are on display in their windows. Guides will often advise you not to over indulge and state that treating the buffet's as a dinner is considered tasteless by the locals, however this does not seem to bother the locals we encountered who piled on the goodies and went for 3rd and 4th rounds themselves.<br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiwSxbvvzWF25Ucu7ZVD2U9ZOge6MIvrVfPzqhppQWpZnuwPko5XXTYvRH0I3BHTIoRhPqQXLShFoIE2PXohxUVC90nIcJ-5Z2WYGPu_A00Zwp2FvcP5AGd8QFoiuuzl8V19nBTiPUqke/s1600/milan_6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiwSxbvvzWF25Ucu7ZVD2U9ZOge6MIvrVfPzqhppQWpZnuwPko5XXTYvRH0I3BHTIoRhPqQXLShFoIE2PXohxUVC90nIcJ-5Z2WYGPu_A00Zwp2FvcP5AGd8QFoiuuzl8V19nBTiPUqke/s400/milan_6.jpg" width="265" /></a></span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Happy hour!</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Stroll through Navigli</b> back to Milans canal district Navigli during the day is also worth a visit, filled with art studios and galleries, vintage clothing and antique stores, well stocked book shops, outdoor markets and cozy cafe's it is a great place to take a walk, pick up a bargain and enjoy a coffee and croissant.<br />
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</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Arial; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHFJXZ8pKnT-sJEA_EBZ09BmLbeswUvZKF5I8RW-SRXjH_Z_R-_qUJWH26jZOmmKO-vDC8xEEHM_xjjAidCk1b874pRF1b8b_WKI5ByPdnZ7dfUCz0jVGpjqesY3lHaCdt4m7rff0QQlS/s1600/milan_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHFJXZ8pKnT-sJEA_EBZ09BmLbeswUvZKF5I8RW-SRXjH_Z_R-_qUJWH26jZOmmKO-vDC8xEEHM_xjjAidCk1b874pRF1b8b_WKI5ByPdnZ7dfUCz0jVGpjqesY3lHaCdt4m7rff0QQlS/s400/milan_4.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Gorgeous bag found in a second hand vintage shop and still completely out of my budget</div><div style="font: 13.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeI9zBCNw_bUW-oVZLCjx1mcPALd7t84Um5Yt_RSw4gDwr2pccZXR_HfuMf3UbkAAow2dp8ymKrh1UTeNFUS8NApIKpszJ_2hl9lhesxRQhs_Yr0aJA8Xcv-M4RzLXzu7t8KlCiHvguAY/s1600/milan_5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggeI9zBCNw_bUW-oVZLCjx1mcPALd7t84Um5Yt_RSw4gDwr2pccZXR_HfuMf3UbkAAow2dp8ymKrh1UTeNFUS8NApIKpszJ_2hl9lhesxRQhs_Yr0aJA8Xcv-M4RzLXzu7t8KlCiHvguAY/s400/milan_5.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></span></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Breakfast in Navigli</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"><b>Climb the Doumo</b> Milan's Doumo is an incredible cathedral made of marble, the Doumo is exceptionally detailed with 3,500 statues, sculptured stories told on it's brass doors by different artists and beautiful stained glass windows. The inside is so special that even an atheist like myself can marvel at what man's faith is capable of creating, but to really appreciate it's grandness pay €5 and climb to the roof (or €8 for the lift), the detail on the 135 spires is stunning when viewed from the top.<br />
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</div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3qxXPBtsuDLRytyuOGuOIuQ4TVoVwWIpvBfwjSlcan9kthUfmnzSQaTNn8neXJii5NhTYS7bXMzyKp4GU7R3vL3XH671f4fu5s9mw4xpzlWLgA8IrrjNVeSNXnA0gJwctyxpTz7cFo4r/s1600/milan_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3qxXPBtsuDLRytyuOGuOIuQ4TVoVwWIpvBfwjSlcan9kthUfmnzSQaTNn8neXJii5NhTYS7bXMzyKp4GU7R3vL3XH671f4fu5s9mw4xpzlWLgA8IrrjNVeSNXnA0gJwctyxpTz7cFo4r/s400/milan_01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">The Doumo, view from the top and sculptures on the doors. </div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxbgMiXSCgmZsMd3zV9vDA2c8_hCjrOS7esVsH-D6L2FW4HHn325XP0P7i8uZM_h93CyV-h3Odhd2oX4XsTyDCMG7WsDJjI3JoByuQL8zAHlXfv9lgNZoQzitpsiKOuEgKsQ6PDyk5Et7/s1600/milan_02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwxbgMiXSCgmZsMd3zV9vDA2c8_hCjrOS7esVsH-D6L2FW4HHn325XP0P7i8uZM_h93CyV-h3Odhd2oX4XsTyDCMG7WsDJjI3JoByuQL8zAHlXfv9lgNZoQzitpsiKOuEgKsQ6PDyk5Et7/s400/milan_02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">On the top of the Doumo</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Sample delicious handmade Mozzarella</b><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Helvetica;"> after climbing the Doumo treat yourself with a sundowner at <a href="http://www.obika.it/english/reviews.html"><span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Arial;">Obika</span></a></span> M<span style="font: normal normal normal 13px/normal Helvetica;">ozzarella Bar</span>. Located on the top of a lavish several story department store the restaurant has a gorgeous view of the Doumo spires and the sunset viewed here while enjoying a bottle of cool white wine was the highlight of my trip. Oh and the food is damn good too, Obika has a completely new restaurant concept and offers different types of mozzarella accompanied by delicious and fresh traditional Italian sides, yum!</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>Get cultured</b> the <a href="http://www.ambrosiana.eu/jsp/index.jsp">Biblioteca Ambrosiana</a> (WOW) is another of Milan's highlights, the library also houses a the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana (the Ambrosian Art Gallery) which displays some fantastic masterpieces including Raffael's "School of Athens" and works by Botticelli and Leonardo. The library section is also impressive with 30,000 manuscripts. My only wish is that we had more time so that I could really explore it, we did however see what we went to see and it was totally worth it, the current exhibit of Leonardo Da Vinci's <i>The Codex Atlanticus</i>, these sketches were mind boggling and seeing Leornardo doodles on the edges of the paper used for his designs was a great sight! We were lucky enough to get free entry that Sunday but the usual €15 entry would be totally worth it!</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The <a href="http://www.milanocastello.it/">Castello Sforzesco</a> is also a must see, the caste has several museums within it's walls including an archeological and prehistoric museum it also has a great art collection which includes Michaelangelo's last sculpture the The Rondanini Pietà. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Ah Milan.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 13.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b>*</b>almost everything, except for these babies at just €39.95 from <a href="http://www.oviesse.com/">OVS Industry</a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8Z9h-l7HBYXaw1_mvjYMCfa2-rP6lfh7TNJuwzetML5fjWqVdY5rNHtlfIqOk0kBSlcrIII3YFz6skFJAdV-Sqk7Ln6l1wIG9OBwuZk_kPjHmjhxc467vUc3XyK00hfVG5o4t8gL9rnh/s1600/shoez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_8Z9h-l7HBYXaw1_mvjYMCfa2-rP6lfh7TNJuwzetML5fjWqVdY5rNHtlfIqOk0kBSlcrIII3YFz6skFJAdV-Sqk7Ln6l1wIG9OBwuZk_kPjHmjhxc467vUc3XyK00hfVG5o4t8gL9rnh/s400/shoez.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-28021723974469796792011-01-10T12:30:00.001+01:002011-01-11T13:30:49.112+01:002010 Alphabet<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although I didn't updated much, 2010 was a year of up's and down's. I figured the best way to summarize the year was to do like </span></span><a href="http://amandablogandkiss.wordpress.com/2010/12/31/the-2010-alphabet/"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Amanda</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and do a 2010 alphabet. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIuFik-ojZNiz71h-vl8Nwnf9UyTLR0vQebwHGc8PIO5JP_O8wLnebnZgMYU2VvNTTI8991THLPHgPPWqwyZtZnIfcodbEXyRcQvbwYEDT7muMw7hRsKSKcKk_C2QdohAz5uoGBn28vYY/s1600/IMG_0292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEIuFik-ojZNiz71h-vl8Nwnf9UyTLR0vQebwHGc8PIO5JP_O8wLnebnZgMYU2VvNTTI8991THLPHgPPWqwyZtZnIfcodbEXyRcQvbwYEDT7muMw7hRsKSKcKk_C2QdohAz5uoGBn28vYY/s200/IMG_0292.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chilling in Amsterdam</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A. Amsterdam -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I loved this city more and more everyday and at the times when I realized I actually lived in Amsterdam I felt so awesome. Although every so often I had itchy feet to move somewhere new and exciting, the thought of leaving Amsterdam always had me thinking twice about taking any action on that. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">B. Beach sickness -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> More than anything else I missed warm, clean beaches to swim in. I had so many dreams of running and jumping into warm pacific waters, I even had lucid dreams where I controlled my setting and brought the pacific to me with just a simple snap of my fingers; sun - snap! Happy chilled out beach people - snap! Beautiful beach - snap! At least there I could swim as much as I liked and all while never leaving Amsterdam. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">C. Cymbeline - </span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My long, overly perfectionist, super love for detail search for a wedding dress ended with a dress from a Parisian designer named Cymbeline. Unfortunately the dress was 40% over my budget and I needed weeks of wedding budget shuffling and budget cutting to cover the cost. The search for a wedding dress was one of the best experiences I had last year, nothing felt as good as trying on fine gowns worth several thousands while chatting with the girls and sipping tea. I wish I could do it again and again and again.</span></span></div><div style="font: 13.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 16.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">D. Depression -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Unfortunately this came and went a few too many times last year but never really lasted long because my life here was so friggen' awesome that at the end of the day I couldn't really get too deeply bogged down by anything. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">E. Edwardian Pearls -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> While shopping for wedding earrings in Amsterdam's antique district I decided I would try on a pair of 100 year old, €2000 Edwardian Era pearl earrings that I absolutely </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">could </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">not afford only to have one break as I was putting it in my ear. Luckily for me the man behind the counter said it happens all the time with antique jewelry and let it go (how lucky was that!?).</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">F. Friends -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Not only had I met an amazing bunch of people in 2010 but I also bonded more with amazing ones that I met in 2009. I was surrounded by such a great group of people last year that sometimes I wondered how this little introvert was capable of juggling so many social events like an extrovert. </span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9eVcy3ugdkWDqE0-Sxju7Q9VCf5UZTeFP_U87dXsTtqD8R-glwi4nbyu5Q6VxmVvH0DrKHKDY-DDVVW_qanrQ8pQnfcoKu5RMBD1td1ITFjXaHrb4MrL6jY2tCBmZxoCnHl6kPDobsVJ/s1600/IMG_0235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9eVcy3ugdkWDqE0-Sxju7Q9VCf5UZTeFP_U87dXsTtqD8R-glwi4nbyu5Q6VxmVvH0DrKHKDY-DDVVW_qanrQ8pQnfcoKu5RMBD1td1ITFjXaHrb4MrL6jY2tCBmZxoCnHl6kPDobsVJ/s200/IMG_0235.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Discovering new restaurants</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">G. Gourmet -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I tried some amazing restaurants/cafe's last year. My top 3 included </span></span><a href="http://www.ronblaauw.nl/english/"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ron Blauw</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> which totally blew me away, the restaurant has 2 Michelin stars and dining there was an experience that I felt I should applaud. </span></span><a href="http://www.gartine.nl/"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Gartine</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> had possibly the best high tea I have ever had anywhere with delicious home grown ingredients, an excellent atmosphere and super friendly staff. And </span></span><a href="http://www.floamsterdam.com/site/Home-24.html"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Brasserie Flo Amsterdam</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> (& Lisbon!) which had excellent seafood and classic French dishes in a gorgeous art nouveau setting. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">H. Holland Hup!</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - Such a great vibe in the city, it was lots of fun being in Europe for a world-cup and even more so in a country where the team made the final. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I. Insomnia -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> When I wasn't lucid dreaming of warm pacific beaches I spent a lot of my time tossing and turning and trying to fall asleep.</span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">J. Jerks -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I ran into a lot of them this year, especially a lot when it came to organising my wedding. </span></span><a href="http://www.indigoproducoes.net/"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nuno Flores</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - who provided our live music sent us 2 violinist instead of a cellist and violinist which is what we asked for from the very beginning. </span></span><a href="http://www.marinacruz.com/"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Marina Cruz</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - who after paying them €300 for wedding hairstyling slyly added additional costs to the total value of €500 and then charged us for the coffee we drank on the morning of my wedding at the salon. </span></span><a href="http://www.idoido.nl/"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I do I do</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - who's service was too shockingly rude to be in the wedding </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">service industry. The cynical ladies running </span></span><a href="http://www.asgemeas.pt/eng/index.html"><span style="color: #2a2bee;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Quinta dos Alfinetes</span></span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> in Sintra who rudely tried to force us to have our wedding on a weekday or a weekend in November because they didn't want to give us a weekend spot in September/October. The list is pretty long so i'll just stop here. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">K. Kilos -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The gym became an important part of my life and I lost about 10kilos leading up to my wedding, my gown was taken in 3 sizes and body pump and core and stability classes almost turned into my religion. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">L. Love Parade -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We spontaneously joined some friends heading to Duisberg for the Love Parade, this was probably one of the worst experiences i've had not only in 2010 but in my entire life. When we returned to Amsterdam I had to wash my hair 4 times before the water ran clear from the all the dust off the coals of the shitty industrial area the organisers thought they could squeeze so many people into. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">M. Mor -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Sadly Mats' grandmother passed away early in the year and I couldn't attend the funeral because of some minor surgery I had the week before. Mor was a wonderful host who welcomed people from everywhere into her home and I will remember the few christmas' I shared with her forever. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">N. Norway -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> In summer we headed over to Norway for Mats' mum's 60th Birthday. And again back for Christmas at the family farm. </span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBR3o8nqeQtTeMzOKOYE4JWUc9fZRCB6N1OwwP7E2OcQ2dcBsUL5_5mg-HTrFK4DL5P0sjdNa5-EDMaVJNoxrnbi-6_h6i55xYGXUq5lcW6O91XvlJIE2hkfwbghYiU4yEVscn_P36YSx8/s1600/IMG_0157.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBR3o8nqeQtTeMzOKOYE4JWUc9fZRCB6N1OwwP7E2OcQ2dcBsUL5_5mg-HTrFK4DL5P0sjdNa5-EDMaVJNoxrnbi-6_h6i55xYGXUq5lcW6O91XvlJIE2hkfwbghYiU4yEVscn_P36YSx8/s200/IMG_0157.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Celebrating my 30th</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">O. Older -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I turned 30! And spent my birthday drinking red wine and eating mussels in a brasserie in France. </span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObpaYTyme3A-naIBwv831_eTXkgTHtvsPUriCX4aYshrHtX_k10djYd6katPIiNGDUFXq86hADEbDhmEK11fk-x7MRbaLKRCpxuT4zzw-PVgTtMijPiXCzL-Whv6FhWXBb8Vz4dOdLpPU/s1600/IMG_0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgObpaYTyme3A-naIBwv831_eTXkgTHtvsPUriCX4aYshrHtX_k10djYd6katPIiNGDUFXq86hADEbDhmEK11fk-x7MRbaLKRCpxuT4zzw-PVgTtMijPiXCzL-Whv6FhWXBb8Vz4dOdLpPU/s200/IMG_0558.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pre wedding in Ericeira</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">P. Portugal -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Probably the word we used more than any other the entire year, Portugal was the main focus of everything for us, our families and closest friends. After flying there to settle on a wedding venue we had 8 months of looking forward to Portugal. We honeymooned pre wedding in Ericeira and post wedding in Sesimbra, they were beautiful sunny days filled with delicious seafood and salt water that was too cold for swimming but perfect to smell in the air. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></div><div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Q. Quit my job -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Not so wise finically, but oh so liberating. After seeing my yearly contract out I decided not to renew and am again a lady of leisure looking for something new and exciting. </span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrm8M3drB54co74D3awhe7bDS1L0P5Li2liMvQfBCjhT42vM6ivIijb-gQXteEtFJT6YSzfvhw2c5mbD2d-r6_8g5t4OmiFSSV0R0O1TZ7rhfYFQ9KHgrkQDIqcMRcE_LkpHBT4vUfIfd/s1600/IMG_0259.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsrm8M3drB54co74D3awhe7bDS1L0P5Li2liMvQfBCjhT42vM6ivIijb-gQXteEtFJT6YSzfvhw2c5mbD2d-r6_8g5t4OmiFSSV0R0O1TZ7rhfYFQ9KHgrkQDIqcMRcE_LkpHBT4vUfIfd/s200/IMG_0259.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Roadtrippin' the French Riviera</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">R. Roadtrip! -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Our annual roadtrip with Mats' brother Jonas took us down to Dijon, further down to sunny Marseille and across the Riviera, to Nice and Monaco, up through Italy to Lake Como and back through France to Strasbourg and all the way back to Amsterdam. </span></span></div><br />
<div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">S. Sintra -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> The little town where we got married, we were so thrilled to share this magical place with the people closest to us!</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">T. Tonsils -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I had them snipped out, and it was 2 and a half weeks of complete hell because of the doctors refusal to prescribe me any pain killers stronger than paracetamol. Crossing my fingers I never break any bones in this country... </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">U. UK -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We spent a weekend in London with family and I got to do plenty of shopping. Although I could never live there, visiting London is always a highlight.</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTjIxfNAw4wwlmxTorqkGKalVmRKjb_PqyLHgOykYb3A8mkNwwW17hUY55zGfUMDf-ewUb2nKxk3q_hbz0CE3SAIvvwVSpt1CVOGGgruW4KspLwNN6mRnPUsCAZsMJNiq7M4BJhOc6Fst/s1600/IMG_0772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTjIxfNAw4wwlmxTorqkGKalVmRKjb_PqyLHgOykYb3A8mkNwwW17hUY55zGfUMDf-ewUb2nKxk3q_hbz0CE3SAIvvwVSpt1CVOGGgruW4KspLwNN6mRnPUsCAZsMJNiq7M4BJhOc6Fst/s200/IMG_0772.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My brother and his gf visit Amsterdam</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">V. Visitors -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> We were lucky enough to be visited by more friends and family from Norway and from Australia last year among them was my brother and his girlfriend, a very good friend and her son, and my cousin and his wife. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">W. Wedding! -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> I got married, twice! On September the 23rd Mats and I caught a bus from Ericeira to Lisbon and were officially married by the Norwegian Ambassador to Portugal in the Norwegian Embassy. The whole experience took about 10-15 minutes and before we knew it we were married and catching a taxi to Brasserie Flo where we celebrated with champagne, oysters and delicious deserts. A little over a week later we headed to Sintra with our closest friends and family for a beautiful wedding weekend where we were married once again in a symbolic ceremony on the terrace the hotel that we hired out for the weekend. It was an amazing day that flew by far too quickly. </span></span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMzlqPJ9sKqqw9uMpFm9Lmi7wvBogKzGJmZZLuj79mffgHqnvoAuNhAz3evCPLk5Z4qUqR3inRvjy2JL_Uxu6yH8iLXNwuaCeOBMveIWeT5oeY0hYeJsGQw_5Ir_5JZQgNI2GE5Wz1UAY/s1600/IMG_0631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMzlqPJ9sKqqw9uMpFm9Lmi7wvBogKzGJmZZLuj79mffgHqnvoAuNhAz3evCPLk5Z4qUqR3inRvjy2JL_Uxu6yH8iLXNwuaCeOBMveIWeT5oeY0hYeJsGQw_5Ir_5JZQgNI2GE5Wz1UAY/s200/IMG_0631.JPG" width="200" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Waiting for the bus to Lisbon</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">X. Y. & Z -</span></span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Impossible to think of any x y & z's! </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="font: 16.0px Times; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So there, I've updated on my 2010, hopefully this year I will update more than a total of 3 times. </span></span></div></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-34043651657531960742010-03-28T12:40:00.000+02:002010-03-28T12:40:31.253+02:00Recurring DreamsI'm pretty certain I never want to live in Australia again but in between bouts of insomnia are persistent dreams of familiar beaches, surfing and warmth hitting on my body. The frequency of the dreams is getting a little disturbing now... They started roughly six months ago in October with one dream a month, then by January they increased to about two a month and by february they occurred about once a week. Now, this week I have already had three, last night was the most recent.<br />
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The scenes and people change but they always take place by Sydney beaches, there is always sparkling clear blue water and sounds of people enjoying themselves, there is always sun, lots and lots of sun, and I'm always blissfully happy. Occasionally, they get lucid, and I begin to think to myself - something isn't right because I live in Amsterdam now, of course! i'm visiting Sydney, I need to call my parents and tell them to come say hello before I head back to my life, but I can't, I have to fly out soon and there's no time. And then the dreams fade out and disappear.<br />
<br />
Am I homesick? Or am I just going mad from all the cold and lack of nature and clean beaches?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJWk8tLJLxQYsjIM_jgxKcxo3lxmfn-Y4QM9hc7pBiZnAArcUddUa4bfP6kyJ0saHSnBj7NAKlv8eOJloDgJNFW_Y-Dlwzgf5Ng0QYtM-4iiNpHxnWun1hMz2lHL_u0PSV3z2SPoVI4Kp/s1600/dream01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXJWk8tLJLxQYsjIM_jgxKcxo3lxmfn-Y4QM9hc7pBiZnAArcUddUa4bfP6kyJ0saHSnBj7NAKlv8eOJloDgJNFW_Y-Dlwzgf5Ng0QYtM-4iiNpHxnWun1hMz2lHL_u0PSV3z2SPoVI4Kp/s400/dream01.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-180317484867514992010-03-14T17:46:00.000+01:002010-03-14T17:46:54.520+01:00Restaurant Week in AmsterdamLast week was Restaurant Week in Amsterdam, for €25 you can try a 3 course menu at one of Amsterdam's finer restaurants that you might not usually be able to splurge on. We were a little lazy with organising so we only got to try two restaurants, we will definitely try and reserve in advance next year.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Nomads</span><br />
Rozengracht 133, Amsterdam<br />
http://www.restaurantnomads.nl/<br />
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Food 7/10<br />
Atmosphere 8/10<br />
Service 7/10<br />
Value 7/10<br />
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Nomads is one of the most atmospheric restaurants I have ever visited. It is decadently designed like a sultans harem with large mattresses and pillows, private booths with huge sofa's separated by curtains. Nomads comes complete with ambient and Arabian music and on some nights even a belly dancer. The cuisine is Middle Eastern/North African and you wine and dine reclining while hot and cold mezzes are served to you on a platter.<br />
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<b>Pros:</b> The deserts are incredible!<br />
<b>Cons:</b> It was a little bit too see-and-be-seen for me. The music is a little too loud and makes chatting difficult. <br />
<b>Tips:</b> Best to go with a group.<br />
Don't order cocktails - with a small bar staff and large crowds cocktails can take more than 30 minutes to arrive.<br />
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Flo</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Amstelstraat 9, Amsterdam</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">http://www.floamsterdam.com/</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Food 9/10</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Atmosphere 9/10</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Service 9/10</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Value 9/10</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Hands down the best food I have had in Amsterdam so far. Flo is a French Brasserie concept restaurant, with plenty of fresh seafood and typical French dishes, the food is excellent quality with excellent presentation. The restaurant has a great atmosphere and really gives the busy Parisian bistro vibe, best of all is the gorgeous art nouveau setting. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 17px; white-space: pre;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate; font-size: medium; white-space: normal;"><br />
</span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Pros:</b> Michelin recommended restaurant. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Cons:</b> Couldn't find any!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><b>Tip:</b> Must try the French classics like steak tartare and creme brulee.<br />
Do ask what wine they recommend with a particular dish - the combination can be pretty amazing. </div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-67052355381093244332010-02-03T20:15:00.001+01:002010-02-03T20:20:31.121+01:00Where in the World is Angela Rhodes?It's been so long since my last update, between work, being knocked out by the flu right after NYE, insomnia, headaches, wedding planning and bleak Amsterdam weather I haven't found the time or the inspiration to update my blog at all lately.<br />
<br />
Until I took a little break down Sunny Portugal way. It seems like we retraced our steps and ended up being there almost exactly one year since we were there last. I can't say that my first trip to Lisbon was a pleasant experience, I was jobless, homeless and fund-less, by the end of the trip I had actually wrote it off completely, declaring I never wanted to go back.<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">This time around I was left in shock at how much I enjoyed it, I'm sure I repeated "what the hell happened now?! Lisbon is so awesome!" several times over and over. Maybe it was the romance of heading down there to book a venue for our wedding in gorgeous Sintra or maybe it was the sun and temperate weather that I have missed for months now in Amsterdam, who knows. </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFogUzP0BPswixHJoEkPPeBnHhpFz85pxO2TDAGjs8_0QcgGfxD-niaE8qI5EPVfH5BUfYA0T8d_elKbLjBSMhXxA3eeJGIADX5dbqPLbMkrCY8LIgccnco2rkfCkhezWjZtTpcFTyZ1to/s1600-h/pt01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFogUzP0BPswixHJoEkPPeBnHhpFz85pxO2TDAGjs8_0QcgGfxD-niaE8qI5EPVfH5BUfYA0T8d_elKbLjBSMhXxA3eeJGIADX5dbqPLbMkrCY8LIgccnco2rkfCkhezWjZtTpcFTyZ1to/s400/pt01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View from the hotel</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Lisbon has an old town (Alfama) that seems to go on and on. It is filled with narrow streets, wrought iron balconies and terra-cotta roofs all of which can be enjoyed from several look out points. The most charming thing (to me at least) is that every so often a palm tree falls into view reminding you how nice it is to be back in a temperate zone away from icy pavements. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuvq1vXyeZbPjUe0UZ_bNaJ4w8N4PGzOD1wFCcHPVQU-m4lIL7HTl8I5Axu0zpnZkJWtgIkfrwITdYaK01-YrNTI0aAzGqmDsm5YDoeyx7ZGl97eC27cI6OCDpAsh6nnZiXjasjVs8Ej3/s1600-h/pt02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivuvq1vXyeZbPjUe0UZ_bNaJ4w8N4PGzOD1wFCcHPVQU-m4lIL7HTl8I5Axu0zpnZkJWtgIkfrwITdYaK01-YrNTI0aAzGqmDsm5YDoeyx7ZGl97eC27cI6OCDpAsh6nnZiXjasjVs8Ej3/s400/pt02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTykcfciX-WqcRVeo2oTqOc9XmU6XdQDMCQ9QjQ5dFRn4ttCMJgPxcf_8Kp4NSb0ZFzPXrteOTtkZ_-snq1VpCRzkFTavgevkyJfbc41ewICfbbkbg9F9t1pMRREgVaLqfVwzaTAAQV9R/s1600-h/pt04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiTykcfciX-WqcRVeo2oTqOc9XmU6XdQDMCQ9QjQ5dFRn4ttCMJgPxcf_8Kp4NSb0ZFzPXrteOTtkZ_-snq1VpCRzkFTavgevkyJfbc41ewICfbbkbg9F9t1pMRREgVaLqfVwzaTAAQV9R/s400/pt04.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What really impressed me though, was the the Oceanarium (<a href="http://www.oceanario.pt/">Oceanário de Lisboa</a>), which happens to be the worlds second largest oceanarium. The centre is made up of a huge tank that represents the global ocean and is surrounded by 4 smaller tanks that represent the North Atlantic rocky coast, the Antarctic coastal line, the Temperate Pacific kelp forests and the Tropical Indian coral reefs. The best bit is that the tanks are 2 levels high so you can see the wildlife from above and from below. If you ever head down Lisbon way the Oceanarium is a must see (and take my advice and totally hang out by the cuttle fish tank).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSL11cSztvnI5aaVcjyfVh_v1zbPMQERZ_NstyZ3E5GdPJJ-HCX9teAbO5sDp1YLics_TcVwFmi9uHVds2pwfPikoj4Goh6IntwcyhccX2360xfJl6sVHh7TnF9iQAdiCnGI1pOBg_x9Bb/s1600-h/pt05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSL11cSztvnI5aaVcjyfVh_v1zbPMQERZ_NstyZ3E5GdPJJ-HCX9teAbO5sDp1YLics_TcVwFmi9uHVds2pwfPikoj4Goh6IntwcyhccX2360xfJl6sVHh7TnF9iQAdiCnGI1pOBg_x9Bb/s400/pt05.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5V8X4fWl3JGFyJ765V6xHbguzEXPAs_t7mEfjgK9bKNOGQaLZYTmRyu4dF89S9YQlPabZxMYjHrQNjnM9sjsnO4EJyMCIpysDp9YNU1NZ5HzikrLiIRG095ciGdV3IbLr93FZHR33xpK/s1600-h/pt08.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN5V8X4fWl3JGFyJ765V6xHbguzEXPAs_t7mEfjgK9bKNOGQaLZYTmRyu4dF89S9YQlPabZxMYjHrQNjnM9sjsnO4EJyMCIpysDp9YNU1NZ5HzikrLiIRG095ciGdV3IbLr93FZHR33xpK/s400/pt08.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGa3ulbSQxZLFiOR-eqqVscUjcn3vlgK8s-FqvYFjhdmAQbwXpJ1badNmu-WegbdCCr3ojlBBpG2qtlyuVOddTJUvx0dBzgVOZqgylSY72CFBQEXrKyTRgQAT10ceXEpBLlebZv38Git_/s1600-h/pt07.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgGa3ulbSQxZLFiOR-eqqVscUjcn3vlgK8s-FqvYFjhdmAQbwXpJ1badNmu-WegbdCCr3ojlBBpG2qtlyuVOddTJUvx0dBzgVOZqgylSY72CFBQEXrKyTRgQAT10ceXEpBLlebZv38Git_/s400/pt07.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Curious little cuttle fish swam right up to us when we stood outside his tank, then put on a show for us by changing his colours, awesome! Don't eat Cephalopods! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In between doing the tourist thing we headed over to Sintra to do some wedding planning and venue scouting. Sintra is actually a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site">UNESCO World Heritage Site</a> because of it's exceptional beauty and 19th century architecture and it is definitely the most beautiful little town I have ever visited.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhym1hO5kRussgeKTgjfpQefeVj-cpedXcucyTfKEiPOBE-ve7Qq3vDUUJyTLiA7pJjsb2kHGHyoaQbRevI7tTC96MlTR3jn9nNP62wLgc7mJqAJ2Qrkt-HGHA0JfFyQ_WGDqluYSbN-Ix-/s1600-h/pt03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhym1hO5kRussgeKTgjfpQefeVj-cpedXcucyTfKEiPOBE-ve7Qq3vDUUJyTLiA7pJjsb2kHGHyoaQbRevI7tTC96MlTR3jn9nNP62wLgc7mJqAJ2Qrkt-HGHA0JfFyQ_WGDqluYSbN-Ix-/s400/pt03.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ichVB7HsV6nnrvOEf5jB2FPWc1QTKOghGfMwIMT7sXdTYXv9hjGnKTi4dpd-JWCXbwlV9fU9x4xj8aTIFv8r0vifiiFaf3I7c7hA0BtWFJlL5r04q9gL7sEXSSfRPS6O2lh5wGarzVmU/s1600-h/pt06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ichVB7HsV6nnrvOEf5jB2FPWc1QTKOghGfMwIMT7sXdTYXv9hjGnKTi4dpd-JWCXbwlV9fU9x4xj8aTIFv8r0vifiiFaf3I7c7hA0BtWFJlL5r04q9gL7sEXSSfRPS6O2lh5wGarzVmU/s400/pt06.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We were given a recommendation to try some queijadas (Portuguese desert) from a little cafe on the road to Sintra's old town, they may have been some of the nicest treats I have ever tried and broke my strictly no gluten rule 3 times in a row :(<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiGTHM6EbxXLpPARnDXHrorTKgoi6e5OtYBGgnHCqV0HlCXEAgsGfAWLmYY8OPRg_Q368yfr-l4J36ydkwahj2o5ieie2XZwxaY-6xArDliPtD9uHehZL6fxumPZo4FGehzEXw5cDyi88/s1600-h/pt09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUiGTHM6EbxXLpPARnDXHrorTKgoi6e5OtYBGgnHCqV0HlCXEAgsGfAWLmYY8OPRg_Q368yfr-l4J36ydkwahj2o5ieie2XZwxaY-6xArDliPtD9uHehZL6fxumPZo4FGehzEXw5cDyi88/s400/pt09.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GlnL0_J1rCZ3inJfY0vpUpIcucWRb0qjwMO6VxcxGJhzKWdpu5TS9kZFvoPiFD2TIF3C0X5bwFwJTAOCOjPTQpHnU49h1XdszMoPys3xrEnS2N2isrOUY-3CoXt5WBHk_zjvqSt7Iuuy/s1600-h/pt10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1GlnL0_J1rCZ3inJfY0vpUpIcucWRb0qjwMO6VxcxGJhzKWdpu5TS9kZFvoPiFD2TIF3C0X5bwFwJTAOCOjPTQpHnU49h1XdszMoPys3xrEnS2N2isrOUY-3CoXt5WBHk_zjvqSt7Iuuy/s400/pt10.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In the last hours as we headed to the airport we had a basic conversation in broken Spanish with our cab driver who was keen to know how we liked Portugal, his face filled with smiles when we told him about all the delicious Portuguese sites and tastes we loved. I got a pang of wanting to live in Lisbon, but for now it's back to Amsterdam and back to reality. At least I can look forward to heading back there before too long to show all our friends and family the special little town we've found to take our vows. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31-UF-gmbsEe_nuScOboyJuM7J7sJnC7vtDs03EM-5ilLBlmq4gy4gVHDTFPV6B_UFzrnIRAS7ht6flIRirj_x8AjgpmAH_ef0k79bFNJMmGbbXNFIbdKbEDxnyUboGj2iWYFI-Tnuzpt/s1600-h/pt11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31-UF-gmbsEe_nuScOboyJuM7J7sJnC7vtDs03EM-5ilLBlmq4gy4gVHDTFPV6B_UFzrnIRAS7ht6flIRirj_x8AjgpmAH_ef0k79bFNJMmGbbXNFIbdKbEDxnyUboGj2iWYFI-Tnuzpt/s400/pt11.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Shots of the wedding venue we finally decided on</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-32244231692948440472009-12-22T23:09:00.000+01:002009-12-22T23:09:10.055+01:00Off to Norway<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It's that time again...</span><br />
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</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;">Time to head off to beautiful Norway for another white Christmas.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFFVFmJg-0b19VpB86Wan6PMKS3DTgEUp5qFyyFo-who6Nv7xMpLT5ExbbhL0U8TtEuxE2XKhH8KDX1t2-EqyaMoOrKVyArDkzLkn0BH0z8DwH_WBtkfPn4SAozToEmmLOvVoIsPWRg9n/s1600-h/norska.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghFFVFmJg-0b19VpB86Wan6PMKS3DTgEUp5qFyyFo-who6Nv7xMpLT5ExbbhL0U8TtEuxE2XKhH8KDX1t2-EqyaMoOrKVyArDkzLkn0BH0z8DwH_WBtkfPn4SAozToEmmLOvVoIsPWRg9n/s400/norska.jpg" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!</span></b><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"> I will be back on the 27th with lots and lots of photos to share.<br />
</div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-7427390586457067112009-12-13T19:58:00.000+01:002009-12-13T19:58:15.013+01:00One year abroad in picturesYesterday morning I compiled a bunch of pictures from the last year to have printed and sent to my mum back in Sydney. After spending almost the entire day at the Albert Cuypmarkt and having no time to print them, Mats suggested I upload them onto an Australian photo printing website and have them sent directly to her house instead, that way she'll get them before Christmas. This morning I was getting ready to have them printed when I saw I could make a photobook instead, I chose that option and put in the dates; 12.12.08 - 12.12.09 and it hit me, yesterday had been exactly one year since I had left Sydney. One year since we recklessly boarded a plane and moved overseas with no apartment or jobs lined up. One year since I said goodbye to my family and friends, one year since I last crossed Sydney heads on the Manly Ferry. Time has gone so quick.<br />
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So here is the book that is now waiting to be printed and shipped to my mum for Christmas, here is my life in one year (click the images for a larger picture).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2ys5gA8f7STRlXZudA1sXJVqAcUBSitnZaLWYADUNiUf8oHY5Pc9giBYj8P8EMKY-9YxGi_BZ4CFyvw7ZuaB5XMsgI1ArPYtmJ_S6kbDeNMz2pSlCgow95JV9WvSbu4bqsgPUYWpJAYi/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.16+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ2ys5gA8f7STRlXZudA1sXJVqAcUBSitnZaLWYADUNiUf8oHY5Pc9giBYj8P8EMKY-9YxGi_BZ4CFyvw7ZuaB5XMsgI1ArPYtmJ_S6kbDeNMz2pSlCgow95JV9WvSbu4bqsgPUYWpJAYi/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.16+PM.png" width="400" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">Christmas in Norway 2008 (Then off to London to look for work - Jan 2009)<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgxMIwN9yYoKCp3DJ9vL-jtNvJqxM0aRwmJFJgDoKlzCpBHdKDSDilJaiN-jD9JHJlG4afwL7jxNKNGGYYoHBk1ojFijEcgfcgVjCD9T3WqbLhlMJiQmz_boMI-MqG4g8DQ27qgJHvub2/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.28+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisgxMIwN9yYoKCp3DJ9vL-jtNvJqxM0aRwmJFJgDoKlzCpBHdKDSDilJaiN-jD9JHJlG4afwL7jxNKNGGYYoHBk1ojFijEcgfcgVjCD9T3WqbLhlMJiQmz_boMI-MqG4g8DQ27qgJHvub2/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.28+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hiring freeze in London, off to Lisbon & Sintra, Portugal Jan-Feb 2009 to look for work and enjoy the sun where it's cheaper, but it turns out it's not that much cheaper. Back to Norway Feb-Mar 2009 to look for work again.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYR_iBkmtQVFiMk-hK-K96TsMYViQO4OY3nz9m0ZC6eMICGca2-laQrEeBtO4oA7ebsUQ5Yf1ATvRppPJ_TcJ-_HRbAbLwnJna3R3FagRrvoC50Cne7VqUtYy2tLhUbXsJII3KyrsZZSPi/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYR_iBkmtQVFiMk-hK-K96TsMYViQO4OY3nz9m0ZC6eMICGca2-laQrEeBtO4oA7ebsUQ5Yf1ATvRppPJ_TcJ-_HRbAbLwnJna3R3FagRrvoC50Cne7VqUtYy2tLhUbXsJII3KyrsZZSPi/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.32+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYR_iBkmtQVFiMk-hK-K96TsMYViQO4OY3nz9m0ZC6eMICGca2-laQrEeBtO4oA7ebsUQ5Yf1ATvRppPJ_TcJ-_HRbAbLwnJna3R3FagRrvoC50Cne7VqUtYy2tLhUbXsJII3KyrsZZSPi/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.32+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"></a>April 1st 2009 we moved to Amsterdam<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnAu2PzKv-55xABRlkoCd3Tm2YLQkZkksj3jVt51Td42vr1324fFhFxQM7KAfO4YKgC0yQI1QMC85PLSE2Tpp5XHWuWt8CLBm-gMf9iGIUdL0ZJ1jHkm8EEMD4dQPW70IobU54bDIS59a/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.35+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWnAu2PzKv-55xABRlkoCd3Tm2YLQkZkksj3jVt51Td42vr1324fFhFxQM7KAfO4YKgC0yQI1QMC85PLSE2Tpp5XHWuWt8CLBm-gMf9iGIUdL0ZJ1jHkm8EEMD4dQPW70IobU54bDIS59a/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.35+PM.png" /></a><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimTK1JDsTtLx6X7DZwK5S1xkFmkq9JcasD1wwPNSTcjo99u7JDYRRn29cUf2I8h2PSKWKAdce0eoC4SAWtoisgnFW_m9EaI0kPw3892gwbYCQlJTWy7K7yymheGlNLqyHQz-fJwkLLqDt/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimTK1JDsTtLx6X7DZwK5S1xkFmkq9JcasD1wwPNSTcjo99u7JDYRRn29cUf2I8h2PSKWKAdce0eoC4SAWtoisgnFW_m9EaI0kPw3892gwbYCQlJTWy7K7yymheGlNLqyHQz-fJwkLLqDt/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.38+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Spent the next few months exploring Amsterdam and some of the Netherlands, several friends visited and we celebrated our first Queensday.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjr6R1-fjgXszLmwg3ttl_RL4RkO5U8SjT45KIHkIlDc8Lw6-Bahgz_3htdfSlpggbWFO_YW3QH2dRSMqlC30DYj4o_eEJLFBJWpVf9hNtfMCkaHEhPk4hWOCj-TZLrAqDLZZFJV7ZPQ8/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.41+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFjr6R1-fjgXszLmwg3ttl_RL4RkO5U8SjT45KIHkIlDc8Lw6-Bahgz_3htdfSlpggbWFO_YW3QH2dRSMqlC30DYj4o_eEJLFBJWpVf9hNtfMCkaHEhPk4hWOCj-TZLrAqDLZZFJV7ZPQ8/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.41+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Mats' Brother visits us in Amsterdam and we all go on a road-trip through Luxembourg, France and Belgium.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMqZ5XqrA2vHggLPi2kfkYt2UQMZ_jNrKqUdANqSMKPatbYSCTtOycIH6IjhsSP9mn4QhwshTSJNoMxixe9KQAacWNRbMQE9A2hR7AL38bVAo8LGs5lsybG8gk8__9qKsTD7u5VChEsyX/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivMqZ5XqrA2vHggLPi2kfkYt2UQMZ_jNrKqUdANqSMKPatbYSCTtOycIH6IjhsSP9mn4QhwshTSJNoMxixe9KQAacWNRbMQE9A2hR7AL38bVAo8LGs5lsybG8gk8__9qKsTD7u5VChEsyX/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.45+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">We fly to Norway in Aug 2009 for a Summer party hosted by Mats' parents.<br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Back in Amsterdam we're busy meeting some really cool new people.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqXAIGUVvId6UkAnOag9yP35eaVJKzfEkU9AACuS-gRRzsRDok_FRfQwqS7lxuGOE3TEhPKfCg8jo3wYpds1wiqJ4EiMc7mqES_oks_8eSHqivzdmeNwUaxM-DCnN-Nu4p598Wm-iuPtD/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.49+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqXAIGUVvId6UkAnOag9yP35eaVJKzfEkU9AACuS-gRRzsRDok_FRfQwqS7lxuGOE3TEhPKfCg8jo3wYpds1wiqJ4EiMc7mqES_oks_8eSHqivzdmeNwUaxM-DCnN-Nu4p598Wm-iuPtD/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.49+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Oct 2009 - We celebrate that I finally found a job by spending the weekend eating delicious seafood in Brussels.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcH9TxltZ-eUzSURvNFaA40Q3lW_prClRAynJqOfTYKic-yZ2ZlsvoGFn-FDZgBiiMMQE7fMgBKcIWuH_NqGnfG6jTHJ_CvDMMfQZTK8qWKDdjLxoeeN8i3bdUYS0aQA_0WqddOROLmM2N/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcH9TxltZ-eUzSURvNFaA40Q3lW_prClRAynJqOfTYKic-yZ2ZlsvoGFn-FDZgBiiMMQE7fMgBKcIWuH_NqGnfG6jTHJ_CvDMMfQZTK8qWKDdjLxoeeN8i3bdUYS0aQA_0WqddOROLmM2N/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.53+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Autumn comes to Amsterdam.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6U31RpDsvKnfCYLFPnVF0XQYHeycrNe5zgUrdRiQjArBKWoQQ1hPdsV5h0pSRUk5LXT5_Cwd4m7wvkDkjFXOFJ9Xd9cYebBQVHpl1tKTTwMe7ZYlNZI3mu5hWJBcWGYJuup8RjkzcCQB/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.58+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho6U31RpDsvKnfCYLFPnVF0XQYHeycrNe5zgUrdRiQjArBKWoQQ1hPdsV5h0pSRUk5LXT5_Cwd4m7wvkDkjFXOFJ9Xd9cYebBQVHpl1tKTTwMe7ZYlNZI3mu5hWJBcWGYJuup8RjkzcCQB/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.28.58+PM.png" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">Dec 2009 we head over to Germany with some friends for the Cologne Christmas Markets.<br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifANEIECka_xoY70NNz11uWV3VzBsN8keKR9dVWVWq4hfYFIca9U4On99n75J2iyBeslJP3hlu2gxegfFXQrVal5H4HDZTt8a-H6LmLajNj6UVbLAePV1uMqxD9Rzhn4tPGcSnsuJAwjXJ/s1600-h/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.29.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifANEIECka_xoY70NNz11uWV3VzBsN8keKR9dVWVWq4hfYFIca9U4On99n75J2iyBeslJP3hlu2gxegfFXQrVal5H4HDZTt8a-H6LmLajNj6UVbLAePV1uMqxD9Rzhn4tPGcSnsuJAwjXJ/s400/Screen+shot+2009-12-13+at+6.29.03+PM.png" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">This year did not start off easy, as nice as hanging out down sunny Portugal way might sound the truth was we were freaking out about work, money and about where we were headed in life. Deciding to go back to Norway to continue looking for work was a hard decision and we regretted having to leave London, but once we moved to Amsterdam everything fell into place and everything ran smoothly, so smoothly we're convinced it was meant to be.<br />
</div></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-15959775190846099752009-12-13T18:27:00.003+01:002009-12-13T18:44:14.385+01:00Drama on the Marie Heinekenplein<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><object height="285" width="470"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8XWz7lNAAYA&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8XWz7lNAAYA&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object></span>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-6992909314810337482009-12-10T21:45:00.001+01:002009-12-10T21:51:57.319+01:00Köln Christmas Markets: part tweeThere is something special about Christmas in Europe, having grown up in Sydney, the days leading up to Christmas' composed mostly of humidity, bikini's and fake snow from a can on windows. But in Europe you really feel Christmas is... <i>Christmas</i>. Hot mugs of glühwein, the smell of cinnamon in the air, people in big coats and gloves, <a href="http://www.dabbler.ca/food-wine/pepperkaker-the-best-christmas-cookies-ever-20081209/">pepperkaker</a>, and ice skating rinks outside, <i>outside</i>!<br />
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So imagine how much I was bursting with excitement on the days leading up to our weekend in Köln a weekend dedicated to checking out Christmas markets! A concept I had only heard of a few months ago. After all the excitement I am happy to report back that I was not disappointed at all. The markets, the food, the smells, the sights, the goods were soooo good and so so Christmas'y. <br />
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<div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlaqxY8RytlA8pHJFFP_CVHjfEReq0BR7MAaW7mT4Rm_0lLvlEQSt88WGvo1hqxkq28mM2BMwz3l2khXV0K7vx9ctpDV9XU4E5lJxMFReXk8V6dFPB9IuA6iKJMvPNW9AUmPREULRPM-3/s1600-h/ak1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIlaqxY8RytlA8pHJFFP_CVHjfEReq0BR7MAaW7mT4Rm_0lLvlEQSt88WGvo1hqxkq28mM2BMwz3l2khXV0K7vx9ctpDV9XU4E5lJxMFReXk8V6dFPB9IuA6iKJMvPNW9AUmPREULRPM-3/s400/ak1.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div style="text-align: auto;"><span style="font-size: small;">Doughnut men with cherry hearts</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwO8pl_dN-XRI3gjA1FASH1DuBDPAvK4z8GBrSf2cv43c91EhPAzYBtVaai6GwcvC9mqeK5fJKHEsCnCTVp9SEuYxXdYHw9y0XOk-0UoYjLdKV9-rIeFGz01mpUco1MDp5-V0z5ZdkTCFx/s1600-h/ak2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwO8pl_dN-XRI3gjA1FASH1DuBDPAvK4z8GBrSf2cv43c91EhPAzYBtVaai6GwcvC9mqeK5fJKHEsCnCTVp9SEuYxXdYHw9y0XOk-0UoYjLdKV9-rIeFGz01mpUco1MDp5-V0z5ZdkTCFx/s400/ak2.jpg" /></a><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shot 10 seconds before we all gorged on chocolate covered fruits</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Assorted spices</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The K</span><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ö</span><span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; white-space: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ln Christmas markets turned out to be an excellent way to start to the Christmas season. And on our return to Amsterdam all the Sinterklaas decorations had been replaced with Christmas ones, this weekend we will pick up a tree and before we know it we will be zooming over to Norway for another white Christmas. </span></span></span><br />
</div></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-12288410300528980422009-12-09T19:30:00.002+01:002009-12-10T21:52:03.914+01:00Köln Christmas Markets: part eenLast Saturday Mats and I jumped into a car with <a href="http://amandablogandkiss.wordpress.com/">Amanda</a> and Dave and drove to Köln. I was surprised to find that it was not a pretty city at all, being almost completely bombed during WW2 most of the cities architecture is from the 1950's so it lacked a lot of the old charm many other large European cities have. But what it did have were some amazing <a href="http://www.koelnerweihnachtsmarkt.de/en/home.html">Christmas markets</a> (have I mentioned markets are my favourite thing of all time?), excellent tastes and a pretty good vibe.<br />
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I'm sure my body still hasn't recovered from all the delicious beer and market food I stuffed into it - delicious egg nog, yummy (and probably glutenous) potato cakes with apple sauce, currywurst, chili mushroom stroganoff, jalapeno and mango shots, deep fried brie, chocolate coated mandarin pieces and probably many, many more things my brain has conveniently repressed.<br />
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</div></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4403420927496531946.post-40565761188604770882009-11-22T14:24:00.004+01:002011-06-24T10:53:20.277+02:00A Case Against Meat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My attention was caught by an add on Facebook today; the head of an orangoutang in cling wrap ready to be sold in supermarkets. I clicked the </span><a href="http://www.stopfoutveevoer.nl/home"><span style="font-family: inherit;">link</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> which took me to a page that warned meat sold in Albert Heijn was soy fed, soy which is grown in plantations in South America that are not only damaging the environment but are also the cause of human rights violations. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I googled around a little and found this video which was part of an investigation by The Economist into Europe's cheap meat, </span><a href="http://www.theecologist.org/trial_investigations/336873/killing_fields_the_true_cost_of_europes_cheap_meat.html"><span style="font-family: inherit;">click here</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to read the full article or watch the video below.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><object height="295" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/McX2pgSFtzs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/McX2pgSFtzs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object></span></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: 10px; white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Friends of the Earth in The Netherlands has an </span><a href="http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/press-releases/campaign-against-the-drama-behind-cheap-meat"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ongoing campaigning about this</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> apparently The Netherlands is the world's second largest importer of soy. If you feel as sick as I do right now please read and sign their </span><a href="http://www.foei.org/en/get-involved/take-action/ahold"><span style="font-family: inherit;">petition</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We have already cut down drastically on meat mostly because we've found the quality of meat here pretty shocking, after reading this though, there is just no way we will be going anywhere near soy fed meat and instead aim at organic and free range. Can that even be found here in the Netherlands? Eating for me is getting harder and harder by the day. I am now a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten-free_diet"><span style="font-family: inherit;">gluten free</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/oceans/what-we-are-doing/sustainable-seafood/sustainable-seafood-frequently-asked-questions"><span style="font-family: inherit;">sustainable fish </span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">only, extremely strictly non cephalopod, organic/free range meat eater. Bloody great...</span></div></div>Angelahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02826246715861501760noreply@blogger.com6