When I last left you, I was sitting in SFO cursing the 10 hours I would inevitably spend crushed up against some smelly fat man named Swen, while a 3 year old threw cheerios at my head in between Sonic Boom-like, snot filled,temper tantrums. However, to my surprise, it seems the travel gods were on my side.
I am going to make a bold statement and now say the Dutch are my favorite people on the planet. Seriously. KLM Rocks. Decent planes, free Australian wine (that even tasted good), better than average food (fresh salads, pasta and fruit), good movies (27 Dresses and the Other Boleyn Girl - CHICK FLICK HEAVEN!!!) and the flight attendants were, gasp, NICE! The piece du resistence - the seat between me and the nice lady from Santa Clara remained OPEN!!! (insert visual of me doing a silly happy dance). I would have chalked this all up to a long overdue string of good luck, but then divine intervention happened. When they passed out snacks mid way through the flight, I almost gasped when I found out what it was - a sourdough roll, with lettuce, mustard and swiss cheese. Ok this may sound gross to many of you, but as a child that was my favorite snack of ALL TIME!!! Seriously, it almost brought tears to my eyes because WHO EATS THAT!? Thanks Nana, you and the committee worked overtime on that one...
I would recount more of my 3 hours in the Amsterdam airport, but being that it was at the height of my delirium, I can't really recall much other than the Dutch ROCK!
14 hours later, I arrived in the land of AWESOMENESS. Apparently 1,000,000 or so other people agree with mebecause I have never seen so many people in my life. I settled into my hotel and went out to explore for a few hours. Oh, and if I told any of you that I didn't plan on shopping while here, I LIED! This place is like heaven for any serious shop-o-holic. What was my first meal you ask? Linguini with white clam sauce, insalata caprese and a nice glass of prosecco. Capped off by a nice conversation with two American couples from Colorado and Washington in the picturesque Piazza Navona, I'd say it was a successful first night.
I have included a picture of my room for your amusement. The accommodations are, ummm, modest - but really clean and safe. Anyone who has traveled in Europe knows that hotels here are always interesting and its often a crap shoot what you room you get especially if you are trying to be frugal-ish when you have 14 nights of a hotel to pay for when the USD is in le crapper. On Monday after the masses depart I am going to check in with the front desk to see if I can get upgraded to a room with a view of the park (and a bed larger than a child's crib). In the meanwhile, I figure one of the core concepts of becoming more "Zen" is humility. Heck, if its good enough for the Buddha, it's definitely good enough for me. I am here learning how to "be" afterall...
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