Well we have now moved to our new apartment here in Amsterdam and I have to say that it is much better than the old one!  We have moved right into the centre of the city and our apartment sits on a really pretty canal.  We are only 5 minutes from Dam Square and 5 minutes from the Jordaan area which is full of little shops and cafe (not those sort of cafes!)

 

The apartment is pretty standard but it works for us and I feel much safer being on the first floor.

 

Our landlord is an older guy who is a sculpture artist and as such, the apartment has lots of artwork from his friends and collections on the walls.  I almost feel I should hold a gallery night but I think I am more interested in serving champagne and canapes rather than try to talk intelligently about the art itself!

 

The location is perfect and we have a spare bedroom so room for visitors too!

 

Pictures are in the album.

Its now been a month since I have been in Amsterdam and I am really missing one person in particular.  Yes its hard to be away from my Mum, and not seeing my sister and her wonderful children is difficult and of course I used to love seeing my Dad too.  But I really miss Keith!!! It was hightened recently when I went to a bar and the owners had a tiny kitten that they had got...she was sooo gorgeous!  And then whilst sorting out my old emails I came across the following two pics of Keith, he was just so cute. I never thought I would be one of those 'cat lovers' but I am and I'm proud!

 

 

This weekend was great as I had two of my best friends come to stay with me from Thursday night til Sunday.  It was Lou's birthday on the Thursday so I decided to get her a cake to have when they arrived.  I had the cake delivered to work and wrestled with it on my way home on the bike which was quite difficult due to the wind completely slowing me down!

 

They arrived right on time on Thurs evening so we headed into Rembrandtplein for a few cocktails and then back home for a glass of champers and some birthday cake.  I couldn’t find any candles so we used sparklers instead when surprising Lou with the cake.

 

The following morning we headed down Albert Cupymarket and had some breakfast before walking into the centre of town and wandering around the canals.  Come the afternoon we stopped at a cafe for a beer and some bitten ballen (dutch croquette things) and then decided to do a bit of shopping.

 

In the evening we decided to brave it and head to the red light district, it was extremely busy and we thought at first that the 'ladies of the night' were much prettier than we had expected.  But to be honest, I think it was just one alley as the rest were certainly a lot older and more haggard lets say than the others! 

 

We were then looking for some food and noticed several people holding red flags.  Hennessy was intrigued and asked what they were doing it for.  They were ‘praying’ for the city and we got tied up in a little bit of a religious conversation which did nothing for our hunger pangs and the sore feet we all had from wearing heels.

 

Saturday was beautiful so we decided to have breakfast and then head to the park with a bag full of magazines enabling us to just chill out in the sunshine.  The sun was shining and we spent pretty much the whole day in the park.  I was naughty and got very burnt (despite putting suncream on) so felt rubbish by the evening.  So much so that Lou and Karen headed out to eat without me and I joined them with Richard later.  We ended the evening in a local bar which was really nice and more so because they had a resident kitten (only a few weeks old) who entertained us all.

 

Lou and Karen went home on Sunday morning and Richard went off to start his holiday so I now in the Dam on my own.

 

Check out pics below

The weekend of 22nd July saw my Mums and Aunts 50th birthday.  They were spending the day celebrating at Thorpe Park as they are both a pair of kids at heart.  As I had just moved to Amsterdam the previous week I wasnt going to be able to make the family day so had to explain to my mum how I would treat her to a birthday weekend when she came over to visit me. 

 

In reality, the main reason I wasnt able to make the Sunday day out was because my sister and I had organised a surprise trip to Rome the following weekend which meant that my budget wouldnt stretch to two return flights to London as well as the weekend in Rome.  As it happened though, I had to go back to the UK for work so managed to get a flight out on the Sunday morning.  Surprise 1 for my Mum - I managed to turn up at Thorpe Park and she was happy as it meant the whole family was there.  The weather was glorious and we all had a fantastic time.  The second surprise was our little trip which we told her about via a poem and she was just sooo surprised and chuffed.

 

It was all booked, 2 nights for my Mum, sister and I in Rome, we all couldnt wait.

 

Thursday came and I had to fly from Amsterdam to London and then catch the flight with my mum and sis to Rome, it was a tight connection and I literally had about 20 mins to get from one terminal to another, through security and to the gate.  Luckily I made it and I also told the staff on the flight that it was my Mum's 50th so they sang her Happy Birthday and we received cakes and some champagne!

 

We arrived in Rome to 38 degrees of sunshine and headed to the hotel which was perfect and most imortantly airconditioned.  That afternoon we went to the Trevi Fountain and then on to the Spanish steps.  Later in the evening we went to a lovely trattoria just around the corner from our hotel.  So far we had been pleasantly surprised as nothing had been as expensive as we had expected.

 

The following morning we got up and headed straight to Vatican City.  A great place with fantastic architecture and the best collection of art (and most expensive) including of course the Sistine Chapel.  We wandered through the museum which was packed and headed into the chapel.  It really was awesome and the painting was so vivid.  Some aspects were even almost 3d so had such an impact when you looked up at it.  The afternoon we headed to the Colosesum - my favourite of all the sites.  Just in its grandeur and architect, I really loved it.

 

The evening we sank a couple of bottles of wine and really had a nice evening.

 

Our last morning we went and did a bit of shopping - well it would have been rude not to.  Both mum and Becks got some sandals and my Mum got a lovely dress.  I bought a bag (you know me ) from the airport and then off we went.

 

All in all a fab weekend - checkout the pics in my album

 

 

Whilst I wait for the gas man to arrive at my house here I thought I would update on our impending move to Amsterdam.

 

Rich and I now have an apartment to move into which means the date we will be heading over looks set to be the 11th July!!!  I cant believe it has come around so quickly, I guess I should start to think about packing the house up!

 

My last day at work here in the UK will be Friday 6th July and then we will be having a few leaving drinks with family and friends on Sat 7th July.  My mum is coming to ours on the Monday to help clean out the house.  I know I could do this by myself but there is something special about how clean your mum can make things. 

 

I had the removal people come over this morning and they have sized up all of our belongings ready to order the van to pick it all up.  This is the first time I have ever moved and had the luxury of having removal people do it all so am sadly excited about this prospect.

 

The gas man is coming to do the important checks so we can rent the house out and our new tenant arrives here on the 12th July.

 

The saddest thing I have to do this week is say goodbye to Keith :(  I really am upset about this but I know it is better for him.  Luckily friends are taking him on so I am sure I can visit once in a while.

 

Its all so real now its actually quite scary!

Along with my house being up for rent, I also need to sell my car.

 

Take a look at the picture and again feel free to comment if you have any questions :)