What Do You Think Of When You Think of Holland?
This?
Or this?
You probably don't think of beaches that go on forever, massive sand sculptures or dreamy Argentine Tango music and dancing by the sea with the glow of the setting sun kissing the dancers faces.
But that is exactly what I saw on my first brilliant day in the Netherlands.
Thanks to Anja my tour guide for the first day we took it all in. She is a pro Tango dancer and had committed to DJing for the club that evening. She had also found the great sand sculpture exhibit and sea wall art.
Photos courtesty of Anja from The Curly Traveller
This is how I reacted when I saw a guy that was casually sitting on a bench nearby unzip his pants and start to show off his ahem… package.
Nothing to see there.
Literally.
The beach truly was massive and went on as far as I could see on either side. It was also very shallow, and you could walk very far out into the sea. The water was cool and fresh on my toes.
I'm still amazed at the location of the Tango, right on the beach and also at the level of the dancers, many of whom were instructors or owned their own schools. It really was a fabulous show.
I was asked by two wonderful gentlemen to get up and dance but I had only slept 2 hours in past 2 days and in all honesty was totally intimidated by their wicked dance skills. Instead I was happy to record and take photos of the romantic venue and soak up the wonderful ambiance.
Looking back I kind of regret I didn't push myself a bit more. Ah well. Next time.
Here is a bit of the Tango action that I recorded…
That was the end of my first day in the Netherlands…
Not a bad start I'd say…
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The Trip – Getting To Amsterdam – The Best Laid Plans
…of mice and men often go awry.
The night I was to leave for Amsterdam there was a big accident on the road to the airport.
Panic.
The clock was ticking.
My plane was leaving.
What can you do though?
You're just stuck.
Powerless.
I missed the flight.
And yeah I freaked out a bit and my face went red when I realized that.
My husband had to come back and pick me up when I was told there were no more flights leaving that night.
He greeted me by saying, "Wow! That vacation just flew by! Seems like you just left!"
Ha ha.
I knew that secretly though he was happy that wifey was going to be staying home with him another night.
Husband being a Super Elite with Air Canada was able to arrange everything so I left the next day. In the end my trip was only delayed by about 16 hours.
No biggie.
And lucky for me my face didn't stay red.
In the end I was given better seating and a better flight time.
I managed to rest a bit while waiting for my connecting flight to Amsterdam at the Frankfurt airport.
Look what was waiting for me when I arrived in Amsterdam at the airport…
photo courtesy of Anja from the Curly Traveller
Seriously…how cool is that?
Anja from The Curly Traveller was my personal welcoming committee. I felt like a VIB (very important blogger as opposed to a very important b****).
That woman thinks of every thing. She even had a bottle of water waiting for me in the car when I arrived.
Now I expect this kind of treatment everywhere I go.
I was mad when I went grocery shopping today and there was no one holding a sign with my name on it. Seriously people get your act together.
Here is what I looked like when I arrived at Schiphol airport.
photo courtesy of Anja from the Curly Traveller
Anja's great energy and spirit must have rubbed off on me a bit since I don't look too worse for the wear.
I broke down and had to carry a backpack since I didn't have my regular sherpa (aka husband) travelling with me and I wanted to bring a laptop with me.
Ah well.
I can't always be the epitome of style.
(wink)
That suitcase you see me with here? The one with all my clothes, gifts and camera in it? Yeah…it is hiding somewhere between Amsterdam, Frankfurt or London. It hasn't made it back home to me yet.
I had a bad feeling in Amsterdam when checking in at the airport and it all went so smoothly.
Too smoothly.
I remember looking at the bag as it was travelling back on the moving carpet and for a split second I felt a twinge in my gut that made me think the bag wasn't ready to go home just yet. That maybe it wanted to go out and have a new adventure.
Alone.
In my mind on that last glance back at the bag as I left the ticketing agent it was waving madly at me and laughing wildly while yelling,
"See ya later sucker!"
This may or may not have been residual effects of a space cake I ate while on holiday. (more on that in another post) When in Rome…
I'm hopeful that the bag will still show up though. Cross your fingers and toes for me. My husband's bag was lost for 10 days on the way to Australia but did eventually show up… after he had already gone out and bought himself a new Ted Baker suit so he could attend his meetings wearing something other than shorts.
Funny how that happens.
There are many more great photos and moments from Amsterdam to come. Anja, Greetje and Sylvia were the most generous open hearted hosts and made it a wonderful amazing experience for me. I can't wait to share it all with you in upcoming posts.
BTW…be sure to stop by and Anja for her blogversary to win some really great prizes in her biggest giveaway ever. That woman is generous. I know first hand.
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