Home, soon

Its true that once you have kids, your risk appetite just spirals downward. Perhaps its the recent Malaysian Airline debacle just a week before my scheduled flight, adding to my jitters. Well, can't blame me, with my precious three waiting for me at home. Gosh, I miss them so much.

 

The canals are no doubt the prettiest part of Amsterdam city

 

Its day 3 here in Amsterdam, and I've been jet-lagged, typing away at 3am now. The trip is so short, I don't even bother trying to overcome the jetlag. Because, I'll be boarding the plane home tomorrow! This trip has been quite fulfilling, and I have enjoyed myself much. My flight here has been an easy one, with me sleeping almost the entire 13 hours. Yes, can you believe it? I slept almost as soon as I boarded (hey, it was midnight! way past my bedtime) and woke up just 3 hours before we landed, to have breakfast. While savouring airplane food, I watched Frozen which embarassingly left me in tears, and falling in love with Olaf! Haha. I can't wait to share about Olaf with Wayne. I also watched an episode of Masterchef, which brought back memories of our Bangkok trip where the husband and I cosied up watching many episodes together. And.. I also caught an episode of Captain of the Skies II, a HKB drama serial.

 

Because I slept so much on the plane, I arrived in Amsterdam wide eyed and ready to take on the shopping street... which I did!! Darn the shopping hours which only started at noon on Mondays and ended at 6pm, but still I managed quite a loot, mainly for the kids. Love the recent Zara collection for children, where I spent a good two hours browsing through. Fell in love with a pair of Steve Madden boots in soft cow leather. I decided to wear them immediately for the rest of the day. As with my previous trips, a stroll down PC Hoofstraat was a must, where I go in and out of the boutiques just admiring the recent collections in season now, stocking up on Nespresso capsules and ending the day with a cuppa and soup at my favourite PC Cafe. The weather was pretty cold at around 10 degrees, and the warmth in the cafe made it all the more inviting.  I was however disappointed that again, the bag I wanted to get was out of stock in Amsterdam. It seems perpetual that its out of stock so this time, I put my name down on the waiting list and hopefully the next time I come, there is a higher chance of getting it.  I retired back to the hotel room just before it got dark, arms aching from the carrying of the shopping bags all afternoon, utterly pleased with my purchases.

 

Work meetings though tiring, was pretty much a breeze, having had built rapport with my peers over the many times we've attended these meetings since 2008. I particularly enjoyed the company of my peer from Sao Paolo whom I spent much time chatting and gossiping with in between the sessions. I also got to know a couple of others a little better , and I couldnt help but also notice during this trip that many of the Dutch strangers I met along the way were always with a smile and warm "Good morning/Hello"despite not knowing you, which actually does make a difference to your day.

 

 

 Bits of Amsterdam I snapped along the way:

  

My room at Holiday Inn Amsterdam, Rai

One of the best ways to get round the city: My 3 day GVB ticket, which gave unlimited access to the trams and Metro, it got me round Amsterdam very conveniently

My much loved Steve Madden boots, I fell in love with the color

 

Good food I had here and my shopping buys!.

I have pretty much caught up with a lot of sleep during this trip here, a luxury I wont get back home. But I have had enough and can't wait to get home tomorrow, and although I know the flight home is always much tougher (I don't get to sleep much on the flight home due to the timing), the thought of being able to see my three precious ones is much comforting. Love all of you lots.

 Coming home soon!