Day One: Amsterdam

I'm back from vacation although it was short and sweet.  Looking back I did so much considering how long I was there.  I took my time gathering my thoughts and getting my laundry together last weekend.  Now I've been getting nostalgic lately and figured it was time to share my experiences.

I was SUPER ANXIOUS leading up to my trip.  The weekend before I flew out we had a birthday party for my cousin and I saw my family.  I told them my worries.  For the most part people assume I  enjoy traveling since I've been doing it for a while.  I don't think my family was aware of how much anxiety I get beforehand.  It sort of helped talking to them but I was getting too worked up.  Luckily I packed days before I flew out so I wouldn't forget anything.  I had an evening flight so I worked that day.  I rushed home, grabbed my suitcase and off I went to the airport.

I decided to have dinner there before I boarded and took some antidepressants.  I did manage to knockout on my flight to Heathrow but when I landed I was very groggy.  I had a two hour layover and checked in with my friend in Italy.  She advised me that I should eat something before my flight to Amsterdam.  But being hardheaded as I was, I decided to have juice instead.  I was starting to get anxious again and was hoping I would sleep on this short flight too.  Luckily I did manage to knock out but once I landed it was now after 3pm.  Now I was very groggy but I had to figure out where I was going.

I had printed out my google maps with my hotel information.  Of course I didn't know where I was going but I found a train to catch to the city.  It wasn't exactly the one I was suppose to get on but it worked out in the end.  After my train stop, I knew I was off on my map and asked a lady in a flower shop at the station where was I.  She told me I wasn't far from my location and advised I take the metro to get to my hotel.  It seems I had taken a railway train to Amsterdam (but it was not costly at all; €5,20).

I managed to find the metro station and asked which train was M51 and someone directed me to the right one.  Once I got off my stop I still had to walk over to my hotel.  I walked into a cafe/bar and the bartender showed me to the right direction.  She was warm and friendly.  So far so good.  
I'm happy I chose my hotel close to the metro.  There are trams everywhere but at least I can commute my way around. 

Now it was after 5pm once I checked in my hotel.  I decided to shower up and semi get ready.  By the time I got out of my hotel it was after 6pm.  I was hungry but I knew I wanted to eat light.  Up to this point, from O'Hare to my flight food, I ate pretty badly.  I wanted to get familiar of the neighborhood, and it was now dark in Amsterdam since it was nearing 7pm.  I was hoping I could have walked around but being a solo traveler in a new city, I decided to skip the outdoor site seeing til tomorrow.  

I found a busy cafe and settled there.  It was called Coffee and Coconuts.  I used their wifi to message my friend in italy.  I settled on some spring rolls and a glass of primitivo from the region where my friend was located in Italy.  A man sitting nearby me at the bar had asked for a Tempranillo from Spain and we striked up a conversation from our wine selections.  He was very helpful giving me information about Amsterdam since he was Dutch.  He lives in both Amsterdam and Madrid Spain and he compared both cultures.  


Me and my new friend continued the evening talking and went around the corner to Volt eten and drinken.  I decided not to go to sky Lounge but stay there instead with him since I was learning so much.  He smoked so we sat outside of the bar and had beer and wine. 


Since I was still groggy, I took it easy and by midnight we said our goodbyes.  He had a 9am flight to catch in the morning and I wanted to get up early to go to Ann Frank's house.  According to my new friend; it may not be open on the weekends.  Yikes!


Speaking of yikes, when I boarded my flight to London I found a pair of men's underwear and a sock on my seat.  Yuck. I used my gloves to tuck it in the seat in front of me in the back pocket.  Well at my hotel I found another pair of men's underwear in the closet!  What a weird coincidence!  

Calming my nerves at O'hare.

Saw these at Harolds at Heathrow and I'm in love!

The wine menu at Coffee and Coconuts...

Beef brisket spring rolls...

Outside at Voltet en Drinken

2 Fun Chinese and Ronero

Well today’s the day!  I fly off to Amsterdam in the evening.  As usual, I’m super nervous, but since I will be working today, I feel it will help me get my mind off the flight.  We’ve had a ton of snow hit us these past two days, so hopefully my trip will still be on time tonight.  If not, what can you do?

I’m still recapping February even though stuff mostly happened on the weekends.  I will say that because our weather was all over the place this winter, I took advantage of the nice days by running in the park, or hanging out with my friends.  The day after our friend’s son’s birthday party me and my friends hung out in Wicker Park.  Afterwards we went to a house party to play Cards Against Humanity.  It was nice catching up with everyone.  Normally a winter in Chicago will have you hibernating till April.  Lol

The following weekend a friend was coming in for a conference.  The weather dipped into the high 40s, but it was still bearable.  On Friday we got our crew together to meet at 2 Fun Chinese restaurant on Randolph as our first stop.  To top it off, one of our friends that we made in Miami was in town as well!  It was nice seeing her again.

We took our little field trip down the street to checkout Ronero.  That place was bumpin!  Lol.  We started to get loose there and closed the place down at 2am.  We were having too much fun that we decided to hit up a late night spot.  We found ourselves at Disco on Hubbard.  I love that place.  The music is fun!  I love dancing to Rod Stewart and Donna Summer.

The next day was Saturday and the weather took a nose dive into the 20s.  That was a deal breaker.  I ran my errands and took it easy, but me and my friends had made plans to go out again to host our out-of-town friend.  Unfortunately, due to other obligations some people couldn’t make it out.  I was indifferent, but in the end, I took an uber to meet up with him back at Disco.  That place has a lot of action going on, despite it being super cold.  He had a friend with him and we had a good time there.  We went to Key Club across the street to see what was going on but it was too crazy for us.  Sometimes the crowd can be obnoxiously drunk and we were pretty tired by then.

Wish me luck on my new adventure!  I’ll be back next week.  Until next time…

He's turning one!!

Well, it’s official.  I’m going on another trip again.  I’ve notified all of my credit cards, changed my international package on my phone, and over the weekend, had ironed out all of my clothes and started packing.  Since I fly out in two days I plan to finish packing and try to sneak in a workout or two.  As usual, my anxiety is all over the place, but what’s not helping is all the bad news I hear.  I feel people close to me are suffering all types of misfortunes.  I’m hearing terrible stories about friends and family, and how they are treating one another.  It’s making me depressed.  The word vacation is defined as “a leave of absence from a regular occupation”, etc.  This is exactly what I’m doing with my life.  I want to leave it, and come back to hopefully better circumstances.  Is that so wrong to wish for?

I’m hoping people figure out how to fix their current situations.  I cannot help but wonder why we are hurting one another.  On top of it all, there’s friends I know that are suffering from the threat of losing loved ones to cancer.  It’s a sad time indeed.  I’m lucky to have a few hours within the day of not hearing something so terrible.

I find myself looking back on life and reflecting the good times.  I know it’s possible to extend this part, but then misery creeps out of nowhere.  I want to be alone from all of this drama.  I miss my friend out there in Europe.  I miss the times we had together.  I want to keep my loved ones close by.  

Sorry to rant like this.  It’s been a tough few weeks.  There are moments when I feel incredibly sad.  It’s hard. 

Back to recapping February.  I went out on Friday to see the deejays Chus & Ceballos.  But I couldn’t stay out too late because I had to be up in the morning.  We had to head out to Glenview for a birthday party and we didn’t want to be late.  We only had a small window to celebrate at the party room at Kohl’s Children Museum.  Off we went!

I got my girlfriend’s son baby Jordans, but it was amazing seeing all the gifts he received!  This little fella had quite an entourage!  He loved being the center of attention.  We took a zillion pictures and had a blast.  All of my friends' kids looked so adorable!  I can see why everyone likes dressing up babies.  They can be very fashionable!

Chus & Ceballos

I’m still not done recapping the month of February.  Looking back, I did not think I did so much, but technically, our winter was pretty tame this year.  It started to warm up mid month and Chicagoans took advantage of this opportunity!  Lol.  Earlier in January, I saw that the dj duo Chus & Ceballos was going to be in town.  They’ve been on my radar for a while and I am constantly listening to their podcast series.  They are originally from Spain and travel globally to perform, but FINALLY they were coming to Chicago!  I bought my tickets right away and was looking forward to see them live.

I found out as the weeks went by that a birthday party that was intended for that weekend Sunday was now changed to a day earlier.  UGH!  I wanted to make the most of my night out, since I knew I wanted to hear them til the very end.  But since they were performing on Friday, I had to be conscious of my time because I had to be up early in the morning the next day.  Oh well.  What can you do?

Since I had worked early that morning for work, I went home to take a disco nap before getting ready for my night out.  I had invited some friends to see them with me, but no one was around.  I have gotten use to going to these shows by myself since none of my friends really like them very much.  They feel the crowd  might be “too crazy” or they feel “too old”.  Whatever!  I love dance music and enjoy watching the crowd respond to a good dj.

Earlier that day I received a text from some friends.  They were going to attend an art show in the Gold Coast.  Coincidentally Primary Night Club is also located in the Gold Coast.  I figured I would attend the show and spend time with my friends before making my way to the club.  I knew that Chus & Ceballos probably wouldn’t be on til much later but the weather was so nice that night.  I had a feeling Chicago was going to be busy downtown.

I met up with my friends at the art show and we had a good time catching up with everyone.  They don’t usually don’t step out much so it was nice seeing them besides a family event.  Lol.  Once the show was finished they wanted to go home right away.  I wasn’t successful trying to persuade them to stay out longer.  I stopped by Public House to have a cocktail before the show started.  I have to admit, I’m getting a little old for this.  I was SUPER TIRED but finally they came on and they were awesome!!  I miss dancing to good music.  Luckily a friend was there so we hungout together.  I have gone to festivals with him and his girlfriend since we have the same taste in music.  In the end, I DO have to admit, you have to like this kind of stuff in order to truly enjoy a dj set.  

Grammy Viewing Party

I’m still recapping my brother’s birthday weekend!  Lol.  I’m telling you, he was spoiled rotten this year.  The following day my dad wanted us to come by for a birthday dinner for my brother.  It also happened to be the day the Grammys were on.  FINALLY I wasn’t going to be watching some sports game on tv!!  It was my moment, and I told my brothers to make sure the channel was on for the Grammys.  Both my brothers and my father are obsessed with sports.  As the only girl, it has its drawbacks.  You would think I warmed up to sports with mostly men in my family, but it never happened.  I DO although, love music, so I enjoy the Grammys very much. 

Since we were going to be hanging out at my dad’s, I dressed super casual.  I bought a pair of Puma sneakers with collaboration with MCQ online.  They’ve been out for a while, but I found a good deal and was super excited about getting them.  They were my Valentine’s gift-to-myself this year.  Lol.  I’m not a sneaker head, so I am still trying to figure out a way to wear them.  I chose a pair of straight leg jeans with my knitted beanie to complete my outfit. 

My brother was very humbled by the birthday dinner.  It’s challenging sometimes being a product of divorce.  The fact that our dad’s wife took time to prepare this little party was very sweet of her.   And on top of everything, I got some good photos of my dad smiling too!  Another candid moment caught on film!

Casino Royale

Recapping my brother’s birthday celebration back in February!  We took him out to dinner at Las Tablas on Friday, but Saturday we made different plans.  My little brother invited us to celebrate another birthday party at Rivers Casino in Des Plaines.  It was for a friend of theirs.  We decided to claim it was my brother’s birthday bonanza since he also knew the birthday boy himself.  Nothing wrong with celebrating two birthdays at the same time! 

We made our way to Rosemont.  I’ve never been to the casino part, so I was curious to see how that was about.  I mostly head to the Fashion Outlets Mall if anything.  I was pleasantly surprised!  Not only do they have a Hugo’s Frog Bar in the casino, but they have a variety of restaurants as well.  We gathered around the main bar to get our orders in, when we noticed the dj setting up his equipment.  Next thing you know, he was spinning dance music while the crowd grew bigger and bigger.  People started dancing right there in the casino!  There is a dance club located at the venue, but it was nice to have some entertainment while people played at the tables.  I felt I was on a mini getaway!  Regardless, me and my brothers had a good time…

Her Smile

Recapping February as quickly as I can!  For once I would like my blog to be up to date.  One of the things that always gets me is not knowing what the upcoming year will bring.  Now that we’re in March, I’m finally getting comfortable with the plans I need to make.  So many changes have taken place in such a short amount of time.  I often feel I can’t keep up with my own life.  The bad part is there are things I do want to accomplish, but I get held up with other things.

For the past few years, my mother became the focal point of my life.  It took me by surprise how much I want her to be ok again.  Last week was the anniversary of her husband’s death.  It’s been 2 years since he’s been gone, but it feels much longer than that.  He was sick the last 5 years of his life.  This affected my mother deeply.  She switched jobs to take care of him, nursed him until he died, and then had to return back to the workplace to resume her responsibilities.  She tried therapy  briefly, and now she has fully retired.  I do not remember the last time I saw my mother happy.  All I see is the constant worry on her face, and it makes me feel helpless.

There have been moments when her face lights up and she braves a smile.  And it warms my heart.  For once I can feel she is ok to be living.  I worry that she will get depressed and want to “give up” on life.  I know she feels it’s been unfair to her.  I pray that she can look beyond the pain and see how wonderful things can still be, despite her husband being gone.

The 2^nd week in February we decided to take my brother out for his birthday.  Since his actual birthday fell on a Thursday we knew Friday would work well with everyone.  We reached out to my step brother and he agreed to meet up with us at dinner.  We chose Las Tablas at 6 corners because it’s been a family favorite for years, plus they have GREAT food!  My brother was surprised when we had the live band play Happy Birthday to him.  And along with my brother smiling from ear to ear, was my mom.  It’s no secret she treats my brothers differently than me, but she truly loves my big brother.  I haven’t seen her smile like that in years!  I felt overwhelmed with joy just to see my family smiling, laughing, happy, just for one night.  We needed this.

Love their food!!

Some people can't handle a puppy

The first weekend of February was pretty tame.  On Friday I met up with my friend after work at Ceres café at the Board of Trade.  That place is a popular spot in downtown, and during a heated discussion, I found it was impossible to talk in there.  Just a side note:  it’s not a café to have a conversation.  Lol.  Although I did enjoy my pre evening cocktail, it was very cold in Chicago that night.  I couldn’t wait to get home to my warm, comfy couch.

The following day my friends wanted to get together again for brunch.  I couldn’t wait to tell them what I encountered earlier in the week.  I had worked late and was almost home when I noticed a man across the street walking his little dog.  The dog was black and super fluffy, but I really couldn’t tell what kind of dog it was since it was nighttime.  I would have guessed the dog was a couple of months old.  It was definitely a puppy, and by the way he was walking with his owner, was still new to being walked and couldn’t help himself but jump up and down a lot.

Well the owner looked frustrated.  I had my headphones blasting and was minding my own business until I noticed the owner of the dog started to yank on his lease.  From my eyes, the owner started to wrapped the lease around the dog’s neck 3x and then got down and pinned the dog on the ground with his knee.  At that moment I felt he started to pull on the lease, hence choking the dog (?).  I freaked out and screamed out loud, “HEY!!!  WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING???”   I rushed over but still kept my distance from him by staying put across the street.  My adrenaline kicked in and I continued to yell out, “IS THAT YOUR DOG???  IS THAT YOUR DOG???”  The owner looked frustrated and sighed out loud and said, “Yes it is.”  He got off the puppy and I kept looking around but no one else was on the street.

Now I don’t have to tell you about our crime in Chicago right now.  It’s ridiculous.  There is a surge of violence taking place everyday.  I was in a awkward position.  I didn’t want to get close to the guy, since he was trying to choke his dog after all.  Not to mention I was nervous what he might do to me if I did approach him.  I couldn’t get a good look at the guy either since he, too, was wearing all black.  By the time I got to the end of my street I looked back to see where the man was going but he was gone.  It makes me think that he was indeed doing something wrong since he didn’t stick around .

I feel bad that I couldn’t do more to help the dog.  This man obviously has no patience in training his puppy.  I question the state of his mind, but not only that, people in general.  Since our crime rates have skyrocketed, people are losing it altogether and snapping.  I feel drained with the news media, our new presidency, what’s happening at work, and life in general.  I miss the old me.

Seeing my friends at brunch and talking about what happened felt like we went back in time for a bit.  I miss my friends very much.  But with their new families, our time together has suffered.  Even my new found mommy friends are having a hard time adjusting to motherhood.  They seemed a little frustrated, but I am convinced they are still trying to figure out how to balance everything. 

Later on that evening, one of my friends from brunch called me up to see if I wanted to paint the town red.  I laughed because it was still pretty cold, plus I figured I would stay in again.  She convinced me that it was going to be a girls night out and that her boyfriend was going to go out with his friends.  I don’t have a problem being the 3^rd wheel, but I think she wanted more girls for the "girls night out".  Lol.

I agreed and told her I would meet her up later on after my workout.  Once I met up for some pre-cocktails at her place, we were brainstorming on where we should go.  We threw some ideas around and settled for a club on Lake Street.  We took an uber there and waited in line to get inside.  It was freezing outside and the door guys had their hands full with a limo that pulled up in front.  They must have had 15 people crawl out of there!  Regardless, once they let that party in, we still had to wait in line since they were reaching capacity.  Once it was our turn, we didn't have the "text" to get in (since we didn't know that's how you get in for free) and decided to go somewhere else.  I convinced my friends to head to Bar Siena since we were in the neighborhood.  Plus we could warm up inside and figure out where to go to next. 

The good news was, the dj started to play some good music.  We joked around and took a ton of pictures, and the next thing you know, we were itching to go somewhere else.  We took a chance on Estate, and luckily, stayed there until the end of the night.  My friend thought we should live it up and order a bottle of champagne, (which we did), but next time I might opt out and get my drinks at the bar.  It's pricey getting bottle service!  lol

 

Marching into March

Sorry I have not been posting as much.  I did something rather crazy again and booked another flight to Europe.  I was messaging my friend in Italy how much I miss her so much and wanted to get away.  I figured this time it would be easier on my pockets if I traveled to see her in the Springtime.  The summer anywhere in the world is pretty pricey and I saw some good deals searching the web.  We decided mid March before she gets busy again with work.  I lucked out on a good deal for the flight, so let’s see how this pans out for the both of us.  I love the hot summers in Italy, but this would be different to experience Italy with spring weather.

The last weekend in January, me and my friends got together to catch up with one another.  We were still feeling Trump’s wrath, and it was nice to get our minds off other things going on in our lives.  My friends were curious about my Miami trip during New Year’s.  Yup, that’s how long we haven’t seen each other.  Too bad I didn’t give them enough juicy gossip, but it was indeed gossip in the end.  I like sharing my craziness with the girls.  I miss them a lot. 

We met up at Garcia’s in the northside.  It’s been one of our favorite restaurants to hang out in throughout the years.  We giggled over margaritas and then called it a night.

Once I got home, a friend of mine wanted to meet up downtown.  I haven’t spoken to him in a while and I wasn’t in the mood to end my Saturday night just yet.  I took an uber and headed down to Booze Box on Randolph.  The one good thing about talking to him is our love of fashion.  We talked about clothes for a bit.  I haven’t been out in weeks since everything happened at work.  It was nice to be out and people watch.

He took me to Arbella next in River North.  It was a pretty restaurant with a good crowd inside.  We had some drinks there before heading off to Estate.  There we danced up a storm and had a blast.  It was just what I needed to end January and look ahead.  Too many adjustments and not enough time to deal with the changes was beginning to affect me.

Much needed margarita with the girls...

 

Later on, admiring my friend's Yeezys...