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!
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| Calming my nerves at O'hare. |
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| Saw these at Harolds at Heathrow and I'm in love! |
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| The wine menu at Coffee and Coconuts... |
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| Beef brisket spring rolls... |
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| Outside at Voltet en Drinken |
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