amsterdam - part 1
written Friday morning, June 24
On Wednesday night, I slept about 5 and a half hours before waking up at 3:30. I was literally dreaming I was on my way to catch a flight somewhere and since it was actually 8:30 in the morning in London, I decided to just stay up to get on UK time as easily as possible. Seems that worked out fantastically.
Flight was fine - uneventful and nothing to write home about. ;) By the time I got through immigration in the UK and got downtown, there were no open pubs to be found. So no pints for me. It’s probably better that way since it was 11:30 pm in London. I checked in to my hotel in Earl’s Court and literally laughed out loud when I walked into the room. This room would rival any New York hotel for the smallest space available. From the door to the bed was 5 steps. I kid you not. Within 5 steps, you hit the twin bed, which was against the wall. This room was smaller than any dorm room I’ve ever seen. But that’s okay. It offered a private room, private bathroom, and a clean place to sleep for the night without being too costly. I probably managed to get to sleep shortly after 1 am.
Woke up earlier than I planned this morning, so I’m on my second night of 5 and a half hours sleep. (Something tells me I’m going to crash hard tonight!) Since I was ready early, I took some time to pull out my Amsterdam maps and figure out where I’m staying relative to other things. I’m meeting ktylove around 6 this evening, so I should have a couple of hours this afternoon to either nap or walk around. I’m hoping I can stave off the nap.
My plan right now is to check in to the hotel, unpack my stuff, and then head to the flower market. Since I won’t have a lot of time and there’s no way to tell ahead of time how long it’ll take to get through immigration in Amsterdam, I’m trying not to have too many expectations of getting to walk around. If I manage to check out the flower market, that’ll be enough for the afternoon. I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get to see it today, but I’m sure I’ll be able to see it either Saturday morning or some time on Sunday. That’s really the only must see for me - the Bloemenmarket. For those who know me well, you probably already know that I plan to spend my free time in the city just walking around checking things out, stopping at cafes here and there, shopping, meandering. I will likely not see the inside of a museum. I realize that’s not how many people would see a new place for the first time, but simply put, it’s just my way.
I’m really excited to see ktylove tonight and for Awakefest 11 tomorrow. That’s why I’m here. Haven’t seen Juliette since her Maya was a baby in a car seat (maybe 3 months old?) and an outdoor techno party in a park outside of Amsterdam?!?!? The lineup looks pretty good. I’m hoping to hear some of Ricardo Villalobos, Marco Carola, Adam Beyer, Derrick May & Kevin Saunderson, Laurent Garnier, Speedy J, and Pantha du Prince. There are 8 areas of music, so there’s no way to hear everything, but with that many choices, there’s got to be something good to hear at any given point, right? (assuming you’re in to this kind of music in the first place, of course.)
I’ve now managed to make the most of this tube trip from Earl’s Court to the airport. Heathrow is up in maybe 2 stops, so I’ll expand on the trip report later. Cheers!
On Wednesday night, I slept about 5 and a half hours before waking up at 3:30. I was literally dreaming I was on my way to catch a flight somewhere and since it was actually 8:30 in the morning in London, I decided to just stay up to get on UK time as easily as possible. Seems that worked out fantastically.
Flight was fine - uneventful and nothing to write home about. ;) By the time I got through immigration in the UK and got downtown, there were no open pubs to be found. So no pints for me. It’s probably better that way since it was 11:30 pm in London. I checked in to my hotel in Earl’s Court and literally laughed out loud when I walked into the room. This room would rival any New York hotel for the smallest space available. From the door to the bed was 5 steps. I kid you not. Within 5 steps, you hit the twin bed, which was against the wall. This room was smaller than any dorm room I’ve ever seen. But that’s okay. It offered a private room, private bathroom, and a clean place to sleep for the night without being too costly. I probably managed to get to sleep shortly after 1 am.
Woke up earlier than I planned this morning, so I’m on my second night of 5 and a half hours sleep. (Something tells me I’m going to crash hard tonight!) Since I was ready early, I took some time to pull out my Amsterdam maps and figure out where I’m staying relative to other things. I’m meeting ktylove around 6 this evening, so I should have a couple of hours this afternoon to either nap or walk around. I’m hoping I can stave off the nap.
My plan right now is to check in to the hotel, unpack my stuff, and then head to the flower market. Since I won’t have a lot of time and there’s no way to tell ahead of time how long it’ll take to get through immigration in Amsterdam, I’m trying not to have too many expectations of getting to walk around. If I manage to check out the flower market, that’ll be enough for the afternoon. I’ll be disappointed if I don’t get to see it today, but I’m sure I’ll be able to see it either Saturday morning or some time on Sunday. That’s really the only must see for me - the Bloemenmarket. For those who know me well, you probably already know that I plan to spend my free time in the city just walking around checking things out, stopping at cafes here and there, shopping, meandering. I will likely not see the inside of a museum. I realize that’s not how many people would see a new place for the first time, but simply put, it’s just my way.
I’m really excited to see ktylove tonight and for Awakefest 11 tomorrow. That’s why I’m here. Haven’t seen Juliette since her Maya was a baby in a car seat (maybe 3 months old?) and an outdoor techno party in a park outside of Amsterdam?!?!? The lineup looks pretty good. I’m hoping to hear some of Ricardo Villalobos, Marco Carola, Adam Beyer, Derrick May & Kevin Saunderson, Laurent Garnier, Speedy J, and Pantha du Prince. There are 8 areas of music, so there’s no way to hear everything, but with that many choices, there’s got to be something good to hear at any given point, right? (assuming you’re in to this kind of music in the first place, of course.)
I’ve now managed to make the most of this tube trip from Earl’s Court to the airport. Heathrow is up in maybe 2 stops, so I’ll expand on the trip report later. Cheers!