44 hours in Amsterdam, just enough time to end a relationship, break a few laws, and ruin all presidential aspirations (unless of course, you don’t inhale). These were my first thoughts of Amsterdam, when Erin and I decided to meet up there for the weekend. In spite of that reputation, I enjoyed one of my most relaxing, quiet weekends since moving to Europe.
I spent a lovely afternoon on Friday, waiting for Erin to arrive, visiting the Van Gogh Museum, antique shopping and enjoying a traditional herring sandwich (which is definitely an acquired taste, that apparently Erin loves),. Friday evening was our “crazy” night out which began and ended with hordes of men attempting to strike up conversations with us through every method possible, including bad pick-up lines, free drinks and my favorite, the traditional tactic of stalking. One thing can be said about Amsterdam is that the people are definitely friendly. Being a girl’s weekend though, all attempts were courteously turned down. Erin and I could not be bothered with men, we were there to catch up…and that we did. Every topic was covered over the course of the weekend from jobs, families, friends, men, goals and aspirations, frustrations and of course, world peace.
Saturday we enjoyed the canals in every way possible including waking up in our rented apartment to the views of the canals from our windows, walking all over the city guided only by the canals, and taking the touristy canal cruise before dinner. But more importantly, it was a canal that ended our 30 minute search for the red light district…yes, we went, but during the day and only out of a sense of moral obligation. I mean, how could we go to Amsterdam and NOT see them.
The trip ended with dinner at allegedly the best Mexican restaurant in Europe, which turned into drinks at the best Mexican restaurant Europe and ended with us back at home by 12am. While the food might not have been the best and the margaritas not that strong, the Pacifico beer perfectly complimented the homemade guacamole resulting in mass amounts of consumption.
My search for Mexican food in Europe still continues, but in the meantime Amsterdam remains at the top of my list of places to return to. But next time I go, I will be renting a private canal boat so I can enjoy the canals from within.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Captains Log – Cyclades, Greece
I have been trying to figure out a way to summarize my 12 day vacation to Greece, 8 of which were spent sailing a chartered sailboat with my 8 closest friends. And my answer, nay conclusion, is that, in the words of the Swiss, “it’s just not possible”….so consider this the abridged version, cliff notes if you will, to an amazing vacation.
We had been preparing, planning, looking forward to this trip since February so I was a bit skeptical of the actual results (see the Blog on the Boogg). But to my relief and excitement, the trip far surpassed all expectations: Athens was nice, but slightly dirty. Santorini was beautiful but overcrowded and slightly overrated (although I did love Parissa beach, a small kitschy beach town on the south end of the island that we “discovered” after our second wrong turn to the Red Beach, which was, surprisingly, overrated). Mykonos is the standard party island where college students and gay men rein supreme. Syros proved, once again, that it is more fun to ride a four-wheeler to a store 30 meters away for beer than it is to walk. And most importantly, I LOVE sailing!
In my 8 days on the boat, I learned that I am definitely cut out for the sailor’s life style, both the sailing and social aspects. I found it to be the perfect combination of solitary independence with an amazing connection to the ocean, and the social environment on shore with all the other skippers and local restaurant and shop owners to keep you from going “Ahab”. And surprisingly I have the sea legs of that well-loved, yet slightly crazy captain, as confirmed by surviving not only a hangover and rough seas one day, but also 9 ft swells another day which prompted the skipper to put on a full dry suit and tie down the chairs in the galley prior to departure (thankfully we turned around after 20 minutes and spent an additional night on Kythnos.)
Yes, we were at sea, and I long to be a God at sea. I can now see the honest possibility of retiring on a sailboat, sailing around the world and eventually dropping anchor in the Caribbean (and if all goes well, become such a fixture that Lonely Planet will have to include me in their travel guides….ah dare to dream). Now I just need to learn how to sail, become independently wealthy, retire and/or marry someone incredibly wealthy who possibly knows how to sail. Consider the job position open…inquire within.
We had been preparing, planning, looking forward to this trip since February so I was a bit skeptical of the actual results (see the Blog on the Boogg). But to my relief and excitement, the trip far surpassed all expectations: Athens was nice, but slightly dirty. Santorini was beautiful but overcrowded and slightly overrated (although I did love Parissa beach, a small kitschy beach town on the south end of the island that we “discovered” after our second wrong turn to the Red Beach, which was, surprisingly, overrated). Mykonos is the standard party island where college students and gay men rein supreme. Syros proved, once again, that it is more fun to ride a four-wheeler to a store 30 meters away for beer than it is to walk. And most importantly, I LOVE sailing!
In my 8 days on the boat, I learned that I am definitely cut out for the sailor’s life style, both the sailing and social aspects. I found it to be the perfect combination of solitary independence with an amazing connection to the ocean, and the social environment on shore with all the other skippers and local restaurant and shop owners to keep you from going “Ahab”. And surprisingly I have the sea legs of that well-loved, yet slightly crazy captain, as confirmed by surviving not only a hangover and rough seas one day, but also 9 ft swells another day which prompted the skipper to put on a full dry suit and tie down the chairs in the galley prior to departure (thankfully we turned around after 20 minutes and spent an additional night on Kythnos.)
Yes, we were at sea, and I long to be a God at sea. I can now see the honest possibility of retiring on a sailboat, sailing around the world and eventually dropping anchor in the Caribbean (and if all goes well, become such a fixture that Lonely Planet will have to include me in their travel guides….ah dare to dream). Now I just need to learn how to sail, become independently wealthy, retire and/or marry someone incredibly wealthy who possibly knows how to sail. Consider the job position open…inquire within.
Monday, May 12, 2008
For the Love of Eggplant and Mussels
I have literally eaten my way through both Istanbul and Greece in the past month. The food was so amazing in both places I felt the need to specifically write about my new love affair with eggplants, mussels and feta cheese. My daily consumption of food will never be the same again.
The binge began in Istanbul…While walking through the Fish market in the Taksim area, Joe casually asked if I knew what mussels were and if I liked them. I was a bit taken back, since I thought everyone knew and liked mussels, but I answered his rhetorical question anyway. At that moment, we stopped in front of a random store front and ordered a plate of stuffed mussels. I took the first mussel, stuffed with spiced rice and onions and drizzled with lemon juice, and experienced the delightful contrast of salty seafood and sweetly spiced rice. The plate was finished in 2 minutes and I still dream about those mussels and ponder how soon I can make it back to enjoy them once again.
Those mussels, so incredibly delicious, were the first thing I ate in Istanbul and the bar of expectations was surpassed with every meal. For dinner we enjoyed an eggplant spread seasoned only with olive oil and garlic atop toasted pieces of bread that I could have eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We savored a spicy tomato spread mixed with feta cheese and an amazing dish of fava beans on Saturday evening and finally wrapped up the weekend with a traditional Turkish breakfast, of tomatoes, olives, cheeses, honey comb and countless tapanades.
I left Istanbul a few pounds heavier with an unhealthy addition to mussels and eggplant and cheese. Thankfully, I was heading to Greece in only three days. Once in Greece the binge continued and progressively got worse as my stomach stretched and I began sporting elastic waist pants. My first night in Santorini I decided to pit the Istanbul stuffed mussels against the Greek dish of Mussels Saganaki, a dish of baked mussels with feta cheese, roasted peppers and tomatoes. The two were equal competitors and the battle was declared a tie. Greek did win the battle however in the preparation of eggplant solely due to the variety it offered. In my 10 days in Greece I ate eggplant at least once a day, including roasted eggplants with grilled peppers and tomatoes, fried eggplants, eggplant salads, stewed eggplants with sweet onions, and the list goes on. All said and done through, my favorite dish of Greece was surprisingly not eggplant or mussel based, but was in fact the stuffed tomatoes with rice. Simply to die for.
Cody, forget the French food, learn to cook Turkish and Greek food!
The binge began in Istanbul…While walking through the Fish market in the Taksim area, Joe casually asked if I knew what mussels were and if I liked them. I was a bit taken back, since I thought everyone knew and liked mussels, but I answered his rhetorical question anyway. At that moment, we stopped in front of a random store front and ordered a plate of stuffed mussels. I took the first mussel, stuffed with spiced rice and onions and drizzled with lemon juice, and experienced the delightful contrast of salty seafood and sweetly spiced rice. The plate was finished in 2 minutes and I still dream about those mussels and ponder how soon I can make it back to enjoy them once again.
Those mussels, so incredibly delicious, were the first thing I ate in Istanbul and the bar of expectations was surpassed with every meal. For dinner we enjoyed an eggplant spread seasoned only with olive oil and garlic atop toasted pieces of bread that I could have eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner. We savored a spicy tomato spread mixed with feta cheese and an amazing dish of fava beans on Saturday evening and finally wrapped up the weekend with a traditional Turkish breakfast, of tomatoes, olives, cheeses, honey comb and countless tapanades.
I left Istanbul a few pounds heavier with an unhealthy addition to mussels and eggplant and cheese. Thankfully, I was heading to Greece in only three days. Once in Greece the binge continued and progressively got worse as my stomach stretched and I began sporting elastic waist pants. My first night in Santorini I decided to pit the Istanbul stuffed mussels against the Greek dish of Mussels Saganaki, a dish of baked mussels with feta cheese, roasted peppers and tomatoes. The two were equal competitors and the battle was declared a tie. Greek did win the battle however in the preparation of eggplant solely due to the variety it offered. In my 10 days in Greece I ate eggplant at least once a day, including roasted eggplants with grilled peppers and tomatoes, fried eggplants, eggplant salads, stewed eggplants with sweet onions, and the list goes on. All said and done through, my favorite dish of Greece was surprisingly not eggplant or mussel based, but was in fact the stuffed tomatoes with rice. Simply to die for.
Cody, forget the French food, learn to cook Turkish and Greek food!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)