For Nan & Nanda....

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This afternoon I was reunited with my beloved Gabrielle. To celebrate we headed to St Paul's Cathedral in London to attend the Carols Service.
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Although we had to join an incredibly long line (which almost went right the way around the cathedral) we made it inside and got seats with a view of a very nice / plain pillar. However, the choir and all the priests etc. did a procession at the beginning so we got a close up look. The little choir boys were so cute with their lizard frill collars on!

Apparantly the choir's singing was far preferable to ours so we only got to join in on a couple of songs (Lauren & Naomi will be sighing in relief) but we didn't know half of them anyway : )

Unfortunately I can't say that I managed to get through the whole affair without a few moments of shut-eye... though I did try to fight it... and it was church after all!

But the cathedral? Amazing. So amazing. I would show you but the man told me off for trying to take a photo (after the service of course!). Oops.

Proof of my attendance:

Merry Christmas Nan & Nanda!!!! I made it to church!
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Christmas Markets!!!

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Valkenburg

Such a cute cute village. Loved everything about it (except possibly all of the rain). The cute buildings, the little alleyways, the churches, the castle on the hill, the tunnels that ran throughout the city. And of course, the Christmas Markets underground!!! Although the stuff being sold was pretty tacky, we were in caves, with Christmas trees, and Christmas lights. Exciting!
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Carved into the wall in the cave (in 3D) ... soooo random

These murals were done goodness-knows how long ago & were like etched into the stone & coloured with charcoal (at least that's how it looked like they did them!)

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Maastricht
The Maastricht Christmas Markets was more like a Christmas fair.

There was a carousel...

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and a (50m high!) ferris wheel....
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...from which you got awesome views of the city & the markets

There was heeeeeaps of food (all bad for you!) - pretty much every person I saw was eating! .

There were also carollers on the streets in Maastricht (they were amazing!) and skinny young santas running around with bells giving lollies out to the kids. Loved sitting in the bar with my Gluhwein watching the people pass by and deciding what style of boots I should buy...

Liege
This was our Belgium Christmas Market and it was how I expected Christmas markets to be. Little wooden huts selling local food and wine, and crafty bits & pieces (though I found zero decorations *tear*). Plus it didn't rain when we were in Liege - definite bonus!!! Oh... & did I mention the waffles???

I kinda wanted this purple house....
(just to end on a random note!)
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Drielandenpunt (Three Land Point)

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Right foot Germany

Right hand Holland

Left hand Holland
Left foot Belgium

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Who says you can't be in 3 places at once??!

I Y Europe!!

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Food firsts.....

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Bitterbollen
Kind of like big potato pom poms (but filled with meat)

which you dip in mustard
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(note the dutch girls I met!)

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Gluhwein

Warm, spicy, alocoholic goodness *love*

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Poffertjes

Sweet little pancakes shaped like UFOs!
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Churros

Spanish donuts that they cover in sugar (mmm sugar)
Will definately have these again if I end up going to Madrid!

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Waffles

From Belgium. Picture says it all.

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I *heart* food .

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The International Christmas Markets Experience

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This weekend = Christmas Market extravaganza!!!

On the cards is the following:

˜ Maastricht (Holland)

˜ Valkenburg (Holland)

˜ Liege (Belgium)

˜ Aachen (Germany)

The Valkenburg markets are in caves! Under a castle! Rad-core.

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Attendees on said extravaganza are myself (clearly), Amanda & Kevin. Amanda is my roommate & a short term secondee from Australia. Kevin is a short term secondee from South Africa - who we incidentally only met today but the more the merrier we decided!!!

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Hopefully we will be able to keep the car on the right side of the road during our travels. Hopefully.

˜ Bring on the weekend ˜

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Things I love Thursday

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Y Sleeping in until 8am on a weekday (even though it was a once-off!)
Y Chivalry
Y Dinner with dutch boys
Y Canals
Y Christmas!!!
Y Christmas lights
Y Kathmandu handwarmers
Y Redband jellybeans
Y Half-baked bread
Y Merino singlets (crucial!)
Y My bike!!!!!
Y Arriving to work in the mornings & reading my emails from home
Y Tulips
Y Dutch Christmas trees
Y AMSTERDAM *love*
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Sunday....

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The universe was conspiring against me on Sunday...

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Due to a few too many wines on Saturday evening & a night on a
couch I wasn't feeling my best...
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The shops were all closed as is the norm here on a Sunday
(crazy, I know) ...
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The temperature all day was below freezing
and the sun set at 2.30pm...
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BUT the universe didn't win... I still love it here!! Y

The smart way

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Parallel parking need never be a problem again....

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Clever little smart car!

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Especially useful as you will note that there is nothing to protect you from the canal if your parallel parking skills are below par...
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Trying new things...

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Had my first olliebollen on the weekend

(as per Claire's instructions) ...

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Did not manage to avoid getting icing sugar all over oneself

(as per Claire's predictions)...

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It was worth it.

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I'm a Kiwi...

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Since I've arrived I've found myself having to explain to a number of people why we're referred to as kiwis... some thought we were named after the kiwifruit(!) and others thought that it was just a weird nickname. I've even had people checking that I don't take offence to the term... cute!

They are now well-educated on the native flightless bird of NZ : )

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Megatron

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Today I acquired my new work car - a sleek black Renault Megane


I like to think that the "Mega" in the name implies that it is some fantastic piece of machinery like Megatron


However, despite the novelty of pushing a button to start my car, in all reality though she's a fat sluggish 1.5L diesel automatic who struggles to get up to 50km/hr ... don't get me wrong though I am incredibly stoked to have a car!

She's just not my Molly that's all... I heart Molly...

*love*

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Cafe Chaos

I went to one of my local bars (this one is about 20m away) last night with a fellow secondee. There were scary cherubs and angel ornaments all over the ceiling and walls, and bowls of peanuts which you cracked open all over the floor.
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Laird was rather hungry......

As strange as it was though it was rather endearing (& the cheap drinks don't hurt!) ... I think I may become a regular!
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For those of you that are worried....

I have plans to spend Christmas & New Years with my fabulous friend Gabrielle so I won't be alone.

Christmas in London...

...and New Years in Paris

Lovely!!!

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Accounting-speak

In Europe, a parent company is referred to as the "mother" company - the sub is the "daughter" company. Sometimes(!) there's even a "grandmother" company.

Cute!

Negotiating the Amsterdam Streets.....

The cobblestone streets of Amsterdam are fast becoming the bane of my life...

These cobblestones are relatively flat compared to the hodge-podge that is the remainder of the Amsterdam streets!! Negotiating them in flats is hard enough and a few near-trips are hard to avoid. However, wearing heels walking to work is even more troublesome... Last night, in the pitch dark, my heel sank into the mud in between the cobbles... I had to remove my shoe, bend over on one leg, and yank my shoe out of the ground (and my foot was coooold!!).

Fast walking is not an option on these streets. Looking like an idiot as you topple to and fro in heels is a given. Finding a good shoe repairer (cobbles wear down heels in record time!) is a necessity.

As you attempt to negotiate the cobbles you must also remain alert at all times for cyclists, trams, metros, trains, and buses (remembering to look the "right" way when you cross the road / tram tracks is crucial - a skill I am yet to master). You must also ensure that you aren't walking in a cyclist lane - they're not the friendliest people and will zoom past as close as they can to give you a good fright if you're in their lane (though they will have no hesitation in cycling in the pedestrian zones).

Today I also learnt a valuable lesson - when it's this cold, that = ice on the cobblestones... I am yet to figure out how to ensure you don't slip on the ice... I thankfully managed to avoid icy patches this morning but I can see disaster looming on that front!

Sarah is IN the Netherlands!!

Hey all,

Just a quick note to let you know that I have arrived. It took about 30+ hours of travelling but I made it and the worst that happened was a ripped suitcase which wasn't the end of the world.

My apartment is beautiful, it overlooks a canal with houseboats and all, and I have most of what I need (and in typical Sarah-style I've already started a list of the things that I don't have!).

I'm really central to the city and spent yesterday strolling around town (clutching to my handbag!!) and am about to do the same today. Have already found a cute icerink about 5 mins walk from my house as well as about 20 food places I wanted to stop into haha I don't think this trip is going to do much good for my waistline!

Just FYI, the internet at my apartment isn't working yet and isn't expected to be working for at least a week so the main internet access I'll have will be at work but I'll probably be really busy for the first few days so won't be online much.

Hopefully I will be able to take some photos for you all in the next few days and get them up for you all to see where I'm living etc.

Oh, and I'm living alone for the first wee while, my flatmate still hasn't gotten her VISA sorted yet but I don't mind, I'm happy just wandering the streets here : ) And I've found a couple of TV stations that are in English thank goodness! I'm really starting to realise how much I should've looked into learning Dutch as there's so much around me that I don't understand!

Miss everyone loads but I can just tell this secondment is the right thing for me, I really really like it here : )

Hugs to all
xxx