Crunch

Last night Amsterdam was covered with crispy white snow - you know the kind - the sort that makes a delicious 'crunch' when you tread on it. When I woke this morning the sky was perfectly blue, the air was crisp and the birds were singing. I almost felt like I'd been transported to the Alps, minus a few key mountains. Just when you think the city can't get any more picturesque, along comes something to prove you were wrong....

Small World

The most bizarre thing happened to me last night. I was just climbing off my bike In Munt Plein and I caught a glimpse of a familiar face. What are the odds of bumping into your English cousin (Julien) in the middle of Amsterdam? Unknown to me, he was here spending a romantic Valentine’s weekend with his girlfriend.

Trying to Win the Race

My friend Gareth gave me a warning about trying to snag a Dutchman… he said ‘the trouble is, Lucy… their legs are so long that they are very hard to catch’.
What words of wisdom! To cut a long story short, the running training must have paid off because I managed to catch up with a very long-legged example, lose him temporarily (on a particularly difficult bend in the road) and then (by summoning up all my lungpower) catch him again. We’re happily jogging along at the moment, but who knows where the road will take us in the future (and I’m not sure whether my substantially shorter legs are up for the challenge). We’ll just have to see.

Rediscovering Dance

I am now teaching lunchtime dance classes at work. This feels a little bit strange…like my ‘old’ and ‘new’ lives are suddenly crossing over, but it is so good to be dancing again! The break has done wonders because I’m learning to really appreciate the magic that happens in my muscles and bones (and brain) when I leap around the room like an idiot. It gives me an exercise high that I just don’t get from a treadmill or a lat pulldown machine, no matter how hard I work! My friend Sarah has hired a dance studio today and we’re going to try out a few ideas and see where it leads us. Just like old times…

Trying to Find a Replacement Apartment

Alice and Ton return at the end of March so I’m going to have to be on the move again. It’s been so wonderful living in their place that I wasn’t relishing the prospect of trying to replace it, but my ‘lucky apartment fairy’ seems to have waved her magic wand once more. Another friend from work is off traveling and is considering letting me stay in his lovely studio apartment, not far from where I am now, until the end of July. I went to see the place yesterday and felt instantly at home. Fingers crossed!

Blogging Again

It’s been far too long since I wrote a blog entry. I have a few excuses for this (other than pure laziness). My mind has been brimming full of various things, namely…