Oh my god, the airport has a massage booth. Yes, a booth, and yesssss I did it! It was one of those put your knees in one place and basically the rest of you falls forward. You'll recall, I am not small. The amount of adjusting that this tiny, adorable woman had to do to the seat thingy was pretty funny. It was awkward (even more awkward than an airport massage usually is), but I got a half hour massage with oxygen being pumped into my face by some weird tube that didn't have to touch me at all to work. It was oddly minty.
So clearly I'm at the airport at a type this. As it turns out, my over-planning won again, because my flight isn't for another hour and a half (boards in an hour), and I got off the train an hour and a half ago. People looking at my ticket think I'm insane. I think you only have to be here an hour before, and I was here three hours before.
Hence the massage.
And the quiche Lorraine. Again. You guys, I had that weird "yawn incessantly until I eat" thing going on, and it was every ten seconds, I swear. I had to eat quiche! It was my only hope!
Anyhow, here's how the day went leading up to this airport situation.
Packing is always interesting when you only bring one European-sized carry-on. Why? Because the thing is essentially the size of my foot, and I packed enough to last me 35 days abroad (laundry to be done throughout, obviously). Also, when you take one thing out, it all has to come out, because it's so jammed in there.
Allow me to regale you with tales of what I managed to pack for this trip.
In my carry-on bag:
2 skirts
5 dresses
2 bolero (those things that cover up your arms when you wear a sleeveless dress)
5 pair shoes (1 rain, 1 running, 3 flats though one is ugh-worthy)
1 raincoat
A bunch of underoos and braeroos
3 pairs socks
3 generic European power adapters
2 Italy-specific power adapters
1 pair jammers (pyjamas, for those not hip to the groove... yeah, I said it)
2 belts (those waisty kinds)
1 hairbrush
3 mini bottles of shampoo
1 mini bottle conditioner
1 mini bottle face scrub
1 bar soap
1 real-size deodorant
A bunch if hair clips
1 mini first aid kit
1 mini flashlight
1 mascara thingy
2 mini toothpastes
20 safety pins of different sizes (apparently I think I'm going to need to create a makeshift fort?)
1 tiny umbrella
90 contact lenses
1 pair glasses
1 thing tooth floss
1 folder with all info printed
1 Bluetooth keyboard
7 memory cards (one for each city)
1 iPhone charger
1 iPad charger
1 camera charger
1 mini-Mophie portable charger
2 generic USB charger hubs
1 SD card to iPad reader
And in my purse:
1 iPhone
1 iPad
1 Nikon S9900 camera in case
1 extra camera battery
1 extra SD card
1 SD card to iPad reader
1 passport and money holder (one of those under your clothes jobbies)
1 bottle eye drop
10 extra contacts
2 mini packs Kleenex
1 mini bottle Purell
1 pack Juicy Fruit
1 lollipop (trying to figure out when I should enjoy it, it's fruit punch flavoured!)
1 pen (one of those 4-colour circa 1987 ones, loooove! I'm clicking like a mad woman over here)
1 thing tooth floss
1 Marley earbuds
1 large Mophie portable iPhone / iPad charger with cord
15 back pills
10 Tylenol
10 bandaids
1 wallet with credit, bank, insurance, health cards and euros
11:30pm
Yeah. I know. It's intense and while it sounds like a lot, it fits in my normal-lady-sized purse and a tiny little carry on. I'll show some pictures below of the place I just left in Paris, and you can see the carry-on in context.
The white / silver carry-on is the one I'm talking about (below). Note the size of it compared to the purse (sorry it's a bit blurry... the picture, not the suitcase, though that's blurry too because the picture is blurry, blah, blah you know what I mean).
For reference, here is the bag as the internet showcases it. I'm in love with it.
Now, who care about all of that! I'M IN AMSTERDAM, YOU GUYS,
I am going to have so much to say tomorrow when I'm not super-tired, because I'm already super-impressed with the people and ooooooh man, with the place I'm staying. It appears to be amazing.
I'm just going to highlight a few things from the last few hours, and come back with a full download tomorrow, cool? Cool.
1. The three people who I asked for help from at the airport (yeah, I got a little confused...) were so helpful, and actually gave me way for info (and smiles) than I was expecting.
2. One of the guys who I asked a question to at an information booth, when I said, "How are you doing today." replied, "Well, I could be doing better." but in such a genuine, almost non-complainy way, it was endearing. I said that was no good, and he basically said yeah, but what'r'ya gonna do. It was real. I dug it.
3. The place I'm staying is sooooo beautiful, and you guys, the fridge and kitchen are fully stocked and free for everyone to use! Yeah! So when I got all checked-in, spread all my suitcase contents about (just a few things that lead to another few things), I made a sandwich. There is a selection of literally 15 fresh cheese to choose from, about 6 cold cut selections, and a bunch of what appear to be hummus'. I took some delicious cheese and put it on a piece of bread that rivalled my head in terms of size, and then took what I think was turkey, and put it on the other side. They were all in such organized containers in the fridge, I didn't want to just chuck it back in there, so I took the time to put them back in there the way they were. People who organize their cheese are my kind of people! And then I spread what I think was hummus on one side of the sandwich because it needed some moisture. It was in Dutch, and I am not, soooo, for all I know it could have been cat food! If cats get to eat that well, count me in, it was delicious!
Okay, I'll leave you with three pictures that will likely depict how the next four and half days are going to here in Amsterdam.
Tomorrow will be a true adventure, because I have done very little research on Amsterdam, on purpose, but have a great list of things to do from a friend of mine who has the best name ever, which I will not repeat here, but it's cool and so is she!
That's just piles and piles of chocolate for purchase! At the airport! Uhhhh, I'm in trouble.
Ate it. It's gone. After-leaving-shelf-life = none minutes!
Night folks, back tomorrow with some more fun to share, at least that's the plan!
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