Oh, where is my Hairbrush?

While Milan was almost a full 3 months ago, the impression of it still sticks with me and it quickly has shot up to one of my favorite cities in Europe.  I would say it has all the fashion of Paris, with the hospitality of the Italians.  Perfecto.  Needless to say, I felt my time (working) in Milan was fantastic.

After almost 24hrs of travel, I was awake enough to navigate the train and the metro to make it to my home for the week.  And I did what I always do when I get in - take a nap. :) But by 3, I was on the metro headed to the center.  While on the train, we were 'serenaded' by a guy with a speaker and a microphone...putting me in the right mood to talk with a cute guy who came up to talk to me when we got to the Duomo.  I ended up walking the city with him and a couple of his friends (they were Romanians, living in Italy).  He was a bit of a spaz, but harmless.

We walked all around the center, twirled around 3 times with our heels on the bulls balls in the shopping center (see below), meandered through the castle (me in front of said castle below), looked for gelato (and finally found some), and generally had a pleasant time, but I was getting tired of them and hungry for real food.

Which led me to what I hoped was food, but instead was just a bar, so I had an aperitif (Straf Bar) and then headed for a pizza.  I ended up at that bar at least 2 more times before I left.  It was cozy, and appeared to be a place where locals would go to hang out.  And I can say that I am a big fan of spritz's.

The rest of my food and drink week was amazing, but rather than bog this down, I'll post that separately (Restauranting - Milano).  But for a 'taste'... here's a sample of what I had:

We found the old city with the last remaining canals (and I of course got eaten alive by mosquitos and ended up with cankles...) and I got to have dinner with my friend, Jon, from Seattle who just happened to be popping through during the same week.  Also, in our search for a spot to watch the British football match (we were unsuccessful, as even the British pub was only showing the Italy game), we happened into a quaint little place that was packed people watching the Italians play, we were the odd men out, but the owner showed us some great hospitality in getting food and drink while the game was on.

Church with the Last Supper

What the city used to look like

The streets of Milan

I ended up staying in Milan for the weekend, and while I wasn't able to get tickets to see the Last Supper, I did walk through the adjacent church, all around the square (was hoping to see the Duomo with a friend, but that never happened and as such, I never did make it in the big church), into the Modern Art museum, around the castle to relax and write postcards, shopped a little, ate some more, and generally just had a relaxing 2 days in the city.  My favorite church was a recommendation from my friend Jon - it's a cool optical illusion to be sure!

One of my favorite experiences was sitting down at a cafe for dinner (now sometimes I have problems picking where to eat, I over-think it, find a place on Yelp or TripAdvisor that looks good, but when I walk past it, I am not interested or don't realize I've walked past and then I get all awkward about wanting to turn around and look like I'm lost).  But after walking for quite a bit, and getting away from the largely touristy areas, I found a great wine and food bar.  Here I sat, read, and had a chef's choice 3-course meal.  Near the end of the meal, a girl who was sitting nearby struck up a conversation and invited me to join them for drinks.  Who am I to turn down making friends?  It was a fun evening with a makeup artist, an architect, and a socialite who is known for throwing fantastic parties.  While I was invited to go, and the girl added herself as a friend on Facebook, she never did accept her own request.  Alas, it was fun to hear about anyway.

The city of Como

After working in the city, I headed to the lake...of course hoping to see the famed George Clooney, but instead maybe only seeing a glimpse of where he lives.  Como was great, albeit a little stormy at the time.  It was an easily navigable town, but it is fairly quiet and the center is deserted early on.  I had 2 days in town, and spent one day wandering (in the pouring rain, refusing to buy an umbrella from the street peddlers) and popping into little places for coffee or wine.  I took the streetcar up the hill and the ferry to Bellagio (not to be confused with the Vegas monstrosity, or the sister hotel of the "Pellagio", aka the Palazzo... that joke was for any of my Vegas girls who read my blog...sometimes I make up new words!).

I popped onto the the slow ferry, so it took 2 1/2 (very hungry) hours to get to the city.  And of course once there, I popped into the first place I saw....haha, no of course not.  I wandered and checked Yelp, and wandered a bit more.  I did find a semi-hidden little wine bar where I had a wonderful eggplant cheesy lasagna (pictured above in the food preview).  It was worth the wait, but I wouldn't go until 2pm before I eat again - not advisable.

I asked my waiter for advice on a swimming spot and he recommended the tip of the town.  Off I head in search of a place to bathe...only to find a restaurant and a boat mooring spot.  I of course go into awkward mode and decide I guess I'll have a glass of wine.  After serving me wine, I asked the waiter where a place to go in the water was.  He says, oh I'm headed to swim after I leave here.  I can show you.  Me, thinking, this was part of his plan to meet up with friends agrees.  It must be close by, right?

The ferry ride and my scooter companion in Bellagio

He covers the wine and leads me to...his scooter???  Alright, I didn't realize this was part of the plan, but ok, sure, why not?  He FLIES through the little town at cringe worthy rates.  Slowing barely for people to jump out of the way, the policeman makes the "slow down" gesture at him, and I am holding on for dear life, hoping my bare skin won't be rubbed clean off by a crash.  We arrive...at a bar?  And he goes off to change (so yeah, I guess he wasn't originally planning on swimming after work), and tells me to get a drink at the bar.  I do, and wait.  He returns swim-trunks clad, and off we go again... to the other end of the town...

You might be thinking, seriously Natalie, you're an idiot!  Well, I may be, but I'm writing this so you know I'm alive, and it was such a fun, spontaneous afternoon.  And I did, in fact get to go swimming in the lake (it was F'ING COLD), laid out on the floating dock, jumped in again and again, and laughed with delight that this was where I was in my life.  We shared a couple spritz's, some vodka and lemon soda's, and he only had a couple hours before work, so I was able to get back on the ferry and head "home" to Como, Milan, and eventually Seattle.

I learned from this trip that when traveling alone, I prefer to be in big cities, as opposed to little villages (which are truly made for couples), and oh yeah, and I think I forgot to mention, I left my hairbrush at home and I was stuck with a comb for 2 weeks...  Here's to living life 'on the edge'!!

Last Days...

Greetings from Holland

Do you ever realize how fast time flies?  Well 6 months living in Rotterdam flew.  Of course, it may have been due to all the traveling I squeezed in there or that 6 months is not enough time to get established, or scratch that, you JUST get established to leave. :(

If I had it all to do over again, I would have not traveled the last month I was in the country, I wanted to spend more time with the friend's I made and see the people in the office who so openly accepted me, and knowing some I may never see again.  I don't know the frequency I'll get back, as there are so many places in the world left to see and so few vacation days...but knowing me, I'll make the time - but likely never 6 months again...

The daily walk to work

My last week back in Rotterdam (between the UK and then a week in Belgium for one final audit) was a
quick one, I finally received my permanent resident visa.  Yeah, great timing, right before I left.  See the US isn't the only nutso one.  I tried to soak in every step of the walk I took to and from work every day, have drinks with people, pack up all my sh*t, and transport at least 1 load up to Amsterdam to wait for me to leave leave (see I'd planned
to move out of my apartment on the 29th of September...and leave my excess bags at my friend's in Amsterdam while I was in Belgium, and then in Italy).  I got to see a friend who was traveling to Europe right before he moved to NYC.  And of course, I had a night out with "my" boys at "my" bar.
Just a few pics to show the final moments in Rotterdam...

The naked statue outside work...

Holland - where you can order Dominoes, a beer, and Poffertjes

One last sunny day in Amsterdam...

Oh the rain...and WIND

My office mates - Menno and Xavi

One of my adorable Cafe Pol bartenders

Blogs Percolating

Goodness, I'm behind as always - and even with my writing goal for this month, I've seriously been procrastinating.  I've got multiple blogs in the percolator, and better get to them before the my life hits me with more adventures.

Here's a look at what's to come (click a picture to go to the post):

Back to the U of K

See the clock tower is pretty in Bradford

Some of my last days being European were spent being "non-European" in the UK.  It's amazing what a big difference a little channel can make in defining a people.  The British are uniquely their own, and there are so many similarities between them and us, that I realize this really was where our foundation came from.  Of course, we've become a lot more politically correct/sensitive, generally our worldviews and style of business is more the same (especially compared to other countries in Europe).  And they are also the reason we're using a non-metric system :-).

My company's office is up north in West Yorkshire county, in a lovely town called Bradford.  Now Bradford is a unique and sad place.  It used to be a prosperous, textile city.  It has some really nice old buildings, and if the industry hadn't fallen drastically, perhaps people wouldn't be so down on it.  It's the best place to find Indian food, and is extremely multi-cultural.  That said, there are a lot of boarded up old pubs and shops, and in their place are "to let", pawn shops, or "Asian" fabric stores (I say that because that's what the British call people from India, yes I know, it's technically true - it just always throws me off a bit).  If you ever find yourself up north (about 3 hours by train north of London), try Leeds or York (which I've heard is really nice).  You won't feel so sad with the depressed run-down feel of Bradford.


Since I was going to be in the town for 2 weeks (yay?), on the weekend, I got to meet up with my bestie in Manchester.  A great young, hip town.  We happened to be there the weekend Manchester United was playing, but her risking her boyfriend over us going wasn't worth it (he's a Liverpool fan).  We did venture out that way to buy scarves for friends at least.

It was a fun weekend away.  On Friday night I had a date (remember me meeting people in Ostrava?) Yup, we made plans to go for dinner.  He took me to a really cool old bank converted to a restaurant, called Jamie's Italian - yes, more chainy than I normally like, but the atmosphere made up for it.  The next day, Hillary and I watched some football, went to Old Trafford stadium, and had a fantastic tapas dinner, at a place called La Vina.  That night, we had tickets to go to a reading, "There Has Possibly Been an Incident" - performed by 3 people at The Royal Exchange Theatre.  It was a really enjoyable, thought-provoking show.  Later we found some great local bars the Long Bar and the Oast House.

The next day, we had a lazy breakfast and walked around in a few shops before we parted ways - her south and me north.

It was a fun 2 weeks, and even better to get some bestie time in there, but it also meant my time in Europe was fast coming to an end.

A couple other places I ate which are worth mentioning:
The 3 Acres (near Huddersfield) - a great classic, upscale pub
The Alchemist (which has 2 locations in Manchester and 1 in Leeds) - a bar that has more flair than a typical speakeasy, but more inventive drinks than a normal bar.  Food was pretty good as well.
Red's True BBQ (in Leeds) - probably as close to American style BBQ that I've had in Europe, if you're jonesin' for America, it's worth a stop.  Service was ridiculously slow though - and the UK is typically better than the rest of the continent.

 

Princes among the Froggies

An Italian, a Frenchman, and a Dutch dude walked into the bar...Other than the question of "how is it different than home?", the most common question I get is "Meet any guys?".  Yes of course, but any that you want to know about?

I started off in Holland all open and willing to meet anyone. I had 6 months, and if I was going to meet the man of my dreams, I had better get on it.  I jumped in with both feet, and went to an expat event in Rotterdam a whole 2 days after I arrived, didn't want to waste any time, so I thought it would be a good idea. Plus, a real cutie from Germany rsvp'd (but never showed :( ).

I showed up...a lot early but quickly was in a group chatting away, no princes, but it was early.  I spotted a decently attractive guy and his friend early on, but since I was in the group, couldn't exactly make a break for it, so I just eyed him from across the room.  When I escaped for another glass of wine, I casually walked towards the table said guy was at...and started up a conversation with his friend.  Both true "froggies" (i.e., Frenchmen).  The one I thought was cute... had janky teeth (and by that some were missing).  But I had a nice conversation with the other Frog man.  And by the end of night, we'd exchanged business cards.  Sure, why not, right?

As I was heading towards the metro, I ran into an Italian who was leaving as well, we chatted a bit, but that was it.  Off I went to home, happy I made the effort.  Italy emailed me a day or so later, and asked me to dinner.  What could I lose, right?  I agreed, and we met up.  He was older than I remember... a LOT older.  Hmmm...and he had no plan on where to go for dinner, so we walked along the river... to a very touristy buffet Chinese restaurant.  Dinner was palletable, and Italy thought it was fate that we met...Italy also had a 9-yr old and wasn't that interesting.  On the walk back, it was chilly, I had my hands in my pockets, and Italy decided to put his hand in my arm nook... I felt like I was walking with a dad, and hoped that's what people thought.  He then sent me a YouTube song that he said reminded him of me...alright, wasn't sure if he meant I had a good heart or one that was solid and impenetrable.  Sorry, I wished I written the name down, because apparently the YouTube video no longer works.  Humm a song about a hard hearted woman, and I'm sure that's me!

Date 2...was with the friend of the Frenchman.  It went pretty well, we met up after his squash workout (should that have been a sign?), had some wine and a charcuterie plate, then had a beer at the local Irish bar (I've come to realize, the Irish may have not been all imperialistic, but they were more successful in making their mark all over the world...).  The date ended well, and we agreed to meet again.  This is where it all went south...of France.  He offered to show me around Den Haag.  He planned...for us to meet at 1, go to the beach, have a drink, have lunch, get a drink in Den Haag, his friend was to make dinner, and then we could go out... ummm yeah, that's a LOT much.  The night before, he checked to see what I was up to, I said I was having dinner, and he said he was going to head to Rotterdam to go out, me and my friend should join.  I asked, what friend?  He said the one I was at dinner with... umm I'm not with anyone.  He then said he would come join me.... um nope! I'm going to see you for almost the full day tomorrow, and pretty sure I'm good on my own (he later told me, he understands I am a loner... there's a first for everything).

A little wary, but excited to see something new, I went with an open mind.  Oh, did  I mention he is single with 2 kids, both by the ex that he lives with - the kids came between breakups... ok, sometimes ya do things for convenience...??????  He was a gentleman, and we had a good time.  He rode back on the train with me and made sure I got home ok, so that was good.  Then it came to pass that the next train didn't run for an hour, so I acquiesced that he could use the guest room - wouldn't I be a jerk otherwise?? At 10 the next morning, froggie finally got up, he was going to get some food, did I want anything? I said no, he pressed "don't you eat in the morning" - all I could think was, LEAVE PLEASE.  He said he would be right back...

I'm, sorry, come again? He said yeah, he was going to get... a croissant, and come back, relax, have a shower... ok?  He was starting to leave, and I was still quite stunned... who DOES that? Talk about imposing.  I was like, no, not ok.  He was like, really? I said I'm just not comfortable with having people shower in my place (not to mention, I wanted to relax and enjoy my day!).  He look at me like I'd said I wanted to bathe in shit, and was like, well, can I do my hair (really?) - so he put water on his hair and (finally) left.  On Tuesday, he wanted to get together again, but when I begged out sick, he offered to bring me soup.  No, that's ok.  I've been in Holland... a whole 10 days, we've had 2 dates... pretty sure that's crossing a boundary.  After 2 DTR emails, I thought this shit is too serious for 2 dates, and didn't respond...damn French, you pushy!

Dutchy was probably the best, but there was definitely no romantic interest.  Again with the kids, which was the ice breaker to the conversation, but at the offer to be shown around Rotterdam, I took him up on it.  He was a nice guy, took me to the lake, to a carnival (and even paid for me to shoot the archery and a gun... all I could think was, I could totally be like Katniss...), then to see where the 1st Americans set sail on the Mayflower.  It was an easy night, no pressure - maybe he had the idea he wanted more, but in the end, I just got to learn a little more about Rotterdam and see a few sights.  No harm, no foul.

Have I had any dates since, you ask? Eh, not really.  Maybe I took my shot and it didn't work out, or maybe I just am tired of trying to figure out all the different idiosyncrasies of each country (the French are pushy, the Italians and Spanish are passionate - and emotional, the Dutch are standoffish).  Sheesh, I just miss my good, old fashioned, American boys! Ok.. that is until I went to Iceland...

The Nordics - part två (or Snus-aluffagus)

If you remember, I was last tootling around in Skagen and Gothenburg (in the Nordics - part ett).  And if you guessed that I would have my toes nibbled by little fish - you would be right!

For my weekend in Copenhagen, I was actually going to be spending it with my friend Carol!  I got there the night before she did - and happened to have booked a really delightful hotel - though I have to admit I was slightly worried because before I saw the actual building I saw this sign on the corner.  I found some great places near the hotel, and had dinner and a cocktail at Kalaset.  I walked around the block after, but decided to call it an early night back at the hotel (but not after trying the "world's best gin and tonic" - well it was the largest at least...

The next morning I found another eccentric restaurant for brunch - Bankeråt Café.  And walked around looking at the sidewalk sale while I waited with baited breath for Carol's arrival.  The day turned out to be fairly lovely, and Carol took me on a walking tour all over the city (including Christiania, which does not allow pictures).

And that night, we found ourselves headed to the festival in Malmö - which was just across the sound.  We never did meet up with her friends, but we had a great time listening to music, trying snus (which was pretty hilarious and messy), and having a few beers before heading back to Denmark (much cooler going between Denmark and Sweden than crossing the border between the US and Canada).  Sunday morning, we took it easy and checked out the spa before parting ways - her back to Aarhus and me to Malmö for work the next week!

The Snusperience

Work was work, but the team was fun and we had some street food during the music festival.  I also had planned out which bands to see after work - and drug my German colleague along for most of them :).  The Avett Brothers put on another fantastic outdoor concert, I also got to see a couple Swedish bands - The Royal Concept and the Shout Out Louds, and a Welsh band, The Joy Formidable.  We also caught a bit of Flogging Molly!

My third and final Nordic country on this little excursion was Iceland (with a week of work in Paris in between - nothing super exciting happened other than getting a bit of food poisoning from the tap water...).  I met up with my friend Rick in Iceland over Labor Day weekend (he popped over from Boston, me from Paris - so worldly we are).  I pulled it together enough when we landed (as I'd gotten the tap-bug the night before...) and we went to a local pub for a beer and boy did I wish I felt better that evening (if ya catch my drift, *wink* *wink*).

pic courtesy of dishyblokes.tumblr

On Saturday, we mercifully had a lazy morning and slept in for forever.  Once we ventured out, we realized it would be more economical (and convenient) to rent a car.  So yeah, the girl without a legal driver's license drove in another country since her passenger couldn't drive a stick...not that he didn't try - sorry to that rental company!  I also learned that Blackberry maps do not recognize any roads in Iceland, so it was useless for directions (you know, cuz there are no roads in Iceland...but we did make it to the Blue Lagoon).  And we both got the upgraded packages - so you know, we could get the robes and extra face masks...We watched (and judged) lots of people, put crap all over our faces, made a new friend, and learned that Of Monsters and Men were playing that evening!  After a couple hours in the lagoon, we popped out to head to the show with our new friend in tow.  It was a BIT of a cold evening in the rain to watch a show, but it was a cool experience nevertheless.

L-Whale, C-Strawberry mousse, R-Atlantic Bass

On Sunday, we were lazy again and stuck around town - going to a local pool and The Icelandic Phallological Museum.  Which I'm not sure was worth the 1200 króna...but oh well. We met up with our new friend again for dinner that night, and Rick got his puffin (and whale, and horse - yup, we went fully Icelandic with our meal). Dinner was pretty great, and we split at that point - Rick went home and I hung out with the new friend for a couple drinks. 

I can't say that we never broke any washing machines, or yelled out car windows that we liked some guy's jumper. Nor did we see a Grindr meet up at the local pool, or put our shorts on inside out...it was such a well behaved man-hunt we were on :). I guess that's where I should continue my search for a husband (that is if I don't get enough bearded-hipsters Seattle).