Around Town (and day in Amsterdam)
Going to Amsterdam for the day (Thurs 18th May)
ABN Amro, being a Dutch bank, has its headquarters in Amsterdam. So Oya (my boss), Camlinh (my work colleague) and myself trotted off to Amsterdam for a day of workshops. Won't go into the fairly boring technical details about the training, but the day basically involved getting up at 4am to catch a 6.30am flight (45min flight from London to Amsterdam), training from 10am to 5.30pm, and then taking the latest flight back so I could squeeze in 3 hrs of sightseeing time. Todd (work colleague from the Amsterdam office) was kind enough to show me around the city on the back of his bicycle. I was going to ride a borrowed bike, but it was slightly too big and felt a bit wobbly when I was testing it out. This freaked me out a bit since the last time I cycled properly I was probably 12 (am not absolutely convinced that riding a bike is "just like riding a bike"). Was a great way to see the city though, especially since (according to Wikipedia Amsterdam link above), it is "one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world and is a center of bicycle culture ... there are about 700,000 bicycles in the city"!.
Pic of the bike rack just outside the ABN Amro main headquarters.
Typical street ... (pic as snapped from the back of a bicycle)
Dinner at Moeder's (which means "mother's"), where I had typical Dutch fare (which seems to tend towards mash, sausage and stewed meat). The place was decorated in a with pictures of people's mothers. None of the cultery matched either. The place was fabulous, in a very charming, slightly kitsch sort of way.
Around London Town
The great thing about living in london is that, apart from all the easy travel opportunities, there's tons of stuff going on all the time ...
Sleeping Beauty (Friday 19th May)
Went with Sara, Anne and Yuan on Friday to see the Royal Ballet production of Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House. We had standing tickets for the very low price of 7 pounds. Standing for whole ballet wasn't as much of a hardship as you might think (especially when you surreptitiously slip off your shoes). Our particular standing spot had restricted views of the left side of the stage, but then, for 9 pounds, it's hard to complain (top priced tickets were selling for 90 pounds).
Secret photo taken at the end when the dancers were taking their bows. As you can (sort of) see (the pic is a tad blurry) the costumes were gorgeous.
Sultan's Elephant (a street theatre experience)
An event which basically consisted of puppet-like a giant elephant and little girl roaming the streets of central London. Described as "an extraordinary experience for everyone who saw it. The majestic elephant and the little girl giant captured the hearts and minds of thousands of Londoners and visitors". I'll have to admit, it was indeed quite impressive.
ABN Amro, being a Dutch bank, has its headquarters in Amsterdam. So Oya (my boss), Camlinh (my work colleague) and myself trotted off to Amsterdam for a day of workshops. Won't go into the fairly boring technical details about the training, but the day basically involved getting up at 4am to catch a 6.30am flight (45min flight from London to Amsterdam), training from 10am to 5.30pm, and then taking the latest flight back so I could squeeze in 3 hrs of sightseeing time. Todd (work colleague from the Amsterdam office) was kind enough to show me around the city on the back of his bicycle. I was going to ride a borrowed bike, but it was slightly too big and felt a bit wobbly when I was testing it out. This freaked me out a bit since the last time I cycled properly I was probably 12 (am not absolutely convinced that riding a bike is "just like riding a bike"). Was a great way to see the city though, especially since (according to Wikipedia Amsterdam link above), it is "one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the world and is a center of bicycle culture ... there are about 700,000 bicycles in the city"!.
Pic of the bike rack just outside the ABN Amro main headquarters.
Typical street ... (pic as snapped from the back of a bicycle)
Dinner at Moeder's (which means "mother's"), where I had typical Dutch fare (which seems to tend towards mash, sausage and stewed meat). The place was decorated in a with pictures of people's mothers. None of the cultery matched either. The place was fabulous, in a very charming, slightly kitsch sort of way.
Around London Town
The great thing about living in london is that, apart from all the easy travel opportunities, there's tons of stuff going on all the time ...
Sleeping Beauty (Friday 19th May)
Went with Sara, Anne and Yuan on Friday to see the Royal Ballet production of Sleeping Beauty at the Royal Opera House. We had standing tickets for the very low price of 7 pounds. Standing for whole ballet wasn't as much of a hardship as you might think (especially when you surreptitiously slip off your shoes). Our particular standing spot had restricted views of the left side of the stage, but then, for 9 pounds, it's hard to complain (top priced tickets were selling for 90 pounds).
Secret photo taken at the end when the dancers were taking their bows. As you can (sort of) see (the pic is a tad blurry) the costumes were gorgeous.
Sultan's Elephant (a street theatre experience)
An event which basically consisted of puppet-like a giant elephant and little girl roaming the streets of central London. Described as "an extraordinary experience for everyone who saw it. The majestic elephant and the little girl giant captured the hearts and minds of thousands of Londoners and visitors". I'll have to admit, it was indeed quite impressive.
posted by linh at 21:03
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