Ciao Europe, Once Again

And so, once again I say goodbye to a European adventure as I head home to reality.  I'm on a 10 1/2 hour flight from Amsterdam to Houston, where I'll spend the night before continuing home.  

My trip was short, but the adventure seemed to have lasted weeks.  As always, so many thoughts crowd into my head, people I've met, foods I've eaten, places I've seen, how brave I've been...and perhaps most of all, what I've felt.

Being alone, even as busy as I've been, allows time for reflection, valuable time, an important part of the journey I've realized. I live alone, I've become accustomed to it because of lack of an alternative, and now I'm content.  All of my life I have done things for others, put them first.  How lucky I am to have done that, to have touched the world in many different ways with kindness and love.  And how lucky I am to have figured out it is fine to do things for myself and let my kindness, thoughtfulness and love extend to myself.  Yes, I have to admit I spoil me, just like I used to spoil others, and it's nice.  There is no one else to do it for me, so why not do the things you love?  So here I am returning from one more life enriching experience, another gift to myself.

I bring back things from my trips.  My collections are simple, I don't spend time shopping anymore.  I collect bookmarks and calendars, and usually try to find a magnet that fits the trip well.  My fridge is filled with memories, along with my calendar wall.  No more trinkets, out of room.  What I also bring back are pictures, some of which will become greeting cards; I bring back memories, and a new sense of me.  I impress myself in ways I couldn't have imagined, each trip is a personal accomplishment.  That may sound strange to many people, people who have never doubted themselves, never been controlled by fear, never lacked confidence.  For me, travel is so much more than seeing the world.

I may not have climbed Mt. Everest, but I climbed my personal Everest.  I accomplished and did things I never would have dreamed of a few years ago.  I am proud of what I do, a sense of satisfaction sometimes overwhelms me over where I've come from and who I am becoming...kinda brave actually.  :-)

Enough about me, back to the journey...

Amsterdam, by the time the train arrived, it was dark, cold and very rainy.  So much for heading into town to take photos.  The rest of the trip was perfect so I wasn't too concerned about the weather at that point.  Schlipol airport has some great stores so that was the extent of my evening's activities.  I ate fries and a dutch pancake, both far from the best I've had but the only choices so I decided it was better than nothing.

The biggest disappointment there was over the cheese.  When I was there in the spring, my driver had taken me to a cheese shop in central Amsterdam for a cheese tasting experience.  Delicious cheeses!  There was one that was my favorite by far, orange something.  Unfortunately my visa card wasn't working and since it was the beginning of the trip I had to be very careful with my cash, so I only purchased one small block of the delicious cheese and one of another I liked.  Did you know that as cheese ages it gets harder?  (apparently I'd forgotten to tell the charge card company I was traveling so once I called to inquire what the problem was, it was fixed, but that didn't help me at this point.). So at that moment I knew I would be back and stock up on the cheese I love.  And finally I was going to do that!

However due to the train delay of almost two hours, I got to my hotel close to 6 PM.  I had the lady at reception call the store for me, and yes, indeed it did close within minutes so I could never make it there.  The lady at the hotel assured me that the brand I wanted was at the airport so I'd be fine.  I decided to call the store back to be sure the orange something cheese would be there.  Well the person I spoke to said they had no 'orange something' cheese.  Yes they did, I insisted!  I had saved the wrapper at home all these months and told her the first word was orange, the second word started with an m but was in Dutch.  She thought and thought and then said the only thing she could think of was that they make an orange mustard cheese around Queens Day, could I have been in town around that time? Yes, that is exactly the time I was there...finally they realized I wasn't crazy...oh that cheese is only made at that time of year, there isn't any to be found now!!  All that planning and the cheese isn't even available!  I was so disappointed, no orange mustard cheese to be had.  At least I'd hadn't given up and now I know what it is, when they have it and she said that I can order it in May.  So in a way mission was accomplished. And yes, that brand was all over the airport past passport control so I did come back with cheeses, just not the ONE I wanted. So knowing that I relaxed and browsed the airport and then repacked and did get a good nights sleep before the long journey home.  

I have not flown internationally out of Amsterdam so I found an interesting difference there.  You go through  passport control and then have full access to the rest of the airport.  Security isn't until you reach your gate!  That felt a bit uncomfortable, knowing that everyone roaming past passport control still hadn't gone through a security check.  Not very comforting at all.  I mentioned that to a man working in the lounge and he very rudely answered that I was NOT in America and they do things differently there!  I have been in many airports around the world and have never been in one that did it that way but I decided that rude man was not interested  in that fact at all.  And honestly, I was quite relieved when it was time to check into my flight and go to a secure area.  Everyone had shown a passport and boarding pass at least.

Finally I boarded and began the long flight home...