Boxed

I hate boxing myself in, I never liked the categories forced upon things.

But at the same time, I realized I kept reaching for the labels I shunned.

Winding down the summer

Things that currently mean a lot to me.

Headphones. I have wanted proper headphones for awhile. When I saw this pair, I just got the overwhelming need of fulfilling that goal immediately. It has been bringing me great comfort. 

Book. I had finished my first Murakami book about two months ago, and then powered through 3 more between my travels. I cannot recall the last time a book has brought me into its world with such totality. I've been currently repeating the mistake of beginning these books in the evening and finishing them as the first trains begin running.

Nostalgic music. The music of my preteen years were given to me through CDs - and the recent drive through California reignited the love for that music. The task proved harder than expected as the music was not readily available online, and so this undeniable urge made me dig through storage to find my CDs and Walkman.

A great pen. Writing seems to be coming easier to me lately, and I blame this extremely smooth pen for making me constantly crave writing just so I can use it.

Emptiness

When people ask me if I'm okay, I used to default to saying yes because I didn't want to bring down the mood, bother with explaining myself, or even admit that I wasn't happy. Recently, I've stopped doing that because I realize that I'm really not okay, and pretending to be all the time was just pushing the problem away for another day.

Tea time in Manchester

Day 6

I decided to take it easy this morning; I had a BritRail pass, so I could take any train I liked and service to Manchester was every hour from London. I woke up and decided to grab some food from the nearby Pret.



The ride to Manchester was leisurely and full of beautiful views. I finally understood the term 'rolling hills' when viewing the English countryside.

Gloomy London

Day 5

My first trip to Europe happened in the summer of 2007; now ten years later, I was back again. However, the only place I stopped at again was London; therefore it inevitably made me draw comparisons.

I headed out to the station an hour early; the smug feeling lasted all about two minutes before I realized that going to the UK meant leaving the Schengen area, and therefore, Passport Control.

When we arrived, I realized why people called London gloomy - even during rainy days in most other places, the sun shines through in spots and there are moments of brightness. In London, the skies were depressingly grey and drab, and it made its surroundings appear grey as well.




The first stop was to grab an ankle brace from the nearby Boots. Lights change extremely quickly in the U.K., and coupled with my lame ankle and not being used to the cars being on the 'wrong side', I got beeped at a few times while making my way across.

Bruxelles, par moi-même

Day 4

This day marked the first of my solo adventures. I have never travelled alone before; the most I've done was take a flight by myself.

I had a 6am train from Amsterdam Centraal to Bruxelles Midi aboard the Thalys. I sleepily lugged myself to the ferry and hopped over to the station. It was too early for me to feel hungry, but I did notice that my ankle, which had felt sore the evening before, had not improved with rest.



The first thing I noticed in Brussels was the security - there were soldiers with armed rifles patrolling the station, and it definitely changed the vibe of the area.

I made my way to my hostel and dropped off my luggage and had a quick catch-up chat. Then I was off to explore!

Living like a local

Day 3

My favourite type of trip is actually going somewhere I've already been before; the feeling of being somewhere different yet familiar.

I often find that the first time I travel somewhere, there is an urgency to see all the sights, eat all the food, and power through a jam-packed day. The second visit is when the urgency disappears, and I can settle in and see all the spots that didn't make the cut the first time around, as well as revisit my favourite spots. I can sit down at a cafe to relax and not feel guilty that I'm wasting time, and I usually end up enjoying myself more.




Another one of my favourite things to do is check out the local supermarket. I find it endlessly intriguing to see what they sell, how they're set up, and trying interesting items.

That being said, I spent a very slow and relaxing day before gearing up for some solo travel around new cities.

We headed to the market area on our bicycles. For a relatively new learner, I actually love bicycling when there are separated lanes, and in Amsterdam, bicycles rule over cars, and even pedestrians. Nothing really beats Dutch cycling infrastructure.

I also discovered a few Dutch foods that I love; tompouce, which is like a mille-feuille but without those pesky other layers of pastry, and Heks Nkaas. This spread from the grocery store, paired with fresh bread from aforementioned store, made for the most delicious meal. Nothing beats just tearing apart a baguette and dipping it in Heks Nkaas... Words fail to describe how delicious this was.



After walking to the ferry to make sure I could navigate the path at 5am in the morning, we made our way home. A bottle of wine was awaiting us at the door; a thank you from the management for the noise from the filming happening next door.

We were pretty full so we ended up having a very late meal; Florence made her own version of Stamppot!

A day in Rotterdam

Day 2

The morning started with a breakfast of poffertjes prepared by Evan. I made the most of my time in the Netherlands by having another stroopwafel with my tea.





We headed to Rotterdam, a Dutch city with modern architecture due to the severe bombings it went through during WWII.