Last weekend I popped over the sea to Amsterdam. A friend recently moved there, and though we’re about to embark on a few months of intense traveling, the Netherlands is one of the few places that’s easily accessible from the East of England.
We only had a weekend, but as Fabio kept pointing out, the Netherlands is very small and it doesn’t take much time to get around.
It’s always more fun to visit friends. Fabi is a great example of why, because he runs a wine company. Hence our Saturday was oriented by the food and wine fair where he was based. We sampled lots of Dutch (and Italian, thanks Fabi) produce and roamed amongst Amsterdam’s charming canals and indulgent artists’ residences.
In the evening we went to a typical local pub, where we had satay – which is apparently quite Dutch – and of course some great beers. By the time we were planning to go clubbing though I had a splitting headache and felt like I was coming down with something.
The next morning after blowing my nose and feeling much better, I realized it was because I’m now used to smoke-free pubs. After just a month of no smoking in England’s bars, I reacted horribly to the passive smoke in Amsterdam. I found that pretty surprising. But I was relieved, because it meant I wasn’t actually getting sick at all, and could enjoy the Netherlands (smoke aside).
