Girls just want to have fun!

A whirlwind weekend!

We picked up my friend from the international bus station. Did you know that you can go to Belgium from Amsterdam on a bus for 20€!!!?! And apparently a bunch of other destinations...

The only downer is that the trip is longer then the Thalys train, plus its not as reliable as my friend had to wait for a whole hour for the bus to depart. She also mentioned that some of the characters she traveled with were rather questionable... hmm... but it is a big saving compared to 94€ train ride.

She however made up for the savings with major money spending by SHOPPING! Saturday morning has begun with a very innocent minute trip to my downstairs housewares shop to get some gift paper for Vito's mom's gift. It flowed into an even MORE innocent "stop by" a clothing for old lady's shop... you know... just to peek inside... in case a perfectly normal item was accidentally acquired by the store's buyer. Well... lets just say, a purse (for me), a gold scarf and a very cool snake necklace (for Aurelia) later we were on our way back to the apartment. Hmm... damage done and we have not even entered Amsterdam yet!

In Amsterdam we have discovered some really cool shops where they sell ONE of a kind clothes made by some very funky people! We were browsing and trying on stuff (well Aurelia was, I was lounging on the graffitied white leather couch...). The store is run by two funky chicks, one Dutch and one American. At one point another funky Australian dude (friend of theirs) came in and the store had to quickly be closed because the whole posse had to run off to some party... This was only about 4.30 in the afternoon! But don't get alarmed! Aurelia was able to carry away a really cool seventies peasant shirt with embroidery and a waterproof (!!) red mini skirt! Hey, it rains a lot in Belgium too!

Anyway all details will be on my hotelbycity blog but here is a fun picture of the shop:

We made our way down the main shopping street wowing not to spend another euro... meanwhile silver espadrilles, heart dotted umbrella, white bubble tee and a puchiesque pink scarf had somehow made their way into Aurelias bag even tough a very strict self imposed budget was forethought by her before coming to Amsterdam. (I myself did indulge in a heart dotted umbrella and an exaggerated orange plastic diamond that will accent my new bag!)

By that time the shops were already closing and Aurelia was facing the harsh reality of the many shopping bags in her hands... I consoled her that all shops will be closed the next two days so there was just no way we could shop even if we wanted to!

As we made our way to a busy square for a beer or three she disappeared to the restroom to emerge wearing all her new acquisitions. Again, I congratulated her on good choices and reminded that in fact she SAVED money as all that stuff would have cost her more in Brussels... (So she swears.)

The evening continued happily, the sun peaked out and we made our way to a sure hit street where you can find excellent eateries for any taste. Rude awakening set in as we realized ALL restaurants were totally FULL!!! Boy and I thought New York City was bad...

We however inserted ourselves in this really bustling Indonesian restaurant and had a SUPER rijstaffel!! It was both our first time eating Indonesian. We just looked around and when the waitress appeared just pointed and said: "We want what they're having!" It was delicious!!! The meal consists of a bunch of little dishes with various meats and vegetables variating in spiciness, accompanied by different rices. WE LOVED IT! The waitress was surprised that we actually able to finish everything! (Well almost...)

Wow this is getting really long... and I've only described half of day one... and more pictures need to be posted...

More tomorrow, but lets just say, shopping was not finished!!!! The next day we stumbled upon a huge MARKET!!!!! Key word... hand embroidered Indian pillow shams... HELLO!!!!

Ok, I'm too tired, must go and... do nothing.

ps: the roses were so pretty!!! only 6€ for TWENTY! At this price flowers could be had in the house all the time not only for impressing house guests! ;)