Tuckered

Wow… it’s 9pm, Sunday night, and I am tuckered out.

It’s been one heck of a fantastic weekend–Friday’s work concluded with dinner at a fantastic restaurant on the edge of Rotterdam. That evening, after I got home, I went to bed–and I must have crashed hard, because I did not hear the SMS that I received an hour after getting home. Usually the SMS alert is enough to wake me from a nap, not that night.

I slept until about 8, when I got up, ate breakfast, worked on the computer for a bit, and then headed out to Hoek van Holland Strand: the beach. There, in addition to sunbathing, I also walked. A lot. Where I rested was at least 3 kilometers from the train station, probably more like four, and since I was feeling a bit antsy, I wandered a bit.

There was a miscalculation on my part and I decided to leave early (3:30 or so), because I hadn’t brought enough water with me and I was feeling parched.

From there I returned to my hotel where I relaxed. Between 7 and midnight I probably slept about three hours whilst watching bad TV. I almost decided to stay at the hotel and just sleep, but at 11:23 I hopped into the shower, scrubbed up, shaved, got dressed and then relaxed a couple of minutes before leaving at 11:54. I was at the Gay Palace a minute later; early enough to pay the pre-midnight 5€ cover instead of the 10€ that people a few minutes later had to cough up.

The bartender was there, and he was definitely watching me–and, if I understood body language correctly (always challenging in a club), he told other people that I was there. Did he do anything about it? No. I just danced for two and a half hours, save for 20 minutes worth of breaks, before, at 2:30, I was tired and mindful of the fact that I was heading to Amsterdam in the morning.

So I left.

But before I leave the Gay Palace, I want to say that the smoking ban in The Netherlands is fantastic. When I got back to the hotel I only had sweaty clothes, not smoky clothes with the added bonus that my hair only needed one quick wash instead of the three or four traditional shampooing I used to give it after dancing.

I got up this morning at 9:30–when I grabbed a light breakfast, shower, and headed to the train station, where I caught the train to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam I met some friends and we walked down to the ABC before a light lunch, and exploration of the UIT Markt, an arts, books, and theatre festival held annually in Amsterdam. It was a fantastic time with wandering performance art, incredible music performances, and expensive drinks.

We must have walked about ten kilometers today.

When I sat back in the train, heading back to Rotterdam, I was ready to fall asleep.