Cocktails and heels

Friday morning, fairly overcast, about to eat an early lunch. Yesterday was a good day, like most of my days in Amsterdam. I was very productive at my sister's place once again, though I got so completely absorbed in cleaning the bathroom that I totally forgot that I was meant to meet Renée at Screaming Beans at 11 am and didn't hear my phone as it was on silent - I finally heard it vibrate when I left the bathroom, more than 45 minutes after I was meant to meet her! Shame on me! But we had a lovely lunch and the weather was quite nice once again.

When I got home I vacuumed and washed the floors, which must not have been washed in... well, ever, since my sister doesn't own a mop or anything at all to clean the floors with. I improvised with a kitchen cloth and some multipurpose cleaning product and used my ballet-trained legs to move the cloth over the floorboards. It was really quite fun. It was a bit like dancing. And the floor looks so clean!

I also fixed the door to her apartment as the lock stuck very badly and it was impossible to open with one hand, but not anymore! Fix-it Florence took tools to hand and solved that problem. I don't know where I got my handy-woman genes from, but I really love that I have them. I organised some cupboards, then I sorted the washing, returned some pants for my sister, bought some groceries and readied myself for a night of cocktails with Emily and Phizz. It was a lovely surprise to hear Renée could come and join us after she finished work too! Once again it was a drawn-out process finding something to wear in my sister's wardrobe, I am just so much bigger than she is! She has so many gorgeous outfits, but I just don't fit into them! It was getting very close to the time I had agreed to meet Emily, and I still hadn't found anything, so when I finally found a nice top in size medium instead of a small or extra small, I was very relieved! I do have clothes with me myself, but my outfits are way too boring and sensible for cocktails, and I wanted to dress up. I put on some make up, slipped into my new heels and off I rode...

Until I crossed the bridge in front of the apartment, hit the intersection with the Marnixstraat where they are doing roadworks, couldn't dodge an oncoming cyclist, put my left foot down for balance, which was inside my lovely new very high heel, couldn't actually find any balance on that heel and feel quite hard to the ground! Embarrassing! The lady I was trying to dodge helped me up and was very kind, kept asking how it happened that I fell (I wouldn't have fallen in my sensible sneakers, of course) and I showed her my shoes. Which unfortunately didn't come away from the fall unscathed. I quickly left the scene on foot, trying to look as stable as possible though my knees were shaking from the shock and embarrassment. I hadn't hurt myself much, I noticed a little pain in my left foot, but nothing too bad. I decided to hop back on my bike and ride the last few hundred metres, as I was only meeting her a a few hundred metres from the apartment.

I met Emily and laughed as I almost fell again trying to get off my bike in those heels, and decided I would not ride in them anymore, but take them off when riding. We had a nice burger at the busy Burgermeester burger place on the Elandsgracht, as we didn't want to make the same mistake we made last time, which was drinking cocktails before eating dinner... So after lining our stomachs we made our way back to the Vesper Bar (my heels secure on my transport rack!) where she and I had enjoyed lovely cocktails last time we caught up. The bar was still closed for a private function for another half hour, so we met Phizz on the Haarlemmerdijk. He needed some food so we went to a lovely little pizza place and enjoyed a chat. My foot felt a bit tender, but I could walk and it didn't worry me too much.

Then we met Renée at the bar and we started our first round with some very pretty cocktails, both with and without alcohol, and it was a very fun evening from then on. At the pizza place Emily and I had nagged Phizz into showing us the entire contents from his tool belt and pouch, but he only got halfway before the pizza arrived, so when we conquered a table, we told him we wanted to see the rest. He said we couldn't really be that interested, but honestly we really were. His tool belt is very impressive, and I've seen the most amazing things emerge from his pouch, so our curiosity was enormous.You will not believe the things that man has with him at all times. Let's say that if you needed to escape from a dungeon of a fairytale castle, or break into a bank, you'd want him with you. Or, you know, if you needed a raft built, a shelter erected, or a mythical creature captured and defeated, he's your man. Or if you just need your phone charged. Any phone. Really. Or two phones. Or two phones and an iPad. Or if you need special electronic earplugs for during bomb detonating practice... Or you really need an automatic pencil that extends as you write so you never have to press it to make the tip longer, which also rotates as you write so it's even all the time, he's got one. Never (hardly ever) leaves the house without it. Just so you know.

And then we thought it was only fair that us ladies also shared the contents of our bags, which really was very entertaining. The only things all four of us carry are pens and lip balm. So there. That's what three pretty girls and one charming man have in common in their daily attire! Bet you didn't know that.

It was a lovely night, with lovely cocktails, some of which were on fire (some other people on our table ordered those, and when we saw their reaction from when they had their first sip, we decided they might be a little too strong for us) and some of which had very suggestive names and all of which we enjoyed. The company of course was great, Emily made another great Dinglish joke: "You want to try my drink? Here, prove it!" Because in Dutch to taste is proeven, and "taste it" in Dutch is "proef het". It was another classic Emily Dinglification. My other favourite of course is her dancing in your ducky. Look that one up in the post I wrote the first time she and I went for cocktails with Phizz.

Anyway, it was a fun night, though my foot was getting more and more sore. It wasn't swollen or anything, I was just in an increasing amount of pain. When it came to home time I could barely walk, even with no heels on, so I was quite worried that I had broken it. Which in a way would have been quite ironic considering my sister broke her foot last year by falling off her bike on the Marnixstraat...but not because she was silly enough to think she could ride a bike in stilettos. The problem was that I hadn't thought about the stopping and starting you have to do on a bike, because riding in heels, the actual pedalling, is not at all hard. It's just that they are so friggin' unstable when you have to put your foot down to stop. Anyhow, I felt stupid for having tried it and now I was in pain because of it. You live, you learn, you crash, you burn. Isn't that how the saying goes??

Emily rode home with me to share a cup of tea and I sat down and put my foot up. We chatted for a little while and Em decided that she was too tired (read: tipsy) to ride all the way home, so she stayed the night here. I slept with my foot on a pillow, and I have to say it felt less painful this morning. I can walk without much pain in my foot though it is tender, but unfortunately my leg muscles are also quite stiff from my Hip Hip class wednesday night (and possibly walking more than I ever have in those heels last night), so I currently move as if I'm in my eighties. We had some breakfast and we rode to the Espresso Lab for a morning coffee. We sat on the bench outside and chatting for a while, which was very pleasant. I feel so grateful for being able to see so much of my friends while I'm here, to share some quality time with them. That morning coffee with Em was just so simple but so special at the same time. We've been friends for so long, we've shared so much, we can have such serious and meaningful conversations, but we also just have so much fun, we can be completely crazy and outrageous together. I do not have another friend like her. I love her to bits.

Now I am sitting with my leg up on a pillow, just to give it plenty of rest, though the pain is fairly manageable. I will go out in a little while for a final bike ride through Amsterdam before I head back down south with Phizz tomorrow. I will stop at Two for Joy in the hope the same barista from last week is, there, he was wonderful. I plan to explore a bit of the east side of Amsterdam, which I haven't seen much of. I don't know when I will be back in Amsterdam next, there's still work to do at my mum's but I just love being here so much. However, life in Amsterdam is a lot more expensive than life in Elsendorp, as I am constantly catching up with friends and enjoying coffees and food, but it's so worth it. And one specific friend has been superbly generous, will not let me pay for anything and spoils me all the time with movies and dinners, for which I am truly grateful. I hate knowing that I won't see these friends for a long, long time when I go back to Australia. I don't have friends like these back there, friends that you can catch up with just on a whim and go out for cocktails with. I just don't. I don't really know why.

Anyway, I have just finished my wholemeal cheese sandwich (bruine boterham met kaas) for lunch and will go for a little bike ride. I can't just sit here on the couch with my stupid foot up all afternoon! I'm glad it's not broken, it's probably just sprained. I will look after it and take it easy. You look after yourselves and take it easy too. x