Cakes, Canals and Kitty Cats

Happy belated Valentine’s Day! If you’re into that kind of thing. I spent the vast majority of mine eating cake - and regardless of relationship status I feel cake is something everyone can get behind.

In De Pijp, one time ghetto region of Amsterdam there's a desert shop called De Taart van m'n Tante. My limited Dutch inclines me to translates that as ‘My Aunty’s Cake’ but whoever’s cakes they are deserves a solid pat on the back. 

Token tulips

 Token date (new Berlin friend, Sarah).

Outside it was a little less romantic. The snow flakes were flying like mother-flipping ninja stars. You try cycling (on the wrong side of the road) with those things hurling into all orifices. I gave it a shot the day before but I rode over some sneakily concealed glass and punctured my back tire - taking my first tumble off the bike - sideways onto the ice/mud pedestrian path, graceful as a swan.

Exhibit A: Ice/Mud

 A quick circuit around the canal ring reveals I’m not alone in my misfortune. To clarify the bike below does NOT belong to me, just a fellow klutz.

So come St Val’s I was banished to bus travel. But that was ok, because a creepy man at Centraal Station gave me this:

...and then I knew what love was again (I actually think it’s advertising something, but I’m happy in my ignorance). Then I regifted it to my housemate Jess and she cooked me a gourmet dinner of brie and cranberry stuffed chicken, caramelised onion and mushroom and apple salad. 'Cause that’s a fair trade.

 In other news I had to take my busted bike back to Waterlooplein for a new tire. Which took an hour. So I got my tourist on and procrasti-snapped the canals for your enjoyment.

 Rijksmuseum in hazy distance

 I also bought some really cheap, old Dutch books 

(that’s nice Francesca, why are you showing us this?)

 ...and went out for Tapas with my Californian gal pals and the resident kitty cat. There are lots of cats here (even stoner cats in coffee shops). Apparently it's because there are lots of mice which is probably because there are more wheels of cheese in this city than people.

And then finally my bike was repaired and I was ready to buffoon my way about the city once again.

Milk crate curtsey of the nice man at Zaanstraat Bike Repairs --all the cool kids have them. Sticker curtsey of Oh Yeah Wow Animation Studios (dank je wel) and apple cider courtesy of Francesca who is sick of drinking beer... and also wanted something to carry around to justify the milk crate.

 Judge me, I do.

Off to Maastricht, South Holland next week for further adventures times, so you can look forward to some different scenery, and potentially fewer bike shots (I promise nothing). x