Reasons I Know I'm Growing Up

Yep, it turns out I'm not getting any younger, depsite my best efforts and downloading Miley Cyrus songs - what?! They were for my niece... hoe down throw down y'all.

I do remember the day after I graduated from Uni. saying the words 'bloody students!' despite moving away from my student status the previous day! Almost five years later, I'm a world away from the person I was back at university... kind of. Sometimes. Not at weekends.

But I know I'm getting older when the following things annoy me/concern me/wear me out!

• Girls who wear leggings that are so see through, I can see the laundry label on their pants underneath - where is your shame ladies??!

• I quite like fruit cake now.

• I don't text as much anymore. I genuinely can't be bothered to make my fingers find the right buttons. Thank the LORD for auto correct.

• Food isn't a necessity anymore, it's something to enjoy! It is no longer acceptable to buy 'chicken in a can in a white sauce' although I'm not sure it ever was acceptable?

• I'm spending more than £5 on shoes. And they're usually flat.

• I can't remember the last time I watched the Hollyoaks omnibus

• I like blue cheese, mushrooms and red wine now. My tastes are maturing even if my general outlook on life isn’t!

• I’m finding dubstep is just a load of noise!

I'm still ridiculously immature at times. Who cares? <sticks tongue out>

How Can I Get my Mum on a Plane?

Ok folks. Help is needed.

My Mum is exactly 30 years older than me, I know this because she had me when she was thirty years old. This is always handy to remember around her birthday when I need to remember whether to buy her a generic 'yay happy birthday' card or a milestone card (would always advise those unsure to choose the generic option rather than a 'yay you're 50!' card when they're actually 49. Eeeesh, awkward.)

When I say exactly 30 years old than me, we don't share a birthday or anything, that would be uncool because I like to make a big splash about my birthday, usually having a week long celebration, and the petulant side of me would throw an almighty tantrum at sharing. Yep, I once had all my friends sent home from MY birthday party because someone else won at pass the parcel and I was sent up to my room as punishment. It's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

Oh look, I've digressed. Oopsie.

I was talking about the mothership, you can call her Jenny if you like, or Mofo as I like to call her. Hello Mofo:

Did you know I got married? I don't like to go on about it...

A fine specimen of a lady I'm sure you'll agree, I never got her legs, I got my Dad's legs. Thanks Dad!

My mum has never been on a plane in her life.

I'll just pause a while to let that sink in...

<pause>

Never?

<pause>

Never.

Now, I'm no Richard Branson flying off everywhere and anywhere but I've easily been on more than fifty flights and only almost thrown up due to turbulence on around 20... just joking Mum, flying is great!

I've flown to Honduras on my own with two connections, so that's six all by myself already (I was really grown up but I watched Pixar movies the whole way and got SO excited when the food came around)

I want my mum to go on a plane, but my mum suffers with claustrophobia (I don't THINK she'll mind me posting about this, should probably have checked first, especially seeing how it's Mother's Day today...) so the idea of being stuck in a flying metal can at stupid thousand feet altitude is enough to have her reaching for the paper bag.

She does want to cure this though and she does want to fly, even if she has her eyes shut the whole way and leaves fingermarks in the arm rest for eternity.

What do you recommend as the best course of action? Should she fly somewhere on her own or fly with someone? I suggested somewhere like Ireland so that she could always get the boat back, or Edinburgh perhaps?

If there's anyone out there in internet land who has any valid suggestions, let's hear them. You'd be making an old lady in her prime very happy. You'd be making me happy too so I could show her some cool places and go on holiday with her :)

Travel Begins At Home Too You Know...

I'll let you in on a secret. I'm not really a northerner... I'm from the Royal County of Berkshire don't you know? According to my darling brother, I'm the worst kind of traitor, because I abandoned the South and actually prefer living 'oop here in the North.

It's not that I don't like where I'm from, but I LOVE being in Yorkshire. You can be standing in Leeds city centre, surrounded by the rif-raff outside McDonald's, yet jump in your car and be in the Yorkshire Dales within 20 minutes (traffic permitting).

Being near to the outdoors soothes me, I love nothing better than slamming on my wellies and coat and heading out for a mammoth walk in the Dales, or along the canal near my house if I'm a little hungover... (most Saturday mornings, ahem, afternoons)

BUT I also appreciate my proximity to a decent watering hole, I like being out in the country, but not toooo far thank you very much, I still need red wine.

Some photos from aforementioned walks follow. I know what you're thinking and yes, I agree, there really is something about taking photos in sepia that makes trees look rather fetching. Hmmm, yes.



 Playing the shadow game, my legs will never be this long... sob.

 Swan lake.

 Dear dream house...*sigh* one day...

See what I mean? Sepia's just got it going on.

Dahhhn Saaaaarf

A very quick 'things I'm excited about' as I haven't done one for a while and I'm waiting for the bathroom to be free...

• My best bud from uni has had a little teeny tiny bambino! Does this make us grown up now? I mean, I haven't watched daytime TV in 4 years, I eat vegetables more than twice a year and I'm not living in my overdraft so I guess our student days are officially over. Can't wait to meet baby Ava on Monday for cuddles!
• Talking of which, I have Monday off - mega excitement. I LOVE random days off.
• I'm home home. Back in the 'shire of Berkshire for the first time since last August. Yays.
• I'm spending the afternoon teaching my big sister how to eBay :) love eBay.
• I think I'm about to have a pop tart for breakfast. Watch this space.

West Berkshire massive forever! Brrrrrap brrrrrap. I have no idea what I'm doing, I'll stop now.

Hola, Och ai, Bonjour, Ola, Jambo and Daag!

I realised the other day that I've been lucky enough to say all of the above in the last year alone. It's been a brilliant year really and one that I doubt will happen again!

I've been to Honduras with a fantastic group of around 70 Canadians to build homes for 4 different families. Whilst I was there I went on a zip line over a forest, visited Mayan temples, swam under a waterfall, made mud with my bare feet and NEARLY went in a helicopter...nearly.

Then came Christmas with all it's festivities, I do love Christmas.

January was cold and snowy.

February/March gave us a trip to Disneyland Paris of which was spent on a mobility scooter as I fractured my ankle before the trip. Hey Mickey!

April - not one hen do, but two baby. Leeds and Edinburgh cowered in fear.

May - Got married and that. Headed off to Mexico for some R+R quick sharp

June - Camping in Derby

July - Started new job

September - 2 week trip to Africa

October - Amsterdam city break

Not a bad year as it goes.

12 Blogs I found Useful for Getting Wedding Inspiration!

Hello there brides to be!

I imagine you're feeling a heavy mixture of nerves and excitement about your upcoming nuptials, non?

As my own wedding loomed closer on the horizon, I trawled through countless websites and totally lost count of the amount of times I saw something I liked... then forgot where I'd seen it...GAHHH.

So, I thought I'd stick them all in one post, mainly for my beautiful little sister who is getting mawwied (purpose spelling mistake there don't fear) so they're all in one handy place!

Personally I didn't like any of those blahblahblah wedding community/wedding countdown sites with a 'Mrs XXXXX to-be' profile name... to me they're not healthy! Call me a Lone Ranger, but you just CAN'T let wedding planning take over your life, tempting though it is. Plus, they reminded me of this time back at school when I was chatting between my friends just as we were about to go in to an exam, everyone had revised differently and I panicked because I hadn't revised what they had and it stressed me out no end, didn't help at all, nor did talking to them when I came out of the exam about how I thought it had gone (so glad I don't have to do exams anymore...)

Anyway, I digress, wedding community sites anger me too much, I didn't want to be part of that sisterhood/rivalry/jealousy thing I personally found, everyone's different remember :)

Don't EVEN get me started on wedding fayres. They made me not want to get married.

The internet is a marvellous thing. Yes, I purchased my fair share of wedding magazines which were helpful to an extent, but the web, the web dear brides is FREE* :) Hurrah!

*For the picky readers, OK you pay for the connection, but don't nitpick.

I've put them in categories, as I like lists, so without further ado, my first and favourite site is this:

Bloggety Blog!

http://www.beforethebigday.co.uk - Daily wedding blog with bucketloads of wedding inspiration, real weddings and craft ideas. I 'borrowed' so many ideas from this site, I LOVED it. They even featured our wedding afterwards (nothing to do with why this blog is #1 on the list, I swear!)

http://www.100layercake.com/blog/ - This is a blog from the US, but I loved it (I still peek at it every now and then, you know, as research for my little sister of course)

http://www.100layercake.com/blog/2011/06/17/a-beautiful-mess-wedding-elsie-jeremy-and-a-diy-boutonnierecorsage-tutorial/ - I saw this post just after our wedding (when we were back from honeymoon obvs.) and I got MAJOR wedding envy - just look at the details! And I defy anyone not to cry at the video on there. Dear me.

Ant and (table) Decs:

http://www.etsy.com/ - Online marketplace for craft items - fabbo dabbo! I got my cake decorations from here along with plenty of other exciting things and had no issues with things being posted from America.

NOTE - Etsy also has some FAB one off piece of amazing jewelery. I actually ended up buying mine from little known retailer Debenhams after I got fooked off with a staff member in a bridal shop trying to upsell mega expensive jewels to me. Know your audience lady.

http://www.coxandcox.co.uk/categories/any-excuse-for-a-party - Slightly more expensive than I would like, but nonetheless worth a glance at the pretty and shiny things you can decorate your venue with!

Smile! You're on Camera!

http://networkedblogs.com/bmrYZ - Rather fantastic blog from my very fabulous photographer Sarah Jane, (http://www.sarahjanesphotography.co.uk/) who I am so glad we found (and no, we didn't find her at a bloody wedding fayre, I hate those things!) This blog runs through why photographers charge the price they do, so save it to your favourites ready for when your fiance utters the words 'why is it so expensive to take photos? Can't our friends just stick them on Facebook?' Josh didn't ask that again after I sucker-punched him.

http://alidegraffphotography.blogspot.com - Call me weird, but I loved looking through other Real Wedding albums. The amount of ideas I got made all the weirdo comments worth it.

For Fleurs sake!

http://alidegraffphotography.blogspot.com/2010/10/paul-brittany-9310.html - I toyed with the idea of a giant flower instead of a traditional bouquet, but it didn't work out. Massive boo. PLEASE let me know if you have a giant flower!

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/228444/laura-and-ben-brooklyn-new-york/@center/272446/real-weddings - Another Real Wedding site, and it's no coincidence that I'm going to land you on a page where I got TOTAL bouquet envy! Butterfly bouquet? Oui bien sur!

http://www.sarahsflowers.co.uk/ - Don't fancy real flowers? I didn't. Another hassle to worry about on the big day? No ta. I faked it and for once didn't feel bad, ha ha! Great website, good for inspiration even if you just fancy getting some inspiration for real bouquets. My bouquet didn't get tossed to the ladies, no siree, it got laid on my Nan's grave so it lasted much longer than a real one. Good times. I bought a spare bridesmaid dress in the sales and intended to launch that to the gaggle of giggling senoritas, but forgot. Oops.

THE Dress.

Just go shopping. Baby, just go shopping and bloody enjoy it. When else do you get bubbly when you are shopping (if you shop in New Look like me that is), plus you have no idea what suits you until you start trying on. Countless blogs said 'oh you'll just KNOW when you've found THE ONE' (no pressure hey?) and in truth, THE ONE for me turned out to be the one I went home thinking about, couldn't stop thinking about and felt like I was cheating on when I tried others on. I was so excited that evening when I told Josh that I'd put the deposit down, that made the wedding seem so real for him (catch up, I told him.)

Be warned that dresses only come in sample sizes, so there will come a time where you might be squeeeeeezing in to a miniscule size 8 (I had a time where the assistant actually HELD the dress in front of me and tried to show me what it would look like in my size. Ridiculous, I wouldn't even order a New Look dress using that logic, let alone spend £800+ on one. Go away.) OR you'll try on a size 20 and be clamped with bulldog clips - ta daaaaaa! No. It helps so much if the dress is around your size, I really don't see why more dress shops don't order say a size 12, and a size 18 or something like that.

Also, don't settle for anything less, and that comes down to service in the dress shops too remember. I was so lucky in Confetti and Lace, Harrogate, to find Jacki who was just so lovely and helped me so much. Big love going out to Jacki. If anyone makes you feel rushed or cheap, or harrassed, get outta there. Make your excuses and go, but take the dress off first hey? One shop I won't name was just so awful I didn't even try on all the dresses I had set aside. Just like the dress, you'll know when you've found the right shop. You'll be spending a LOT of time there over the next coming months, so it's got to be the right environment for you.

Oh, and be nice to the staff! They work such long hours and have to deal with emotional brides all the time. Being nice goes such a long way, that goes for every service you receive in the wedding planning, you'll more than likely end up getting some nice little discounts that help too. A smile costs nothing, and it might save you a buck or two!

Almost there :)

Lastly, here's a couple for the men involved; you know, the ones that just show up in a suit on the day :)

http://www.iamstaggered.com - good tips for wedding speeches, and all the other tiny things we give to the men that we can trust them with not to screw up :)

http://www.moss.co.uk/pws/hire/wedding_planner/wedding_planner_home.html - Another supremely helpful site with plenty o'helpful links and info for the dudes. We didn't hire suits from Moss, we used Cameron Ross who bordered on useless when it came to ordering suits to be collected around the country. (NOTE - Yorkshire Menswear were fantastic, they were just let down by the supplier, big love going out to Steve!)

You know what? None of this even matters by the time it gets to this point:

(Literally no turning back now, look at how tightly my Dad is holding on to me!)

AND that was straight after the car had pulled up to the wrong church and then I'd got my shoe heel stuck in the drain right outside the church (my Dad had to literally get on his knees and yank the draining off, I wasn't going down the aisle Cinderella style) - I laughed through it all.
It's the best day of your whole life, it does fly by before you know it, you MUST make the most of it and not sweat the little stuff.

(Because I'm living proof that no one cares if the tablecloths don't match the bridesmaid dresses.)

I'll leave you with some snaps from the magnificent Sarah Jane and her magical camera...

Over and out sisters, fire any comments, questions or useful links my way for others,

Katie x

Explore. Dream. Discover. Yep, it's MY Bucket List!

Bucket List = Things I would very much like to try in my life before I'm not able to try them any more!

Lately I've been reading more and more blogs about people and their bucket lists, and although I'm not a massive fan of bandwagons, I'm jumping on this one and taking it for a ride. Man. I've thought about this list for a while, and I couldn't care LESS that some of them might be on other people's lists or that they might not be considered original. They are important to ME. So thereeeeeee.

So without much further ado...Katie's Bucket List (capitals and everything, oh yeah.)


• Visit every continent (must first learn about continents.)

• Put down a track in a recording studio. Of sorts.

• Visit Devil’s pool in Zambia

• Go on a TV game show

• Travel in a helicopter

• Visit Rio Celeste in Costa Rica

• Eat a steak in Argentina

• Go to Panama (wearing a Panama hot. Obvs.)

• Ride on an elephant

• Wear size 12 jeans

• Learn another language. Fluently.


HOWEVER, I must confess that thinking about the ol' bucket list made me think about what I've done in life so far that is pretty cool (if I say so myself) so I kind of made my own 'done it already list' to lay it out there...what??! Have you never added something to a list that you've already done just to tick it off??

• Zip line in Honduras
• Safari in Kenya

• Appear on a TV show (prime time in case you didn’t know)

• Contract typhoid in Uganda

• Camp in the Serengeti

• Help build a house in Honduras

Weirdly, as a child (and I suppose in later years too!) I was always jealous of anyone who broke a bone because I'd never broken one myself, so I was fairly satisfied when I broke my ankle last year during a netball match, but the satisfaction didn't last long when I had to hire a mobility scooter on a trip to Disneyland Paris...

I'm off to the newsagent to get that winning lottery ticket now.

Where's your bucket list then? Hey?

'Africa has never really appealed to me...'

...Is something someone said to me last night. I actually think I held it together quite well considering how much this comment bothered me. Also good considering I'd had a litre of very nice red wine and no dinner by that point too.

ARRGHHH I just don't like it when people wipe out a whole continent from their mind simply because of what they hear on the news or what they think of as rational in their hair-brained minds...

This guy followed it up with 'because the crime in Johannesburg is awful'. Yes, you're right spongehead, the WHOLE of Africa is the same as Johannesburg, anyone want to swap seats with me?

Be sure to have lots of fun on your Spanish holiday where you never leave the compound of the resort and complain that people don't speak English and there's no decent TV shows or you don't like the food...

Breathe. Count to ten.

Idiot. Travel is about opening the mind, breaking down boundaries and opening the mind. Oh, I said that already...oops.

I've seen you wearing that dress before...

I was reading Company magazine in bed this morning (perfect hangover reading fodder) and I found myself getting increasingly frustrated by the fact that magazines, and the wider media too, constantly point out a celebrity wearing *shock horror* the same article of clothing more than once! But look! She wore that bag TWO YEARS AGO - Kate Winslet, hang your head in SHAME...

The media been doing this for years and I think it has always amused me more than anything, of course they have plenty of money, why should they have to wear an item more than once? Surely they can afford to wear new underwear every day if they wanted to? In fact I do recall reading that a male A-list celebrity never wore the same pair of socks twice. Socks. Is that just indulgence, laziness or greed because he is able to afford new socks every day? If he worked in an office or stacked shelves in a supermarket there's a slim chance things might be different on the sock front methinks.

Why has it become a massive deal for anyone in the public eye to re-use their clothes? In today’s society where you have a different bin to encourage recycling and supermarkets are berating you for not bringing your own re-useable bags and heaven forbid you leave your TV on standby overnight; it seems laughable that the media are not doing their part to change this mindset that celebrities should be pinpointed if they wear the same thing more than once.

Thinking of my own meagre wardrobe, I would reach crisis point within two weeks if I had the paparazzo outside my door pointing the finger for wearing something twice. I often buy an article of clothing and wonder what the hell I wore before I owned it because I wear it so often…

I was inspired by Sheena and her Uniform Project fundraiser for children in India when she pledged to wear a little black dress for a year in support of sustainable fashion. More celebrities should take note and give this a shot themselves in my humble opinion.

Now, I am not what you might call a fashion aficionado. Haute couture might as well be a dish on a restaurant menu for all I care, and I know there’s a lot of money to be made from fashion, but it hurts my brain to think of all the intricate work that goes on to make a beautiful dress that will be worn once on the red carpet, then who knows where it goes after that?

If I buy a dress that I LOVE, I’d want to wear it again and again and again! It’s sad enough that I’ll never be able to wear my wedding dress again. In public *ahem* actually maybe there's something to be said about the wedding dress indusrty, but that can keep for another day.

Now, if someone was to tell me that all these once-worn clothes go to good homes and fulfil their clothing destiny, then potentially I’ll feel better. I hate to bring the developing world in to it, but I will. I’ve seen enough families in ripped, filthy clothes to feel strongly about this, I don’t feel this frustration is unjustified. There’s so much more that we can be doing to act responsibly when it comes to fashion and recycling what we have in our wardrobes. I’m not saying we need to send our clothes to Africa, but changing this attitude starts at the top, higher than Kate Winslet using her handbag more than once…

Oh, here’s the Uniform Project I was banging on about earlier http://www.theuniformproject.com/

 

Hat trick of shameless same dress wearage! Over and out!

I WILL be thin for this summer...

I've decided to stop drinking, or at least stop drinking during the week, or...failing that at least drink less in general. I realised that every story I told little sister Beth when she was up here the other day started with 'This one time I was hammered' or 'I was so drunk this time' etc...which isn't so good, but I quite like being merry and with the festive season approaching, it's only going to escalate.

So...I've gone and done what I never EVER thought I'd do...no, no that - naughty. I've joined a GYM! And I quite enjoy it! I've got myself kitted out in Nike sports gear (other brands are available) I've made myself a play list of dudes to help motivate me (shout outs to Tinie Tempah, David Guetta, Snoop Dogg and oddly enough, Kelly Clarkson...) and I hit the gym a few times a week, I even went on a Sunday the other week, check me out. See, I enjoy the calories too much to cut back as much as I need to, so it's good old exercise for me as a counter balance. Jessica Alba, watch out love.

What else? Ummm talking of little sister Beth, her and the other half Oli came to stay the other day, which was full of laughs. We went for tapas then on up to the Skylounge in Leeds city centre for one overpriced drink (£8 for a cocktail I tell you...sip it, don't gulp it)

Here we are, roll call!

It's fun having them to stay, we listen to a lot of good music, stay up too late on a school night and laugh a lot when they're here :)

In other news, a fun night was had by all last Saturday for my good friend and colleague Laura's birthday party, hosted at my friend, colleague and gym buddy Nayani's house, then Leeds city centre.

Laura's on the right there, this photo makes me sad though because Rachel on the left is moving hundreds of miles away soon and I won't see her five times a week unless we REALLY make an effort. Humph.

Things I'm excited about:

• Going back to 'things I'm excited about' on here, I've dropped it since getting back from Africa. I blame Africa for this and many other things...
• The in-laws are descending on Leeds/Bradford for the weekend and it's going to get messy
• Going out for dinner with the fabulous newlyweds Brunoff and Mitch (must not ask them how married life is treating them, got SO annoyed with people asking me that...)
• Plodding through my TEFL course - yes life really is that exciting for me...I'm getting my geek on and learning stuff
• Going to see Bryan Adams on December 1st. Sadly it's not just me and him in a room having dinner, but I have to tolerate whoever else has booked to see him in Sheffield...*please no one else turn up* fingers crossed. 

What's the matter with some people?

OK. I've got to have a rant. I'm going to do it anyway. I am!

Today is my six month wedding anniversary to the boy, so we thought it important to have a romantic evening and celebrate in style.

We went to the cinema to watch Machine Gun Preacher. Good times.

Arriving in to Kirkstall Cinema, we stood and watched as a group of young lads were thrown out of the place by a young girl who worked there, and they shouted abuse at her and tried to intimidate her, but to her credit she didn't back down, and nor should she have (I have no idea why they were getting thrown out, nor do I care; I don't like young boys who are aggressive to young ladies!)

~It's at this point I'll mention an incident that happened a year or so ago at same cinema. A mum told these guys off for being loud during a film, they left the cinema, drove to a nearby petrol station, purchased a bottle of bleach and came back and threw it in this woman's face in the restaurant next door....unbelievable...~

After purchasing tickets and a bag of minstrels (for the boy...honest) we sat down in the cinema and no more than five minutes had passed before I had something thrown at my face by someone further down the cinema...grrrrr, hold me back. I remained CALM and, being British, muttered something under my breath about it not being cricket etc. I had full control of the situation.

Being that the film is mainly set in Sudan/Northern Uganda and centres around the horrible conditions the children are made to be a part of, such as making the choice between killing their own parents or being killed themselves; it's not really the right film choice for the uneducated, pathetic guys at the back who insisted on laughing and joking throughout. Another girl who worked at the cinema came and kicked them out and they kicked off at her. The boy and I faced the front in a typically British style. I was likely to swing for them myself if I got involved.

The film ended (it's an intense but fantastic film, recommend it) and headed home, stopping for petrol on the way. My patience ran out when some IDIOT let off a firework next to the petrol station.

I have to ask, what is the matter with some people? Especially sitting in the cinema watching a film based on a TRUE story about the hardship some people go through every day, the fight to stay alive, and yet they waste their own life, a life they are lucky to have, by being an annoyance and probably a danger for no reason whatsoever. I just don't get it. Maybe it was just my lucky night and they all convened around the LS6 Kirkstall area just to annoy me...

So I'm riled and rattled and very pleased to live far away from LS6 these days...

Me, my siblings, a zebra suit and a trampoline...

...And we're good to go with plenty of laughs!

I'm one of five siblings. I'm the one bang smack in the middle. I see my siblings every couple of months. I see all of them in one place a couple of times a year - it's not enough, but we're working on it. We have the biggest laughs together now but we used to have epic fights a decade ago when we all lived together...crikey.

The most common word in our house a decade ago? "MUUUUUUUUUUUM"

Here's MuM...A.K.A. the mothership, or MOFO:

My siblings and I are massive camera whores, it's fair to say. Here's evidence:

We're spelling out 'loves' here, not sure why, I think it was the only 5 letter word we could think of...

I'm obsessed with my zebra onesie suit, and took it home for a family airing where we took turns wearing it on the trampoline...

Scores on the doors please?

AmsterdamN Good Times!

Settling back in to life back home is overrated I've decided!

So having been back in England for two weeks, it was time to get back on a plane...this time to Amsterdam for a teeny tiny weekend away, good times!
It didn't help that I went out the night before the 7am flight, so I didn't feel the greatest that I've ever felt getting on that flight...beautiful sunrise though, I could appreciate it...

Made it through the one hour flight without reaching for the paper bag, teeny bit of turbulence but nothing we Baxters can't handle. It's crazy that you can get to Holland on a plane from Leeds in the time it takes to drive to Sheffield...

We soaked up the culture in the McDonalds in the arrivals at the airport - normally I wouldn't go anywhere near but I didn't think I was going to pull out of my hangover without Ronald's assistance...Magic McMuffins.

Found our hotel without much drama, just walked fifteen minutes in the wrong direction so we stopped for our first drink of many that weekend:

Amsterdam is beautiful; it's a strange place, during the day you wander along the most beautiful streets and canals and sit in cafes eating delicious apple pies...

But then darkness falls in Amsterdam, and there's change in the air...Amsterdam takes on a sort of seedy buzz, an almost anything goes attitude, but that attitude comes from the tourists, the locals really are the same around the clock; unfased. They just kind of tolerate the tourism, rather than participate.

Something happens... you go to the smallest pub in Amsterdam and get talking to an American guy called Zack at the bar who is on his own in Amsterdam on business...

He seems nice enough, even if he claims he is 26, he must be the oldest 26yr old I've ever met :) then you get talking to a group of guys from somewhere around Hull who seems nice enough also...then...

BRUISED AND CONFUSED!

Anyway, we made our excuses and left with Josh telling me off for talking to strangers, drank some more, got some chips, got stupidly lost (all the roads look the same and have crazy names!) luckily Josh is now an iPhone bore and got us out of the pickle with his m-AP. Stopped off at an African club where I threw a few shapes before being dragged out of there at 3am. Tsk.

Next day it rained the WHOLE day, relentless.

Still we made the most of it posing for arty pictures in the rain...

Whatever the weather, I LOVE Amsterdam and would love to go back one day and hire a bike to see more of it. And eat more stropwafels and drink more Chocomel...and Heineken for Josh.