Photo of Amsterdam
November 17, 2007
November 14, 2007
In London, Amsterdam
Just thought I'd post a note to my family about my Amsterdam/London trips. I've been staying with Nadya Peek in Amsterdam and with Colin Hall in London. Both wonderful hosts! I'm in Amsterdam Sat/Sun-Tuesday, London Tues.-Thurs., and Amsterdam again Thurs.-Friday. Then Friday I return to the States and will drive immediately from the airport to Reedley with Justin and then see everyone at Grandma's bright and early on Saturday.
I slept for 20 hours upon my arrival in Amsterdam from San Francisco. I think that may be a lifetime record for me. For a few hours after I woke up (slept from 8pm to 4pm the next day) I wasn't sure I was awake. Justin got on video chat with me to help connect me to reality, then Nadya took me out with some friends and we had a great night. Oh also, before I slept for 20 hours I went to a sauna/spa called Deco Sauna on Herengracht. It was so warm! Great way to relax after a 10 hour flight. Most likely contributed to my following 20 hour sleep-fest.
On Tuesday morning I flew from Amsterdam to London, to meet our GameLayers CTO Duncan Gough in the flesh for the first time. I was heavily interrogated at immigration. Colin later said that Amsterdam is thought of as a shady place to have arrived from. The immigration official asked to see my return ticket. I welcomed him to the internet and had to pull up my email on my iPhone to show him that I did indeed plan to leave his country on Thursday morning. I told him I was there to meet some friends: my business partner, a friend who works at Channel 4, and my future brother-in-law. He asked me "How do you know these people?" Uh... through mutual friends, conferences, and my fiance, of course. I have never been asked that at any immigration stop before. Though judging by the horror stories of US Immigration I'm sure I got off lightly compared to the way our government treats people.
Being an American in Europe can be kind of humiliating. I listen while people switch fluidly between two or three languages and feel like such a country bumpkin. And the ever-weakening dollar makes everything much more expensive than even last summer. It's now $2.11 for one pound I was told.
I stayed at Colin's last night in Kensington, a very nice neighborhood in London. His building and his flat both smell really marvelous for some reason. This morning on the way to the Tube (the London underground public transport system, very thorough and easy to use) I passed a school just at arrival time. Little girls all dressed like Madeline! It was so so so cute.
Today Duncan and I are working out of a private club called Hospital. There's wifi, food, and comfortable seating. Tomorrow I fly back to Amsterdam and then back to the States from there.
See you all this weekend! Love, Merci :)