Reunited with Alex (NL edition)

4/13/23- 4/19/23

Alex came to the NL!!

THURSDAY

Mar and I picked Alex up at Schiphol airport. I had been sick for about 5 days and conveniently, I stayed sick the whole time Alex visited. Alex was also a tad bit sick but became sicker because of me during the whole trip. But, at least we were sick together. She came back home with us and we went to bed cause we were so tired.

FRIDAY

We were both feeling so awful. I had the worst cough. I remember I would be like choking cause my throat hurt so much. We decided to do a chill day in Amsterdam. We waited at Chun cafe, this cafe that both of us wanted to check out after we saw Tiktoks about it. The line always goes down the street so I've gone, but we had nothing better to do, so we decided to wait. There was this woman behind us, and guess what?? She's lived in Houston before! She was born and raised in the NL and then moved to Houston for high school but she didn't like it there so she moved back to the NL. Fair. We asked her what she does for a living and she says her husband works and she just chills. Icon. I want to be her when I grow up. Behind her was this group of British boys. They were sooo annoying. They spoke like the guys from Love Island, the kind where they sound so thickheaded. Since the line was so long, there was a line organizer and her job was to manage the line. She had great hair and was so nice. Every time she went to our area, she had to tell the guys behind us to stand in line and at one point she told them they have to line up two-by-two. It was so funny, she was treating them like preschoolers when they must have been in their mid twenties. When we got just to the front of the cafe, we were talking with the line organizer and the girl behind us. They were speaking in Dutch and then they told us something like "those guys speak funny" really loudly so the guys could here and they just stared at them. It was so funny. But, they told us they loved Alex and I's accent and that we were so cute so I felt really good about that. We finally went inside. Alex and I both got a sandwich (Alex got shrimp and I got egg and cheese) and drinks (I got brown sugar boba and Alex got strawberry matcha). It was really good. Definitely overpriced and probably overhyped, but it was a small business and the owner was there working so I'm happy their business is crushing it. Then, we went to Fabel friet and got fries with truffle mayo and parmesan. We ate that by the canal. We were feeding a duck our last crumbs and then Alex littered our fries basket in the canal! Just kidding.. she claims that the wind blew it into the canal, but who knows, she could be a litterer.. We walked around some more. We were in the Negen Straatjes area so there was a lot of boutiques around. The last thing we did was visit the Tony's Chocolonely store. That was absolutely the worst. It was so cramped and stuffy and crowded and Alex spent soo long trying to pick a chocolate bar. Also, this whole time I thought it was Tony's Chocoloney, not Tony's Chocolonely!! Chocoloney sounds wayy better. Tony's Chocolonely sounds like lonely which isn't as fun. But, whatever.

Then, we went home and ate dinner with Mar. Then, we watched a movie I think? Or maybe tv? That was the day, though.

SATURDAY

Saturday we met Anna at the station and went to Amsterdam for the IJ-Hallen thrift market. The day was so nice that all the stands were outside. Anna bought a leather jacket and Alex bought a denim wool jacket and crochet scrunchie. After, we got sandwiches at the place my sister Alexa really likes. Then, we slowly worked our way to the boutique area west of the Centraal. On our way, we visited a few Saturday outdoor markets and got stroopwafels at the Albert Cuyp market. Then, we went to Dam square and walked down the main shopping street. That was so awful. People were walking so slow and it was so crowded. It's the worst when there's a swarm of tourists that move snail's pace and seem to have no spatial awareness. Then, we went back home.

SUNDAY

Today, we were feeling sick sick. I think we watched tv in the morning. I should note that the times after we went home, we watched tv or spent hours trying to find something to watch until we gave up and just went to bed. It reminded me of home, though, when Alex and I were having a sleepover and spent hours trying to decide what to watch. That week, we watched lots of New Girl, started the first few episodes of Beef, and watched Enchanted and the fourth and sixth Harry Potter movies. We went to den Haag and got ramen. That hit the spot cause we were both so sick. Alex said that was her favorite meal of the whole week too. Then, we walked to the shopping center. We went to the Asian grocery store which had no snacks in stock which was so sad. But we picked up some pocky, those soy sauce coin shaped bumpy crackers, and that soda with the marble in it and Alex picked out a Lychee drink. We also stopped by a place that sells baklava because Alex really likes baklava. She got a pistachio and coconut. I didn't know I could eat baklava cause I'm allergic to nuts, but I could eat the coconut one! It was really good. Then, we got boba and went back home.

MONDAY

Monday, we had reservations for a Thai restaurant that night. We were again, sick. Yeah, not fun. We both drank so much tea. I had like at least four cups everyday. We took the train to Amsterdam in the evening. We walked around, and it was so nice. It wasn't busy and the weather was cool and sunny (so rare for the Netherlands). We went to the restaurant, and we got pad thai and green coconut curry and spring rolls. So good. I miss spicy food and Asian food. So much. It was really fun. I love going to restaurants and hanging out with friends. Again, reminds me of home. :) . Afterwards, I got sorbet and Alex got banana sticky rice and ice cream. Then, we walked around and made our way back to the station. It was soo pretty. The sun was setting and there were only a few people out and they were all locals. We were at this one bridge where the sky was pink and orange and it was so pretty. Everyone there was watching the sky and a guy even stopped on his bike to take a picture. So nice.

TUESDAY

Today, Alex and I were absolutely dying. We were both so sick, it was awful. We stayed in and watched movies and talked all day. I think we walked to the grocery store at one point to pick up snacks. We also did food delivery at night and got fries and chicken nuggets at the snack bar.

WEDNESDAY

Today was Alex's last day. So sad. We went to Haarlem today, one of my favorite cities. We walked around and in their square, there was a carnival! Out of all days we could have gone! There were games, prizes, rides, and a huge ferris wheel. We went on the ferris wheel and we could see the whole city at the top, it was so pretty. Afterwards, we got lunch at this super cute spot. There was a dog that lived there and was just walking around. We got warm bowls. Afterwards, we found out they only take cash or pin (Dutch debit card) and we were freaking out because we didn't have enough money on us. But, the owner said we could just go and grab the money at an ATM. We offered to leave something with them, so they would know we would come back, but she said it was fine. Isn't that crazy? We could've just left for all she knows. But, Dutch people are trusting in each other because everyone does the right thing. Afterwards, we took the bus to the airport and said goodbye.

That was Alex's visit though! This was the only time in exchange I was really sick, and I'm so glad Alex was there because I think it would've been a really hard time for me to be alone and sick.