Sights and sounds on my way to work

Most days of the week I head to Rotterdam for work, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays I work at our Amsterdam office, located on the Westerdok. Although it's still bitter cold out, I always look forward to my 17 minute bike ride. This is roughly the ride I take (right).

This morning was unusually sunny, so I decided to strap my camera around my neck and take pictures of the everyday life I see on the streets. I didn't look through the viewfinder (safety first!), I just clicked away.

Baguettes and skis

Skiing in the Alps has been on my list for a while. So when Rachel, an American in Basel (friend of my dear best friend) and married to a French man, called me up and asked if we wanted to go skiing with them--I didn't even let her finish the question. Yes. Of course! I was so excited. The funny part is that I haven't skied in like 16 years. But whatever, right? I was sure it's like riding a bike. And we also had zero ski apparel, so we borrowed from friends (thank you!). Our outfits weren't the coolest on the slopes, but we're passed that.

We flew into Geneva and had a few hours to kill before meeting Rachel. I hate to say it, but Geneva didn't really impress me too much. I mean the prices of course were impressive. The old town was really cute. The Palais was locked up real well. But the flags were cool! And the chair was...big. Interesting.

Rachel's husband Romain picked the three of us up at the fancy schmancy Intercontinental--where, no joke, a cup of tea was $12. Seriously. We jammed our stuff into the car and headed out. Along with us was Katie, another American and engaged to a Swiss boy. The three of us girls in the back got along like a house on fire. It was non-stop chatter, all five hours. At one point, I totally forgot there were other people in the car, or even that we were in a car. It was so much fun!

After too much traffic, a pit stop to get ingredients for raclette, across the boarder to France, and up a windy road to the 1600m point, we were finally at the chalet. Yes, people, a chalet. It was super cozy and quaint, I felt immediately at home. Even though it was 10pm, we were hungry and itching for some red wine. And raclette. I love raclette.

There's something about -5-degree weather that makes me want to watch 80s movies all day

But alas, I don't. It's been a busy month!

First, I could not believe it's 2013. Now, I can't believe it's almost February! This month has just flown by. We've been meeting new friends, working hard, and watching lots of movies from the 80s (our 2013 resolution is to see 80 movies from the 80s). Something I didn't write about was Elliot's mom visit during Christmas. We had a lovely visit. Elliot had off from work, so we could go on short trips around the city and enjoy long dinners together. We went to Haarlem for a day, too. One of my favorite Dutch cities. Mary wanted to eat all the Dutch treats possible--so we ate it all! We had olliebolen (doughnut like things), frites with mayo, stampot, boerkool, rookworst, kroketen, and pea soup. (sorry about the spelling!)

Also, ever since I got a new contract with Stipo, the urban planning company I was working with before, life has been very busy. We just published our first book The City at Eye Level (edited by yours truly) and I organized a huge launch for the book in Rotterdam. The venue was this old supermarket that we turned into an awesome party place. It was a great success, and made me miss wedding planning. Elliot even helped out with book sales!

All the while, it's been getting colder and colder. Even though we've passed the darkest days of winter, now we're in the middle of the coldest days of winter. It's been in the low 20s (-6ºC) and with snow. Despite the ice, we're still biking to work, as all the Dutch do. I had to scrape out the ice and snow from my basket the other day! But, wow, how lovely is the snow. The white outlines the curves of the city in such wonderful, photogenic ways. It's tough to capture, you just gotta come see it for yourself!