Amsterdam, Part 3

Finally, here are some pictures of the three of us Alanna and Kim. I must have been in a behind the camera mood that weekend!

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Amsterdam, Part 2

Amsterdam is very beautiful, the kind of city I could explore for weeks. With canals like Venice and architecture like Berlin, I could have stayed a while longer. In truth it wasn't the holiday I'd expect for myself, and I don't think it was the holiday Kim and Alanna expected either. We all compromised and did things we wouldn't usually do. But there were lovely highlights, that I'd love to take more time to explore. 

I spent an afternoon in search of Amsterdam's floating housing, part of an effort to use canals and rivers as legitimate homes. I wandered off alone in the snow and wind with no idea of a location, but a sense of where the large canals were. Needless to say, I didn't find them, but instead I found a far more residential side of Amsterdam, reminiscent of Berlin's beautiful modern housing. I wandered across a highway and tram lines and enjoyed the most warming coffee of my life in what must have been a museum cafe. I took pictures that were of no interest to anyone but me; sprawling warehouses, cold skylines, trams and trains and boats. Just my little adventure really.

Since I was 18 I've been having adventures abroad by myself, just because. I never really thought of it being odd, I just always imagined it that way. Of course, if you're not single, going on a trip alone becomes something you rarely think to plan. And I helps that I have much more fun with Oliver than I do alone. Sometimes, though, like this time, you find yourself somewhere new and alone. Maybe it's nostalgia for being 18 that makes it seem so special or maybe it's something else, but wandering in Amsterdam in the snow, exploring Rome in the searing heat, finding shelter in New York in the rain, and cycling around Berlin in the icy sunshine are my favorite memories. These are experiences I'll never forget because they're mine alone.

Excuse my pictures, I really enjoy buildings.

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Amsterdam, Part 1

In December, Alanna, Kim and I took a long planned weekend trip to Amsterdam. It was probably the strangest trip I've ever been on. The three of us are so different to each other that I knew it wouldn't be a regular city break. But it was totally unique because it was the three of us. We ate cakes, we smoked, we got the munchies on a serious level, I vomited. I've never seen three people eat so much on our first day tour of eateries in Amsterdam. It was awesome and I can't wait to one day go back to Melly's Cookie Bar. Here are some pictures:

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Women

Have you seen Charlotte Free? She's fucking awesome. I love encountering girls, in life or through Google, that radiate attitude and confidence and style and femininity. Charlotte Free is all of these things. I've never heard her speak, I don't know what she stands for but I've seen a picture of her licking her own hairy armpit. That's fucking cool.

It's so good to see girls without make up, unbrushed hair and unshaven. It's feminist and it's punk and it's just interesting. More interesting than the perfected girls usually selling clothes or magazines or a lifestyle.

I have serious hair envy looking at this girl. I don't own any of these pictures, thank Google and Charlotte Free.

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Chorlton Weekends

Last weekend, like this weekend and every other weekend was a relaxed, indulgent joy in Chorlton. It must be the best place in the world to cook, eat, walk, drink and read newspapers. I realize this is a older kind of weekend I imagined for 25 year old me, but you can't argue with the things that make you feel like yourself. And being at home watching James Martin ignore people on Saturday Kitchen (that I record and watch on a Sunday) sets the tone of my weekend. If I don't get to watch Saturday Kitchen, Sky+'d, I know it's gonna be a crazy one. 

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The Unexpected Positives of My Crappy Job

This weekend was long and chaotic and reminded me of just how many people I've met working in Stockport. You need weekends like that to help you get over how much you hate your job. I spent Friday at work, then went for drinks and karaoke with dozens of people I didn't know this time last year. I got unexpectedly ditched by Kim and Alanna (tongue in cheek, they just went home) but it was kind of liberating because I got to hang out with a bunch of people I normally wouldn't. It was a very expensive night by my cheap standards.

Saturday was spent on a Didsbury-centric bar crawl for Kimbo's birthday. I suffered from heartburn and self pity but pulled it together to have a really good day and night with a whole load of new people. I carried a big bottle of Gaviscon around and eventually into a club on Deansgate Locks, which got me a funny look from the bouncer. 

I spent Monday mostly at home but went for some bowling with Alanna and Kim. Turns out All Star Lanes is very popular on bank holiday Monday so we went for James Franco instead and watched Oz: The Great and Powerful. It wasn't as great and powerful as I'd hoped but it was fairly enjoyable. There is a super cute monkey called Finlay that I think saved it.

I've been meaning to take my camera out a bit more, my big fancy camera, but it's really not an option on nights out. The cinema isn't an ideal location for photography either so the car it was. It's nice getting snaps of these two in a place we spend much of our time; Alanna's car.

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