Month: October 2009

Maybe it’s because everything is packed together and everything is small but it seems there is no such thing as personal space here.   When we had dinner at Tabac the other night.   We sat at the end of the bar as the 5 tables in the restaurant were over packed with other diners.… Continue reading No Such Thing as Personal Space in Amsterdam

Before I came here to Amsterdam I did a lot of research on the city.   I spoke to people who had been.   I spoke to my sister who has lived here for 2 years.   I read about the city on line.   I did my homework.   In the United States, I… Continue reading The Largest Woman in Amsterdam

This has been such an extraordinary time for me.   I have found myself doing things I never thought I would do.   I have tasted foods that I never, in a million years, would have tried.   I have forced myself to step outside my comfort zone in almost every way.   Whether it… Continue reading Amsterdam to The Hague and Back Again

Another amazing day in Amsterdam today!   Sima had to go her salon.   She was booked all day. I decided that today was the day I would go to the Van Gogh Museum.   I figured it would be a nice thing to do on my own.   Part of me wanted to just… Continue reading If It’s Tuesday in Amsterdam It Must Be a 5 Mile Walk

I thought I was done falling.   I don’t normally fall.   I have managed for quite some time to keep my feet firmly planted on the ground.   Until I got to Amsterdam last week I can’t remember the last time I fell. Then I did that amazing fall to my knees as I… Continue reading Watch the Fat Girl Fall OFF the Bus

Staying on a boat on a canal in Amsterdam is like living in a fish bowl.   Canal tours go by and people look and take pictures. The shower is on the street side of the boat.   There is a big picture window in the shower.   You literally see people walking by as… Continue reading Staying in a Fish Bowl in Amsterdam

As many of you who know me know, I am a picky eater.   Don’t get me wrong, if I am eating something I like, I am not shy about eating. However, if I can’t readily identify the food I won’t eat it.   The same goes for if I can identify it too well,… Continue reading Mama Cass Goes to the Saturday Market

My sister and I got a late start yesterday.   We have been staying up late and then getting up relatively early but puttering about and chatting and drinking coffees.   So, yesterday we got out around 3p.   Sima wanted to take me to a brewery that is in a windmill.   Sure, I… Continue reading Touch the Fat Girl and You’ll Have Good Luck

One of my concerns before my trip was about fitting in Amsterdam.   Not fitting in figuratively but literally.   Being a big woman I have to consider the space I take up in the world.   I remember years ago my parents went on a trip to Paris.   When they returned my mother… Continue reading Walking, Eating and Fitting In

In London, there is the saying, “Mind the Gap.”   The “gap” is the area between the train and the train platform.   The saying was coined in the 60’s so people wouldn’t trip and fall getting on and off the trains.   Well, here in Amsterdam my sister lives on a fabulous houseboat on… Continue reading Mind the Gap Amsterdam Style