April is the Month of Celebrations!

From Easter Weekend to Kings Day and my Birthday, the last two weeks have been action-packed with bank holidays and birthdays!

Castles and Croissants (and Wine)   

Where to begin? When I last left off I was just arriving in France to meet up with Hallie and Claudia for Easter weekend in the Loire Valley. It was an incredible success…after I actually arrived and found them, that is. The train ride from Amsterdam to Paris was a quick three hours – passing through major cities like Rotterdam, Brussels, Antwerp and then Paris.

I had a 55 minute layover and had to transfer from the major train station (Gare du Nord) to the regional train station (Austerlitz). This would not have been an issue if the #5 metro that connects the two stations was running. But it hasn’t been. For 3 years. So, I ran like a maniac to take the RER train – transferred to another RER – and arrived in the actual train station 5 minutes before my train was to depart. Arriving at the train station and arriving at your track are two different things. So my run turned into full on sprint, and I somehow managed to get myself on the train with 45 seconds to spare.

As I wandered to my assigned car and then found my assigned seat I was sweaty and out of breath. There was some lady sitting comfortably in my seat. Typical. After arguing with her in very broken French and then resorting to English, I decided to just take someone else’s seat because two wrongs make a right, right? Turns out in France it does. You just sit where you want regardless of assigned seats. So, that’s what I did.

When I arrived in Amboise, now slightly dishevelled from my marathon training in Paris, I noticed I had just enough battery to get from the train station to the Air BNB before my phone died. So I thought. Because then my phone died. Luckily, I had looked ahead and knew I had to cross over two little bridges and then turn left. Or was it right? It looked like a right. So, I went right.

(Hint: it was a left)

Walking along the Loire I didn’t mind that my phone was dead and I was lost in a foreign country. After all, if memory served me correct, it was just about 3 blocks after the right, then a turn off the main road, and bam – Air BNB. That would’ve been the case if I went left.

As luck would have it, I eventually ran into a tourist info center. Got a map, and confirmed I can’t read the GPS (or have 0 memory). So, I turned around and started off in the correct direction this time. Made it to the Air BNB a bit later than planned, but all good – found my friends and time to charge my phone. Phone charging. And then a message pops up that the SIM is locked. It was the first time the phone had actually restarted since I put my Dutch SIM in. It gave me 3 tries to unlock the SIM with a 4-digit code. Naturally, I decided to try my 4-digit code that unlocks my phone. Didn’t work. Two tries to go. Afraid I’d forever be locked out, I decided to wait until I got back to work Tuesday to attempt again with IT. So I was phoneless in France. Old Dayna would have freaked out. New Dayna thought it was fantastic. Turns out you enjoy yourself more when you're disconnected from the world ;-)

The rest of the weekend was picture perfect. We spent Saturday afternoon exploring the quaint town of Amboise. It is your quintessential French village – street market, boulangerie, charming hotels, wisteria-covered houses, a castle, AND an accordion player. We stumbled upon this charming inn with beautifully manicured gardens. It was a bit cold out so we sat in the hotel’s sitting area with a bottle of wine.  

Once the bottle was gone and the sun set, we decided to make moves and find our next spot: dinner. We struck out at this cute little restaurant that was at capacity, only to find our next option up the road, which may have been the best meal of my life. We quickly selected another bottle of local wine and ordered away. We also befriended the owners and chefs. Everyone was so friendly and warm. We were having such a great time we decided to have a nightcap at a local bar right up the road from our apartment.

 

 

 

On Sunday we started our day at the boulangerie. Just in front of us in line was the owner of the restaurant from the night before! Love that small town feel! We grabbed quiche and croissants and sat down on the main street to people watch as we ate. Then we boarded the train and went to Chenonceau – one of the more famous castles in the region. These castles are truly incredibly! So much history. I loved every minute.

 

 

On the way back from Chenonceau we stopped in Tours – the biggest city in the region. It was quite dead because it was Easter Sunday, but we roamed around for a bit to see some highlights.

For dinner we decided to head back to Amboise. Good move – there was a lot going on! Not super hungry for dinner yet, we stopped by a cute bar that had big comfy seats in the window that were calling our name. We hung out there for a drink before heading down the block to this amazing pizzeria. Pizza in France? Yeah. And it was delicious. It rivalled some of the places I’ve been to in Italy. So good!

Monday was our last day. We planned a vineyard tour in Vouvray – at a family-run vineyard. Our tour was conducted by the daughter-in-law of the family who owns the vineyard. She was super knowledgeable and we learned a ton! The tour included a walk through the vineyards, the cellars, and then of course, a tasting (with accompanying French treats!). A definite highlight and an amazing way to end a great weekend.

 

Let the A’Dam Food Tour Begin! (and the weekend chores)  

The weekend after Easter I was looking forward to having a nice weekend home, in Amsterdam. Without sounding like a selfish millennial, one of the things I promised myself I was going to do as part of the move was focus on…myself. Since I graduated from college I had certain professional goals, and I stopped at nothing to achieve them. Aside from promotion goals, my biggest goal – as you may have guessed – was moving abroad. Check. And now that I am here, it doesn’t mean work is no longer a priority, and I am not going to stop working towards my next set of crazy, ambitious professional goals, it just means I am finally ready to focus on some personal goals. Like, dating.

So, my weekend kicked off with a Friday night date. And with a Dutch guy! I was super excited. But it was terrible. So terrible it’s funny to laugh about now. I know you’re hoping I am going to share stories of what made it terrible, but I’m not that terrible of a person. And it wasn’t terrible because he was Dutch. Don’t get the wrong impression! This guy was just straight up bizarre. I tried. And I found some fun new bars in my neighborhood in the process. There’s always a bright side…

Saturday I had to plans to meet up for brunch with a new friend I was introduced to via email back in February . We tried a really cute omelette place called Omelegg. The menu had 15-20 different types of omelettes, or you could make your own. Heaven. After that we walked around the neighborhood brunch was in and then slowly made our way back to the area where we both live in and hit some of the shops (the 9 Streets).

Saturday night I had plans to meet up with a friend of a friend who is on a short-term assignment in Amsterdam. We tried an awesome Spanish tapas restaurant that I’ve been hearing about. It was delish!

Sunday was the dreaded chore day. I’d skip this part, but I figured you’d want to hear about my failed attempt to figure out how to use the washing machine and dryer. It all started with mistaking the dryer for the washing machine, and quickly went downhill from there. Once I figured out what was what – I mean, c’mon, who places the dryer on top of a washer? - it was go time.

Instruction booklet for the washing machine – in Dutch. Instruction booklet for the dryer – non-existent. Great. After Googling, and illegally downloading similar brochures that probably installed every kind of bug on my computer, I somehow got the washer to work. Now it was time to dry. The machine was set to 1.25 hours at a standard dry cycle, which seemed excessive, but I couldn’t figure out how to lower it. So, for 1.25, I sat in the laundry room next to the dryer convinced I was going to start some sort of a fire.

^ Repeat above process for 5 loads. That was my Sunday morning.

Sunday late afternoon I met up with my friend Judith. Similar to how I met my friend Anouk, I met Judith at the Nudge Global Sustainability Challenge in 2015. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon so we took the ferry over to Noord and enjoyed an afternoon of catching up in the café area of the EYE film museum. It was so wonderful to hear about her new job and life in general. She lives in The Hague, the “DC”of the Netherlands, which is about an hour from Amsterdam. I look forward to visiting her there soon!

Work, Work, Work, work, work

You might be wondering how work is going? After all, that is why I moved here. Truth is, it’s going really well. I have been acting like a sponge – trying to soak up as much as possible and am starting to strategize how I will carve out the role to make it my own.

Over the last few weeks we said goodbye to my predecessor Holly. She is a true legend at HEINEKEN, and it is clear that I have very, very big shoes to fill. Holly is off (starting today!) to lead all of Corporate Affairs in Myanmar. An incredible move and opportunity. I know she is going to have much success in the role and wish her the best of luck. I have greatly enjoyed working side-by-side with her and will miss her! Her final goodbye celebration was an epic sendoff with in-office drinks at the bar, a team dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant and final drinks at Freddy’s, a swanky, HEINEKEN owned bar.

 

I also did a day trip to London to meet with two of our agency partners based there. Two good meetings. Catching a quick glimpse of Tower Bridge and Tower of London en route from one meeting to the next was such a tease. I have to get back there soon! Miss that amazing city so much.

 

On the 26^th we had an in-office celebration for Kings Day (see next section below for what that is). I got to try a traditional Dutch cake called Tompouce. Traditionally it is pink frosting, but on King’s Day it’s Orange J

 

Celebrating the King

On the 27^th of April the Netherlands celebrates Kings Day (Koningsdag). Kind of like a combination of the 4^th of July and the purpose of President’s Day in the U.S., Kings Day is on the actual King’s birthday and is public holiday. The festivities start the night before on Koningsnacht (Kings Night) with celebrations throughout the city.

I kicked off my Koningsnacht by meeting up with my friend Taylor. She works for Brown-Forman in Louisville. We met about a year ago, but really got to know each other better when she invited me to speak at a conference at BF in January. She was such a gracious host, so I wanted to return the favor. After she had a chance to explore the HEINEKEN Experience, we met for beers and Bitterballen at Berkhout, a local HEINEKEN employee favorite right near the office. We caught up for a bit and then met her colleague and my colleague/friend, Amberly, who was in from the USA for Indonesian food.

Indonesian (and Surinamese) food is HUGE in Amsterdam. Like Indian in England, both are former colonies and the food scene is incredible. I have been meaning to try Indonesian and got my wish. We did the "Rijsttafel", which essentially is a tapas-style where you get one of everything on the menu and share with the table. It was delicious!

Post-dinner Amberly and I headed out to meet my friend Anouk and several of her friends. We went to a pretty popular local bar called De Hobbe in Spui, a cute street with bars/restaurants/etc. close to my apartment. It was great to see Anouk again, and to meet some of her friends.

The next day was the big day! I decided to host a brunch/apartment warming that morning. Restaurants and cafes get so crowded that most people tend to host friends for brunch before heading out in the afternoon. There’s nothing I love more than hosting a good brunch or dinner party, so I jumped on the opportunity.

I had 10 people over – something I could NEVER do in my tiny NYC studio. I had so much fun planning the menu and shopping for goodies all week. I even found Kings Day themed napkins, cups and straws to add some color.

 

The big thing to do on Kings Day is walk around the city. I didn’t understand it until I experienced it. “What do you mean just walk around? And do what?!”I bothered people with that question all week. So, after brunch, we went to venture out.

The city comes to life with street concerts – DJs in canal house balconies, pop-up stages line the streets. Children set up shop selling their used household goods (like a garage sale). Open container laws do not exist. Oh, and EVERYONE is wearing orange.

 

 

 

 

After a few hours, the group returned back to my apartment to rest our feet and refuel on food. By this point, it was nearing midnight, and with work on the agenda for the next day, we decided to call it a night.

29 and Feeling Fine…Because Age is Just a Number

Yesterday was my 29^th birthday. The last year of being a “twenty-something.” I am typically gun-shy about sharing my age. For the longest time I tried to conceal it. I have always been self-conscious because I am friends with so many work colleagues on social media, and I wanted to be judged for my work and not for my age. I feel so fortunate to have had a seat at the big kids table in every place I worked since day one. I've typically always been the youngest one in the room, and I didn't want anyone to know it (but really, who was I fooling? I look about 12~and would be the ONLY one to get carded at the dinner table. Still do).

I have so many thoughts on this…so much so that I will make this a chapter or focus of the book I plan write…one day J So, more on all of this at another time. For now, the point of sharing is that for the first time, 29 felt like a legit age to share and be proud of. Not quite 30, but having passed all the stages of the twenty-something – from early 20s and finishing college, to mid-20s and starting a career, to late 20s and starting a life – I took the time to reflect on the last few years and how much change has occurred. Even in the last 1.5 years alone, 27.5-28 brought a new role at work, a promotion at work, and then an international move for work. Personally, the birth of my niece, the marriage/engagements of lots of close friends, moving my grandmother up from Florida to New York, and visits to over 10 countries and countless cities.

So, what to do for the big 2-9 in my new hometown? Luckily, one of my favorite people was in town – my friend Bjorn. Bjorn and I met when he joined HEINEKEN USA just over two years ago, and he’s been my partner-in-crime at work ever since. He and Amberly met me at Wenkel 43 – a “Brown Bar” (traditional Dutch bar) - to start the celebrations on Saturday. Wenkel 43 is in the heart of the Jordaan (my neighborhood), and is known for one thing: apple pie! I decided when I moved here I would save this as a special treat for my birthday weekend. After blowing out the candles, it was time to dig in. The verdict: unreal. Not only was the inside of the pie incredible, the whipped cream (which I LOVE) was amazingly fresh, and the crust was the best sweet I have ever had. Ever. Well done, Wenkel, well done.

 

After our pie and drinks, we headed over to Foodhallen. It’s a really awesome food hall that I can best describe as a modern Chelsea Market meets Highline (train tracks inside) meets an indoor Smorgasburg PLUS a Lower East Side club with a DJ and a pool. Because, why not?! The pool doesn’t actually have water, but you can sit in it. What could be better? Super cool place for the day and the night.

 

An awesome crowd came out (thanks guys!) to celebrate – a mix of the HEINEKEN pals from the US + new friends I made over the last few weeks, who also brought some new friends to meet. We spent a few hours at Foodhallen before moving to a Mexican bar in De Pijp (kind of like the Lower East Side in terms of area type) called Calle Ocho. It was a really great night!

 

Sunday – my actual birthday - I woke to brilliant sunshine – a rarity in Amsterdam. So, instead of sleeping in a bit as planned, I jumped up to take advantage of this glorious day. I made a stop at Van Stapele Koekmakerij, a famous cookie bakery in Amsterdam that makes one thing: a chocolate cookie with white chocolate oozing out from the inside. The line is typically out the door, so I took advantage of the early hour and snatched up a tin to share with friends in the afternoon.

Except, I couldn’t wait. So, I devilishly enjoyed a fresh, hot cookie while pausing to sit on a bench overlooking the Keizersgracht (one of the main canals). I mean, could life get any better?!?!?!

 

I walked off the cookie by heading back to De Pijp area waiting for all the normal people who didn’t get up at the crack of dawn. Main item on the to-do list for the day: A canal cruise in the sunshine. I met up with Bjorn and we moseyed on over to the dock for the Friendship Canal Cruise.

There are a million touristy canal cruises in Amsterdam, but this one was recommended by my new friend Jess. It’s the only open-air and least touristic, so perfect for a day like yesterday. They also have a full bar, and if you can get one of the first spots on the boat, you can snag a laying-down spot at the front or the back of the boat. Glorious. Bjorn and I took full advantage. And yes, we enjoyed those cookies whilst sailing.

 

Post-cruise Bjorn and I went our separate ways and I accidentally ran into De Berkenhof (a department store) on the way home. I have been purposefully avoiding this store – it’s like Saks, or Galleries Lafayette. And up until now was really successful. But it was my birthday, so….

A few purchases later, and a few awkward FaceTime and Audio FaceTime calls from De Berkenhof with family and friends, I made my way home for a bit before meeting up with my friend Rob for dinner. Rob is also a HEINEKEN USA friend in town this week for work, and his birthday was a week ago. So, it only seemed right to have a celebratory birthday dinner. We stumbled upon a new Italian steakhouse-type restaurant that was fantastic!  Amazing steak, delicious sides and perfect wine. What a winning combo!

After dinner we grabbed a quick drink around the corner before calling it a night. What a fun day, and an awesome weekend! I was so touched by all the FaceTimes, emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, snail mail cards, etc. that my family and friends from near and far sent. You made me feel so incredibly special. Thank you for that!

Until next time…