Ashley's Arabian Adventure

I made an appointment at the dentist and they called me to change it. So I changed the appointment time and they sent me a letter in the mail to remind me of the appointment time. I showed up early for the appointment and they sent me to the waiting room. Almost an hour later I thought I should probably ask how much longer it might be. I went to the receptionist and asked and she kindly replied that I had no appointment today. Seriously? I got a phone call and a letter telling me that I had an appointment and when I checked in I was sent to the waiting room. You might ask yourself why did the receptionist not tell me when I arrived that I didn't have an appointment? Why did I get a letter and a phone call? Why did they not tell me when they realized the mistake? Why did I sit in the waiting room for almost an hour? In my year overseas I have learned it is better not to ask the "why" question and just go with it. I remind myself that I am not in America and things don't have to make sense here.

I got to take a trip to Amsterdam this week and it was great. I saw the Anne Frank house, the canal, the Van Gogh museum, which by the way does not contain Starry Night. It's in New York at the Met and I was a bit disappointed by that. But my favorite is Almond Blossom and I got to see it and I bought a print. It's lovely. Our hostel was almost in the red light district, so I saw that as well. It was actually not quite as scandalous as I was expecting, but it was pretty bad. I also didn't really think people would be smoking pot everywhere, but they were. I don't know why I was so surprised.

When we first arrived we had to ask for directions to try and find our hostel. The guy we were talking to warned us to watch out for the bikes because they think they own the place. He was right and I now have unnatural fear of bikes. Just kidding, but I really did get hit by one. I was walking and I heard someone screaming and the little bell ringing. I knew a bike was coming at me so I just stopped. I figured she could go left or right if I stopped, but she didn't. She had managed to slow down before hitting me though, so I was able to walk away unscathed. No trip is complete without some kind of incident, I suppose.

I may have posted about this before and if that is the case, I apologize. The souvenirs I see in the shops in London are so delightfully tacky and wonderful that it causes me to wonder who actually buys these things. Several months ago I realized that souvenirs are always tacky no matter what country you visit. As I result of this epiphany, I have decided to embrace the tackiness and purchase the tackiest souvenirs I can find. I have a lovely collection so far and I probably should add pictures so that you can enjoy them as well. However I am too lazy for that, as I'm sure you have noticed by the lack of pictures posted thus far.

Back to the wonders found in London. My personal favorites are the teapots shaped like random London-esque items. You can purchase teapots shaped like a phone booth, a post box, Big Ben, Tower Bridge...oh the list goes on and on. You can also purchase plates or mugs with photos of the royal family on them. Princess Diana seems to be a favorite amongst the tacky souvenir makers. Personally I think it is a bit creepy. Another one of my favorite items you can find in a London souvenir shop is the postcard shaped like the queen's head. I have purchased and sent out a couple of these and the recipients have seemed to love them as much as I do. If you fancy one of these lovely postcards, let me know. I want to share the joy. The only thing that could be better is if they made a teapot shaped like the queen's head. I would defnitely make that purchase.