Sunday Recap November 30 2014

So since last Sunday Recap there has been a lot to happen in my life.

Monday was a pretty boring day. Nothing special happened. I went to work. I came home from work. That was that.

On Tuesday, I got a message from my best friend Stephanie who lives in BC, Canada about some collections agency calling her looking for me. I thought that very strange so I gave them a ring like the good girl that I am only to learn that someone in Ontario, a province I had never actually set foot in had used my name and date of birth to set up an account with Bell Canada. This account was opened on March 25, 2014 when I was already in the UK. After two non-payments the account was closed and Bell has sent it to collections. Now I was stuck trying to figure out how to file a police report in Ontario from the UK, and how to get myself out of that mess.

Wednesday, went to work and came home and tried to call Bell but got basically the same from them as the collections agency, file a police report and fax it to the collections agency. Fine and dandy, thats so easy to do when you're thousands of miles away and in another country.

Thursday was much the same as Wednesday. All work and no play makes Paige a dull girl. Back home, this time I called Equifax and learned from them that there were three accounts opened in the last year that do not belong to me. From Bell, Telus and Rogers, so now I am having to chase up those accounts and try and close them before they cause too much damage. I called Rogers, got no where with them except to call the Anti-Fraud Agency in Canada. I tried multiple times to call them but was unable to get through to them at all. No dice. No fun. I'm running out of minutes on my cellphone so I need to get more minutes or make the quickest phone call of my life to the Anti-Fraud people. That is if it goes through and someone actually answers. I was not even getting a hold with them. Just not connecting. Not sure if its because I'm calling them through a calling card or not. I hope its just a small issue and I can get a hold of them.

On Friday I went to work and afterwards I thought I would try and find a phone company for more minutes but there were so many people out shopping for Black Friday that I gave up and went home.

On Saturday, I crossed something off my Birthday List and that was getting a tattoo.  I have been in love with tapirs for the past year or so. They always make me think of my friends and I think they are a very underrated animal. Not many people know what they are (from personal experience when I've been in zoos.) I've always wanted a tattoo but never could decide on what and where and who to get it by. This tattoo was not a one second decision. I emailed the artist, the amazing Charlotte Timmons who works out of Modern Body Art in Birmingham in July about booking an appointment with her. We settled on November 29th, as that would be when she was in Liverpool guesting at Bold as Brass Tattoo Company. I went in at 10 am and left the shop some time after 2 pm. 4 hours of laying down and trying not to squirm. I am in love with my little baby tapir, I think she did an amazing job at capturing it and the bright flowers make it extra special.  I love to watch the video True Facts about the Tapir by Zefrank. The quote at the end "Just remember if you never take any risks like tapir, you might just fade away" really connects with me and makes me think of all the risks i have made and can still make in life.

The Rijksmuseum

The Rijksmuseum is a Netherlands national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam. The museum is located at the Museum Square very close to the Van Gogh Museum, the Sedelijk Museum and the Concertgebouw.

The museum was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808 where it was first located in the Royal Palace and later in the Trippenhuis. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened its doors in 1885. On April 13, 2013, after a ten-year renovation which cost €375 million, the main building was reopened. In 2013, it was the most visited museum in the Netherlands with a record of 2.2 million visitors.

The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection on 1 million objects from the years 1200-2000 among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer.

Sheffield

On Saturday November 15, Jamie and I headed to Sheffield on a day out of Liverpool. We met at Lime Street and caught the train across the countryside to Yorkshire. We did not have any plans set in stone but were hoping to explore the city in South Yorkshire. We arrived around lunch time and headed from the train station up to the city centre, where we checked out their Christmas market. The weather was a bit chilly and foggy but not raining so that was a good thing.

Monday Wanderings in Amsterdam

These photos are all taken on Monday 13th of October when I was wandering around Amsterdam. That morning I had gone to the Anne Frank House as soon as it had opened before going to the Pancake Bakery and enjoying a massive pancake labelled as their Canadian pancake. It was delicious and filled with bacon and amazingness.  I wandered to the Noordermarkt, which on Mondays transforms into a large flea market.  There is lots of fabric, clothes, home goods and cosmetics on sale. The market seemed to go on forever but I eventually found my way to the other end. With no real plans I walked over to Haarlemstraat and enjoyed the sunshine as I made my way towards Centraal Station with its large parking for bikes in search of the I amsterdam card at the tourist centre.  After picking up the card I ventured across the city to check out both the Waterloopleinmarkt and the Albert Cuyp Markt. Leaving empty handed at all the markets I was left wishing I had found something to take home but nothing caught my eye. I ended up on Museumplein where I popped into the Rijksmuseum to have a gander at the beautiful art. I really enjoyed the museum with its large collection of Dutch masters. I headed from the museum over to Pathe City and watched the 100 Foot Journey which was very good.

Sunday Recap November 23

I am going to attempt every Sunday to make a quick post on what happened throughout the week to keep everyone up to date on my life.

On Wednesday I went to Swan Lake at the Empire Theatre in Liverpool performed by the English National Ballet. It was truly beautiful and I am very happy that I decided to go.

On Saturday I enjoyed the crafts market at the Scandinavian Seamen's Church in the Baltic Triangle with Jamie. We went for lunch at Nando's before seeing the Imitation Game. The movie is very good and I highly recommend seeing it.

Today, Sunday, I walked to the big Tesco and picked up a phone card to top up the one I currently had. I made my delicious Lentil and Sausage Stew that I have made for the past three weeks in a row. I've substituted the spinach for kale and each week I seem to use a different type of sausage. This week I've added sweet corn which is a tasty addition. As I made my stew I watched the Liverpool vs Crystal Palace game which they sadly lost 3-1. I called dad and had a good conversation with him.

Amsterdam in Black and White

Anne Frank House

On the morning of Monday Oct 13, I walked from my hostel to the Anne Frank House. Having been unable to obtain tickets online when I checked about a week in advance of my trips. I had made a mental note to get the tickets online but forgot until it was too late. I opted to head to the famous house an hour before it opened its doors in an attempt to beat the queue and not have to wait too long. The weather did not look too happy but rain was keeping away for now. I arrived at the house to be the first one in line. As I was taking photos an American couple arrived and stood below the entrance sign and I headed over to queue behind them perfectly happy to be second. Sure enough more people started to arrive and soon after half an hour the queue had rounded the building and was getting longer.

Anne Frank was a German girl living in Amsterdam with her family when the Nazi occupation forced her family and four other people to hide from persecution in hidden rooms at the read of the 17th-century canal house that was her father's factory. While confined in the Secret Annex, Anne wrote in a diary.  After two years of living in the tiny space, the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Anne and her sister Margo ended up in Bergen-Belsen where they died in March 1945. 

Her father Otto, the only member of the Frank family to survive returned to Amsterdam to find that Anne's diary had been saved by a friend. He managed to have it published in 1947.

The museum opened on May 3 1960 and preserves the hiding place and has a permanent exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank. In 2013, the museum had 1.2 million visitors and was the third most visited museum in the Netherlands after the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum.

One of the things that moved me the most was this quote by Otto Frank, 

"And My Conclusion Is, Since I Had Been in Very Good Terms With Anne, That Most Parents Don't Really Know Their Children." 

He had thought he had known his daughter really well but from reading her diary, her most inner and private thoughts he realised that he did not know his daughter at all.

I suggest queueing early if you do not have a chance to book a ticket online or going when the museum quiets down. Go here to buy tickets on the museums website. Admission is €9 for adults and there is no free entry with the I amsterdam card. Check website for opening hours as they vary throughout the year.

The queue after being inside the museum for an hour.

To Magere Bridge

I did a lot of walking when I was in Amsterdam. Though there is a tram network and bus routes in certain area of the city I found it easiest to get around on foot. Of course, you can always rent a bicycle and ride around like a local. At the same time, trying not to get run over by a local. I chose to walk as it gave me the freedom to stop and take photos and not worry about anyone behind me flying into a canal to avoid me. I left Katten Kabinet and set off walking to check out Magere Bridge or as it's known locally Magere Brug which translates as Skinny Bridge. I passed the Nationale Opera & Ballet which offers free lunchtime concerts on Tuesdays.

The Magere Bridge crosses the Amstel River and is a drawbridge to let boats through. It is closed to cars so only pedestrians and cyclists are allowed to cross it.

I wandered around after leaving the bridge I enjoyed a delicious salad from a small deli that had an amazing selection of salads and other things. I could have gotten all of it, it looked so good.  I stopped to check out the Fo Guang Han He Hua Temple before heading to Central Station and taking a free ferry across the river to the EYE Film Institute to check out the free area in its basement. The EYE Film Institute is free with the I Amsterdam card but I never made it back when I had the card to check out the other sections of it.