My trip is all wanting to try different experiences when time and budget allows. It just so happens that in Gent Belgium I decided to stay in a Carmelite convent.
Breakfast room
There was even a bar in the church parking lot. It was mysteriously closed every night after the first night.
It was a night nice peaceful place to stay. If you are interested here is the Airbnb listing.
I am exhausted
I knew exhaustion would set in on my trip. It starts with the all around tiredness then it progresses to sniffles and a sore throat and if I ignore the signs it manifests itself into a full on cold.
I knew it would happen, I just didn’t think it would happen so soon in my trip.
Against my better judgement I packed too much in for a small time period.
I thought I did lots of research on message boards; someone says you need two days in a city, I would always add an extra day. BUT let me just say “Who are these people that schedule a bare minimum in a city?”. It is an exhausting way to travel and definitely not my style.
I am kind of stuck for a least the next week or so since I carefully planned my hotels and travel already. The only thing I can do is practice self-care. What self-care can mean is: sleeping in instead of waking up when that museum opens, skip that walking tour and relax in a cafe instead, or go back to your hotel early instead of having a night cap (like I did after a long day yesterday).
I may not see everything that a city has but I am not going to see everything if I am sick in bed anyway.
Time to slow things down.
The flight into Amsterdam was uneventful but for some reason I didn’t sleep well. I know what helps for me is to close my eyes when we are about to take off and the cabin pressure changes. If I fall asleep then it sets in motion a very good flight of sleep (even if I am awakened I can usually go back to sleep). What doesn’t work well for me is staying awake to wait for the first meal service. I may not be hungry but I am afraid that if I am asleep they will skip me and I will starve. It is irrational but it is my reality.
So my first day in Amsterdam wasn’t a full day. I checked into my airbnb (see houseboat below) and went out for something to eat.
My Airbnb house boat
The first place I tried to eat wasn’t open yet for dinner so I settled for Waterkant and the nice view of the water.
I tried walking around a bit after eating but I was tired. I did see some pretty canal streets in the Jordaan before I went off to bed for the evening.
Growing With Leala 