What I did on my holidays...

Another post that has very little to do with writing, but here are some of the highs and low of my recent trip.

Cheapest Thrill
Going into Waterstones in Amsterdam and finding a copy of a British magazine that had one of my letters published in it. I was overjoyed and declared myself to have achieved Worldwide Fame. My 12-year-old wasn't so impressed and said it was more like Worldwide Lame. On reflection, I think she's probably right.

Best Surprise
Had to be the 50" flat screen TV in the room and the fact that we could tune in to the BBC. We were able to watch the last episode of Torchwood as it was transmitted (rather than having to wait to get home and watch the recording) and got to see the gorgeous John Barrowman in glorious detail. However, the final episode of Torchwood was very upsetting (can't blame Amsterdam for that, though). And, if we'd stayed home, we would have been able to buy two 50" flat screen TVs with the money we'd saved.

Worst Surprise
Finding a full-length mirror in the room. I haven't owned a full-length mirror since 1997. This has a lot to do with the ostrich principle - if I can't see how big my backside is, then I can't worry about it. It also has to do with the fact that none of my clothes co-ordinate and my top half never matches my bottom half. This doesn't bother me in the slightest as long as I can't see myself. A glimpse at my full-length reflection is always a shock - and never a pleasant one.

Most Predictable Result Of Being Away
I ate. A lot. I was fat when I went, but fatter when I got back. I kind of wish we'd gone to the planet in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy where they surgically remove any weight gained during your stay to prevent the planet eroding (and they could have happily taken an extra couple of handfuls of fat while they were at it). I've been brave though, and added a photo onto my profile - me at the Amsterdam Hard Rock Cafe - the only photo that I could find that didn't show all my chins, although it does show my wrinkles and bad hair (and I'm not wearing make-up, but these days make-up makes very little difference so I decided not to care).

Lowest Point
Landing flat on my fat backside in a puddle. No, I wasn't drunk, but I was wearing highly inappropriate shoes and tripped on a cobble. Although it's not entirely my fault as I have horrible feet - the kind of feet that hurt no matter what shoes you put on them. Blisters and chilblains were my close companions until I found a pair of walking boots that DIDN'T HURT. I love those boots - I hardly know I'm wearing them, but they're old. I have a photo of myself with my 12-year-old as a baby and I'm wearing those boots. So you can imagine how scruffy they are now. And you can imagine my recent delight at finding a pair of trouser shoes in the Next sale at half price that, when I wear them, make me feel as though I'm walking on air. Given the choice, what would you wear for a day out in a foreign city? A pair of comfy and manky walking boots? Or a pair of comfy and smart trouser shoes with four inch heels? I wore the shoes. And found to my cost that they're only comfy in an office environment. Walking over cobbles ensured that not only were they no longer comfy, but they're also no longer smart - I scuffed them on my way down. I also hurt an elbow and a knee and my jeans ended up so filthy that they've now been binned (it was either that or burn them). And to hell with pain and humiliation, I'm more concerned about what I might have caught from a wet pavement.

And now for more photos - all of the 12-year-old because she's infinitely more photogenic then I am and much more interesting than buildings and scenery (in my opinion, at least)...