To Brussels, Amsterdam and London

Dee

I am now in London. I've had a few adventures getting here... After meeting friends my goals for this holiday were to 1) buy a particular new camera 2) to take a course called 'Finance for the non-specialist' and 3) to get a lot of rest. Guess which of these has actually happened as planned?

First I went to Brussels to see my friend Alan. I was still a bit overwhelmed by malaria and I hope he didn't mind. We walked around a lot of the town and had a splendid meal and a few extra beers there and there. Brussels has some very nice architecture.

Then I went to see my friend Marga in The Hague. We had a lovely but brief time - it was good to catch up on our lives. Then I went on to Amsterdam to see my friend Gwen. I had a fanstastic three days including a great birthday evening with her and her friends on Friday. I always enjoy Amsterdam but it's particularly good to have a knowlegable tour guide like Gwen. I also managed to see my friend Bonno who I'd known in Buchanan.

While in Brussels I'd learned that the shop in London where I was planning to buy my camera was out of stock so I changed my plans and bought it (at a higher price) in Amsterdam. It's a lovely Canon EOS 5D with a EF 24-70mm F/2.8l USM lens. The first test shots (of Gwen's dog) came out very well but when it came time to take out the battery I couldn't - it was stuck in. By then it was too late to return to the store while in the Netherlands or even on this trip so I began to panic.

Luckily here in London the camera store (Camera World) I'd wanted to patronize were very helpful. Actually they pointed me to a camera repair service that was able to pull out the battery - to reveal that it was a) sticky and b) NOT A GENUINE CANON BATTERY. (The 5D is supposed to come with a genuine battery.) I am furious with the Amsterdam shop. (They had also neglected to give me the camera dust cap and lens back cap. Furthermore I heard them spending 20 minutes trying to persuade an unfortunate customer that the scratch on his lens is 'irrelevant'. Even though front surface marks ARE out of focus they cause blur and block light and it was very unprofessional to claim otherwise. Oh - and they also grumbled about having to process my VISA card transaction manually because VISA were blocking the unusual purchase...) Please do not patronize "Foto Professional" in Amsterdam - I think they are crooked. But all ended well here in London - and then I had a DELIGHTFUL evening with my friends Susi and Jon.

This morning I headed to the finance course in Hampstead - only to find that it had been canceled on the 8th. I hadn't checked my work e-mail because I'm trying to be on holiday from work... I'm dissapointed and it means this holiday will use three more days of precious leave than planned but then those days weren't going to be holiday and now they can. So perhaps it's alright - at least I'll take the opportunity to see more of London. My notions for tomorrow are the British Airways London Eye, The National Portrait Gallery and perhaps a tourist bus tour. And I have some fun dates set up...