Amsterdam (Rachel's Marathon)

I was in Amsterdam with Rachel as encouragement and eye candy - but packed miserably for the trip because I was also packing for the following 5 days in Israel, where it was still on the 30's (80's).

Consequently when we landed I quickly realised (when we stepped off the tram in front of our hotel into breeze driven mist) that it was colder than London in Amsterdam, and all I had was a suit jacket.

hotel:

This was the first plan of post-breakfast action for Saturday morning - and now I have a cool new scarf and wool sweater (I will never, ever say 'woolly jumper' no matter how long we are here) from Amsterdam.

I really enjoy this city - it is beautiful with all of its canals and European meets Eastern European architecture - the museums are fantastic - and the people are all very friendly and accommodating to those that cannot even begin to butcher their language.

When we first arrived we had a fantastic meal at a restaurant just a few blocks from our hotel, which was away from the main touristy areas - but convenient enough to reach said areas and the metro on foot. Arriving late-ish (and getting a few evil eyes from the kitchen) - they put together a table quickly for us and whipped up the best carbonara that Rachel said she had ever tasted... I agree as well. The whole meal was great - and it was a fantastic first evening there.

On the Saturday (after I was sweater and scarf clad) we explored a bit, did a bit of shopping, and also grabbed a quick bite at one of the near ubiquitous fast food vending machine stores called Febo (great little burger):

we then had coffee and a more nutritious snack on the water here:

- and then went to the race expo for Rachel to pick up her number for the next day's event.

that evening we walked over to check out the red light district at night where we watched some of the Rugby World Cup semifinals:


About the race:

Rachel was fantastic -- I was so proud of the preparation work that she did... almost entirely by herself, in London, as the seasons were changing and daylight became scarce... and it paid off on race day - as is evident in this immediately post-race shot (pay attention to the condition of those on either side of her when you click on it for the larger format version):

the official 'receiving of the finisher's medal'

what the finish line scene looked like at Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium: