Amsterdam - Final Pictures

Here is a link to my pictures from the weekend.

Rowing

After our "almost move to Boston" visit with long runs along the Charles, 10 years spent by the bay in San Francisco and now time here along the Thames.....

I kept seeing people rowing and thought, "I'd love to do that". The beauty of being out on the water during the early morning - the peace of it - and the fun of doing such a sport really intrigued me.

Since October, when I am in town on weekends, I've started a beginners rowing class with Sons of the Thames.

To quote their website: Sons of the Thames Rowing Club was formed in Hammersmith over 100 years ago with the aim, still enshrined in its constitution, of furthering the sport of rowing in the Borough. Its name derives from the days when its members were the watermen and tradesmen of the Tideway, and it may even be one of the really early rowing clubs.
The course finishes in mid-December, and if you are 'good enough', the club will ask you to join. They train together about 5 days a week with outings on the weekends. The club building itself reminds me a bit of my sorority house - with a cook, creaky old victorian building with tons of charm - and they even have a little bar! So it's kind of a combination of sports and social club. They even wear letters of sort - as all members wear these jackets with SONS on the back.



I have just been out for my second 'outing' and although it was a bit rocky there were moments when the whole 8 of us in the boat were almost in rythmn, and at a time there were geese flying along the river, at our level, and we could hear them talking to each other.

I am learning all these new terms and new sports tasks such as: what is bow side, or a cox, and how to get into a boat wearing and then gracefully removing wellies, and how to help with carring a huge boat out of the water up a ramp.

I had a huge smile on my face all day!!!

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:

and this is what we returned to...

apologies for the lack of posts during our respective travels!! the pumpkins were angry (a bit off color and fuzzy) too --

photos have been downloaded and will be here this week / weekend!

Halloween

Happy Happy Day-After Halloween.

For full pictures of our carving skills, click here.

Amsterdam - Race

The travels have begun again - I came back from New York then headed out again with TJ to Amsterdam - then he left for Israel and now we're back until I leave for Cannes on Thursday and TJ for a US trip to D.C., and Richmond.

Amsterdam was fanastic - and the run went as well as I could have wished for. I plan at least one marathon a year, and have kept this up since I was 26, hoping to do 10 to celebrate turning 35.

For this one- I had a new strategy...instead of "just enjoy yourself", or "have fun out there" it was "get it Done!" The crowds were amazing- and I've never experienced people yelling what I presumed to be positive cheers at me in Dutch before. The best was the little children standing on the side of the road out in front of their houses on the canals with little cups of water.

TJ was there to do some mellow sight seeing with me, and there as I finished. I ran my best time in over 6 years, and second best ever! 4:14. Not Boston standards by any means, but enough to keep a smile on my face for over a week.

I posted this picture because it made me laugh tonight when I found it....and if you look closely, you'll see me - and it oddly looks like I am laughing then as well.

For some funny video clips of me racing at each 5k mark:
http://www.runnersweb.nl/runnerstv?e=AM07M&n=Rachel%20Church&r=15174&ct_
s1=11:09:04&nt_s1=30:20&ct_s2=12:07:13&nt_s2=1:28:29&ct_s3=12:42:39&nt_s3=
2:03:55&ct_s4=13:05:06&nt_s4=2:26:22&ct_s5=13:34:41&nt_s5=2:55:56&ct_s6=14:06:43
&nt_s6=3:27:59&ct_s7=14:38:36&nt_s7=3:59:52&ct_f=14:52:46&nt_f=4:14:02&=finish&l=
nl&ccount=1&k=finish

quick post - Ireland Golf

My good friend Steve and I planned an 11th hour trip to Western Ireland to play 5 rounds of golf this past weekend... It was a great trip, we saw some of the Lynch cousins, playd on some of the best golf courses in the world (sometimes well - sometimes not so well) and had absolutely spectacular weather (except possibly the three-club wind at Lahinch - but that is all part of the experience)... I'll post more later (pressed for time before a Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, London swing) - but wanted to get the photos out - (photo page here)

Where have we been?

After 3 weekends of being "home" here in London- the travels have begun again.

We had two fun dinners with friends that were visiting London - Christine over from a trip that started in Paris - and then Dawn from San Francisco.

I spent last weekend in Manhattan for a weekend with college friends, Ami and Jen. With the last day that included brunch with Kerry and Kevin in their new home in the Village - then dinner up on the Upper East side with Lauri, Christine and Alyssa. Full update to follow.

TJ left last weekend as well - for a golf trip through Ireland with Steve O'Shea from San Francisco.

We're headed out this weekend for Amsterdam- where I will focus on putting one foot in front of the other.

Golf : Old Fold Manor x2

I hope to soon join a club here - called Old Fold Manor (I've had my first interview, submitted the application, and now need to play with a board member presumably to prove that I am not a boorish, club-snapping, "you da man" American, and then a further full board interview later in October.
... their current website is a bit crap (or at least leaves room for improvement) - so I will hold off to post it until the new one is done (the current one shows men in armor swinging a golf club and was almost enough to deter me from playing the first time) - I'll let you find it on your own if interested.


I have a colleague in our finance team that is apparently a very good stick (I've yet to play with him - but he carries a 1 handicap) - from the north near Scotland and who received a D1 scholarship to play in Utah for college. He is a member of South Herts (click for earlier post) near to Old Fold, and after playing there in a competition came in on Monday and said that my friend Greg and I had to play it and give it a look for membership.

So - I shouldered my bag and hopped on the tube again -- this time to the end of the northern line, and then a short bus ride (about an hour and 15 minutes in total).

After the first hole I was worried that the course might be a bit nondescript - but it turns out that it reminds me very much of the older, traditional designs that you find in New York and New England, including the Country Club of Farmington where I grew up.

(I also was a bit worried after the first hole after I topped my 3 wood into the rough, then did not escape the rough with my next thrash, and ended up with a triple bogey).

I did not have the 'A game' out that day, topping another tee shot on 6 which shocked me, and then an honest & true shank/lateral on 16 which left me having to play from up against the needle sharp gorse... but also made a few saving putts along the way and a few good swings that were encouraging...

result: 78


Being impressed, we went back this past Monday when there was a 'new member' event. We of course missed it, having to be in the office for a meeting that morning, but when we showed up at about 1 we met Brian Cullen, the club manager, as well as the pro and the clubhouse staff - all exceptionally welcoming and accommodating. Brian gave us the history of the club and details of membership, showed us around a bit, and then kindly invited us to play the afternoon... which is a fantastic way to spend a Monday in my book.

When we started off I had a rare experience - hitting solid shots backed up by making some putts on the same day (usually it is either one or the other...or neither that occur). As a result I was standing on the 9th tee, a relatively short uphill dogleg left par 5, at three under par.

I think I may have gotten a bit ahead of myself, thinking that a birdie there would give me a career low 32 and four under for nine holes... and as so often occurs in golf, I promptly hooked my tee shot left around the corner. I thought I would find it in the rough but hit a provisional tee shot just in case (right down the middle of course), and then set off to find my ball... for the full five minutes, and still came up empty in the long grass.

A frustrating double bogey, which also prevented any further birdies from appearing on my card over the rest of the round.

result: 35-39 = 74. a good result, but a bit frustrating at the same time with what might have/could have/should have thoughts...

Zip Car

It's been 8 months that we've been here - with no car. Not that we need one, (and the idea of parking in Chelsea makes the Marina seem like the suburbs) but to get out of the city and learn how to drive on the other side - we've joined Zip Car. TJ can provide the details, but basically you go online and see where there is a car in your neighborhood. You then book it, and drive, bringing the car back to where you got it from. They pay for gas, congestion charge etc., and we just pay an hourly fee.


Our first zip-trip was for a proper Sunday pub lunch - to The Trout in Oxford. There was a cute blue Mini right around the corner and off we went. After a couple hour drive we arrived - ate, took a brief walk and then back in - to another couple hour drive, a hilarious session at a gas station and an even more hilarious/tense ride which could have been considered "getting lost", back through the city.



It definitely is an adventure here.

full pictures are here.