20 May, 2007 |

11-14 April Annemieke

Wednesday 11th of April, I had a nice sleep in, after I woke up at 6 and decided I didn’t need to get up that early today. I had quite a lazy day, walked up to the Albert Dock together with Joseth who was meeting Maarten there. Until he arrived we’ve been sitting in the sun. Afterwards I went to the city centre and spend the afternoon shopping. I was looking for a swimming suit which I had seen before and a short. I didn’t find the shorts I was looking for, but did found some other things. At the end of the afternoon I went for a short run, nicely along the river. The weather wasn’t very cold, so it was a bit to warm in the clothes I was wearing, but the running went fine.

On Thursday, Christof and I had offered to do some overtime, so we had to get up early again. At the beginning it seemed like we were going to finish early, but it wasn’t to be. At 5 o’clock we finally went back to the apartment and had a quick dinner. Tomorrow it is Ladies day and I wanted to go, but I didn’t really have anything nice to wear. I wanted to get to the retail centre close to work; the shops are open until 9 o’clock. But just before I went, I found out that the shops in the city centre stay open till 8 on Thursdays. That is easy! So I quickly got some things together and set off towards city centre. Finally there, I got plenty of time, but only managed to find something nice and simple just 5 minutes before closing time! I walked back to the apartment, quite happy.

Friday I started off with doing some laundry I still had to do… While I was waiting for the machine to be finished I spend some time on the computer and tidying up my room. After hanging my clothes to dry I walked to the city centre to catch the train to the races. Just before I got to the train station, it was already clear who was going as well. All ladies dressed up, wearing skirts or dresses and on high heels, some of them wearing hats or something nice in their hair. Very nice to see. The lads looked well too, all dressed in suits or dressed well in neat pants and blouses. It was not yet busy in the train when I got in, but the closer we got, the more people came in. When we all got off the train, it was just one big queue of people towards the entry of the racecourse. I just followed everybody else, bought my ticket and got in. The racecourse is quite big, so I spend some time looking around before I actually got to the course itself, they sold some race programs which had a little map in it, that turned out to be handy. I’ve found my way to the course and had a look around, trying to find a nice spot to watch the races. After a wander around I walked into one of my colleagues and spend most of the time with him and his lady. It was fun to see, just before each race a lot of people queuing up in front of the bookmakers to place a bet. Another funny thing was the shouting, the first bit of the race it is quite calm, but after the horses take the last turn, the shouting gets louder and louder. We had a nice view on a big part of the course and we were standing right in front of a big screen, so we could see the whole race. We also had a good view on one of the hurdles; it is nice to see all those horses going over it in one big group. I had a good day, watching people and all other things going on and catching the atmosphere. At the end of the afternoon I left the course before the last race had started. Just before the exit some people were giving away flip flops, I got a pair as well! It was funny to see, all ladies on high heels, very keen on getting a pair of flip flops. When they got a pair they took off their heels and used the flip flops instead! A really funny thing; someone really nice dressed up with a pair of non-matching flip flops. I was really lucky catching the train, I just missed a train which was crowded, the next train was very quiet. Just when I got back in the apartment, Joseth asked me to go out for a meal with her and Maarten, so I got changed quickly and got myself some proper shoes to walk. As we reached the city centre again, it was getting very busy with people returning from the races. Some of the girls, the lucky ones, wearing those free flip flops, the others walking just barefoot, their high heels in their hands. Any blisters??

I didn’t really have any plans for the Saturday, so I took it easy, spend some time at the computer and did the groceries. Just when I returned from the shop, Joseth wanted to go to the city centre and because I had some things to do there as well, I joined her. After we got back to the apartment again, we went outside to enjoy the good weather for a little longer, it was really nice!

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