Girl’s Day Out in Bergen op Zoom

Yesterday me and two of my oldest and dearest friends here in the Netherlands, Paule (left) and Penny (right), met up in Bergen op Zoom for a girl’s day out.  A very much needed girl’s day out too, for all of us.

We walked a lot, chatted a lot, and squealed a lot in a jewelry shop when we realized a load of the stuff was on clearance. No really, I think the jewelry shop owner thought we were a little… speshul, like, short bus speshul.

Regardless, it was great for my girlie thing and we all made quite a haul.  I got all of this for only €27!  Check it out, I bought something pink!  It’s weird because until about six months ago I wouldn’t be caught dead with anything pink.  Not because of my whole fat and feminine issue (see the girlie thing link), but I just hated pink.  Now, I don’t.  I don’t know why it just mysteriously changed. Penny said it’s because we’re becoming old women and all old women love pink.  She may be on to something…

This bracelet was my favorite buy of the day.  Something I’d normally look at, love but never bother to even try on because I would know it wouldn’t go around my big fat wrists.  When I tried to dismiss it because it was too small Paule basically told me not to be so stupid and to try it, and ya know,  it did fit!  Not just that but it fit so much that I need to hook it on the smallest ring possible in order for it not to be too lose.  The girls pretty much threatened to hurt me if I didn’t get it, so I did! I think it’s so cool, I can’t wait to wear it somewhere.

I swear to god, one of the weirdest parts of losing weight is not having any awareness of your own dimensions anymore. It’s such a mindfuck.

Bergen op Zoom is a lovely little city with a lot of charm. The other girls had been there before numerous times, but it was a first for me, so of course I brought along my trusty little point and shoot.  I would have brought my good camera but the day was more about spending time with friends. Of course I did squeeze in a little photography.  It just wouldn’t have been right not to.

This was what I used for my Project 365 photo for yesterday.  I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to be able to blog my 365 photo every day so I am going to figure out a way to have an automatically updating plugin for it on my sidebar.  That way I don’t have to do any work, cuz that’s just how I roll.  I love technology.

One thing I love about the cities of the Netherlands, and Europe in general really, is how old everything is.  Each place has its own charm, and even though it can be quite similar from one place to the next it’s different as well. It’s hard to explain.  I would love to see Bergen op Zoom in the summer when the square is full of umbrellas and tables with people having a drink and enjoying the nice weather.

They city was a bit of a maze for me, so I was glad to have friends with me who knew where they were going.  It seemed like there was one of these archways at every turn and I couldn’t remember where any of them lead.  That’s sort of strange for me. My husband calls me a homing pigeon because I can usually find my way around anywhere once I’ve been there.

That’s how it is everywhere here though, there are no such things as grids like in Toronto, for example, where everything is north, south, east and west.  The cities started small and grew out in a random fashion so the streets are a bit like a tangle of snakes.

After exploring the city center for the afternoon, we decided to go to a nice Greek restaurant for dinner, where we had a lovely meal and chatted our asses off.  I had this thing called Bifteki which is basically a spiced hamburger stuffed with Feta. I am pretty sure I could eat anything with feta and enjoy it.  I snapped this photo as we were leaving to head back to the train station.  Without a tripod it was difficult to get a really good photo but I wanted to capture the place at night at least once.

OK OK!! ! I confess, I also had Creme Brulee for desert. It was a girl’s day out though, it was one of those times where you just have to let go a little.

FINE! I also had a hot chocolate at lunchtime. Now quit badgering me!  I promise to be good from now on.

Gawd…

Anyway, there is something so therapeutic about having a day with just the girls, especially when they are such good friends. I’ve known Paule and Penny for years and they are among a very small handful of people that I feel I can really be myself around and it’s so relaxing and enjoyable.

We said we are going to make a habit of this and I hope we stick to it because I can’t remember the last time I felt so happy and completely chilled out.  Honestly, I fucking love these girls.

“A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked” – Bernard Meltzer

So true, Bernie… so true.