Monday, June 16, 2008

Just the two of us

Brett left today to go back to San Francisco for a few weeks, so Holly and I are on our own until July 7th. We went for a walk around the lake after work where she attempted to chase every rabbit, bird and motor scooter in sight. I guess the hotel room is a little boring during the day. After a few rolls in the grass and some belly rubs she felt better. One funny thing about the hotel is that I think Holly's afraid of heights. The elevators are glass in the back and every time she goes in she immediately slinks down and faces the front doors after it starts to move. I think seeing the floors go by freaks her out. She's also not too sure about the open atrium we walk past on the way to our room. It's 8 floors up and the glass half walls in the corridor are see-through to give a great view. She's intrigued by the sounds of the water but always jumps back after she leans into the glass wall for a look. It's as if she's thinks she's going to fall. I wish I had a good video to share of it. I'll keep trying.

I've had a few people ask me questions in Dutch while I'm standing on the train or in the elevator recently. I guess it's a compliment that I don't look so American that they wouldn't bother, but it still feels a bit awkward to respond in English even if they understand me.

Other than that, nothing exciting to report on today. We're still looking for an apartment and housing inventory is very tight here - even without the added challenge of the dog. We found a place we REALLY liked in an area called the Rivierenbuurt (River Neighborhood). It's on a canal a short distance from the city center and walking distance to grocery stores, restaurants and public transport - but it's on the 3rd floor (known as the 2nd floor here) with no elevator. I didn't think too much of it, but my co-workers have all warned me that the stairs will be bad for the dog's hips - so now we're looking for a place that's one flight of stairs or less. Fingers crossed that we find something soon. :-)

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