Amsterdam - 9th October

Up and at 'em early after a decent night's sleep and onto the packed 10am train to Brussels. Another beautiful sunny day. THIS is what life is all about - adventures, new places, new friends.
:-)
One of the weirdest things we saw on our trip was on this journey. Matilda spotted it and pointed out the window. In the middle of a field full of cows, there was one cow, obviously very dead, lying upside down with all four legs sticking up in the air. Bizarre... As a vegetarian, I guess I shouldn't have found this amusing, but it was - so ner.
We passed hooker street again, approaching Brussels Nord. Even at 11am the windows are populated by the day shift skanks. I wonder what the girls they keep in the back look like?

We thought we'd have to wait over an hour for our connecting train to Amsterdam, but when we arrived there was a train leaving in 15 minutes only 2 platforms down. Result.
It's a 3 hour journey from Brussels to Amsterdam, but the time flew by and soon we were back in the city we loved so much on our previous trip (a very cold 24 hours in January 2006, funnily enough for a Posies show). This time it was glorious and warm and heaving with people. I was bloody starving by this point. It was mid afternoon and I hadn't eaten yet, so I grabbed a slice of pizza at the station and snarfed it super-quick. It was sooooo good.
It was quite a shock, after spending the past few days in relatively quiet places, to be suddenly thrust into such a throng of people. It's a manic place.
We found our hotel, only 5 minutes walk from the station, got checked in (decent room), then headed out into the late afternoon sunshine.

The real beauty of Amsterdam is that it can be anything you want it to be. It can be a drug-fuelled haze, a trip for seedy unspeakables, a tourist bonanza or just a nice place full of art and culture. It's kind of up to the individual. That's what I like about it, apart from the fact that it's a really beautiful and friendly place.

We walked down to Leidseplein, parked our bums in some seats and enjoyed some quality people-watching over a coffee. It's a great way to kill time. Another quick wander around the surrounding streets then it was time to head to the venue, Sugar Factory. It's the sister venue to the Melkwegg - right across the street. We got our tickets sorted and immediately bumped into an old friend, Carsten. It was so nice to see him after 4 years or so. He'd come from Germany for the show. Amsterdam was our last show on the tour, and Carsten's first. He was going to the next 6 shows, I think. Lucky boy.

We headed inside, bagged a spot at the front, had a drink and a good chat as the place gradually filled up around us. There was a lot of confusion about what time The Posies were supposed to be onstage during the day, so we were a little concerned at how few people were there at the time they were supposed to be starting. Of course, nothing ever quite goes to plan and they ended up starting later, and by then, the place was pretty well packed. Yay!
What a cracking gig! The crowd were great, really into it. The band were really into it and obviously having a good time. They put a lot of energy into the show and I finally got some half-decent photos at this one too (despite the red lights).

Boing!

After the encore, Jon and Ken grabbed the box of CDs and went off to sell merch, while Matt and Darius grabbed the nearest alcohol available. After a couple of minutes it became very obvious that this crowd were NOT going to let the night be over without a fight (in a good way). They just kept clapping, whistling and screaming. Jon and Ken had to come back to the stage and do one more song, which was a real treat.  You Avoid Parties, played so sweetly, it brought a tear to many an eye.
We had a fun chat with Jon's friends from New Mexico again (whose names I STILL can't remember). They were having a great time, totally enjoying their retirement and had bravely cycled around Amsterdam.

Outside the venue, it was time for lengthy goodbyes and many hugs all round. Jon gave us a bottle of wine and told us to "Let it breathe". Ha! All too soon we all went our separate ways, heading into the Amsterdam night. I managed not to cry - just...
Mark and I stopped at this amazing place called Maozusa on the walk back. They take a pitta bread, stuff it with freshly cooked falafels, then give you a mouthwatering choice of about 15 different things you can add yourself. Oh my god - it was SO tasty. We stood on a bridge over one of the canals stuffing our faces, totally happy.

We were sad our Posies tour had come to an end, but couldn't really have asked for a better night to end it on. Music, friends, falafels - what more do you need - really?