Not what you had in mind.

Since we came back from Rotterdam, a lot of things were happening. I am not excusing myself however I really didn't have too much time for myself.

There is a lot of work, and the work is hard. I don't mind working hard but I mind when only half of the staff is working hard and the other half is acting like they're playing Risk or Monopoly.

I am very far for glorifying myself, but.. People talk instead of working, people ask ''What do you think I should do, we received an email with inquiry for booking and blablabla''. What you should do? Fu**ing solve it! Then I ask ''Hey did you really do all those things from check list?''..''Uhm..no..but I will.. soooo.. I signed it in advanced''. ''Hey, did you already arranged the extra beds?'' ''Uhmm. no, not yeat, but.. I will''.

And then I take over because I know it's not going to happen anyway, and then, for all the mistakes, the responsibility is on me. People are amused with this blog, sometimes I get amazing feedback. But people are still quiet during meetings. Between each other they gossip, giggle, complain, wish each other bad, and then ''Do you have any questions, is there anything you would like to add from yourself?''. Everybody is like, nope, everything is perfectly fine, can we go now?

Screw that, I am not going to be any working class hero, who will stand up for the whole team, no.

Anyway, let me tell you all about Rotterdam.

We arrived there around 6pm. Hotel was very easy to find, check in was super efficient and the room.. Well it felt at the beginning a bit like at work but the room was very nice. The only strange thing was.. the windows were now opening. It felt like sitting inside of a box. But at least there was REAL air conditioning.

The city. First evening we went for a walk in the harbour direction. We wandered around. That city is more of a.. city. It looks like business, like work. It is not too much of tourist amusing.
But there is something very special about the city, something you will notice only after dark.
Neon lights. They are everywhere! They are putting a fancy, colorful accent on this cold, raw city.
During night time, Rotterdam shows more than during the day. But it also reminds you, that you're from outside. It's hard to feel like a local, when you come from touristic, lively Amsterdam.

But one more thing that makes it so different is- food.
We have never tried such a good pizza here in Amsterdam, as we tried in Rotterdam.
The restaurant was called Manzara, it serves only few pizza kinds, it is mostly concentrated on wraps.
We waited for the pizza quite a long time and started to worry will it ever come to the table. I even put on a joke that maybe it takes so long because they make it in Napoli and transfer it to Rotterdam..
Well, it was not far from the truth because the pizza was amazing. I wouldn't say that, but if Mattia was impressed, then it has to be good.

We were wondering where do people party. So we went out both of the nights to follow people and see, what is their way to have fun. That was a bit disappoinitng. I don't know was it the stormy weather or is it a regular thing but.. The city was quiet. Empty. There were suspiciosly looking clubs but that's it.

On Saturday we had a breakfast, which made me feel even more at work. But it was nice, they didn't have any ''speaki spani'' groups, so it was very relaxed. After that, we went walking to Euromast. It was difficult because weather was completely ridicoulus. But we did it, and we were happy about it!

But here is the problem. If you do that Euromast thing, go to the harbour and walk through the city.. That's like.. You did everything. There is not much more to see. Sure, probably if the weather is nice, you can do more, but with rain flushing in your face and wind pushing you to go back to the hotel.. Muah, that's a bit harsh.Second day we decided to eat in a restaurant called Luciano Sicilia In Bocca. It was truly beautiful. The food.. Oh.. I ordered a lasagna, red wine and tartuffo as a desert. Before the main dish came we got bread with garlic butter and a very nice salad. Everything tasted like heaven.

But what really makes it an unforgettable evening, was something that Mattia told me. He never speaks too much about feelings, but when he does, it's amazing.
And that evening.. It just simply put tears in my eyes. Nobody ever told me something like that. I've been told a lot of things, but that one was.. outstanding. It was something that made me calm about the future. As long as I will remember those words, I can be sure of direction am going in.

I look into this guy. I watch him very close, I put attention to words he says, I concentrate on every detail of his external and internal image. And I breathe it in and out.

So, Rotterdam is a great city for business, design and catering, however if you're a tourist, please, first prepare a list of things you want to see, because if you go there without knowing where can you spend some time, you end up spending time nowhere.

I asked in an english book shop for Kurt Vonnegut and lady told me that this name is not ringing any bell in her head but I can check the last table, as they are having some random books there.

Well lady, I've found two books of Vonnegut and Kafka's ''Metamorphosis''. Bell in your head still not ringing?

I think I already know what will be my next post about, as I got another great email from my brother.

And now, I am going to play with our new family member. Black kitty, which name will be or Marla or Penny. She is the most lovely kitty in the world (ok, maybe just as lovely as my old cat Harry, and my brother's kitty Mimi). Cuteness in its pure form. She looks like this:

Stay in touch. Read.

xxx

Alicja