En Route

Hey! Do you recall that time you met a really sweet girl at a club in Rio de Janeiro, then didn't see her for 5 months, then flew from Canada to Amsterdam to go visit her, only to find out that she was even more wonderful than you had imagined?

No?

Well I won't forget when this happened to me.

Please meet Isis.

Obrigado muito, querida! Quero dizer que acho que seu Holandês é muito bom!

My brief stopover in Europe has been a pleasant one. I spent the first few days in London, staying with my friend Roger and his family (read: not paying for accomodation) and visiting my favourite hangouts: the RAF Museum at Hendon, the food gallery at Harrod's in Knightsbridge, the Camden Market, and of course the Big Ben.

After that I headed to Amsterdam to visit the above Carioca, which was a significant change from my previous trips to the place, because I discovered that apparently there is something to this beautiful city beyond the limits of the Red Light District. Like Dutch people! Imagine my shock!

Spending time in Amsterdam with someone who lives there allows you to shed the false pretense that the city exists solely as a place where 19-year-old British kids go to get baked. Isis and I traveled around in style on our old-school bicycles, meandering the local backstreets and soaking up the peaceful and yet dazzlingly electric atmosphere in what has to be one of Europe's most marvellous cities. I also had the opportunity to visit my Dutch friend Ashok, whom I also met and partied with in Brazil. He made me eat fries and mayo. To my arteries: Sorry, but I really enjoyed it.

That's it that's all for now. Tomorrow it's off to South Africa, and I can only imagine what adventures are in store for me there.

I hope they serve fries and mayo.