The Pre-meet @ Cafe Casablanca
I arrived at 11:15 after delays out of Philadelphia and was glad that my friend did not decide to pick me up because he would have been waiting for a little over an hour at the train station. I took about thirty minutes just sitting at the arrivals people watching then eventually through immigrations, got my luggage from baggage claim and sought information on the train and train platforms. Once I was done with the long queue for tickets, I bought a one way central station ticket for as little as 4 euros and some change, jump on the train headed for central station. The hotel I reserved through my travel agent was Amsterdam IBIS central hotel right next door to the station and all accesses to and from the city center. Literally 5 minutes walk to the Red Light District.
I checked in immediately and was given a rather disappointing room with twin beds and no room to move around, no place for my luggage and the shower looked like child's play. I returned to the reception and had it changed. Once the room and check-in was sorted out, I began to think about the pre-meet up at Cafe Casablanca in the evening. My friend Toon came in from Den Bosch to meet me and was surprised to find me standing right at the check-in desk two hours after our appointed time to meet: well my flight was delayed and I had just had to change rooms. I was glad when they finally gave me a room on the 9th floor, two elevators to get there but the view from atop was great.
My friend Agnes arrived from London thirty minutes after I checked in to the new room which wasn't that big either but definitely more comfortable than the previous one.
The next task was to find out what the girls needed in terms of dressing for the Idols pre-meet at Casablance: warm was the catch word ofcourse. It was running below zero temperature wise this night, and I was on strict doctors orders to stay out of the cold. But the adventurer in me could not help herself, we bundled up nonetheless and took a cab to the meeting point, cost us 7 euros. Thomas was at the door when we arrived, he recognized we were part of the TB group because he had me saying - this is the place, there was a sign that had TB on it . . .we were here, let the music begin, LOL
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