Day 10: Best Trip of My Life

This is a hard one. I’ve been lucky enough to have many fabulous trips in my life. There are 3 that come to mind:

Paris 2013

Dublin 2013

Amsterdam 2014

On this day…

This last few weeks have been full of blogging milestones for me so I couldn’t let this one go by without marking it.

Today marks my anniversary of the idea of my Dutch blog. Well actually it went live on the 1st August but on the 28th July 2014 I had the idea of sourcing an outlet for my Dutch obsession and it has stuck with me and superseded all other writing outlets I’ve ever used. Its become my hub for everything as well as my Dutch. So not only have I been forcing my opinions on the world for 5 years but I’ve been Dutching for 12 months too.

Here’s my first every dutch blog post  – Girls Weekend in Amsterdam! I’ve not been away with the girls since this trip either but it was an incredible trip and one we would all gladly make again. I probably wouldn’t stay above a Falafel shop again given the choice!  I thought I’d be in a better Dutch-speaking place by now but alas I’m not. Instead I’ve just become rather opinionated on Dutch things! The Dutch do weird stuff and I love them for that. I hope that comes across here at mariavictoriasmith.com. 

Bonus fact: Today is also the anniversary of me passing my driving test!! Woohoo!!

20th December 2014 New Years Eve Traditions

I spent NYE 2013 in Holland and heard “Gelukkig Nieuwjaar” more times than I can even begin to count. Including the standard three kisses too! By the end of the night I had whiplash from all the kissing and a frog in my throat from all the guttural “g’s”! In English we call December 31st New Years Eve, it is the Eve of the New Year and to me that makes sense. The Dutch refer to it as Oudjaarsdag or Oudjaarsavond, “Old Year’s Day” or “Old Year’s Evening” respectively because it is the night of the old year, which I have to admit makes sense too.

New Year’s Eve in the Netherlands just like everywhere else in the world stands for parties and fireworks. Traditionally, the Dutch will visit family and friends, eat oliebollen (doughnut balls), pop a bottle of Champagne at midnight and watch the firework. That’s what I did last year anyway. The Dutch have a more personal approach rather than a grand social affair. Post the midnight hour when the fireworks begin is when the night becomes more social.

V Festival…

So yesterday I was at V Fest at Weston Park. I mentioned this in a previous post about the fabulous idea I had about getting up extra early to tackle my tenses and all that…well I didn’t.

I had a Dutch-Free day. Not saying it was a good thing or a bad thing but the break from it was actually really nice!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter and/or Instagram you’ll have seen  few photos I put on. It was my FIRST festival and I absolutely loved it!

Bands we saw:

• Fuse ODG
• All Saints
• John Newman
• Kaiser Chiefs
• Ed Sheeran
• Kodaline
• Justin Timberlake
• Allan Carr (in the comedy tent obvs.)
• Example
• Tom Odell
• Bastille

 

It was amazing!!

Here is a link to a playlist I made with some of my favourite tracks of the day!