Monday, May 01, 2006

Eindhoven & Amersfoort

After Amsterdam, we both went to Eindhoven -- Michael for meetings at Philips, me roaming the city. We stayed at the Dorint Hotel which was very nice. We ate at some good restaurants too, but unfortunately, I didn't write down the names of them.

On Wednesday, the 19th, Michael put me on a train to Amersfoort to visit Lucia (she just moved to Amersfoort from Singapore the 1st of April). He bought me a first-class ticket. After the second stop, I realized that I had missed my station! I then went on to Amsterdam, got off the train, and had to buy another ticket for a train back to Amersfoort. I was late arriving and Lucia was nice enough to stay at the station until I arrived. I wouldn't have known how to get to her apartment.

Amersfoort is a lovely medieval town. I couldn't get over how quaint it was compared to Amsterdam and Eindhoven. I walked for hours on end, mostly getting lost, but enjoying the nice spring days. After my first day exploring, I made it back to Lucia's apartment and looked more closely at the map. All that walking and I really never ventured far away at all. The city is like a huge maze because of the canals and small alleyways.

Lucia cooked some yummy Italian recipes for me to try: Penne with Escarole Sauce and a tuna dish with Italian bread. She also took me to a couple of very nice restaurants.