Nijmegen

I was in Nijmegen for work last week. I must confess, before I started working on this project I had never heard of this city and now I have been there twice in the last few months. It certainly isn't the most famous nor beautiful city in the Netherlands, but it was nonetheless nice to wander around the old part of town. Nijmegen is in fact the oldest city in the Netherlands, and it goes back to Roman times! Here are some pictures for the most curious of you.

 

 

 

 

 

Work and Fun

Work can be fun, sometimes. Wednesday morning I had to wake up very early (this is not the fun part, of course!) to catch a flight to Amsterdam for a work meeting. The meeting, however, was in Tilburg, about an hour an a half by train from Amsterdam. On the way we saw lots of land and farms, and that's about it! The weather was absolutely lovely, blue sky and warm. It was only a two-day meeting but it was very productive and I am glad I went. 

In Tilburg we stayed in a very sweet hotel, a sort a cottage in the middle of a forest. And we could walk through the forest to reach Tilburg University, where the meeting was being held. Definitely a  change of scenery from the city life in London.

 

It's worldwide known that in Holland, if you are a local, instead of walking, you bike. Look at this bike park, it gives you an idea of how many pedestrians or cars are around in Tilburg!

 And we were lucky to be in town during the biggest fun fair in the whole Country. Needless to say, we had to wander around. It was so much fun! See, academics can have fun too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I got back to London, I rushed home hoping to see Emilia before bed-time. And thankfully, she was still up when I got home. So, I gave her some little things I bought for her, and she loved everything. We played together and then I wished her good-night. It had only been two days but I terribly missed her!

To my colleagues

On Friday my colleagues organised a trip to the pub in my honour to wish me a nice trip to Italy and a great wedding day. I thought it was such a lovely idea, and I was touched. They gave me a card and a nice gift. This was totally unexpected. 

Despite the fact that my blog has got absolutely nothing to do with my day job, and it's most probably of no interest to my colleagues whatsoever, I know that some of them still read it, which I find cute. So you, colleagues-readers, this is for you: Thank you ever so much!

It is so important to work in a nice environment and I am very lucky to have great colleagues to share my day with. If you think about it, we spend an average 35-40 hours per week with our colleagues; that's a lot of time. My job is definitely not the most glamorous one, I have never heard any of my friends saying: "I am so jealous, I wish I had your job!". However, I do have the best colleagues and this is why every day I am happy to go to the office. I know I will smile and laugh, and that's what counts.

Crafty Needs

I have had a terrible and super frustrating day at work today. And now all I can think of is how nice it would be to have some time to dedicate to my hobbies and crafty projects. I wish I could work part-time and be able to attend all the courses I would like to take, learn how to sew, screenprint, letterpress, speak Spanish...Oh, there are so many things I would like to learn...Sometimes I feel like time is going by without me fully enjoying my life.

Don't get me wrong, I have a wonderful life, I live in an amazing city, I have a very sweet partner and a super caring family and am surrounded by amazing friends. However, sometimes I wish I didn't have to spend most of my time inside a not-very-inspiring office!

That's it, I am planning a *Learn How To* series of events with my friends! Fancy joining us?