My Travel Adventures

Amsterdam is not a city for the technologically inept. Several museums, such as the Van Gogh, require tourists to book their tickets online, while others, like the Moco, incentivise them to do so with significant discounts. My friend Bonnie and I knew this when we were planning our trip, and we spent a minor fortune on simply making sure that we would not be turned away at the door.

I do not know whether I was told this or simply made it up, but one of the best times to visit Cardiff is when the daffodils are in bloom. As the national flower of Wales, they grow everywhere from parks to castles and figure very prominently on all kinds of tourist knickknacks. I planned mine and Johnny’s trip precisely for this time. Since morning train tickets are cheapest on Saturdays (and that by a wide margin), our choice of date was set. It was also set well in advance, as tickets become more expensive the longer one waits. Of course, this meant that we were left at the whims of the weather, and as the day of the trip drew near, the forecast did not look particularly auspicious.

My second Hilary Term at Oxford was uneventful – thank goodness! Having taken both my optional classes last year, I was afraid I would not be able to stay disciplined and work on my thesis. Fortunately, my daily 500-word quota turned out to be quite effective and although it made every day a bit of a slog to get through, it got the job done. I only made a few excursions, which I will write about in subsequent posts: one to Cardiff and another to Amsterdam for my friend May’s birthday.