Sunday 9 May 2010

The Non-Which Guide To Digital Camera Buying

Sonata:
Or "Two Numpties In A Chain Store , one of whom is me ".

There I am on the first morning in Amsterdam when I
realised that my beloved Canon has died . It is totally kapotski , deceased , gone to a Better Place .
So , unable to function any more without a camera in my hand ..... have I been here ? .... , I rushed into Dixon's and bought the cheapest model by a maker I recognised . A slim little Olympus that seemed to be just what I needed .
I retreated to a cafe


to read the instruction manual and familiarise myself with my new toy . Only to realise that , of course , that I'd forgotten to buy a memory card . Back to shop . Same saleswoman sold me a microSD card ( you might be ahead of me here ) and I returned to cafe and more coffee . I have to have an Xd card . This time go to a photo shop where nice person sells me the right card and puts it in for me .

Anyway I then had a lovely time wandering about for the next couple of days , doing nothing in particular . It really is the perfect place to mooch and admire everything . The Jordaan with its little cafes , and "real " Amsterdammers , friendly , chatty and full of life . The Amsterdam Historic Museum . And more shops than you could shake a stick at . I particularly liked the one called "Your Real Indian Hair " , with pots of Hair Mayonnaise conditioner and fluorescent wigs if it didn't work .
I met an old friend who seemed to have found a new position in a boutique near the Sarphati Park .


Saw some wildlife at the daily market in Albert Cuypstraat . The rooftops are full of cranes and they swoop to pick over the leftovers at the end of the day .



And Youngest Daughter and I ate in Bazar , a Turkish restaurant in "the Cuyp" . A starter of grilled sardines to share , salmon marinaded in lime , saffron and garlic for her and Tabouleh with chicken brochettes for me . Delicious .


On the way back to her flat we stopped at the Resistance War Monument and joined in the Remembrance ceremony . On May 4th Holland remembers its war victims at 8.00 in the evening and Amsterdam falls silent for two minutes . Even the trams stop . As we left , I noticed that we'd been standing in front of a Tibetan monk , who may well have been remembering the monks who died there recently .


Outside the Anne Frank House there was one white rose before the door .

8 comments:

Thomas Hogglestock said...

If you have time a trip to the Hague is worth it. Not only is the old part of town really lovely with lots of great little shops it has a really wonderful art museum right by the Parliament buildings, and the pace is so peaceful compared to Amsterdam.

Anonymous said...

How I wish I could go to those places. Perhaps... Touched me to think about the resistance movements, Tibet, remembrance, Anne Frank. May ordinary people continue to uphold the spirit of those such remembered.

mountainear said...

That Turkish meal looks wonderful. I'm inspired to make tabouleh - we have fresh mint just growing in abundance at the back of the house.

Hope you will be taking loads of pictures - and publishing them please.

rachel said...

There's something about shops like Dixon's that turns us all into numpties. I think it's all the buzzy positive ions frying our brains and interfering with our ability to understand advanced technical jargon....

Friko said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time in spite of the camera mishap. Wish I could have been in Amsterdam with you, one of my favourite cities on earth.

Tania said...

What with all this out and about and the wintry weather looming around here, I could be tempted to remortgage the house and haul three kids on to a 24 hour (at best) flight and indulge in the English/Dutch homesickness. Probably a notion worth sleeping on.

Marcheline said...

You got me with the laughing manikin. What a hoot.

Liz Hinds said...

It was very brave of you to buy a camera 'just like that' anyhow. I applaud you.

Food, yummy.