There are those days where nothing goes according to plan. Today was such a day: after a night without sleep for no good reason I felt really sick when I tried to get up at 7:00 AM. My whole stomach felt like it was on fire and so did my back. I immediately realised that there was no way I could go to my 9:00 AM appointment. Therefore I wrote an e-mail to explain that I could not make it and what was causing it. I also had to disappoint the “Secrets of Middle-earth” team. I could not join the fun in recording episode 9. In between those events I had planned to go out shopping for goodies for my friends in the United States. That didn’t work out either, so I think I will do that tomorrow when I feel better.
I’m still thinking about what to get for Americans who don’t really need anything. Is there anything that’s not insanely expensive here but what Americans would love to have because they cannot find it over there. I have some food-related ideas but I’m not sure how that would work with US Customs. I know I cannot bring fresh meat, fruits or anything with European mud attached to it into the USA without getting a steep fine and my goods confiscated. I’m not sure about alcohol though. Would bringing a sixpack of Abbey-beer be allowed? I looked at the website of the US Customs Office, but could not find the max amount of alcohol I can bring to the US: that depends on the state where you arrive, in my case Massachusetts. I cannot find anything related to that at the MA state government site. *SIGH*. I guess it means bringing no beer then.
Then there’s the category of corny Dutch souvenirs like Delft Blue ceramic stuff, or wooden clogs, little windmills and more junk like that. The tourist shop around the corner sells tons of that stuff. I really hate it, I wouldn’t want to own it. But then again: I live here… It could be, however, that my American friends think it’s cute.
Tomorrow I will have to decide what to buy, but I won’t post here what I bought, because I don’t want to spoil the surprise for my friends. It will be also the day I travel to Leyden, an old town in the West of the country in the part of The Netherlands that’s actually called Holland. And since that’s a day of travel, I want to try out some things I’ve set up on Wednesday to see if they work (and to see if I won’t double or triple post stuff to my social networks). So be prepared to see and hear a little bit about the old Dutch town Leyden in my updates tomorrow!
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