A letter to AH...and the tres MARIAS

01/may/06
1121am

you are the best shop ever!
okay, so you probably are asking who is AH... well, 'he' just happens to be my new fave grocery shop in Amsterdam. We adored it so much we almost ended up printing t-shirts that say, "we went to amsterdam and visited AH.... 10 times!"

i was gone for a while to attend a beginner's crash course in KLM World Business Campus, with Maritel (my forever fave traveling companion!), Minette and Myda of AF-KLM Manila. It was fun!!! well except for the briefly turbulent flight above the Himalayas... everything else went well. Flight attendant van der ende even winked at me when the captain announced it's going to be a 'bumpy' flight for the next 15 mins... whew! anyways this letter is really meant for the tres marias. Aside from being the only filipinos in an almost EUROPEAN class - we had Bridgette and Phylis from from Zurich, Anette from Copenhagen, Marco from Milan, Adrian and Amanda from London... we were distinctively the 4 MARIAs in class - Maria Theresa (dont you dare call me by that name!), Maria Estella, Maria Esmeralda and Maria Wilhelmina...and we realized it when Wilco, our dutch instructor pointed that out! HAHA! I really had a fun fun trip with you ladies. I mean, who would have thought that i'll be eating pizza and magnum ice cream with the 3 of you on the greeny grass of that park near our favorite AH? That's the 1st picture on top! yes, i do love the cold... sleevelss in springtime! actually, i missed this weather so much, i gave up my coat for minette to sit on just so we can pig out on our pizza which i was craving so much for after our class that day. Well, you know me .... charms and all... i walked up to Tanya in pastryshop section of AH, introduced myself and got her to saying YES to cooking the pizza we bought from their branch. That's usually NOT allowed. Atypical in europe where people are not as accommodating as OUR side of the world. Lo and behold... we got our pizza at the park. I'm still winking remembering that moment.

Myda, you were the sweetest! I texted you this and i'll say it over and over again. I was overwhelmed by your thoughtfulness...and so very helpful! I had my usual urge to shop for things i fancied over the trip and almost ended up with a lil something-something from the shops that these girls actually fancied for themselves! By the time we finished breezing through Schiphol duty free, i had more buy and fly bags to carry and you were just too eager to help. I didnt even ask. The worst happened when you boarded the aircraft only to realize you have my bags and you forgot your backpack!!!! yes, that's how helpful she was... she became selfless! we were just laughin about it but i almost lost sleep thinking what could have actually happened if we ended up losing your stuff. eeghad! but you're right... this picture of ours turned out to be way too happy-happy-joy-joy in colors! i call it - sam's bus! winks!
This is myda with me in the picture! I enjoyed our talks too.... and yes, our 'secret' will remain just that, until well, you know when....









Minette, you and little britain! i will forever blame you for the gas pain a.k.a. 'kabag' i acquired on board! i will always remember laughing my head off recalling that 'showdown.' I enjoyed the AH-hopping and yes, our little crazy stunts from time to time. thanks for the memories! But admit it.... it was nice sitting on that grass pigging out on our handfuls from albert's bountiful shop! You forgot to sell me out at red light though. That trip was a failure... if you know what i mean, heheheh! Thanks for opening my eyes to the wonders of those oober nice espadrilles. (spell?) love it, love it!

Maritel, finally! We did another trip together. It's been such a long time, and yes, you never fail to be my fave companion still. Now how i wish you were a bachelor! tee-hee! I always tell you my feelings about everything.. i don't feel like writing to you anymore! hahahah. Seriously, here's to another trip that i will always remember! What do you think? we surely ACED that class, huh? Shempre.... proud and ... well always hungry! Where to next?





To the tres marias... and my 2 new friends (myda and minette) - it was fun "knowing" u both. Wilco, Olaf my favorite as well as our new European pals.... it was a pleasure meeting each and everyone.

My 2 lessons from this trip:

1. There is AH everywhere in AMS (hahahaa!)
2. Business class makes you faaaaaaaaat!

Rijks museum with maritel and minette and red and black jacket, respectively. This is where the Rembrandt paintings are!



bye amsterdam! time to head to schiphol airport!