{"id":5924,"date":"2011-01-16T10:51:02","date_gmt":"2011-01-16T08:51:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/?p=5924"},"modified":"2011-01-16T12:24:00","modified_gmt":"2011-01-16T10:24:00","slug":"girls-day-out-in-bergen-op-zoom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/archives\/5924","title":{"rendered":"Girl&#8217;s Day Out in Bergen op Zoom"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Bergen op Zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/5359621210\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/5283\/5359621210_2eea5bde13_b.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bergen op Zoom\" width=\"595\" height=\"472\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday me and two of my oldest and dearest friends here in the Netherlands, Paule (left) and Penny (right), met up in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Bergen_op_Zoom\" target=\"_blank\">Bergen op Zoom<\/a> for a girl\u2019s day out.\u00a0 A very much needed girl\u2019s day out too, for all of us.<\/p>\n<p>We walked a lot, chatted a lot, and squealed a lot in a jewelry shop when we realized a load of the stuff was on clearance. No really, I think the jewelry shop owner thought we were a little\u2026 speshul, like, short bus speshul.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/jewelry.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;\" title=\"jewelry\" src=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/jewelry_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"jewelry\" width=\"595\" height=\"397\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Regardless, it was great for my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/5918\" target=\"_blank\">girlie thing<\/a> and we all made quite a haul.\u00a0 I got all of this for only \u20ac27!\u00a0 Check it out, I bought something pink!\u00a0 It\u2019s weird because until about six months ago I wouldn\u2019t be caught dead with anything pink.\u00a0 Not because of my whole fat and feminine issue (see the girlie thing link), but I just <em>hated<\/em> pink.\u00a0 Now, I don\u2019t.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know why it just mysteriously changed. Penny said it\u2019s because we\u2019re becoming old women and all old women love pink.\u00a0 She may be on to something\u2026<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/jewelry2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: inline;\" title=\"jewelry2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/jewelry2_thumb.jpg\" alt=\"jewelry2\" width=\"595\" height=\"397\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This bracelet was my favorite buy of the day.\u00a0 Something I\u2019d normally look at, love but never bother to even try on because I would know it wouldn&#8217;t go around my big fat wrists. \u00a0When I tried to dismiss it because it was too small Paule basically told me not to be so stupid and to try it, and ya know, \u00a0it did fit! \u00a0Not just that but it fit so much that I need to hook it on the smallest ring possible in order for it not to be too lose. \u00a0The girls pretty much threatened to hurt me if I didn\u2019t get it, so I did! I think it\u2019s <em>so<\/em> cool, I can&#8217;t wait to wear it somewhere.<\/p>\n<p>I swear to god, one of the weirdest parts of losing weight is not having any awareness of your own dimensions anymore. It&#8217;s such a mindfuck.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Bergen op Zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/5359007559\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/5010\/5359007559_5086a1b920_b.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bergen op Zoom\" width=\"595\" height=\"399\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Bergen op Zoom is a lovely little city with a lot of charm. The other girls had been there before numerous times, but it was a first for me, so of course I brought along my trusty little <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/722\" target=\"_blank\">point and shoot<\/a>. \u00a0I would have brought my good camera but the day was more about spending time with friends. Of course I did squeeze in a little photography. \u00a0It just wouldn&#8217;t have been right not to.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Project 365 (Day 15) Bergen op Zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/5358133590\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/5087\/5358133590_95077a3f2b_b.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Project 365 (Day 15) Bergen op Zoom\" width=\"595\" height=\"396\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>This was what I used for my <a href=\"http:\/\/www.breigh.com\/wordpress\/archives\/tag\/project-365\" target=\"_blank\">Project 365<\/a> photo for yesterday.\u00a0 I have come to the conclusion that I am not going to be able to blog my 365 photo every day so I am going to figure out a way to have an automatically updating plugin for it on my sidebar.\u00a0 That way I don&#8217;t have to do any work, cuz that\u2019s just how I roll. \u00a0I love technology.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Bergen op Zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/5359621692\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/5085\/5359621692_1dd89e5b71_b.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bergen op Zoom\" width=\"595\" height=\"914\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>One thing I love about the cities of the Netherlands, and Europe in general really, is how old everything is.\u00a0 Each place has its own charm, and even though it can be quite similar from one place to the next it\u2019s different as well. It\u2019s hard to explain.\u00a0 I would love to see Bergen op Zoom in the summer when the square is full of umbrellas and tables with people having a drink and enjoying the nice weather.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Bergen op Zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/5359620768\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/5206\/5359620768_4c10c1f9d1_b.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bergen op Zoom\" width=\"595\" height=\"889\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>They city was a bit of a maze for me, so I was glad to have friends with me who knew where they were going.\u00a0 It seemed like there was one of these archways at every turn and I couldn\u2019t remember where any of them lead.\u00a0 That\u2019s sort of strange for me. My husband calls me a homing pigeon because I can usually find my way around anywhere once I\u2019ve been there.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s how it is everywhere here though, there are no such things as grids like in <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Toronto\" target=\"_blank\">Toronto<\/a>, for example, where everything is north, south, east and west.\u00a0 The cities started small and grew out in a random fashion so the streets are a bit like a tangle of snakes.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"Bergen op Zoom\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/36166632@N00\/5359008125\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/static.flickr.com\/5284\/5359008125_894ec431d5_b.jpg\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Bergen op Zoom\" width=\"595\" height=\"399\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After exploring the city center for the afternoon, we decided to go to a nice Greek restaurant for dinner, where we had a lovely meal and chatted our asses off.\u00a0 I had this thing called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.google.com\/images?q=bifteki&amp;um=1&amp;ie=UTF-8&amp;source=univ&amp;ei=eMEyTdXJE4nrObqt2bYC&amp;sa=X&amp;oi=image_result_group&amp;ct=title&amp;resnum=2&amp;ved=0CDIQsAQwAQ&amp;biw=1455&amp;bih=937\" target=\"_blank\">Bifteki<\/a> which is basically a spiced hamburger stuffed with Feta. I am pretty sure I could eat anything with feta and enjoy it.\u00a0 I snapped this photo as we were leaving to head back to the train station.\u00a0 Without a tripod it was difficult to get a really good photo but I wanted to capture the place at night at least once.<\/p>\n<p>OK OK!! ! I confess, I also had <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cr%C3%A8me_br%C3%BBl%C3%A9e\" target=\"_blank\">Creme Brulee<\/a> for desert. It was a girl&#8217;s day out though, it was one of those times where you just have to let go a little.<\/p>\n<p>FINE! I also had a hot chocolate at lunchtime. Now quit badgering me! \u00a0I promise to be good from now on.<\/p>\n<p>Gawd&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, there is something so therapeutic about having a day with just the girls, especially when they are such good friends. I\u2019ve known Paule and Penny for years and they are among a very small handful of people that I feel I can really be myself around and it\u2019s <em>so<\/em> relaxing and enjoyable.<\/p>\n<p>We said we are going to make a habit of this and I hope we stick to it because I can\u2019t remember the last time I felt so happy and completely chilled out. \u00a0Honestly, I fucking love these girls.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cA true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked\u201d \u2013 Bernard Meltzer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>So true, Bernie\u2026 so true.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Yesterday me and two of my oldest and dearest friends here in the Netherlands met up in Bergen op Zoom for a girl\u2019s day out.  A very much needed girl\u2019s day out too, for all of us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[35,353,33,551,173,881,545],"class_list":["post-5924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-life-in-nl","tag-friends","tag-happiness","tag-netherlands","tag-paule","tag-penny","tag-photography-artsy-fartsy","tag-project-365"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5924"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5924\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5934,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5924\/revisions\/5934"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.canadutch.nl\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}