Delft July 2010

C: Oh Delft! Home of Vermeer and... well, Delftware. Your canals are so lovely, not full of bodies like Amsterdam's! We are here to work on a project with www.id11.nl at an old school building from the turn of last century that is currently being converted into artist's studios etc. http://www.kadmium.nl/.




C: Having said that, parallel parking must be terrifying, there is nothing stopping you from reversing into a canal.




C: We were shown (by Art, one of the wonderful people from Kadmium-the school we're projecting in) this amazing op shop yesterday. It's called Flinstones, and if I had a house here (or we weren't already way over EU luggage allowance) I would have walked away with a Bobby's helmet and a huge ceramic collie.




Poodle? Check. Ice-skates? Check. Operation Icy-Poodle is go!




C: Sometimes, when you're traveling, you see some pretty random things. The trick is to just accept it. I've accepted that the Netherlands issues drivers licenses to giant worms. Like, whatever.




C: Also, cars are pretty small here. This is basically considered a van.




C: We are staying in an apartment with another couple near the Technical University, which is huge (despite only teaching architecture, engineering, science etc.). It's the size of a Melbournian suburb, absolutely massive. Also, they have a Millennium Faclon!






C: Those crazy Dutch! It's all very civilised, what with the nerds, no keg parties or anything. Although they do have a Goose gang. Someone (I'm looking at you, Mum) told me a terrifying story about being attacked by a marauding goose as a child (when I was a child) and I've had a vicarious fear of them since. D's kind enough to humor me and cross to the other side of the lake when they're looking particularly nasty.




C: Shops are fantastic here! Once you accept that, as a foreigner sans Dutch, you're never going to find anything useful (supermarket, chemist, gin distillery), you just relax into the wonderful ateliers. This is an Art Deco lighting shop we strolled past today. Gimmie Gimmie!






C: Hmm... what else? The food is amazing, our fridge looks like a cheese shop. Gorgeous giant foxgloves grow like weeds here, outside everyone's houses.




C: And here's our lovely flatmates (who are also part of the project), Adam and Keiko.




C: And last of all, here's me, captured by that rascally gentleman photographer. I'm trying to dye my hair, but was too lazy to run the instructions through Google Translate (tm). Wish me luck!