Happy Kingsday!

If you're Dutch you'll probably know most of it already, but if you're not from this country, let me explain it to you. Yesterday, April 30, our queen Beatrix resigned. She made place for her first-born son Willem-Alexander, who is now King of the Netherlands. This was a huge thing in the Netherlands, so the festivities were grand, especially in Amsterdam. I think half of the Dutch people were at the Dam yesterday, to see the King, his wife Maxima (dressed in a fabulous blue dress by Jan Taminiau) and their three daughters: Amalia, Alexia and Ariane. They also made a trip in a boat over the 'IJ' (a lake in Amsterdam). I have to admit I didn't see a thing of the entire event. Not only because I'm against the monarchy (I think it's nonsense that we pay taxes for their luxurous lifestyle and that's not the only reason), but also because I had other things to do!

My roommate Charlotte and I were quite tough for ourselves. We woke up at 6 o'clock, just to find a spot near Museumplein where we could sell our old clothes. We'd decided to do this, because we were eager to earn money and because we didn't want to spend a lot of money on a festival ticket. We were quite lucky to find a good spot, opposite a coffee and cake stand.

We actually made quite some money. Though I had far less stuff with me than Charlotte, I made the most money ;) 45 euros to be exact. I sold a few Sex & the City books and 3 records, but mostly old clothes and shoes I hadn't worn the last 2 years. The atmosphere was very lovely. The best part of the day was when a little girl came to our stand and was in love with my furry body warmer. What was a short garment for me, was a loose-fit garment for her. It was extremely cute, though I'm not even into children!

After a while we had enough of it. Our bodies ached, it was very cold and we didn't sell a lot anymore. So we went back home and brought the left-overs back. Then my celebration of the last Queen's day continued with a small party at the Brouwersgracht with friends of another roommate. We had a lovely time and stayed there until the Oranjebal started at Chicago Social Club, one of my favourite bars in Amsterdam. We had a fabulous time there as well and although our celebration of the King wasn't completely genuine, we made sure we had a wonderful day. That's most important, right? ;)