Oh yeah...

I almost forgot - Amsterdam!
In 25 words or less (counting words like "it's" as one word):
It's the most beautiful city I've ever seen and a place I could easily live in. When the weather's doing the right thing, that is.
Seriously though, walking by the canals in the Jordaan was amazing. I felt instantly at ease because of the seclusion, the water so close by and the wonderful surprises around each corner (like Space Invader mosaics), not to mention curb-side gardens, houseboats, the impressive (in the way giants can be) locals, the excellent range of cafes and bars (like a cross between Glebe, Surry Hills and Bundanoon) and the ability to move from heavily tourist-ed areas to virtual isolation in the space of 200m.
We had some great times: Catching up with Chris M and Bernard M, visiting Marken and Edam (another truly beautiful town), trying space cakes ('sublimely happy' was the phrase for that evening), seeing some Van Gocccccgggggggghhhhhhh masterpieces up close, and escaping cold winds by ducking into warm sandwich shops for 'broodjes' (e.g. Kaasboer - highly recommended).

And the holidays continue! Tomorrow we're catching the train to somewhere in Bordeaux for a week's worth of wine tasting, visiting B's friends and family, and maybe even getting to the beach in the SW of France. I know - a beach! Ha! I'm looking forward to it a lot.

ps: I miss Sydney, my friends and my family a lot at the moment. Being in Amsterdam, which felt a lot like home, has left me feeling homesick in a big way. I miss being on the water with KT in the morning - paddling the OC1 into the middle of the Harbour and watching the city wake up with the sunrise; I miss the Chicken especially - for everything we did together; I miss being with my folks at their place in Bundanoon - the freezing cold outside at night kept at bay by mum and dad's (mostly mum's - dad, you slacker) incredible cooking... Heck, I miss it all. But I push the homesickness down while I'm experiencing new things so I'm sure it'll pass quickly and I'll be left enjoying a wine tasting in no time. ;o)