Journey Juju

Curious Amsterdam: FAQ

When you read about Curious Amsterdam, you were curious, right? Of course, which means you’re in the right place. I’ve answered some common queries here, but if you have other questions, please contact me. CynthiaAToriginalimpulseDOTcom.

Will I enjoy this if I don’t have a traveling companion?

That’s one of the great things about these excursions – the creative tribe bonds very quickly. The group dynamic is one of sharing, fun and adventure.

The people who come on these excursions are very likely your new friends, also traveling the creative path.

Isn’t Amsterdam all about sex and drugs? Is that what you mean when you talk about a ‘sensual experience’?

That’s for sure a tour I could see in Amsterdam, but that’s not what Curious Excursions are about. We’re about feeling the breeze on our face as we ride bikes along the canals, about the absolute impression we felt when we saw Van Gogh’s work in person, about relishing the palpable buzz of life in the city’s open air markets and cafes.

Of course, sex and drugs are part of the allure of Amsterdam for some. Our itinerary allows plenty of free time for you to explore Amsterdam according to your whims.

Curious Amsterdam: Tap Your Creative Juju

Curious Excursions from Original Impulse

Amsterdam June 13th - 19th, 2010

You see inspiration for art in the world all around you, but you haven’t picked up a paintbrush or even a piece of sketching charcoal in months. You know that you want to be a writer – but you have pages of notebooks left unfilled. You’re starting to question your creative capabilities. Maybe you don’t really have the magic to create art inside you.

Don’t despair. If you’ve lost your creative juju, we know the perfect way to gather more.

Curious Excursions is a creativity workshop hosted in beautiful, mad, eclectic, unflappable Amsterdam, a city full of feasts for your senses. You’ll join an adventurous tribe of artists just like yourself – people who badly want to give in to the impulse to create, but lack the inspiration, the fire, the hidden magic.

#best09 - Best Stationery

Florence is known for its beautiful paper. Marbelized, creamy paper adorns notebooks, makes notecards and incites one to abandon oneself to the art of the epistle.

But the paper products in most of the shops I saw in Florence were expensive.  I don't tend toward parsimony when it comes to my precious paper products (Moleskines aren't cheap but I don't care!). But there is a limit.

Wandering on a Sunday morning in Florence, I found an adorable shop. Perched on the angle of an intersection near the Arno, Arti & Mestieri is a magical stationery shop.

Arti & Mestieri means arts and crafts in Italian.

I love all kinds of cards, and this shop specialized in them. I fell in love with the mini tarot deck and regret not buying it. I did buy a handful of cards, including the one below. 

To reach papier arti & mesteieri:

Indirizzo: Piazza Di S. Maria Sopr'arno, 1
CAP: 50125
Comune: Firenze (FI)
Telefono: 055 2343670 

I'll just have to go back to get those tarot cards!

#best09 - Best Shopping

When I travel alone I don’t shop much; it already costs enough to travel and with the weak dollar I try to keep my shopping urges in check.

Still, window displays in Europe are killingly tempting and it’s hard to resist the lure of a stunning garment artfully displayed. The clever and classy windows of Florence and Paris are part of the urban art and demand to be appreciated. It’s free to look and slowing down for leche-vitrine (window licking, in French) is part of slowing down to relish the city’s artfulness.

Furry shoes in Florence; Chocolaty Shoes in Amsterdam

But traveling with Mr. B was different. A self-avowed metrosexual, Mr. B dresses well and loves fine clothes. With him I breached the inner sanctum of Italy’s designer shops. Sniffing colognes in Ferragamo, trying on sports jackets in Armani, pants in Geox, Mr. B’s shopping gave me license to enter these previously avoided fancy pants shops.

Boots and shoes in particular became the focus of our shopping. Florence, famous for leather goods, flaunted an abundance of footwear. I scanned shop after shop for boots because I’d decided that I could stand another pair of boots.

I didn't find boots in Florence, but I did get a pair of leather gloves that I absolutely love.

I had better shopping juju in Amsterdam. The style there suits me more than that of Italy. The clothes are more casual and comfortable looking. I had the addresses of some second-hand shops in Amsterdam but they were disappointing.

Second hand deals require that the clothes were halfway decent in their first life. I was looking for a sweater, and in most of the shops I saw (Laura Dolls….) the acrylic sweaters looked like giant Dutch women in the Dutch countryside had worn them in the eighties. Ick.

But I discovered two great shops: one with new clothing and De Kleedkamer, a high-end consignment shop. I found tons of great stuff here including the sweater I wanted.  I also scored my boots here, gray Italian leather and plus a sassy skirt to wear with them. 


In the first shop, Liens and Linnen, I tried on a bunch of cute dresses that weren’t quite right. Then I found this sweater and fell in love immediately “Cut the tag off,” I told the shopkeeper. I’m wearing it out of here.

Somehow I made it out of Europe with a new outfit, scarves to sweaters to jeans to boots to gloves. I usually buy paper goods: journals, cards, and bookmarks, so the clothes shopping was a fun departure for me.

#best09 - This Year Was...

frickin' crazy.

I'm supposed to come up with a word or phrase that best encapsulates this year. Much as I try to come up with something deep and meaningful, the phrase that insists on defining this year:

frickin' crazy.

I haven't had the opportunity to post this image, but this seems like a good time. This piece of 'art' was in my first, bad apartment in Amsterdam. It was life-sized, so I couldn't even take it down or turn it away.

IMHO, not only is the rendering bad, the subject matter is a bit scary. Is she snarling or what? I wondered what kind of place I was staying in. I was sick and this made me feel even sicker. Luckily Brandy came to my rescue and had me house sit for her.

#best09 - Best Packaging

I love Retro 1951 pen packaging. Here's a photo of the tube and box the pen comes in.

Read more about these amazing pens and my pen juju.

#best09 - Best Change to Living Situation

 

This year, I lived in Roquebrun, France, then became a creative nomad for five weeks. Then I moved to Denver after being in Europe for a year. So there’s been a lot of change on the home front.

Stopping being a nomad was the best change I made. I can’t tolerate a nomadic lifestyle for too long. As a nomad I spent a lot of time making travel arrangements. Much as I love movement and change, I came to loathe the act of packing and leaving.

And while I love the work of planning travel, I also have other things I want to create. I don’t want to spend a ton of extra energy finding the best way to get from Amsterdam to Carcasonne, and Carcasonne to Italy.

I love home: the rhythms of it, the way I can control my food, being near my friends, easier access to exercise and yoga. Home helps me create my art, writing and work.

I love how travel opens me creatively, for the way it works me and makes me grow. I now have a balance of home and travel. My favorite thing is to make a home in a new place, even for a week. For that I need a kitchen and room to work.

#best09 - Best Album

Every trip should have a soundtrack, and mine for my trip with Mr. B was The Hazards of Love by The Decemberists.

 

The album and trip can be summed up in the same way: beautiful, violent, horrifying, hauntingly inescapable, throwback to the ‘70s, and deeply affecting.

#best09 - Biggest Challenge

which way to go?

To tell the truth, the whole year has been a big challenge. I have been trying to figure out where to go and what to do with the next phase of my life. I believe I've been in a sort of mid-life crisis, but my friends in their 50s assure me that worse mid-life hell is on the way.

Leaving my home and belongings behind to head to Europe for god knows how long, taking up with younger men, throwing all level-headed planning to the side - that's not a midlife crisis? They say, "Oh no, we expect all that from you any time."

So it's been a big hoary challenge all year long. Rather than wax on about the whole year, I'll share one particular day that kicked my ass to the curb.

Blog Update & What's Where

Shooting in Amsterdam

I’ve enjoyed plenty of travel this year (two five-week trips in Europe, phew!). I’m happy to store my suitcase and buckle down on my winter projects. I have a backlog (would that be a back-blog?) of posts about my recent trip that I’ll be posting soon.

Stay tuned for reports on shopping in Europe, the variety of European markets, best places to eat in Venice and the best overall food award…it’s probably not what you think!

And watch for news of my 2010 European creativity excursions. I'm developing the curriculum now!

My posts about how to make writing and creating easier are on the Original Impulse blog. Travel-related posts will be on the Journey Juju blog.

Be sure to subscribe to both blogs for tips and inspiration on how to be most creative at work, home, in the studio and on the road.