Legends of the Sun Pig

Abi and I went plane-spotting-spotting today. Schiphol has numerous spotting sites dotted around its six (!) runways. I figure they’ll give me some good sites for taking pics with the new camera, but I wanted to take a look at them first and get a feel for what kind of conditions they’d work best in. The big official spotters site is to the west of the Polderbaan, for example, so sunrise will be behind planes taking off.

We had a look at a few sites. The main ones are well placed and have amenities. The Polderbaan was busy, and there was an ice cream van and a food truck catering to at least a hundred sightseers and photographers; the site at the Buitenveldertbaan is at a McDonalds. We watched a few planes take off from the Polderbaan, and had a milkshake and a coffee at Buitenveldert.

Daily self-care checklist:

• Sleep: good
• Walk: weeeellll, I got out of the house, and we wandered a few hundred meters in the outskirts of Hoofddorp so I’ll go with a maybe.
• Photography: yep
• Bass: yes
• Snacks: Madame Cocos dark chocolate coconut ball, and a pile of kruidnoten that Alex’s gaming buddies left behind.

Daily self-care checklist:

• Good sleep: yes
• Walk: yes, 1.5h minimal Twiske loop with frequent stops for photos
• Photography: see above
• Bass: no
• Snacks: 1/2 koffiebroodje and one Madame Cocos coconut ball

I took better photos today, but they were for private use. I met up with Phil and Hilary Roberts in the morning. We went out for a delicious brunch at Little Collins, and spent most of the afternoon wandering around Amsterdam in the warmth of a brilliant autumn day.

Daily self-care checklist:

• Walk: lots
• Photography: lots
• Bass: no
• Snacks: packet of peanut M&Ms on the metro back with Fiona, and a dark chocolate coconut ball from Madame Cocos (Vendor at the Albert Cuyp markt. I’ve had them before, from a vendor at the embassy festival in Den Haag last year. They’re amazing.)