Coming in September

September is prime visiting Europe time, it seems. No less than 3 people I know will all be heading to Holland next month, a couple within days of each other, so I'll need to juggle meeting up with them after so many dry spells of having no visitors.

First, my friend, B, will be arriving early in the month to hang out here for a few weeks. He passed through Amsterdam a few years ago, but being here longer means he'll get to see more than the usual tourist haunts. He can lazily pass his days in quaint Dutch cafes and pretend he's a local. We'll also be heading off to Istanbul while he's here which will be slightly more exotic (even for me). I just hope the bloody weather cooperates more than it has this month.

B will hardly be settled in by the time the next person shows up, a guy I know from the Decemberists forum who is from Australia. It'll be nice to meet someone from the group who is from so far away.

And just after the Aussie leaves, a friend from grade school will be stopping in Holland for a week. I told her about the pilgrim connection Leiden has, so she is interested to visit related sites here, as well as see other places in the country since she's not been here before.

So, busy times ahead. To keep me from being too depressed in October, I've already booked a long weekend to visit a college friend of mine who's recently moved to Germany. I haven't seen her in quite some time, so I'm really looking forward to it. And I'll get to be the guest for once.