The last day of the year starts exciting as I finally get a message from someone of Delta Airlines who can actually help me. A very friendly lady called Heather offers me to change the date of my return flight for only a small fee. I’m really happy that I get to stay here a few weeks more. I go for a swim in the pool and then head to breakfast. The waiters are really friendly like the other day. One of them tells me that the girls who work in the hotel have been talking about me, about the “good looking tall guy”. Nice ego boost at the start of the day 😀
I’m thankful and happy. Today I’ll go to a coffee place to reflect on the year and to set goals for 2022. This journey is definitely one of the highlights. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to travel at the end of the year. One of my goals will be to have more adventures again in the new year. It used to be my goal to spend at least 10% of the year abroad. I didn’t fully reach that in 2021, but I think I’m well on my way for the new year. I spend the morning at Starbucks, writing and drinking coffee. I make sure to be back at the hotel before 3pm, so I can wish my family happy new year at midnight their time. It’s nice to virtually be with my family and I’m also happy to see that people back home still light a lot of fireworks. The Dutch government tried to stop that tradition, but I’m glad they can’t stop the free Dutch people from celebrating a new year with beautiful fireworks. After our call I go to a coffee place again to continue my goal setting for the new year. I really love the excitement and energy of a new year. It feels like everything is possible and it stimulates to dream big. My mom told me on the phone “I hope all your dreams will come true in 2022” on which my dad added with a laugh that so many dreams don’t fit in one year. Challenge accepted 😉
Back at the hotel I see some people in the elevator with a huge pizza box. They tell me that you can very easily let pizza be delivered at the hotel and that there is a menu available at the reception. That sounds like a great idea for New Year’s Eve. I order a pizza, walk to a 7-eleven store close by the hotel for some beers and turn on Netflix. After waiting for an hour it sadly turns out that the pizza delivery doesn’t show up due some mistake, so I decide to run around the block and pick up a pizza myself. That’ll save me some time and I’ll build up an appetite as well. It’s good that I’m staying in Little Italy, because there are a lot of pizza places here. I choose a place called Filippi’s Pizza Place that has apparently been there since 1950, guessing they must be doing something right if they’ve been here so long. It’s very busy, but the waiting time for a pizza is only 25 minutes, not too bad. It looks like most people that work here are actually Italian. It’s fun to watch them make the pizza’s and the people are friendly. After not too long waiting I walk back to the hotel and enjoy the last hours of 2021 with a movie, a nice pizza and a beer. Relaxing end of the year, see you again in the new year!
