More photos here. Too much choice, really. I finally decided to go with the Argentinian Steakhouse De Maria.. you will not find a better steak than at an Argentinian Steakhouse, and for me it's one of the highlights of coming to Amsterdam. They were pretty empty, so early, and I took a table inside.
..where I had a cow staring at me!
Fair enough, I suppose. So, I had a sirloin.. cheapest on the menu after rump. Smallest cut - really, I find them too filling to have anything bigger. I ordered pepper sauce too, and a carafe of house white. Ordering wasn't difficult - she literally had nothing to do but wait for me, and was stood just behind my shoulder!
The wine was indifferent. The steak, however, was spectacular! As expected really, and the best I've had since the last time I was in Amsterdam. The sauce was pretty redundant - although it proved useful for the indifferent chips I'd ordered as a side. Another tartufo for dessert - and while it didn't reach the dizzying heights of Saturday, it is always a delicious choice.
Out into brilliant sunshine, and my next mission was to source €7.50 worth of change, so I could buy a 24-hour ticket. Ahah, a Starbucks.. so I bought a bar of chocolate there with a €20 note. Unfortunately, although she apologised for all the change, it was of the nature of small change - not replacing any notes. So I had to pop into the supermarket as well, where I bought more chocolate, small enough to pass ArenA security, and finally got enough change.
At the Metro station, another queue to buy the ticket.. and would you believe, the machine was taking notes! Must only be the machines for train tickets that don't - which makes no sense. The GVB (city transport) machines seem much more reasonable.
Anyway, my journey yesterday was much easier. Less of a wait, got on the first train, even got a seat! My stadium entrance was the same as on Saturday, so I knew where l was going. Ticket worked again, yay! And despite the unisex pat-down, the cute guy I got seemed shy about doing it, so I got in without it. Wheezed my way up the stairs again - I was sitting close to where I'd been on Saturday, but more to the back.
I didn't care - direct view, and as I say, this is a small venue. This ticket's face value was less than Saturday's, and I did wonder about the finer points of pricing. And, despite the sunny weather, the roof was closed again.. oh, joy!
The crowd's Mexican wave only (!) went around six times on this occasion. And I wondered where everyone was - my section stayed pretty empty for ages. In due course, they arrived, and we started.. Great thing was though, the outside of my row stayed almost empty, so I had plenty of room to jiggle..
Now, a U2 show is always a great show - but it is really Bono that carries it, and sometimes he makes an extra effort. Straight from the start last night, something was different.. later in the show, he thanked the Netherlands, saying they've always been so generous to the band. "Wouldn't be the same without you!" as he said. He also expressed surprise at this level of enthusiasm on a Sunday night!
SET LIST
Sunday Bloody Sunday
New Year's Day
A Sort Of Homecoming
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
New Year's Day
A Sort Of Homecoming
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Stand Still
Red Hill Mining Town
In God's Country
Trip Through Your Wires
One Tree Hill
Exit
Mothers of the Disappeared
ENCORE
I was a bit far back to see until they broadcast it on the screen, but you could see it in him, how he was feeding off the incredible energy in the crowd. The first change came when, instead of Bad in the first section, they played A Sort of Homecoming - him remarking that that was what it was like for them, coming to Amsterdam. Oh my God, they hardly ever play it.. I always dissolve when I hear it. This was a good start!
He pulled a guy with a Polish flag onto the stage during New Year's Day - a sign of Solidarity. Again, the crowd was in fine voice, and he left the singing to them both for Pride and for I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. And I absorbed every moment of the awesome display during the Joshua Tree section, conscious that this would be my last time to see it live.
Again, the flag during Miss Sarajevo started left of stage, and only got halfway round - but from where I was sitting last night, I could see better that maybe at that point, the gap between sections was too great to pass it across. Sadly, no balloons during Beautiful Day this time, and no Mysterious Ways. The screen was turned off again during One.
And we should have been finished. But he had one more surprise.. he sent us screaming into the night with an amazing performance of I Will Follow, their first single and a pure rush of adrenaline. Nobody left singing 40, as one tuneless guy did last night - but hands down, this was THE concert of the tour. And despite having to pay over twice face value on Viagogo for Saturday, and over three times for last night, it was so worth it. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. Write it on my grave, that I was a U2 fan.
Coming back, no delay to get into the station, or on the train, and I got a seat again! Despite the concert finishing 10 mins later than Saturday, I got back 15 mins earlier. And it would have been straight to bed, except for my mother's online grocery order, that had to be put in..
So, this morning, I overslept. And what with a delayed tram into town, a queue for the ticket machine to buy a ticket to the airport, and a delay till I found a train going to the airport.. well, I missed checkin by 10 mins. That'll teach me to book a morning flight, the day after a concert! So I went online, where Skyscanner gave me the cheapest fare that would get me back in time for my talk this evening. And then I needed to charge my phone.. a dreadful lack of charging points in the airport, the first I found were in Starbucks. Where I also had breakfast, and blogged. Unfortunately, poor internet reception there, so it was a bit of a palaver.. but look, done!! And in time to get my boarding pass for the next one. :-/
And I'll be glad to get home and change out of these concert clothes, which are getting a bit.. ripe. I saw an interesting Funzing talk advertised for tonight - "Are We Living in the Matrix?" Well, I'm well overdue a free talk, with all of them that I've booked (every fourth free), so I contacted them to get a code to get this for free. Still waiting..! Despairing of them, I finally booked it on one of their limited 50% deals. It had been advertised with London Speaks Sessions and LDN Talks @Night - funnily enough, they both cancelled, then re-advertised. It still seems to be running, although at a different location. No loyalty points for this one, I guess! I should still be back in time to make it.
Tomorrow, another Funzing talk - I finally get to see Jennifer Rees again, when she's giving a talk on The Psychology of Criminals. With dim sum, great! (Had to stick with a 10% discount for this one - Fun_Day10 or Fun_Week10 are the ones you want for that.) And it's walking distance from me for once, in Covent Garden. She's a fantastic and engaging speaker. Excellent.. and Helen has sensibly decided to come too. On which occasion she'll deliver all the stuff I couldn't fit in my bag, coming back from Twickenham!
I was just looking up what to do on Wednesday - and wouldn't you know it, at that moment the Pop-Up Opera sent me a mail with upcoming events. Une Éducation Manquée is a short, French comic opera, whose run finishes that day. All right then!
On Thursday, my first Meetup with Up in the Cheap Seats, one of several new groups I've joined to fill the great void left by the sad departure of the Man with the Hat. We're off to see The Tempest, with Simon Russell Beale, at the Barbican - who, unusually, posted my ticket to me. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again.
And next Monday, back with Let's Do This for a vintage swing jazz evening at Wilton's.
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