Week 42 - Maastricht Shopping day

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24/11/2012

Off we were today to Maastricht, to do some essential family Christmas shopping before the mad rush of Florence's exams and the cram of shoppers deranged our efforts. It took a small hour in the car to get there, and already the streets were laden with beautiful wreaths of local flowers and lights, just waiting for Christmas to come around. Having to park the car a 30-min walk away, Marc dropped Flo, Nathalie and I off at the start of the shopping centre. What was immediately apparent was the enormous competition shops had with one-another here... The window displays, which I guess is what catches your eye, and is the first impression you get of the shop as a whole, were just incredibly well done. Snow covered scenes with mannequins holding skis, sometimes with a tree or two in the scene was the sort of level we were talking about here.

So we started going through stores, way too many for me to recall many, if any, names. I had my eyes peeled for blood-orange skinnies, Florence was on the prowl for a new bag, Nathalie for a jersey and Christmas presents, and Marc was surveying the outdoors.

Coming to 'Men at work 😉' (The smiley was legitimately in the name...) I spotted the tightest shirt I'd seen the whole morning. Because many of the clothes are handmade in other countries, the prices weren't exactly amazing. But the one I instantly liked was the last in its size (large - perfect), last in its style, and was the only shirt I found under 50 euros. All the rest (while on sale) were around 80. So it was a good thing I liked this one I guess. Tried it on, and it fitted pretty much perfectly. Also saw that it was made in Denmark which is original I guess. Happy with my purchase, we had a quick lunch break at a local cafe, which sported handmade sour-dough bread rolls and gourmet salads. I had one of the best sandwiches I've eaten this year I think.

With a tonne more energy than before, we hit up Abercrombie and Finch, American culture and some other store I no longer remember the name of, which was where Florence did the majority of her shopping. The afternoon flew by as we raced around shops and bought all sorts. But by the time 6 o'clock swung around, my cold was getting to me and we'd spent all we had. So off back to Jalhay we went.

From what used to bore the hell out of me turned into quite a pleasurable experience - shopping. BUT there are certain conditions that I've found need to be met in order for myself (and possibly the majority of other guys out there) in order to not loathe the whole process.

Number 1 : You gotta interest both parties. If you're taking your man to solely chick stores, body shops and Perfume places, don't be surprised when your future invites to shopping days in town are declined. We get bored easily.

Number 2 : Don't go without eating. Simple this one, the one thing that affects these days the most is wandering around with a growling stomach. You stop caring about what you came to do, getting food becomes a new objective, and you find yourself thinking that anything that would somehow quicken the process leading up to eating should just be bought without properly checking out the clothing. Just keep having food stops, and you'll find you're so much more productive than trying to push through without.

Number 3 : Make it fun. It shouldn't be a drag to go through all the options you have for new gear. You can spot the people who take it too seriously, and the people they're with just look like they're falling asleep on their feet.

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