Couchsurfing and Rotterdam

One of the best memories of Rotterdam was connecting with a new friend.

This is Rossi, aka Anne Marie. She answered my query on Couchsurfing and offered to go for a meal or an adventure. We arranged to have dinner on Wednesday night.

We had a great time! She said she went along with my request to meet up because she liked my picture. I seemed like a nice person. BTW, my picture is one I took this Christmas with my sister and nephew at Suessical the Musical. CS, esp. for a newbie like me, can be a bit of a turkey shoot. I was as likely as to end up with a serial murderer as I was a lovely human being.

Rossi has her own business but what we really had a great time talking about was art and art collecting (she and her partner collect). So she told me about the great time they have visiting galleries, meeting artists, following careers and even swapping art when they find it no longer fits their life. They buy art they like, not really as an investment, although that part is nice, but really because it finds a place in their heart and soul and they want to see it every day. We had a great chat and she told me about Rotterdam and where I could eat and what I should try to see. And we decided to get together before I left. She said there was an art swap event and I could attend with them.

Rossi is exactly why something like Couchsurfing works so well. She is a fabulous person who is willing to meet new people and demystify her hometown for travellers. She has hosted and she has been hosted (on the west coast of Canada!). Now she is taking it a bit easy (relatively speaking) and she acts an ambassador in Rotterdam. She attends CS events, welcomes new local members and is available for social connections with visitors.

We did meet up on Saturday, before I left Rotterdam, and had another great dinner and fabulous conversation.

Rossi made my time in Rotterdam so much fun and I hope we can meet again - in Europe or maybe even in Vancouver!