I’ve just had one of the most memorable weekends I can recall in a long time...

And the reason for that was because of two fantastic steemians, @exyle and his lovely girlfriend @bkdbkd. My husband and I gave them a personalized tour of “our lives”, from the places we regularly eat at to some cool bars near where we live. But we were astonished as to how friendly and entertaining they were. Up until a few days ago, we had only met them for a weekend at last year’s Steemfest. Yet the way we all bonded together felt like we had already known each other for years. That, I consider something very special indeed. Therefore, I thought I’d post my experience of an unexpected “steemian” friendship.

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(A sweet photo of @exyle and his wonderful girlfriend @bkdbkd sitting in our local bar. How crazy is that?)

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We first saw @exyle on the first day of the Steemfest. As far as I can recall, we were actually the first ones to arrive at the venue. @exyle was standing at the front entrance, very much looking the part and greeted us on our way in. We assumed he was part of the team organising the event and enquired where to go next. A minute later, he told us he had actually just got there and was waiting for the rest of us “steemians” to arrive. Could it have been fate?

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As the afternoon unfolded, we chatted more and more with @exyle and found that we all had a lot in common with each other. Our similar interests in crypto, the enthusiasm of attending such a significant event and just generally looking at life in the same way. It was only natural that so many people flying in from all over the world would eventually form into groups, so this is exactly what happened with the three of us. The buzz off of all the excitement at the fest was exhilarating which only heightened everyone’s enjoyment. I still reminisce about how surreal and unique that experience was. So, before we parted company, we exchanged numbers and contact details for a possible meet up again in one of our own neighbourhoods.

Well, it just so happened that our proposed plan came to fruition as just a few short months ago, we decided upon a designated date. @exyle and @bkdbkd would come visit us from Thursday to Sunday. I would also like to mention that in-between the Steemfest and our London meetup, my husband and @exyle would spend sometimes hours on the phone, chatting away and having a great time. As if they had been buddies for many years down the line.

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From the Virtual to the Physical

As I mentioned at the start of my post, they flew in Rotterdam on Thursday last week and pretty much ever since, it had been a roller coaster ride of non-stop fun. We had the pleasure of their exquisite company from morning to the wee early hours at night. Eating, talking, drinking and basically have one of the best times I can remember in a long time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank them again for taking the plunge and help make it happen in the first place. After all, everything was organised with a backstory of only a mere two days of getting to know one another. And yet, that was all it took. I guess that puts to bed the theory of great friendships being built upon a granite foundation of history and time. This was anything but.

Below, I'd like to share some of the great times we all enjoyed together.

(The awesome Flat Iron Steak house. Delicious food served up with excellent company to boot.)

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(Breaking out some bubbly. An essential ingredient to throw into the mix.)

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(Fun times at our local Thai restaurant “Tom Kanom”. A real hit in our area.)

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(The fantastic "Parlour" gastropub. Beautiful food that went down a treat with our distinguished guests.)

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(It's hard to believe @exyle is 2 metres tall whilst standing next to the world's tallest man outside Ripley's Believe It or Not)

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(I taught @exyle to introduce himself in Chinese. Seems fitting as we all found ourselves in the heart of Chinatown. I think he did really well.)

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The whole point of me expressing myself in my post this way, is twofold. Of course, first and foremost it is to pay my utmost respect and gratitude to them for making the time and effort to come out here and solidify our lifelong friendship with some incredible people. But secondly, to also highlight the extraordinary circumstances that formed the basis of this union of like-minded individuals. Because the bottom line is that we met through Steemit. A simple, social media concept website that is just finding it’s wings and gaining flight.

Other platforms such as Facebook or YouTube are either reliant upon an already existing userbase of friends or videos where the only connections to be forged with the content creators themselves, are through comments or e-mail. The very fact that this meeting even took place is, for me, at the very least, mind-blowing.

I mean, we all decided to take a chance on Steemit by initially signing up and starting a blog of our own, hence setting the wheels in motion. The pathways then began flowing and led us to this unifying point in time. Simply astonishing, I'm sure you'd agree. And I’m also quite sure a story like mine is by no means the end of the road. In the future, many more real-world bonds and friendships will be crafted through the power of community and strong personal interactions with one another.

So, thank you once again @exyle and @bkdbkd for such an awesome and memorable time together. We have already booked ourselves in for the upcoming Steemfest II and look forward to meeting many more of you “steemians” in person too.

Keep dreaming and steemin’ on!

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在Steemit 平台上认识的 @exyle和他可爱的女友 @bkdbkd上周过来伦敦找我们玩，我们度过了一个非常难忘的周末。我和先生尽地主之谊，带他们参观伦敦景点，去泡英国酒吧和餐馆享受美食，让他们了解我们这边的生活文化。就这短短的几天时间，大家无话不淡，仿如是认识多年的好友，事实上我们只在去年Steemfest上见过一次面。有点儿不可思议，对吧？我想这是一种很特别的缘分，所以想在这里和大家分享。

我们在Steemfest的头一天见到 @exyle，还记得当时我和先生是第一个到场，而 @exyle正站在前门，似乎在迎接我们。我还以为他是工作人员，所以一个劲儿地问他，有什么安排，接下来去哪儿。结果一分钟之后，@exyle告诉我们，他也是刚到，正等待着我们其他Steemit成员的到达。这也许就是缘份，呵呵。

在Steemfest 上，我们越聊越投机，发现大家有很多共同之处，尤其是对数字货币的浓厚兴趣，对Steemit聚会的热情，以及对待生活的态度。就这样，来自不同国家的我们三人，很自然地走在一起参加接下来的Steemit活动。在聚会结束前，我们大家交换了电话号码和联系方式。

接下来，我们一直有保持联系，在平台上互相鼓励和支持各自发表的帖子。@exyle和 @bkdbkd来伦敦的计划也是在几个月前才落实的，从星期四停留到星期天。另外，在Steemfest和伦敦聚会之间，我先生和 @exyle有时候在电话里会聊上几个小时，谈论数字货币走向或是Steemit的新功能，仿如认识多年的好友，呵呵。

自 @exyle 和 @bkdbkd上周四到达伦敦以后，我们有如坐过山车一样，天天节目不断，我们也乐此不疲，度过了非常美好的时光。在这里我要谢谢他们，安排了这次聚会。毕竟，我们只在去年见过一次面。所以说，不是所有的友谊都需要时间的见证， 呵呵。

其实我写这个帖子，有两个用意。首先一个当然是感谢 @exyle 和 @bkdbkd，因为他们抽时间从荷兰过来看我们，这是非常难得的友谊。其次，我们是通过Steemit认识的，它虽然只是一个简单的社交媒体平台，却有如此大的影响力，把志同道合的人结合在一起！

其他媒体平台如脸书或Youtube等，要么依赖已经存在的朋友或视频的用户群，因为文章作者与作者之间只有通过评论或电子邮件交流。而年轻的Steemit平台已有自己的盛会（Steemfest）, 至少对我来说，这是非常鼓舞人心的。我们从加入这个平台，发表帖子一直走到今天，都对Steemit充满了信心。我相信像我这样的故事并不是唯一的，在不久的将来，更多现实世界的友谊和强大的人际关系网将会通过Steemit平台建立起来。

所以，再次感谢 @exyle和 @bkdbkd为我们带来了这么难忘的周末。我们已经预订了飞机票和酒店住宿去参加即将到来的Steemfest II，并期待着与更多的“steemians”见面！