June 4, 2009 was a day full of exciting beginnings and ends. Firstly (and most importantly!), it was the start of the twenty-first year of my life! It was also the beginning of Corey’s and my summer. However, it was the end of my parent’s trip to Amsterdam, yet the beginning of their week in the most romantic city of the world, Paris. Now, to say June 4, 2009 was the beginning of Corey and my summer might make it seem like the day was as relaxing as one would envision summer to be. On the contrary, however, on this day I had to turn in a final project paper that amounted to twenty-two pages with an appendix of seven. Corey, on the other hand, had one final and two papers due that pages amounted well over my feeble twenty-two. However, by four in the afternoon we had both checked CIEE Amsterdam Program and schooling off of our lists of accomplishments. While we scrambled to clean our rooms and check out, we also had to make a run around attempting (and failing) to sell back my school books, and to get some links removed from the beautiful watch Corey gave me as a birthday present. After a nice birthday dinner on the 3rd with my parents and Corey, he surprised me with the softest Pooh Bear stuffed animal I could have ever imagined, and a fabulous Fossil watch. I guess all those times per day I have been asking Corey what time it was for the past almost-three months helped him to realize a piece of jewelry I was in dire need of.
After getting through the logistics of my birthday present and turning in our keys, we said goodbye to Amsterdam and hello to Prague. After an hour and a half flight with four other students from Amsterdam, we obtained some monopoly money (also known as Czech crowns) and made it to our hotel, the Courtyard Marriot. After checking-in and getting some snacks from the lobby store, Corey and I got settled in our room while the first half of Sex and the City, The Movie played on my laptop. After a much needed good nights sleep, in the morning of June 5 we enjoyed the most amazing breakfast set up either of us had seen in months: made-to-order waffles, eggs, and omelets, along with a sandwich bar, bacon and sausage, a fruit bar, pastry bar, and about six different types of juice and cereal, with actual cold milk. (For those of you who don’t know, usually in Europe the milk available with breakfast is luke-warm, unrefrigerated, and…unpleasant). We enjoyed a breakfast made for Kings, and then left the hotel to walk around Old Town Prague and the Charles Bridge before the walking tour we planned to go on at 2 pm.
Because I have been to Prague once other time, last summer actually on a different school abroad program, I soon recognized the old stomping ground I had once spent a week on, and led Corey around to the Astronomical Clock in Old Town Square, The Charles Bridge, John Lennon Wall (which had disappointing additions and changes since my last viewing) and a few other areas, including the strip I stayed on last time, where I rediscovered an amazing Thai restaurant for later.
Note: The John Lennon wall is supposed to be a tribute to Mr. Lennon himself, and therefore is a stretch of wall that people can freely graffiti and create masterpieces on. Last summer when I was here, I could honestly say the wall was one of the most spectacular things I have ever seen, with beautiful designs including writing, like a large peace sign with the word “imagine” inside, as well as cute sayings like “Love is Free,” “Revolution,” “Make love as Much as Possible,” etcetera. However, when I returned to the wall a week later before I left Prague, I found the wall in disturbing remains, as someone had come sometime in the past week and drawn thing and large white stick figures across all of the beautiful graffiti, only leaving the “imagine” peace sign. Now returning, the wall looks like more of a graffiti mess than a tribune with inspirational and meaningful messages. The only part that remains how I left it was the “imagine” peace sign, which now even has a strange black face in-between the lines and word, which significantly decrease my love for it. Sad.
A little before 2 pm Corey and I grabbed a quick Starbucks drink (it’s okay, we haven’t had it in weeks!) before meeting up with our walking tour guide. After three and a half hours, and a stop into Bohemian Bagel (a wonderful bagel sandwich shop that I had wanted to return to anyway), we were both exhausted, but had a much greater knowledge of the architecture and city, and a new appreciation for the area we would be staying in for the weekend. After the walking tour, we took another loop around the Old Town and Charles Bridge, and into some stores along the way, before making it back to Noi, the Thai place I mentioned earlier. After a delicious dinner for two with a preset menu including an appetizer with a few different options, three small entrée choices, and a dessert chocolate fondue with fruit- yum! Also, the thing about Prague is that many beers are brewed here, thus, not imported, thus, beer is cheaper than water! So we also both enjoyed a brew for the pity equivalent of something like two dollars. Whoa!
After dinner we returned to the hotel briefly to change before heading out for part two of the walking tour, also known as a “Pub Crawl.” While the name might make it seem like there is crawling involved, both Corey and I kept only our feet on the ground (obviously), but I guess the name is to suggest some people might be crawling home from enjoying so many beverages throughout the night! Ha! We stopped into four different bars Prague is known for, and while in line to pay and get in, we met some guys who were doing a summer program in Rome- the place we are off to on Monday! So, we were able to make some friends, get some travel suggestions, and ideas for our daily itineraries by the end of the night. Quite the success!
Saturday morning started beautifully as the previous one, with an amazing breakfast, conveniently included in the great-deal-hotel-package we (by we I really mean I) had found online. After lounging around gaining the energy the previous night stole from us, we eventually made our way our to explore Day 2 in Prague. We went to a “Music Bar” restaurant recommended by the hotel, Infiniti, for an early dinner, and enjoyed a soup, Caesar salad, and Asian chicken and rice dish, along with some wine. After dinner, we walked through the nearby shopping center and decided it would be nice to relax a bit more (as if we hadn’t relaxed enough already that day!) and see a movie! Neither of us had seen a movie in theatres in months, so we decided this was a great idea. After checking times and languages, we decided on “I Love You, Man.” This turned out to be a great and entertaining choice, for the movie was funny and we got finished with perfect timing to grab a coffee and go get ready for the night.
After returning to the hotel room for a quick rest before the night ahead of us, we ventured to Prague’s O2 Arena for a Europe’s whitest and largest music festival. Corey, dressed in white soccer shorts, a white tee, and a white headband escorted myself, dressed in a white tube top cut off, a white skirt, and fuzzy white boot covers with blue accent coloring in my bathing suit top and eye makeup. We made quite the white, “under water” themed team. We arrived at the O2 Arena, and walked through the metal detectors, slyly smuggling in a flask of Jager. We were set! After exploring the arena and stage area, we eventually found some supplies to fulfill our night’s desires. By an hour later, we truly felt like one with the music and were entranced by the lights projected from the stage. This truly was an once-in-a-lifetime experience, for the night was perfect and it was as if we were in a dreamland and floating in a sea of white clouds.
Sunday morning we were able to sleep in a bit, and catch the end of the breakfast offered by the hotel. Because we were up late and exhausted, a nap followed breakfast we eventually made it out early afternoon to check out Prague Castle. The weather seemed beautiful in the morning when we passed the large glass doors in the lobby, but by now the sun was hidden and the raindrops had come. This, however, did not stop us as we still ventured to the Castle’s metro stop and made it almost perfectly-dryly to the Castle. We decided the “short self-guided tour” would be sufficient, and we were able to see a large cathedral and three other areas of the castle. After the castle we tried to find a fondue restaurant to continue our fondue-date-in-every-country tradition, but we were unfortunately unable to find one. (Fortunately we had that dessert fondue the first night, which we will have to count in this case.) Later, we returned to the Music Bar for another meal, and then returned to the theatre for another film, this time, “State of Play.” As the movie concluded around 9 pm, we decided that since we were off to Rome the next day we should call it a night, pack up, upload the trip’s pictures on the computer, and get a good night’s sleep. And so we did!
The morning of June 8 we checked out of the Marriot at 7:30 am, enjoyed our last buffet-breakfast made for Kings, and headed to the airport. After a bit of a struggle trying to figure out where to go and which terminal Wizzair flew from, we eventually got checked in and through security, exchanged our extra monopoly money, and said goodbye to the Czech Republic.
Corey and I arrived in Rome around noon, and ventured to our bed & breakfast, Downtown Accommodations, in the city centre about 30 minutes from the airport.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
And May Begins...
Each year on April 30th, the Dutch citizens of the beautiful country of the Netherlands celebrate their dear Queens birthday, dubbed as, “Queen’s Day.” As Holland’s national color is Orange, on this day you can see the straats and grachts (streets and canals) as a sea of orange shirts, face paint, and wigs…and beer, of course. The festivities actually begin the night before, dubbed “King’s Night,” when stages were set up around the large town square areas, like Rembrandtplein, Leisidsplein, and along some of the canals: Herengracht and Prinsengracht.
By the time Corey and I were finally on our way out Queen’s Day morning to meet up with friends, Corey in his Van Persy soccer jersey and myself with an orange tank slowing under a white one, it was just before noon. The sidewalks were already filled with orange-wearers, the streets lined with mini garage sales, and there was already drunken debauchery chanted in the far distance. The two of us headed straight to Prinsengracht, a canal on the West end of the center, and with all the people and festivities, we had a lovely walk, passing food stands and house windows with signs selling drinks being made in the kitchens. We finally made it to the dorms on Prinsengracht, where we met up with some of our clan of friends: Alex, Evan, Andrew, and about five of Andrew’s friends from Bermuda. We spent a beautiful sun-filled afternoon roaming the canals and picking up (and quickly putting back down) the really great items people were selling on the side of the road (I hope you picked up on my sarcasm). There were also many street performers, including the DJs on mini stages, but also small children playing single instruments- like one small boy probably around 10 in a tuxedo playing his violin! Aw! As the afternoon progressed, Corey’s parents and sister arrived home from the Tulip Fields, and so we ventured to go meet up with them, well, he did- I had to figure out my flight for the next day, since my itinerary to Vienna was cancelled for some unknown reason.
After two days of stress, forty euro used on my phone, and a few extra euro spent, my new initerary was: Friday-Sunday Vienna with Alex, Sunday morning fly to Berlin and meet up with Corey and his family, and taking a train home Tuesday afternoon with Corey. This turned out to be a great decision! And really a blessing in disguise that my flights were randomly canceled. But we’ll get to that in a few minutes.
After I figured out my travel plans, I met back up with Corey and his family for an early dinner before the supposed concert in Museumplein at nine. One crabby waiter later, Corey and I discovered that the concert had been moved up since other acts had cancelled due to an attack/supposed attach on the Queen (when really it was just some crazy Dutch man driving drunk through a crowd after the Queen’s double decker bus had already passed, and killing himself and four others- or something). At this point, we hung around his parent’s hotel trying to work out more stuff for the weekend, before returning home rather late, considering the fact I had a 9am flight the next morning. After slicing my index finger open when a glass broke as I was doing the dishes, I finally managed to get to bed with just enough time to get a solid four hours of sleep before my next adventure.
At 9:20 the next morning Alex and I were safely and easily loaded on to tour flight to Vienna. Phew. After all that everything worked out and we were on our way. Upon our arrival to Vienna, we took a shuttle bus from the airport and had about a ten minute walk to our hostel- Wombats- where we were able to drop off our luggage and pick up a map. We ventured to the museum area and had a leisurely lunch at a classic Austrian-cuisine restaurant. After relaxing and eating interesting food for a while, we walked around, and stumbled upon some sort of protest against Communism- or something. We walked around the Old Town area next, and got tickets for the Orchestra that night. We eventually made it back to our hostel to get ready for the evening, and eventually headed to the Orchestra after checking out the hostel bar and a quick bite from a local Shoarma stand. The Orchestra lasted two hours and was a really fun experience. It was great to hear the notes of famous composers and to hear the few opera singers and see the dancers. After the concert, we headed to an area called the Bermuda Triangle, an area supposidly famous for fun bars. Although I did not find this place any more exotic than a line of a few bars in Amsterdam, we found a cozy spot and hung out for a few hours before making our way back for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday was a long day, and by the time it was over I was ready for Berlin. Alex and I spent the day exploring, we picked up our Sensation White Music Festival tickets, and by ten in the evening we were wearing all white and ready to start on our late night adventure.
Sunday morning at 9:15 am I was on a flight to Berlin. I arrived around 11 am, and by the time I made it to The Circus hostel it was a little after noon. After a quick shower and a nice breakfast at the restaurant next door, Corey and I headed out to meet up with his parents and his sister, Stacy. With some sightseeing on the way, we joined Corey’s family for lunch before heading out to Berlin’s German Historical Museum. After a few hours here, Corey, his dad and I grabbed a snack from Starbucks and went to the Jewish History Museum. We only had about two hours, but were able to enjoy the museum (even though the employees at the ticket office said it was practically impossible to get anything done in the amount of time we had). After this museum, we retuned our respective hotels & hostels and rested for a bit before heading out to dinner, to a nice and cozy German-Italian restaurant a short tram ride away. After a family-style dinner of salad and pizza, we returned, I checked into my room at the Circus Hostel, and went to bed.
Before the departure of Corey’s parents and sister Monday morning, we all met up for breakfast nice and early- before 8 am! After this, it was just Corey and I for the next day, and we fully explored Berlin and decided to hold off on intellectual-filled activities and to shop a little bit- and shop we did! In a massive mall close to Alexanderplatz, Corey was able to find a nice short sleeve white button up and a pair of dark not-so-baggy jeans. I was not able to find anything until later, where the trusted (and beloved) store, Promod, provided me with a few dress options. After our purchases we went on an adventure to try to find a Fondue restaurant the hostel recommended for us. We scrambled through side streets and eventually found the “Fire Fondue” (or something like that) restaurant we had a reservation at.
Our first impression of this restaurant was much different than the actual experience we had. While the restaurant was cute and dimly lit with candles, the menu was entirely in German and the young lady who sat us seemed to speak no English. Remaining optimistic, we tried to decipher the menu, but we soon realized the task ahead of us was practically impossible. However, somehow everything always works out for the best for Corey and I, and a few minutes after blankly staring at the German-filled language a young man came up to the table, partially pulled out one of the chairs across from us, and asked if he could take a seat. Relived, both Corey & I said “yes” simotaneously, and a few seconds later our new friend was walking us through every item on the menu. Eventually we agreed upon one cheese and one meat fondue, the cheese being a brie-base with a few other types of cheese (completely avoiding gorgonzola), and a meat fondue that included an array of choices. Served with these options came a salad for each, a tray of sauces, and little potato balls, or something. We were advised to not only enjoy the cheese and bread combination, but to cook a piece of meat and mix that with the cheese. Delicious! Our waiter also kindly recommended his red wine of choice, and decided we were worthy of a “prize,” probably for being such wonderful people and a cute, young couple (or something) and he brought us a complimentary glass of champagne. Corey and I decided that the three-hour dinner had been the best date ever, and so we declined the invitation from our waiter to join him to “hit up some clubs,” because we decided it could not get much better.
Tuesday morning we checked out of our hostel and stored our luggage in the basement, before heading off to Pergamon museum. After seeing the Ishtar Gates of Babylon and a few other exciting pieces, we left and walked through the Museum Isle, where we were able to take scenic pictures. Next, we attempted to go to the top of the dome of the government building for a view of the city, but sadly failed when the wait was over an hour. Instead, we decided that it would be fun to go to the Zoo, for this Zoo was said to have the largest amount of different animals worldwide. Because our train wasn’t until after four, we enjoyed the Zoo for a few hours (and some rain drizzles!) and were able to see kangaroos, zebras, sea lions, and polar bears (!), among other species. After a decent lunch at the Zoo, we returned to the Circus Hostel one last time to retrieve our luggage, and then headed to the train station where we were on our way back to Amsterdam, just a six hour train ride away.
By the time Corey and I were finally on our way out Queen’s Day morning to meet up with friends, Corey in his Van Persy soccer jersey and myself with an orange tank slowing under a white one, it was just before noon. The sidewalks were already filled with orange-wearers, the streets lined with mini garage sales, and there was already drunken debauchery chanted in the far distance. The two of us headed straight to Prinsengracht, a canal on the West end of the center, and with all the people and festivities, we had a lovely walk, passing food stands and house windows with signs selling drinks being made in the kitchens. We finally made it to the dorms on Prinsengracht, where we met up with some of our clan of friends: Alex, Evan, Andrew, and about five of Andrew’s friends from Bermuda. We spent a beautiful sun-filled afternoon roaming the canals and picking up (and quickly putting back down) the really great items people were selling on the side of the road (I hope you picked up on my sarcasm). There were also many street performers, including the DJs on mini stages, but also small children playing single instruments- like one small boy probably around 10 in a tuxedo playing his violin! Aw! As the afternoon progressed, Corey’s parents and sister arrived home from the Tulip Fields, and so we ventured to go meet up with them, well, he did- I had to figure out my flight for the next day, since my itinerary to Vienna was cancelled for some unknown reason.
After two days of stress, forty euro used on my phone, and a few extra euro spent, my new initerary was: Friday-Sunday Vienna with Alex, Sunday morning fly to Berlin and meet up with Corey and his family, and taking a train home Tuesday afternoon with Corey. This turned out to be a great decision! And really a blessing in disguise that my flights were randomly canceled. But we’ll get to that in a few minutes.
After I figured out my travel plans, I met back up with Corey and his family for an early dinner before the supposed concert in Museumplein at nine. One crabby waiter later, Corey and I discovered that the concert had been moved up since other acts had cancelled due to an attack/supposed attach on the Queen (when really it was just some crazy Dutch man driving drunk through a crowd after the Queen’s double decker bus had already passed, and killing himself and four others- or something). At this point, we hung around his parent’s hotel trying to work out more stuff for the weekend, before returning home rather late, considering the fact I had a 9am flight the next morning. After slicing my index finger open when a glass broke as I was doing the dishes, I finally managed to get to bed with just enough time to get a solid four hours of sleep before my next adventure.
At 9:20 the next morning Alex and I were safely and easily loaded on to tour flight to Vienna. Phew. After all that everything worked out and we were on our way. Upon our arrival to Vienna, we took a shuttle bus from the airport and had about a ten minute walk to our hostel- Wombats- where we were able to drop off our luggage and pick up a map. We ventured to the museum area and had a leisurely lunch at a classic Austrian-cuisine restaurant. After relaxing and eating interesting food for a while, we walked around, and stumbled upon some sort of protest against Communism- or something. We walked around the Old Town area next, and got tickets for the Orchestra that night. We eventually made it back to our hostel to get ready for the evening, and eventually headed to the Orchestra after checking out the hostel bar and a quick bite from a local Shoarma stand. The Orchestra lasted two hours and was a really fun experience. It was great to hear the notes of famous composers and to hear the few opera singers and see the dancers. After the concert, we headed to an area called the Bermuda Triangle, an area supposidly famous for fun bars. Although I did not find this place any more exotic than a line of a few bars in Amsterdam, we found a cozy spot and hung out for a few hours before making our way back for a good night’s sleep.
Saturday was a long day, and by the time it was over I was ready for Berlin. Alex and I spent the day exploring, we picked up our Sensation White Music Festival tickets, and by ten in the evening we were wearing all white and ready to start on our late night adventure.
Sunday morning at 9:15 am I was on a flight to Berlin. I arrived around 11 am, and by the time I made it to The Circus hostel it was a little after noon. After a quick shower and a nice breakfast at the restaurant next door, Corey and I headed out to meet up with his parents and his sister, Stacy. With some sightseeing on the way, we joined Corey’s family for lunch before heading out to Berlin’s German Historical Museum. After a few hours here, Corey, his dad and I grabbed a snack from Starbucks and went to the Jewish History Museum. We only had about two hours, but were able to enjoy the museum (even though the employees at the ticket office said it was practically impossible to get anything done in the amount of time we had). After this museum, we retuned our respective hotels & hostels and rested for a bit before heading out to dinner, to a nice and cozy German-Italian restaurant a short tram ride away. After a family-style dinner of salad and pizza, we returned, I checked into my room at the Circus Hostel, and went to bed.
Before the departure of Corey’s parents and sister Monday morning, we all met up for breakfast nice and early- before 8 am! After this, it was just Corey and I for the next day, and we fully explored Berlin and decided to hold off on intellectual-filled activities and to shop a little bit- and shop we did! In a massive mall close to Alexanderplatz, Corey was able to find a nice short sleeve white button up and a pair of dark not-so-baggy jeans. I was not able to find anything until later, where the trusted (and beloved) store, Promod, provided me with a few dress options. After our purchases we went on an adventure to try to find a Fondue restaurant the hostel recommended for us. We scrambled through side streets and eventually found the “Fire Fondue” (or something like that) restaurant we had a reservation at.
Our first impression of this restaurant was much different than the actual experience we had. While the restaurant was cute and dimly lit with candles, the menu was entirely in German and the young lady who sat us seemed to speak no English. Remaining optimistic, we tried to decipher the menu, but we soon realized the task ahead of us was practically impossible. However, somehow everything always works out for the best for Corey and I, and a few minutes after blankly staring at the German-filled language a young man came up to the table, partially pulled out one of the chairs across from us, and asked if he could take a seat. Relived, both Corey & I said “yes” simotaneously, and a few seconds later our new friend was walking us through every item on the menu. Eventually we agreed upon one cheese and one meat fondue, the cheese being a brie-base with a few other types of cheese (completely avoiding gorgonzola), and a meat fondue that included an array of choices. Served with these options came a salad for each, a tray of sauces, and little potato balls, or something. We were advised to not only enjoy the cheese and bread combination, but to cook a piece of meat and mix that with the cheese. Delicious! Our waiter also kindly recommended his red wine of choice, and decided we were worthy of a “prize,” probably for being such wonderful people and a cute, young couple (or something) and he brought us a complimentary glass of champagne. Corey and I decided that the three-hour dinner had been the best date ever, and so we declined the invitation from our waiter to join him to “hit up some clubs,” because we decided it could not get much better.
Tuesday morning we checked out of our hostel and stored our luggage in the basement, before heading off to Pergamon museum. After seeing the Ishtar Gates of Babylon and a few other exciting pieces, we left and walked through the Museum Isle, where we were able to take scenic pictures. Next, we attempted to go to the top of the dome of the government building for a view of the city, but sadly failed when the wait was over an hour. Instead, we decided that it would be fun to go to the Zoo, for this Zoo was said to have the largest amount of different animals worldwide. Because our train wasn’t until after four, we enjoyed the Zoo for a few hours (and some rain drizzles!) and were able to see kangaroos, zebras, sea lions, and polar bears (!), among other species. After a decent lunch at the Zoo, we returned to the Circus Hostel one last time to retrieve our luggage, and then headed to the train station where we were on our way back to Amsterdam, just a six hour train ride away.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Post Barcelona Adventure Weekend!
Upon returning to Amsterdam from Barcelona on Tuesday, April 14, Corey and I left Central Station to retrieve our bikes from the fence we locked them together to. As we approached the area, we noticed that the fence looked pretty bare, and joked that our bikes were gone. Nonsense, all of the people that parked by us must had just moved their bikes already, we thought. Once we came upon the area we had locked our bikes, we realizes that our bike, too, were suddenly invisible against the green fence that we had left them six days before. Then, I noticed a little red sign with Dutch writing, about ten feet ahead of us- I suddenly realized that maybe it was not okay to have parked our bikes there for such an extended amount of time. Fortunately, on the side of Central Station there is a place called “Mac Bike,” which is a bike rental service, different than the one that my program arranged for us, which was Orange Bike. Corey and I jogged over to Mac Bike and I asked the employee: “Is there some sort of bike towing service who would have taken our bikes, had we parked them in a ‘no-bike-zone’?” To my question, the Mac Bike employee responded with, what sounded like “Ah F*ck.” To this, I was surprised by his bluntness and we responded that “yes,” we knew we were “screwed.” The man laughed and said, “No, AFAC, is the corporation that tows bikes.” In fact, the Mac Bike employee was not cursing at the fact our bikes were gone, but all the long trying to tell us that there was a towing company, and its acronym is “AFAC.”
On Friday, April 17, with no class ahead of us for the day, Corey and I walked to Central Station, knowing we had quite a journey ahead of us: our program leader, Hannah, told us that the whole process would take approximately three hours…45 minutes to get there, and the rest of the time to obtain our bikes and ride them home. After six minutes on a train, a ten-minute bus ride, and about a five minute walk, Corey and I stumbled upon the AFAC sign and property. As we made our way to the front office, we noticed the thousands of bikes collected outside, all around the vicinity. The woman at the desk seemed nice enough when we entered, and within a minute we were explaining that sometime between the previous Wednesday and last Tuesday, our Orange Bikes had been towed from Central Station. To this, she nodded, but didn’t smile. She informed us that yes, she had had our Orange Bikes there for the past week, but the day before they were returned to the Orange Bike store right by where we live. After a delusional laughing fit, Corey and I retraced our steps back to the train station. Knowing that I have Dutch heritage and have been wanting to travel to the city of Hoorn to check out where the Van Horne’s came from back in the day, Corey suggested that we take a little trip out, since we were already out and planning to spend at least the next few hours dealing with our (lack of) bike situation.
Five minutes later and only twenty-three euro spent, Corey and I were on a train, an intended thirty -minute ride, to the great city of Hoorn. Today was the second day in a row that the Netherlands had a sunny day, and we stepped off the train to encounter a bright sky and a light breeze. It was perfect! We immediately started to walk around and explore this little town, with small cafes, little boutiques, cobble stone sidewalks, and horse-and-carriages all around. We found a nice little café called “De Tuynkamer.” After a delicious lunch, where our waiter was kind enough to give us a map of the city and suggest we walk down certain streets to come upon the coast, we left this little piece of heaven to explore a bit more. After some window-shopping, we came upon a beautiful coastal area, with tall houses and apartments on the edge of the water, places that we decided we would not at all mind living in! We sat down on these stairs right on the beach, threw in an earphone each, and enjoyed some tunes as we soaked up a little Hoorn sun. After a while of admiring the views, watching children play soccer and ride their little bikes nearby, and see dog owners playing catch with their pets in the water, we decided it was time to get back to reality. On our way back to the station, we stopped for some ice cream. After frustrating the lady a bit- I think, I decided on a scoop of Mocha, while Corey went with mint chip. While my flavor was delicious, Corey decided that his mint chocolate chip ice cream was “too minty,” and either purposefully or carelessly, when I turned around from withdrawing money from the ATM, his two scoops were laying on the pavement, and half of my Mocha was suddenly in his cone! I must admit, I did make the better flavor choice! Another forty minutes later, and we were back home in Amsterdam, where the air was still warm and the sun was about to set.
About three weeks prior, we had made plans to go to a concert in Rotterdam (about an hour by train from Amsterdam) on the evening of Saturday, April 18. Because neither Corey or I had been to Rotterdam before, we did not know if we would be able to fill up a whole day with activities there, so we decided to get up early and go to Delft (on the way to Rotterdam, about forty-five minutes away from Amsterdam) on the way to Rotterdam. By one’ o’clock in the afternoon, we were off of a train and leaving the Delft station, ready to explore a new city, for the second time in two days! Another sunny day in the Netherlands, Delft was full of street markets, beautiful canals- a bit smaller than those in Amsterdam, and small shops and restaurants lining the streets. We also stumbled upon a town square area, where there was a little festival-ish even going on with tents set up, and little play pins for children to play soccer in. After taking plenty of pictures throughout the streets, Town Square, and whole area, really, we decided it was time for a snack. After nit picking around at various cafes and restaurants, we found a delicious-sounding Mexican restaurant that unfortunately was not open for another three hours. Instead, we sat down outside in the town square at a café for a snack (to tide us over until the Mexican place opened!) and shared a strawberry crepe, which was good- but I cannot wait to be back in Paris for the real deal! After this, we continued to walk around until 4:30pm when we headed back to the Mexican restaurant and shared a fajita dish, which was amazing, as we had not had Mexican food in more than two months! After our meal, we headed back to the Delft station and were soon on our way to Rotterdam!
Not much more than fifteen minutes later, we were exiting another train station, this time at dusk in the city of Rotterdam. Not knowing at all what we were going to do until the concert, where it was, or where we were in relation to the city, we started walking a random direction. After about five minutes, we realized that all the people surrounding us were not white or as nice and proper looking as the two of us, and so we quickly retreated to the station, where we asked an information booth employee where a main town area was. As we were following his directions, we decided it would be fun to find a pub to watch the Chelsea versus (uhm, what was that team’s name?) soccer match. We stumbled upon an Irish Pub, found seats in an overcrowded tabled area, and watch Chelsea’s victory. After this, we found ourselves at another establishment in the main square area, and decided that it was necessary to find a hotel room for later that night, since we would, without a doubt, be up until at least four in the morning, and would rather die than take an hour train ride home at that time. After finding a hotel and freshened up we eventually made our way to the concert hall by metro. The performer was a DJ, ranked number two in the world: Armin Van Burren, and the show was amazing. We made some friends throughout the night, and we were quite sad when the DJ, Armin Van Burren, had completely his performance. Although, we captured some great moments on camera and we will never forget being five feet away from Armin himself, nor will we forget him looking directly at us, pointing our way, and throwing up a “T” in our honor (if you don’t get it, don’t worry about it).
I am so happy that I finally had the chance to travel a bit around the Netherlands, and especially visit the city of Hoorn. It was a beautiful city, one that I hope to return to another time (or two!) this semester, and I am jealous that the Van Horne ancestors had the privilege in living in such a quite, cute, and pretty town. Oh, and don’t worry, Corey and I eventually recovered our bikes from Orange Bike, with only a twenty euro charge!
As members of CIEE, our travels around the Netherlands will not stop here. This weekend, our program (CIEE) has arranged a weekend-long field trip to one of the Netherland Antilles islands: Schnoonighghgjk. I cannot wait to fill you in about this adventure coming up this weekend!
I miss you all, and love you all, more!
On Friday, April 17, with no class ahead of us for the day, Corey and I walked to Central Station, knowing we had quite a journey ahead of us: our program leader, Hannah, told us that the whole process would take approximately three hours…45 minutes to get there, and the rest of the time to obtain our bikes and ride them home. After six minutes on a train, a ten-minute bus ride, and about a five minute walk, Corey and I stumbled upon the AFAC sign and property. As we made our way to the front office, we noticed the thousands of bikes collected outside, all around the vicinity. The woman at the desk seemed nice enough when we entered, and within a minute we were explaining that sometime between the previous Wednesday and last Tuesday, our Orange Bikes had been towed from Central Station. To this, she nodded, but didn’t smile. She informed us that yes, she had had our Orange Bikes there for the past week, but the day before they were returned to the Orange Bike store right by where we live. After a delusional laughing fit, Corey and I retraced our steps back to the train station. Knowing that I have Dutch heritage and have been wanting to travel to the city of Hoorn to check out where the Van Horne’s came from back in the day, Corey suggested that we take a little trip out, since we were already out and planning to spend at least the next few hours dealing with our (lack of) bike situation.
Five minutes later and only twenty-three euro spent, Corey and I were on a train, an intended thirty -minute ride, to the great city of Hoorn. Today was the second day in a row that the Netherlands had a sunny day, and we stepped off the train to encounter a bright sky and a light breeze. It was perfect! We immediately started to walk around and explore this little town, with small cafes, little boutiques, cobble stone sidewalks, and horse-and-carriages all around. We found a nice little café called “De Tuynkamer.” After a delicious lunch, where our waiter was kind enough to give us a map of the city and suggest we walk down certain streets to come upon the coast, we left this little piece of heaven to explore a bit more. After some window-shopping, we came upon a beautiful coastal area, with tall houses and apartments on the edge of the water, places that we decided we would not at all mind living in! We sat down on these stairs right on the beach, threw in an earphone each, and enjoyed some tunes as we soaked up a little Hoorn sun. After a while of admiring the views, watching children play soccer and ride their little bikes nearby, and see dog owners playing catch with their pets in the water, we decided it was time to get back to reality. On our way back to the station, we stopped for some ice cream. After frustrating the lady a bit- I think, I decided on a scoop of Mocha, while Corey went with mint chip. While my flavor was delicious, Corey decided that his mint chocolate chip ice cream was “too minty,” and either purposefully or carelessly, when I turned around from withdrawing money from the ATM, his two scoops were laying on the pavement, and half of my Mocha was suddenly in his cone! I must admit, I did make the better flavor choice! Another forty minutes later, and we were back home in Amsterdam, where the air was still warm and the sun was about to set.
About three weeks prior, we had made plans to go to a concert in Rotterdam (about an hour by train from Amsterdam) on the evening of Saturday, April 18. Because neither Corey or I had been to Rotterdam before, we did not know if we would be able to fill up a whole day with activities there, so we decided to get up early and go to Delft (on the way to Rotterdam, about forty-five minutes away from Amsterdam) on the way to Rotterdam. By one’ o’clock in the afternoon, we were off of a train and leaving the Delft station, ready to explore a new city, for the second time in two days! Another sunny day in the Netherlands, Delft was full of street markets, beautiful canals- a bit smaller than those in Amsterdam, and small shops and restaurants lining the streets. We also stumbled upon a town square area, where there was a little festival-ish even going on with tents set up, and little play pins for children to play soccer in. After taking plenty of pictures throughout the streets, Town Square, and whole area, really, we decided it was time for a snack. After nit picking around at various cafes and restaurants, we found a delicious-sounding Mexican restaurant that unfortunately was not open for another three hours. Instead, we sat down outside in the town square at a café for a snack (to tide us over until the Mexican place opened!) and shared a strawberry crepe, which was good- but I cannot wait to be back in Paris for the real deal! After this, we continued to walk around until 4:30pm when we headed back to the Mexican restaurant and shared a fajita dish, which was amazing, as we had not had Mexican food in more than two months! After our meal, we headed back to the Delft station and were soon on our way to Rotterdam!
Not much more than fifteen minutes later, we were exiting another train station, this time at dusk in the city of Rotterdam. Not knowing at all what we were going to do until the concert, where it was, or where we were in relation to the city, we started walking a random direction. After about five minutes, we realized that all the people surrounding us were not white or as nice and proper looking as the two of us, and so we quickly retreated to the station, where we asked an information booth employee where a main town area was. As we were following his directions, we decided it would be fun to find a pub to watch the Chelsea versus (uhm, what was that team’s name?) soccer match. We stumbled upon an Irish Pub, found seats in an overcrowded tabled area, and watch Chelsea’s victory. After this, we found ourselves at another establishment in the main square area, and decided that it was necessary to find a hotel room for later that night, since we would, without a doubt, be up until at least four in the morning, and would rather die than take an hour train ride home at that time. After finding a hotel and freshened up we eventually made our way to the concert hall by metro. The performer was a DJ, ranked number two in the world: Armin Van Burren, and the show was amazing. We made some friends throughout the night, and we were quite sad when the DJ, Armin Van Burren, had completely his performance. Although, we captured some great moments on camera and we will never forget being five feet away from Armin himself, nor will we forget him looking directly at us, pointing our way, and throwing up a “T” in our honor (if you don’t get it, don’t worry about it).
I am so happy that I finally had the chance to travel a bit around the Netherlands, and especially visit the city of Hoorn. It was a beautiful city, one that I hope to return to another time (or two!) this semester, and I am jealous that the Van Horne ancestors had the privilege in living in such a quite, cute, and pretty town. Oh, and don’t worry, Corey and I eventually recovered our bikes from Orange Bike, with only a twenty euro charge!
As members of CIEE, our travels around the Netherlands will not stop here. This weekend, our program (CIEE) has arranged a weekend-long field trip to one of the Netherland Antilles islands: Schnoonighghgjk. I cannot wait to fill you in about this adventure coming up this weekend!
I miss you all, and love you all, more!
Thursday, April 16, 2009
SPRING BREAK IN BARCELONA
Although us Amsterdam study abroad students were not given a designated week-long Spring break during the semester, some friends and I were still able to take an extended vacation over Easter weekend: six days in one of the most beautiful and amazing cities I have seen thus far: Barcelona, Spain. This trip was one of the first ones I booked earlier this semester, because two of my friends would be celebrating their 21st birthdays that weekend. The two birthday kids, Darren and Kelly, were the first two of the four (others were Alex and myself) to book this trip. As soon as we found out that one of our classes that meets on Thursday was to be cancelled for that week (and none of us have class on Fridays), we immediately jumped on the idea to make plans and go to Barcelona on Wednesday night, April 8.
This was one of the best choices we’ve made, for it meant that we would be spending a full five days and six nights in this spectacular city. By the time April came, Corey and Andrew had booked their flights also, so on the 8th of April the six of us headed to Centraal Station, then to Schiphol Airport, and finally, to Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona around 11:30 pm and by the time we made our way to the main drag, La Rambala, it was late. After checked into the hostel, Kabul, and dropped our bags off, we went out to explore a bit of the area. However, at an already late hour the only occupants on the street were the creepy street vendors trying to pawn off individual beer cans for one euro, so we decided to keep the exploring for the next day.
Thursday was the most ideal first day in any foreign city a group of young touristy adults could have asked for. The sun was shining and there was a warm breeze, and after a quick breakfast at the hostel the six of us made our way down La Rambala and to the boardwalk. We took many pictures of views and statues, and eventually made our way on to the beach. Regardless of the warmth of the water, we all scrambled to the edge of the water to stick our toes into our first taste of the Mediterranean. We then all continued along the beach, walking and enjoying the sun, until we decided it was time to settle into a beachfront restaurant for lunch. I am thankful for the fact that six of the most indecisive people in the world were put together, otherwise we would have picked the first place we saw instead of having the “uh, yeah this looks okay, oh look at this place…” conversations. Because of this, we kept walking a few restaurants down, and when we all glanced to the left we knew that we had found our spot: Beach-front-lounge-on-the-cushioned-bed-like-seating-area. This place was immediately dubbed “Heaven.” After spending a few hours in the blistering sun sipping refreshing refreshments and eating delicious chicken wraps, my chest and all of our noses were thoroughly burnt, so we decided to “make moves” and get on with our day. After realizing that I brought no warm weather clothes: shorts, dresses, bathing suits, nothing, I deemed it necessary to check out a few stores to try to find something decently priced and cute to wear out in the sunny days and warm nights. Because everyone but Corey was more prepared than I, we ventured to a mall shopping area, where he was able to pick up a few things that he needed and I was able to find two dresses that would hold me over for the next five days. After a successful shopping spree (which he was a surprisingly-good sport about), we eventually made our way back to the hostel. Because Alex, Darren, Kelly, and Andrew were no where to be found, Corey and I ventured off for dinner and found a nice pizza & pasta place toward the beach (a much longer walk then we initially intended, but vowed not to eat at the restaurants that advertised their menus on the outside walls with disgusting looking pictures).
Once we returned to the hostel and met back up with the rest of the group, we discovered something that would remain a beautiful, beautiful factor to our trip: the organized club adventures Kabul offered. There was a sign up sheet at the bar in the lobby, and in the late evening the list of people would be taken to one of the popular Barcelona clubs, free of entrance charge, for the night. Thursday night was at the venue, Catwalk, which we made our way to with a large group of hostel-stayers and had an amazing night out.
Friday morning was a bit more unsuccessful than the first morning. We decided to venture out to have breakfast on the town. A restaurant two doors down was recommended to us by the reception desk. Worst choice we’ve ever made: the breakfast was unappetizing and I disbelieved our luck, or lack there of. However, that did not stop us from having a magnificent day. We started walking and ended up at La Sagrada Familia, a massive, privately funded Roman Catholic Church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is expected to continue until at least 2026. This church is considered the master-work of renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project's vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it one of Barcelona's (and Spain's) top tourist attractions for many years (thanks Wikipedia!!!). This was a great structure to see, but unfortunately the line was too long, and the rain picked up as we were finishing up getting pictures. However, we did walk around it and it is truly a spectacular church. We found a restaurant to dine in for lunch nearby, and let the rain settle down as we enjoyed our meals and Fanta Orange drinks. After lunch, we continued walking and on the way back ran into Spain’s Arc de Triomf (Triumphal Arch), which was interesting because I have only seen the one in Paris. It was built for the 1888 Universal exhibition, as its main access gate by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. The arch is located between Passeig de Lluís Companys and Passeig de Sant Joan, at the end of a wide promenade connecting with the Park of the Ciutadella. We then walked through this park, and eventually made it back to the hostel for naptime before it was time to get up and get ready for dinner and for the night. We celebrated Darren’s birthday over tonight’s dinner since tomorrow we all would not be together for dinnertime. We went to a nice Tapas place, and had a fun time. The club hosting the Kabul visitors was Roxy tonight.
After sleeping in a bit, the birthday boy and group hit the road and headed back to Heaven, to relax and have a good birthday breakfast/lunch with refreshments and chicken wraps. This afternoon was great, and we got a bit more sun while lounging on some cushions on the beach. After hanging out at Heaven, we headed back on the beach and stopped to play in a jungle gym type structure on the sand for a few while enjoying the beach and the sunlight. Then, continuing on our way back, we stopped and listened to some live music being played on the boardwalk. There was a massive group of people on the stairs surrounding the group listening. It was really pleasant to sit there in the sun and listen to the music, while drinking the ever-refreshing Fanta Orange drink. We then all headed back to the hostel and Corey and I ventured off to go to the Barcelona Soccer Game. It was so fun! Barcelona won, of course- apparently they are one of the best teams in the world. After the game, the group ventured out to the club, Discotec, for Darren’s late night birthday celebration/Kelly’s birthday. We also discovered this fun bar called Chipitos we went to this night and the night before.
Easter Sunday was an interesting day, as it was Kelly’s birthday. As indecisive as she is, she did not seem to have much input on where to go, and she was being a bit dramatic about everything so it was a difficult morning to please her. We finally found somewhere to eat that did not have very good food, but it was okay because we realize the positive relationship between a bad breakfast and a great day as Friday taught us. After that, her and Andrew went their own way, and Corey, Alex, Darren and I went to explore Barcelona. We made our way to this Castle like place on a hill with excellent views and explored around and saw some sights before heading back and having a early dinner at “Ideal Restaurant”- which at the time was very ideal! Then we went back to the hostel to rest, got ready, and went to the Chipitos bar I mentioned earlier. Then, we went to Roxy again, as the hostel organized the club venue again. This night was really fun, too.
Monday morning I rallied the troops to stop sleeping and wake up for our Beautiful last day. Darren, Kelly and Andrew decided to do a bus tour, while Alex, Corey and I decided to go to Park Guell by the same architect Antoni Gaudí. The park contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. There is a Gaudi dragon fountain that is at the entrance to Guell Park. This dragon is adorned in beautiful colored tiling and there is something rather hypnotic and magical about it. This park was really amazing, and after walking through it for a while, the three of us made it out and found a nice balcony terrace to have lunch on. Although the food was not good, the company, conversation, and sunlight was amazing as we spent probably two to three hours there. After this, we took the metro back and took the Gandola, where I saw the most amazing views of Barcelona, on a sunny and amazing day- we also took some amazing pictures. This day was amazing. Each day and moment I kept thinking nothing could get better, but it always did. After the Gondola ride, the three of us returned to Heaven for the last time and spent a few hours relaxing and having dinner. It was amazing. We ended the night and the trip to Barcelona at club Apollo. It is questionable how good of a choice this was, because we ended up going straight from the club to the hostel to get our things to the airport for our 6:05 am flight. We were exhausted and had to wait on the runway for an hour before takeoff because of fog in Amsterdam, but eventually we made it back two hours late and then home to our dorms for a nice nap before class.
I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to take this trip; it was literally six of the best days of my life. Barcelona is a beautiful city, and I hope you all have a chance to go there someday to visit and witness such a heavenly restaurant, or at least have the chance to live vicariously through my pictures!
I love and miss you all!!!
This was one of the best choices we’ve made, for it meant that we would be spending a full five days and six nights in this spectacular city. By the time April came, Corey and Andrew had booked their flights also, so on the 8th of April the six of us headed to Centraal Station, then to Schiphol Airport, and finally, to Barcelona. We arrived in Barcelona around 11:30 pm and by the time we made our way to the main drag, La Rambala, it was late. After checked into the hostel, Kabul, and dropped our bags off, we went out to explore a bit of the area. However, at an already late hour the only occupants on the street were the creepy street vendors trying to pawn off individual beer cans for one euro, so we decided to keep the exploring for the next day.
Thursday was the most ideal first day in any foreign city a group of young touristy adults could have asked for. The sun was shining and there was a warm breeze, and after a quick breakfast at the hostel the six of us made our way down La Rambala and to the boardwalk. We took many pictures of views and statues, and eventually made our way on to the beach. Regardless of the warmth of the water, we all scrambled to the edge of the water to stick our toes into our first taste of the Mediterranean. We then all continued along the beach, walking and enjoying the sun, until we decided it was time to settle into a beachfront restaurant for lunch. I am thankful for the fact that six of the most indecisive people in the world were put together, otherwise we would have picked the first place we saw instead of having the “uh, yeah this looks okay, oh look at this place…” conversations. Because of this, we kept walking a few restaurants down, and when we all glanced to the left we knew that we had found our spot: Beach-front-lounge-on-the-cushioned-bed-like-seating-area. This place was immediately dubbed “Heaven.” After spending a few hours in the blistering sun sipping refreshing refreshments and eating delicious chicken wraps, my chest and all of our noses were thoroughly burnt, so we decided to “make moves” and get on with our day. After realizing that I brought no warm weather clothes: shorts, dresses, bathing suits, nothing, I deemed it necessary to check out a few stores to try to find something decently priced and cute to wear out in the sunny days and warm nights. Because everyone but Corey was more prepared than I, we ventured to a mall shopping area, where he was able to pick up a few things that he needed and I was able to find two dresses that would hold me over for the next five days. After a successful shopping spree (which he was a surprisingly-good sport about), we eventually made our way back to the hostel. Because Alex, Darren, Kelly, and Andrew were no where to be found, Corey and I ventured off for dinner and found a nice pizza & pasta place toward the beach (a much longer walk then we initially intended, but vowed not to eat at the restaurants that advertised their menus on the outside walls with disgusting looking pictures).
Once we returned to the hostel and met back up with the rest of the group, we discovered something that would remain a beautiful, beautiful factor to our trip: the organized club adventures Kabul offered. There was a sign up sheet at the bar in the lobby, and in the late evening the list of people would be taken to one of the popular Barcelona clubs, free of entrance charge, for the night. Thursday night was at the venue, Catwalk, which we made our way to with a large group of hostel-stayers and had an amazing night out.
Friday morning was a bit more unsuccessful than the first morning. We decided to venture out to have breakfast on the town. A restaurant two doors down was recommended to us by the reception desk. Worst choice we’ve ever made: the breakfast was unappetizing and I disbelieved our luck, or lack there of. However, that did not stop us from having a magnificent day. We started walking and ended up at La Sagrada Familia, a massive, privately funded Roman Catholic Church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is expected to continue until at least 2026. This church is considered the master-work of renowned Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí (1852–1926), the project's vast scale and idiosyncratic design have made it one of Barcelona's (and Spain's) top tourist attractions for many years (thanks Wikipedia!!!). This was a great structure to see, but unfortunately the line was too long, and the rain picked up as we were finishing up getting pictures. However, we did walk around it and it is truly a spectacular church. We found a restaurant to dine in for lunch nearby, and let the rain settle down as we enjoyed our meals and Fanta Orange drinks. After lunch, we continued walking and on the way back ran into Spain’s Arc de Triomf (Triumphal Arch), which was interesting because I have only seen the one in Paris. It was built for the 1888 Universal exhibition, as its main access gate by architect Josep Vilaseca i Casanovas. The arch is located between Passeig de Lluís Companys and Passeig de Sant Joan, at the end of a wide promenade connecting with the Park of the Ciutadella. We then walked through this park, and eventually made it back to the hostel for naptime before it was time to get up and get ready for dinner and for the night. We celebrated Darren’s birthday over tonight’s dinner since tomorrow we all would not be together for dinnertime. We went to a nice Tapas place, and had a fun time. The club hosting the Kabul visitors was Roxy tonight.
After sleeping in a bit, the birthday boy and group hit the road and headed back to Heaven, to relax and have a good birthday breakfast/lunch with refreshments and chicken wraps. This afternoon was great, and we got a bit more sun while lounging on some cushions on the beach. After hanging out at Heaven, we headed back on the beach and stopped to play in a jungle gym type structure on the sand for a few while enjoying the beach and the sunlight. Then, continuing on our way back, we stopped and listened to some live music being played on the boardwalk. There was a massive group of people on the stairs surrounding the group listening. It was really pleasant to sit there in the sun and listen to the music, while drinking the ever-refreshing Fanta Orange drink. We then all headed back to the hostel and Corey and I ventured off to go to the Barcelona Soccer Game. It was so fun! Barcelona won, of course- apparently they are one of the best teams in the world. After the game, the group ventured out to the club, Discotec, for Darren’s late night birthday celebration/Kelly’s birthday. We also discovered this fun bar called Chipitos we went to this night and the night before.
Easter Sunday was an interesting day, as it was Kelly’s birthday. As indecisive as she is, she did not seem to have much input on where to go, and she was being a bit dramatic about everything so it was a difficult morning to please her. We finally found somewhere to eat that did not have very good food, but it was okay because we realize the positive relationship between a bad breakfast and a great day as Friday taught us. After that, her and Andrew went their own way, and Corey, Alex, Darren and I went to explore Barcelona. We made our way to this Castle like place on a hill with excellent views and explored around and saw some sights before heading back and having a early dinner at “Ideal Restaurant”- which at the time was very ideal! Then we went back to the hostel to rest, got ready, and went to the Chipitos bar I mentioned earlier. Then, we went to Roxy again, as the hostel organized the club venue again. This night was really fun, too.
Monday morning I rallied the troops to stop sleeping and wake up for our Beautiful last day. Darren, Kelly and Andrew decided to do a bus tour, while Alex, Corey and I decided to go to Park Guell by the same architect Antoni Gaudí. The park contains amazing stone structures, stunning tiling and fascinating buildings. There is a Gaudi dragon fountain that is at the entrance to Guell Park. This dragon is adorned in beautiful colored tiling and there is something rather hypnotic and magical about it. This park was really amazing, and after walking through it for a while, the three of us made it out and found a nice balcony terrace to have lunch on. Although the food was not good, the company, conversation, and sunlight was amazing as we spent probably two to three hours there. After this, we took the metro back and took the Gandola, where I saw the most amazing views of Barcelona, on a sunny and amazing day- we also took some amazing pictures. This day was amazing. Each day and moment I kept thinking nothing could get better, but it always did. After the Gondola ride, the three of us returned to Heaven for the last time and spent a few hours relaxing and having dinner. It was amazing. We ended the night and the trip to Barcelona at club Apollo. It is questionable how good of a choice this was, because we ended up going straight from the club to the hostel to get our things to the airport for our 6:05 am flight. We were exhausted and had to wait on the runway for an hour before takeoff because of fog in Amsterdam, but eventually we made it back two hours late and then home to our dorms for a nice nap before class.
I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to take this trip; it was literally six of the best days of my life. Barcelona is a beautiful city, and I hope you all have a chance to go there someday to visit and witness such a heavenly restaurant, or at least have the chance to live vicariously through my pictures!
I love and miss you all!!!
Christina's visit & Denmark with Michele
Ah so i am so bad at writing on this thing.
Christina came to visit for two weeks in March and we had an amazing time. We went to Paris for one of the weekends, say Girltalk in concert at Paradiso, went to museums and some delicious restaurants. I was so happy to show her around Amsterdam, and I am sure she had an amazing time, too. It was great to see her after all this time.
The first week of this month, April, I flew out to Denmark to meet up with Michele, who was visiting her boyfriend who lives there and plays on the Denmark National Soccer team. We had a nice relaxing weekend, including going to one of the games and partying/clubbing with a bunch of the boys on the team...good times!!!
Christina came to visit for two weeks in March and we had an amazing time. We went to Paris for one of the weekends, say Girltalk in concert at Paradiso, went to museums and some delicious restaurants. I was so happy to show her around Amsterdam, and I am sure she had an amazing time, too. It was great to see her after all this time.
The first week of this month, April, I flew out to Denmark to meet up with Michele, who was visiting her boyfriend who lives there and plays on the Denmark National Soccer team. We had a nice relaxing weekend, including going to one of the games and partying/clubbing with a bunch of the boys on the team...good times!!!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Now I can relax...kind of
So I got back from London 2 nights ago, and although I am not heading off to Dublin with a lot of my friends for this weekend, does not mean I will not be keeping busy.
Monday & today I have been doing lots of work, preparing for the AMAZING upcoming three weeks. Katie McKitterick is coming to stay with me tomorrow (Wednesday) until Sunday, and then my sister is coming next Wednesday for two weeks!!!! YAY
I'm super excited for Katie to get here, I am going to go buy us concert tickets so we can see T PAIN who is performing at this club Melkweg tomorrow night. Then I have a bunch of ideas of fun stuff to do while she's here, including going on a daytrip Saturday to see Paleis het Loo, which is the Royal Palace!!!! This was actually a field trip for my dutch class (that all CIEE students were welcome to, and that was not mandatory), but I was pretty sure I would enjoy it, and Katie would, too, so I signed us up!
Besides that, museums and markets are in the cards for when both Katie and Christina are here. Other sights like Dam Square, the Red Light District (of course), Coco's (this really fun bar w/ a good happy hour), the Pancake Bakery, maybe the Zoo or a Comedy Show, Anne Frank house, Madame Tusaud's wax museum, Heinekin Factory, FOAM (photography museum), the Rijks, Van Gogh, Rembrandt House, Allard Pierson Museum, Dutch resistance museum, and of couse, Tranny Bingo. I will definitely let you know which of these are accomplished over the next three weeks!!!
Oh, and I'm excited because:
1. Michele is dating this hottie on the Denmark soccer team and going there for her Spring Break, so I'm trying to make plans to meet her there for one weekend
2. Jacqueline's getting an internship in Germany this summer so I am gonna extend my trip to see her in Germany!!!!!
3. Papabear's eye is better so he can fly so M&D can prob come see me soon! YAY
miss you all...
Monday & today I have been doing lots of work, preparing for the AMAZING upcoming three weeks. Katie McKitterick is coming to stay with me tomorrow (Wednesday) until Sunday, and then my sister is coming next Wednesday for two weeks!!!! YAY
I'm super excited for Katie to get here, I am going to go buy us concert tickets so we can see T PAIN who is performing at this club Melkweg tomorrow night. Then I have a bunch of ideas of fun stuff to do while she's here, including going on a daytrip Saturday to see Paleis het Loo, which is the Royal Palace!!!! This was actually a field trip for my dutch class (that all CIEE students were welcome to, and that was not mandatory), but I was pretty sure I would enjoy it, and Katie would, too, so I signed us up!
Besides that, museums and markets are in the cards for when both Katie and Christina are here. Other sights like Dam Square, the Red Light District (of course), Coco's (this really fun bar w/ a good happy hour), the Pancake Bakery, maybe the Zoo or a Comedy Show, Anne Frank house, Madame Tusaud's wax museum, Heinekin Factory, FOAM (photography museum), the Rijks, Van Gogh, Rembrandt House, Allard Pierson Museum, Dutch resistance museum, and of couse, Tranny Bingo. I will definitely let you know which of these are accomplished over the next three weeks!!!
Oh, and I'm excited because:
1. Michele is dating this hottie on the Denmark soccer team and going there for her Spring Break, so I'm trying to make plans to meet her there for one weekend
2. Jacqueline's getting an internship in Germany this summer so I am gonna extend my trip to see her in Germany!!!!!
3. Papabear's eye is better so he can fly so M&D can prob come see me soon! YAY
miss you all...
LONDON
So not even a full 4 days passed until Kelly & I were venturing off to travel again.
We returned home Monday morning at 5:30am and took for for London after my dutch class on Thursday night. Kelly and I hurried to Centraal Station to catch the 7:58 pm train to Schiphol airport. As we were walking off the train, we met up with Beth, Colleen, and Jessee, who are the other three girls we were traveling with. We checked in without any trouble, and less than 2 hours later we were walking off the plane at London Gatwick.
After purchasing our London Gatwick express tickets, we preceeded to get on the wrong (well, not really wrong, but not the express) train to Victoria station, and arrived there about 20 minutes after we would have had on the express. Nonethe less, we successfully arrived to Euston Station and set of to find the Generator hostel. This should have been easy. Colleen printed out directions, and I kindly asked a bus driver where the street was. 35 minutes later, we realized he had told us the wrong way. After a 35 min walk back to our starting point, we went left instead, and 20 minutes later the street was no where in sight. Apparently you have to go STRAIGHT to the next block, and THEN left. Anyway, we eventually made it to the Generator, exhausted and starving and ate vending machine chips for dinner and passed out.
However, the rest of the weekend was amazing.
We woke up Friday morning, and after bfast (aka cereal and toast) at the hostel we went on a walking tour of the city. The tour took us around all sorts of places: Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park Corner, Nelson's Column, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, 10 Drowning St., St. Jame's Park, Wellington Arch, Horsegaurds, Whitehall, Big Ben, Churchill's War Cabinet Bunker, The Houses of Parliment, St. Martin in the Fields, Westminister Abbey, and more! it was grand! After the walking tour we went to a pub for lunch. Kelly and I ordered the "Big Ben Burger" and it was phenominal. After lunch we went to Camden Market, which was huge and amazing. We thought it was only one street with a little swap meet like set up, but as we talked realized it was a HUGE area outside and inside of little stands selling really cool things. I bought quite a few things- in fact, I am about to put up some posters once I finish writing this!!! After we spend four hours or so there, we left and headed back to the hostel to get ready for FABRIC, this really cool sounding club we had heard about. We got ready and headed to the hostel bar for a drink or two, before heading out (grabbing dinner on the way) to Fabric. Fabric turned out to be really fun! We heard a British band and danced ! And we met some guys from Venezuela, doing Master's programs in London & Madrid.
Saturday was an amazing day, too. After the hostel bfast, we headed to Notting Hill. BEAUTIFUL area with pretty houses and colorful trees. We went to Portabello Market, which was, again, AMAZING. I found some really good souveniors, for myself and my family. Not only were there random ring/jewelery stands, but antique stores, touristy stores, food stands, fruits and veggie stands, etc. We found a falafel stand and had a great sandwich for lunch. After the market we headed to HARRODS for tea by way of the Kennsington Gardens(/park). This was BEAUTIFUL. it was so sunny- which is outrageously rare for London. In fact, it was sunny all three days we were there. It was simply a blessing. Anyway, the garden/park was beautiful and green with flowers everywhere and familys scampering around. There were a few lakes which added a nice touch. We saw the Kennsington Palace, although we did not enter, and the Princess Diana Memorial fountain. After spending quite a bit of time in the park walking around, we finally made it to Harrods for tea. Now, I had been to Harrods a few times, each time being amazing, and so I was really excited to take the girls. We only had to wait around 30 mins, and the prices were less expensive than I remembered or warned them, so we were all stoked. We spent like 2 hours having tea and talking and such- it was a great end to a great afternoon. After tea, we split up and Colleen, Kelly & I hussled back to the hostel to get ready and make it in time for happy hour before meeting up for the pub crawl at 8:30. After some drinks, conversations, and new acquaintences from the bar, the three of us headed out to Covent Gardens to meet up at the first bar. 12 pounds well spent- the pub crawl was a lot of fun, and we met a lot of nice people. In one bar we met a group of (young & attractive) Norwegian teachers on a conference, and met a group of Aussies in another. Also, we met three guys that happen to be visiting London from Amsterdam! So that was cool! We hungout with these guys until the end of the night and eventually made it home after getting a little lost! What a fab night!!!!!!
Sunday morning we woke up extra early by chance and got our day started right away. Today, Kelly & I split up from the other girls and went back to the Camden Market, because she needed to get her friend a Arsenol flag. After walking around the market a bit, we grabbed lunch at a cute cafe before heading to Trafalger Square to the Picasso exhibit featured at the National Gallery. We got there a little before 1:00 pm, and bought exhibit tickets for what we thought was right then. Turned out the appointment we bought tickets for was at 2:00pm, so we went out to take pictures around the square with the lion statues and such, and then went to have a drink while we waited in a nearby bar. We sat there talking about all the plans we had for the next week while Christina and her brother visits. YAY! Another funny think- we were sitting rightttt by the door, and there was this one point where this woman walks in with a toddler. Kelly, a little louder than she had meant, bursted out: "Who brings a baby into a bar!!!?!?!" and did not realize how loud she said it until it was already out. Fortunately for her, she was facing the wall and I was facing the room, so the woman turned around as if to say something but I subtly looked past her as if I didn't notice, so we didn't have to deal with her attempt and an excuse. So that was funny. Eventually we made it into the exhbit, and was there for just under an hour viewing the genius works of Picasso. it was grand! We then headed back to the hostel and met up with colleen, printed our boarding passes, grabbed our luggage, and took off to the pizza place next door before heading the the airport. We got hom Sunday night around 11:30 pm, and the trip was declared an AMAZING success. YAY!
We returned home Monday morning at 5:30am and took for for London after my dutch class on Thursday night. Kelly and I hurried to Centraal Station to catch the 7:58 pm train to Schiphol airport. As we were walking off the train, we met up with Beth, Colleen, and Jessee, who are the other three girls we were traveling with. We checked in without any trouble, and less than 2 hours later we were walking off the plane at London Gatwick.
After purchasing our London Gatwick express tickets, we preceeded to get on the wrong (well, not really wrong, but not the express) train to Victoria station, and arrived there about 20 minutes after we would have had on the express. Nonethe less, we successfully arrived to Euston Station and set of to find the Generator hostel. This should have been easy. Colleen printed out directions, and I kindly asked a bus driver where the street was. 35 minutes later, we realized he had told us the wrong way. After a 35 min walk back to our starting point, we went left instead, and 20 minutes later the street was no where in sight. Apparently you have to go STRAIGHT to the next block, and THEN left. Anyway, we eventually made it to the Generator, exhausted and starving and ate vending machine chips for dinner and passed out.
However, the rest of the weekend was amazing.
We woke up Friday morning, and after bfast (aka cereal and toast) at the hostel we went on a walking tour of the city. The tour took us around all sorts of places: Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park Corner, Nelson's Column, Leicester Square, Trafalgar Square, the National Gallery, 10 Drowning St., St. Jame's Park, Wellington Arch, Horsegaurds, Whitehall, Big Ben, Churchill's War Cabinet Bunker, The Houses of Parliment, St. Martin in the Fields, Westminister Abbey, and more! it was grand! After the walking tour we went to a pub for lunch. Kelly and I ordered the "Big Ben Burger" and it was phenominal. After lunch we went to Camden Market, which was huge and amazing. We thought it was only one street with a little swap meet like set up, but as we talked realized it was a HUGE area outside and inside of little stands selling really cool things. I bought quite a few things- in fact, I am about to put up some posters once I finish writing this!!! After we spend four hours or so there, we left and headed back to the hostel to get ready for FABRIC, this really cool sounding club we had heard about. We got ready and headed to the hostel bar for a drink or two, before heading out (grabbing dinner on the way) to Fabric. Fabric turned out to be really fun! We heard a British band and danced ! And we met some guys from Venezuela, doing Master's programs in London & Madrid.
Saturday was an amazing day, too. After the hostel bfast, we headed to Notting Hill. BEAUTIFUL area with pretty houses and colorful trees. We went to Portabello Market, which was, again, AMAZING. I found some really good souveniors, for myself and my family. Not only were there random ring/jewelery stands, but antique stores, touristy stores, food stands, fruits and veggie stands, etc. We found a falafel stand and had a great sandwich for lunch. After the market we headed to HARRODS for tea by way of the Kennsington Gardens(/park). This was BEAUTIFUL. it was so sunny- which is outrageously rare for London. In fact, it was sunny all three days we were there. It was simply a blessing. Anyway, the garden/park was beautiful and green with flowers everywhere and familys scampering around. There were a few lakes which added a nice touch. We saw the Kennsington Palace, although we did not enter, and the Princess Diana Memorial fountain. After spending quite a bit of time in the park walking around, we finally made it to Harrods for tea. Now, I had been to Harrods a few times, each time being amazing, and so I was really excited to take the girls. We only had to wait around 30 mins, and the prices were less expensive than I remembered or warned them, so we were all stoked. We spent like 2 hours having tea and talking and such- it was a great end to a great afternoon. After tea, we split up and Colleen, Kelly & I hussled back to the hostel to get ready and make it in time for happy hour before meeting up for the pub crawl at 8:30. After some drinks, conversations, and new acquaintences from the bar, the three of us headed out to Covent Gardens to meet up at the first bar. 12 pounds well spent- the pub crawl was a lot of fun, and we met a lot of nice people. In one bar we met a group of (young & attractive) Norwegian teachers on a conference, and met a group of Aussies in another. Also, we met three guys that happen to be visiting London from Amsterdam! So that was cool! We hungout with these guys until the end of the night and eventually made it home after getting a little lost! What a fab night!!!!!!
Sunday morning we woke up extra early by chance and got our day started right away. Today, Kelly & I split up from the other girls and went back to the Camden Market, because she needed to get her friend a Arsenol flag. After walking around the market a bit, we grabbed lunch at a cute cafe before heading to Trafalger Square to the Picasso exhibit featured at the National Gallery. We got there a little before 1:00 pm, and bought exhibit tickets for what we thought was right then. Turned out the appointment we bought tickets for was at 2:00pm, so we went out to take pictures around the square with the lion statues and such, and then went to have a drink while we waited in a nearby bar. We sat there talking about all the plans we had for the next week while Christina and her brother visits. YAY! Another funny think- we were sitting rightttt by the door, and there was this one point where this woman walks in with a toddler. Kelly, a little louder than she had meant, bursted out: "Who brings a baby into a bar!!!?!?!" and did not realize how loud she said it until it was already out. Fortunately for her, she was facing the wall and I was facing the room, so the woman turned around as if to say something but I subtly looked past her as if I didn't notice, so we didn't have to deal with her attempt and an excuse. So that was funny. Eventually we made it into the exhbit, and was there for just under an hour viewing the genius works of Picasso. it was grand! We then headed back to the hostel and met up with colleen, printed our boarding passes, grabbed our luggage, and took off to the pizza place next door before heading the the airport. We got hom Sunday night around 11:30 pm, and the trip was declared an AMAZING success. YAY!
BERLIN
Written the first week in March:
This past weekend has been one of the craziest ones thus far.
Kelly, Darren, Andrew, Alex & took a cab to the Euroline bus stop around 11pm on Thursday night. After checking in and loading the bus not long after 11:30pm, we were off and on our way to Berlin! The bus ride was long, and somewhat treacherous, however, nine ish hours later we arrived at "ZOB"- the Berlin bus station. A few minutes walking led us to the Kaiserdam subway stop, where we loaded the metro to take us to Rosa-Luxenburg-Platz where we would find our hostel just 200 yards away. After dropping our stuff in the luggage room of The Wombat hostel, the five of us left with Matty, a walking tour guide, who took us to the area where the walking tours depart from. After a magnificent mocha and sandwich from Starbucks (yeah, we were desperately hungry), we took off on our walking tour with our guide, Summer. We explored the city for the next 3 1/2 hours and saw sights and heard historical blurbs and stories.
After this, we headed back to the hostel for a much needed nap, and finally made our way down the the restaurant next door for dinner. Then we were off to a pub crawl! and we had to run around to find it and then literally sprint to the bar to make it for the first free beer. haha four bars, great company, and a few Australian acquaintances later, I struggled for Andy and his friends (coming from studying in Vienna) to find the bar- which was a bitch because in the middle of trying to figure out where we were, both of our phones ran out of minutes, without 10 mins of each other, and thus, impossible for us to contact one another. BUST! anyway, the rest of the night was a lot of fun and by the time we made it back to bed it was one of the best sleeps of my life!
The next morning Kelly & I got up to take advantage of the bfast at the restaurant next door to the hostel, for 3.50 euro- yum! After rounding up the boys and getting ready, and finally meeting up with Andy & co. to discuss plans for meeting up later, we headed out to the Museum Isle. After a bunch of amazing pictures later, we also went to the government building where there is this dome you can venture up (kinda like the Arc de Triumph or Effiel Tower) and check out the view of the city. It was beautiful! Then we had dinner at the most spectacular falafel place called “Da Da Falafel.” It was unrealllllll. I am not doing Berlin much justice here, but it was fabulous. This night we met up with Andy & co. at the hostel bar around 10 pm, and headed out for Panorama around 1am…yeah, things get started late. Anyway, to make a long story short we waited in line from like 4:30am – 5:15 am just to get rejected at the door for being American. Bust.
The next morning was a rough one, as we didn’t sleep until 7am and had to check out by 10am, but the crew ventured to an outdoor market that was really cool. I really love walking around markets and looking at all the random shit people are trying to sell. Ha!
Then we tried to go to this place, apparently the largest department store in all of continental Europe, but it was Sunday, and therefore, closed- so we had lunch at this little café before heading back to Wombats to get our things and head to the bus.
Funny though how we thought we had all the time in the world, and realized that the bus was scheduled to leave in 20 minutes- when we were still on the train. AH! We all got really flustered, but decided as long as the train didn’t break down or something we’d be fine. 17 seconds after we agreed on this, the train stopped and the lights went out. What seemed like forever and was probably only 40 seconds, the train started moving (with the lights still out) and eventually got us to the right stop 7 minutes pre bus departure. We sprinted to the bus and were the last ones to board- somehow though we still all got our own seats- success!
This past weekend has been one of the craziest ones thus far.
Kelly, Darren, Andrew, Alex & took a cab to the Euroline bus stop around 11pm on Thursday night. After checking in and loading the bus not long after 11:30pm, we were off and on our way to Berlin! The bus ride was long, and somewhat treacherous, however, nine ish hours later we arrived at "ZOB"- the Berlin bus station. A few minutes walking led us to the Kaiserdam subway stop, where we loaded the metro to take us to Rosa-Luxenburg-Platz where we would find our hostel just 200 yards away. After dropping our stuff in the luggage room of The Wombat hostel, the five of us left with Matty, a walking tour guide, who took us to the area where the walking tours depart from. After a magnificent mocha and sandwich from Starbucks (yeah, we were desperately hungry), we took off on our walking tour with our guide, Summer. We explored the city for the next 3 1/2 hours and saw sights and heard historical blurbs and stories.
After this, we headed back to the hostel for a much needed nap, and finally made our way down the the restaurant next door for dinner. Then we were off to a pub crawl! and we had to run around to find it and then literally sprint to the bar to make it for the first free beer. haha four bars, great company, and a few Australian acquaintances later, I struggled for Andy and his friends (coming from studying in Vienna) to find the bar- which was a bitch because in the middle of trying to figure out where we were, both of our phones ran out of minutes, without 10 mins of each other, and thus, impossible for us to contact one another. BUST! anyway, the rest of the night was a lot of fun and by the time we made it back to bed it was one of the best sleeps of my life!
The next morning Kelly & I got up to take advantage of the bfast at the restaurant next door to the hostel, for 3.50 euro- yum! After rounding up the boys and getting ready, and finally meeting up with Andy & co. to discuss plans for meeting up later, we headed out to the Museum Isle. After a bunch of amazing pictures later, we also went to the government building where there is this dome you can venture up (kinda like the Arc de Triumph or Effiel Tower) and check out the view of the city. It was beautiful! Then we had dinner at the most spectacular falafel place called “Da Da Falafel.” It was unrealllllll. I am not doing Berlin much justice here, but it was fabulous. This night we met up with Andy & co. at the hostel bar around 10 pm, and headed out for Panorama around 1am…yeah, things get started late. Anyway, to make a long story short we waited in line from like 4:30am – 5:15 am just to get rejected at the door for being American. Bust.
The next morning was a rough one, as we didn’t sleep until 7am and had to check out by 10am, but the crew ventured to an outdoor market that was really cool. I really love walking around markets and looking at all the random shit people are trying to sell. Ha!
Then we tried to go to this place, apparently the largest department store in all of continental Europe, but it was Sunday, and therefore, closed- so we had lunch at this little café before heading back to Wombats to get our things and head to the bus.
Funny though how we thought we had all the time in the world, and realized that the bus was scheduled to leave in 20 minutes- when we were still on the train. AH! We all got really flustered, but decided as long as the train didn’t break down or something we’d be fine. 17 seconds after we agreed on this, the train stopped and the lights went out. What seemed like forever and was probably only 40 seconds, the train started moving (with the lights still out) and eventually got us to the right stop 7 minutes pre bus departure. We sprinted to the bus and were the last ones to board- somehow though we still all got our own seats- success!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Amazingness all Around!
Well I sure have been lazy about keeping up with this journal...I do not know why! I know that I want to log all of my adventures and activities, but I am just so busy running around seeing/doing this and that when I have a spare moment or two I don't even think to update this baby!
Anyway, the last few weeks have been amazing. First off...so far I have four trips planned: Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and Barcelona! I am SO excited to finally start adventures outside of the Netherlands! We go to Berlin in 2 weeks, and Andy & his friend from Vienna are coming and meeting us there! I cannot wait to go on a bike tour of the city, explore museums, and party at night =] Next, my wonderful sister is coming for TWO WEEKS in March and we're going to Paris for one of the weekends- can you imagine! Then, Vienna at the beginning of May, and Barcelona in April. These, however, are only 4 of my Top 10 travel locations, so I still have much traveling to plan! The other places I want to/am going to go include Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Czech Repub and England!
OKAY so as I said the last few weeks have been so amazinggg...some friends and I have made the tradition to go to the Pancake Bakery for brunch (because bfast before noon on Friday mornings are IMPOSSIBLE! ha!). This place serves ridiculous sized omlets and crepe like pancakes. yum!
Last week after the Pcake Bakery, Darren and I went to the Anne Frank House. it was spectacular. It was so perfect because I had literally finished the book two days before- which I vowed to do before going to the museum. This experience was truly amazing: walking through the house where Anne herself lived for 24 months. It was very moving also. Anyway, besides that I went on a day trip to the Hague, which is the Netherlands government building about a 45 minute metro ride from Amsterdam. I went with Jeremy and Justin, and we explored the area, found a Muslim market- interesting- and saw THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING live!!! It is at the Maurishuis museum and it was beautiful! I got a poster too!
Which reminds me...I have decorated my room a little bit! I have that poster on the bac of my door and then this pretty tapestry I got at the flea market hanging on one wall. i also have pictures posted everywhere, so its quite homey. =]
Let's see...
So Katie Mckitt is coming to visit me in March before my sis comes, which is SO exciting. And then my sis will be here for two weeks...so that will simply be an amazing three weeks! I have also been talking to my parents about when they should come/if i should extend my trip and have them just come meet me after to travel around...so we shall see!
I dont have much more to tell about now, besides these Friday afternoons of just hanging out, catching up on work, and being lazy are AMAZING after going out every night during the week. ha! See, it's not that I am totally crazy, but with all the fun activities it's hard not to go out all the time! For instance, every Tuesday night ISN (international student network) has a borrel (party) for us at da Hefer (the heffer). this is like a bar/club ish type place. its really fun...our group usually meets up way before hand to hangout, then goes to the heffer, then goes to other random fun places! Then, on Wednesday nights it is 1 euro beers at this bar we call Jupiter (yes, I RECENTLY realized that was 1. not the name of the bar and 2. that it is the name of the beer featured there, actually called Jupiler!). So we all make the 20 minute or so bike ride journey over to the containers aka Stravanderveg (sp?) OH but this is exciting- 2 weeks ago when we biked over there IT WAS SNOWING!!! this was my first time in real, free falling snow! whoa it was sooo amazing i didnt even care that my fingers were numb and the mascara was streaming down my cheeks! side note- another thing, it is SO cold sometimes that when i am biking i start crying! just because of the cold air in my face! bet that makes you shiver!
ok well besides that, nothing else new (haha). tonight we are going to this club "club house" which has 2 floors, one with house and one with techno music (my fantasy basically).
OH! and last night i went to the ballet! it was spectacular! i mean, it was kinda boring and the story line wasnt too exciting, but it was a great experience to go! except by the time it was over, at like 11pm i was starving because i had class 3-6 and 6-8 so i never had din! whoops! anyway, classes are really great too. Dutch is HARD but im glad i am taking it, my contemp dutch social policy is kinda bullshit, but okay, and my other 2 basically mesh together to be a repeat of Comm 206 from usc...but oh well.
anyway, gotta get dinner going and get ready for the night...yea thats right...i COOK NOW! hahaha future roomies get excited...
love you all!
Anyway, the last few weeks have been amazing. First off...so far I have four trips planned: Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and Barcelona! I am SO excited to finally start adventures outside of the Netherlands! We go to Berlin in 2 weeks, and Andy & his friend from Vienna are coming and meeting us there! I cannot wait to go on a bike tour of the city, explore museums, and party at night =] Next, my wonderful sister is coming for TWO WEEKS in March and we're going to Paris for one of the weekends- can you imagine! Then, Vienna at the beginning of May, and Barcelona in April. These, however, are only 4 of my Top 10 travel locations, so I still have much traveling to plan! The other places I want to/am going to go include Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Greece, Czech Repub and England!
OKAY so as I said the last few weeks have been so amazinggg...some friends and I have made the tradition to go to the Pancake Bakery for brunch (because bfast before noon on Friday mornings are IMPOSSIBLE! ha!). This place serves ridiculous sized omlets and crepe like pancakes. yum!
Last week after the Pcake Bakery, Darren and I went to the Anne Frank House. it was spectacular. It was so perfect because I had literally finished the book two days before- which I vowed to do before going to the museum. This experience was truly amazing: walking through the house where Anne herself lived for 24 months. It was very moving also. Anyway, besides that I went on a day trip to the Hague, which is the Netherlands government building about a 45 minute metro ride from Amsterdam. I went with Jeremy and Justin, and we explored the area, found a Muslim market- interesting- and saw THE GIRL WITH THE PEARL EARRING live!!! It is at the Maurishuis museum and it was beautiful! I got a poster too!
Which reminds me...I have decorated my room a little bit! I have that poster on the bac of my door and then this pretty tapestry I got at the flea market hanging on one wall. i also have pictures posted everywhere, so its quite homey. =]
Let's see...
So Katie Mckitt is coming to visit me in March before my sis comes, which is SO exciting. And then my sis will be here for two weeks...so that will simply be an amazing three weeks! I have also been talking to my parents about when they should come/if i should extend my trip and have them just come meet me after to travel around...so we shall see!
I dont have much more to tell about now, besides these Friday afternoons of just hanging out, catching up on work, and being lazy are AMAZING after going out every night during the week. ha! See, it's not that I am totally crazy, but with all the fun activities it's hard not to go out all the time! For instance, every Tuesday night ISN (international student network) has a borrel (party) for us at da Hefer (the heffer). this is like a bar/club ish type place. its really fun...our group usually meets up way before hand to hangout, then goes to the heffer, then goes to other random fun places! Then, on Wednesday nights it is 1 euro beers at this bar we call Jupiter (yes, I RECENTLY realized that was 1. not the name of the bar and 2. that it is the name of the beer featured there, actually called Jupiler!). So we all make the 20 minute or so bike ride journey over to the containers aka Stravanderveg (sp?) OH but this is exciting- 2 weeks ago when we biked over there IT WAS SNOWING!!! this was my first time in real, free falling snow! whoa it was sooo amazing i didnt even care that my fingers were numb and the mascara was streaming down my cheeks! side note- another thing, it is SO cold sometimes that when i am biking i start crying! just because of the cold air in my face! bet that makes you shiver!
ok well besides that, nothing else new (haha). tonight we are going to this club "club house" which has 2 floors, one with house and one with techno music (my fantasy basically).
OH! and last night i went to the ballet! it was spectacular! i mean, it was kinda boring and the story line wasnt too exciting, but it was a great experience to go! except by the time it was over, at like 11pm i was starving because i had class 3-6 and 6-8 so i never had din! whoops! anyway, classes are really great too. Dutch is HARD but im glad i am taking it, my contemp dutch social policy is kinda bullshit, but okay, and my other 2 basically mesh together to be a repeat of Comm 206 from usc...but oh well.
anyway, gotta get dinner going and get ready for the night...yea thats right...i COOK NOW! hahaha future roomies get excited...
love you all!
Saturday, January 31, 2009
First Weekend in Amsterdam
So as you can see below, i posted some journals from earlier this week today, sorry for the delay, its been crazy! But those 2 posts i think give a pretty good idea what i was up to for the first two days. now let me bring you up to speed...
Today is Saturday.
On Wednesday i finally got my apt keys and made my way over to Prins Hendrikkade 189 C33. I dont know how you all feel about STAIRS, but i have to climb approximately 90 stairs to get to my hall. Now, picture this alone with 2 50lb bags, a purse, and a 20lb backpack............yeah, TORTURE! when i finally got all my stuff to my door, i opened my door and saw a little common room area and two doors in front of me: mine and my roommates. i unlocked the door on the right to a little jail-cell look alike and almost collapsed right then and there crying. fortunetly for my sanity, my roommate, Sasha, emerged right before my breakdown and prevented it with conversaiton. She offered me a carpet that the last girl left behind, and after i set that up, made my bed with my sheets from home (good thing because the bedding they gave is cheap and nasty) i felt a little better. i also have my own sink in my room. before orientation at 3pm, Kelly, Beth, Darren & I went to HEMA, which is kinda ikea/targetish. I got pretty blue towels (to match my desk, chair, and closet), a sink cup, soap dispenser, shampoo/conditioner, etc. We ran into orientation a few minutes late swishing with our bags and kinda caused a scene, but luckily USC kids out number the CIEE kids by any one school so no one had a chance to judge haha.
anyway, orientation was cool- we went though the 64 kids by name, school, hometown, and one fun fact. mine was that i had never really lived in under 40 degree weather - people laughed probably about the torture i would be facing the next 5months. oh well, i am surviving. anyway, the group is cool. anyway so the first night's activity was a boat ride in the canal, which was cool but kinda blah cus it was so cold outside and it was hard to get good views from inside.
thursday was a fun day. we split up into groups and did a walking tour of the city. we were crusing around all day! and finally went back to CIEE and got our sim cards and bikes! it was fun! then we went to this student bar for a drink or two before dinner and then headed over to the Atrium which is like a cafeteria for UvA and ate in our ISN (international student network) groups. my group kinda sucks but Kelly's "coach" is cool (and a gorgeous dutch man) so I will have to join up in hers. after dinner we had our first "borrel" which is basically bar-party with ISN. it was at ODEON which is a really cool place, and the party we have tonight is actually there too. it was SO fun...open bar for wine/beer and dancing and such. then we went to this other place (we biked there- and i FELL because if u go diagonal across the tram tracks ur tires get STUCK!) but it wasnt as fun because it was REALLY crowded. so we peaced out to the Grasshopper and then to a bar next door, before heading home.
Yesterday was long day too...orientation in the morning consisted of academic information (oh, we're studying here, too!?!?!) and a crash dutch lesson from Bonny, who is the dutch prof and the CIEE dutch social policy class. I am taking that class, Ethnic Diversity and Popular Culture, Representing Identity through Film & Literature, and Intro to Conflict Studies...so im getting 3 classes worth of Comm credit. I have 2 classes monday & a seminar, one tues, one wed, and one thurs. not too bad, and plenty of time to travel thurs night-sunday. After that, we went over to the Atrium for lunch and then next door where we registered for Residential Permits - which took a while. After Kelly & I got ours, we left and went to Alberjeim "Albertsons," if you will, for groceries. It is SO hard to figure out what things are, the nutrition labels, etc. it was a bit frustrating but we eventually made it out of there and home. Here, and in a lot of europe i think, you have to buy your grocery bags, so i will remember to bring my own next time! then we got back to my place, had a glass of wine with Sasha, and then went to MAOZ for dinner- this GREAT falafel place. yum. we called it a night after that cus we were exhausted, and i slept a beautiful 10 hours! the shade in my room is REALLY good so when i woke up this morning at 9:15 i was pissed and thought i woke up in the middle of the night again, but when i peaked out and the sun blinded me, i was pleased to see it was morning.
which leads me to today! mellow day, resting up & preparing for tonight. i had bfast and organizd some stuff, and went to lunch with Sasha. Then I was hanging out here more in a big Skype chat with all of us SC kids figuring out the dealio for tonight, since ISN is hosting another big party for us all tonight at ODEON. Alex and I just went to the store to get some supplies, beverages, and phone MINUTES! very exciting but i dont know how to activate it because the recording is in dutch! shit! oh well i will find some dutch man to help me ;]
So yeah, that's about all caught up now- Kelly & Darren are on their way over to play now, so im just waiting for them. i cant believe school starts Monday!
Today is Saturday.
On Wednesday i finally got my apt keys and made my way over to Prins Hendrikkade 189 C33. I dont know how you all feel about STAIRS, but i have to climb approximately 90 stairs to get to my hall. Now, picture this alone with 2 50lb bags, a purse, and a 20lb backpack............yeah, TORTURE! when i finally got all my stuff to my door, i opened my door and saw a little common room area and two doors in front of me: mine and my roommates. i unlocked the door on the right to a little jail-cell look alike and almost collapsed right then and there crying. fortunetly for my sanity, my roommate, Sasha, emerged right before my breakdown and prevented it with conversaiton. She offered me a carpet that the last girl left behind, and after i set that up, made my bed with my sheets from home (good thing because the bedding they gave is cheap and nasty) i felt a little better. i also have my own sink in my room. before orientation at 3pm, Kelly, Beth, Darren & I went to HEMA, which is kinda ikea/targetish. I got pretty blue towels (to match my desk, chair, and closet), a sink cup, soap dispenser, shampoo/conditioner, etc. We ran into orientation a few minutes late swishing with our bags and kinda caused a scene, but luckily USC kids out number the CIEE kids by any one school so no one had a chance to judge haha.
anyway, orientation was cool- we went though the 64 kids by name, school, hometown, and one fun fact. mine was that i had never really lived in under 40 degree weather - people laughed probably about the torture i would be facing the next 5months. oh well, i am surviving. anyway, the group is cool. anyway so the first night's activity was a boat ride in the canal, which was cool but kinda blah cus it was so cold outside and it was hard to get good views from inside.
thursday was a fun day. we split up into groups and did a walking tour of the city. we were crusing around all day! and finally went back to CIEE and got our sim cards and bikes! it was fun! then we went to this student bar for a drink or two before dinner and then headed over to the Atrium which is like a cafeteria for UvA and ate in our ISN (international student network) groups. my group kinda sucks but Kelly's "coach" is cool (and a gorgeous dutch man) so I will have to join up in hers. after dinner we had our first "borrel" which is basically bar-party with ISN. it was at ODEON which is a really cool place, and the party we have tonight is actually there too. it was SO fun...open bar for wine/beer and dancing and such. then we went to this other place (we biked there- and i FELL because if u go diagonal across the tram tracks ur tires get STUCK!) but it wasnt as fun because it was REALLY crowded. so we peaced out to the Grasshopper and then to a bar next door, before heading home.
Yesterday was long day too...orientation in the morning consisted of academic information (oh, we're studying here, too!?!?!) and a crash dutch lesson from Bonny, who is the dutch prof and the CIEE dutch social policy class. I am taking that class, Ethnic Diversity and Popular Culture, Representing Identity through Film & Literature, and Intro to Conflict Studies...so im getting 3 classes worth of Comm credit. I have 2 classes monday & a seminar, one tues, one wed, and one thurs. not too bad, and plenty of time to travel thurs night-sunday. After that, we went over to the Atrium for lunch and then next door where we registered for Residential Permits - which took a while. After Kelly & I got ours, we left and went to Alberjeim "Albertsons," if you will, for groceries. It is SO hard to figure out what things are, the nutrition labels, etc. it was a bit frustrating but we eventually made it out of there and home. Here, and in a lot of europe i think, you have to buy your grocery bags, so i will remember to bring my own next time! then we got back to my place, had a glass of wine with Sasha, and then went to MAOZ for dinner- this GREAT falafel place. yum. we called it a night after that cus we were exhausted, and i slept a beautiful 10 hours! the shade in my room is REALLY good so when i woke up this morning at 9:15 i was pissed and thought i woke up in the middle of the night again, but when i peaked out and the sun blinded me, i was pleased to see it was morning.
which leads me to today! mellow day, resting up & preparing for tonight. i had bfast and organizd some stuff, and went to lunch with Sasha. Then I was hanging out here more in a big Skype chat with all of us SC kids figuring out the dealio for tonight, since ISN is hosting another big party for us all tonight at ODEON. Alex and I just went to the store to get some supplies, beverages, and phone MINUTES! very exciting but i dont know how to activate it because the recording is in dutch! shit! oh well i will find some dutch man to help me ;]
So yeah, that's about all caught up now- Kelly & Darren are on their way over to play now, so im just waiting for them. i cant believe school starts Monday!
"January 27, 2009"
January 27, 2009
Today was very long, filled with lots of cold weather, long walks, and good company. We started the morning with breakfast downstairs at the hotel- an interesting combination: corn flakes, sandwich meat, and rolls. We smuggled out some sandwiches for lunch (that most of us didn’t even get around to eating unfortunately) and headed out for the day, beginning with a stop at a place to get Netherland’s Passport pictures for our residential permits. After that, we stopped by the CIEE office and met our advisor people, Hannah and Renee. They were very nice and let us check our email and write parents. After figuring out the schedule for tomorrow, we continued on the Dam Square area, filled with different smoke shops (bongs lining the shelves and marijuana candy bars, chocolate, and lollipops to the consumer’s liking), cafes, hookah bars, and souvenir shops. We stopped for lunch at this Tapas place, which means basically little plates to get a lot of and share. Kelly & I shared a hamburger and fries. A little plate came out with sliced potatoes and a little meatloaf-like patty on top. It was actually really good!
We continued on and glanced in different smoke shops, and saw some with refrigerators, holding little packs of shrooms (which are technically illegal now…) and other smoking supplies. We stopped at this shop called “Dampkring Growshop” which actually had 3 plants growing in the back! We got pictures! It also had a microscope set up so you could check out the crystals on a piece of the weed. We moved on to walk more, and made a very large loop of the city, ending up at a coffee shop that had not only space cake, but also space tea and chronic hot chocolate. We also went in this shop that had like, herbal drug-like teas. There was one that sounded like it would act like Adderol, one to enhance the effects of shrooms, one to maximize sexual something…very interesting. There were also these pills that was “natural LSD, ” promised to cause colorful hallucinations. This store also had a set up of “Peyote,” which is what the Indians use to use for their “spiritual journeys.” Peyote kind of looked like shrooms, but was said to have a 12-hour high. As if I even need to say it, this store was cool, yet no purchases were made.
When we eventually got back to the hotel, we enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate in the lobby and then Kelly & I went up and passed out for like 2 hours…it was beautiful. So I haven’t mentioned this, but the weather is COLD! Today I wore leggings & uggs, a tanktop, sweater, jacket, long woven jacket, wool coat, gloves, and my little head wrap-ear covers. It was really cold in the morning and then warmed up once the sun came out in the afternoon. The weather actually got quite pleasant during this time, and wasn’t even that cold when we headed out for dinner until a little while through our walk. We ended up at this place called Pints & Plates. The ten of us grabbed a table upstairs and the waiter was a little goofy. It was a fun & extended dinner, though, and everyone is trying to be a bit more conservative with their money now. Once we left the dinner place, we walked to this ice bar…kinda like the Absolut Icebar I went to in London. We didn’t end up staying because we decided to save it for another night, so Twen (Tiffany Wen- new nickname), KB (Kelly Bartlett), and I (Dia) headed back to our place.
I am really happy about the situation we have going on. Twen & KB are both really cool girls, and we’ve really clicked so far. We are all in different dorms, so it will be good to expand from where we’re living and explore the other areas more easily. These girls are just really fun and we’re all always laughing and making jokes and just having a great time. Even now while we’re in the hotel room (its midnight now) we’re all just talked and making jokes and laughing obnixously.
Tomorrow orientation starts: we have to take a cab to go get our apt keys in the morning and then get to our apt…then we have til 3 pm to get to CIEE for orientation, so I will have time to unpack, hopefully get on wireless, etc. That’s all for now…
Today was very long, filled with lots of cold weather, long walks, and good company. We started the morning with breakfast downstairs at the hotel- an interesting combination: corn flakes, sandwich meat, and rolls. We smuggled out some sandwiches for lunch (that most of us didn’t even get around to eating unfortunately) and headed out for the day, beginning with a stop at a place to get Netherland’s Passport pictures for our residential permits. After that, we stopped by the CIEE office and met our advisor people, Hannah and Renee. They were very nice and let us check our email and write parents. After figuring out the schedule for tomorrow, we continued on the Dam Square area, filled with different smoke shops (bongs lining the shelves and marijuana candy bars, chocolate, and lollipops to the consumer’s liking), cafes, hookah bars, and souvenir shops. We stopped for lunch at this Tapas place, which means basically little plates to get a lot of and share. Kelly & I shared a hamburger and fries. A little plate came out with sliced potatoes and a little meatloaf-like patty on top. It was actually really good!
We continued on and glanced in different smoke shops, and saw some with refrigerators, holding little packs of shrooms (which are technically illegal now…) and other smoking supplies. We stopped at this shop called “Dampkring Growshop” which actually had 3 plants growing in the back! We got pictures! It also had a microscope set up so you could check out the crystals on a piece of the weed. We moved on to walk more, and made a very large loop of the city, ending up at a coffee shop that had not only space cake, but also space tea and chronic hot chocolate. We also went in this shop that had like, herbal drug-like teas. There was one that sounded like it would act like Adderol, one to enhance the effects of shrooms, one to maximize sexual something…very interesting. There were also these pills that was “natural LSD, ” promised to cause colorful hallucinations. This store also had a set up of “Peyote,” which is what the Indians use to use for their “spiritual journeys.” Peyote kind of looked like shrooms, but was said to have a 12-hour high. As if I even need to say it, this store was cool, yet no purchases were made.
When we eventually got back to the hotel, we enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate in the lobby and then Kelly & I went up and passed out for like 2 hours…it was beautiful. So I haven’t mentioned this, but the weather is COLD! Today I wore leggings & uggs, a tanktop, sweater, jacket, long woven jacket, wool coat, gloves, and my little head wrap-ear covers. It was really cold in the morning and then warmed up once the sun came out in the afternoon. The weather actually got quite pleasant during this time, and wasn’t even that cold when we headed out for dinner until a little while through our walk. We ended up at this place called Pints & Plates. The ten of us grabbed a table upstairs and the waiter was a little goofy. It was a fun & extended dinner, though, and everyone is trying to be a bit more conservative with their money now. Once we left the dinner place, we walked to this ice bar…kinda like the Absolut Icebar I went to in London. We didn’t end up staying because we decided to save it for another night, so Twen (Tiffany Wen- new nickname), KB (Kelly Bartlett), and I (Dia) headed back to our place.
I am really happy about the situation we have going on. Twen & KB are both really cool girls, and we’ve really clicked so far. We are all in different dorms, so it will be good to expand from where we’re living and explore the other areas more easily. These girls are just really fun and we’re all always laughing and making jokes and just having a great time. Even now while we’re in the hotel room (its midnight now) we’re all just talked and making jokes and laughing obnixously.
Tomorrow orientation starts: we have to take a cab to go get our apt keys in the morning and then get to our apt…then we have til 3 pm to get to CIEE for orientation, so I will have time to unpack, hopefully get on wireless, etc. That’s all for now…
A Little Late: "January 26- Arrival in Amsterdam"
January 26- Arrival in Amsterdam
Yesterday morning I left my house at 5:30 am with my mom and dad, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at approximately 6:25 am. After unloading the trunk, Mom dropped my Dad and I off at the United Gate, and we proceeded to attempt my e-check-in. Because my stay in the Netherlands exceeds the allowable time frame for most tourists, I was asked to see an agent, and had to make my way to another line to speak to someone. By this time, Mama bear made it inside and we were all standing in different lines because we were not sure which one was right. Eventually we got to the counter and checked in. My two suitcases passed the luggage test, one weighing in at 49.0 lbs and the other at 50.5 lbs. No problem, though. Without much down in between, M&D and I headed to the security line, which looked like it was getting longer as the seconds passed. A few tears passed along with the hugs and kisses between Mama & Papa bear and I before I entered the line and they were kicked out of the aisle. I went through security without any problems in a total of about 15 minutes. However, M&D later said that the check in lines were outrageous on their way out- so I guess we had good timing. I took off from LAX at 8:53 am and found myself in Chicago just four hours later…well, technically a two-hour time difference. After meeting up with Beth, a four-hour lay over, and a 7ish hour flight to the Netherlands, I found myself woken up from my slumber while circling and landing in Schipol International Airport. Beth & my bags came without too long and we were soon off in our shuttle bus to Hotel Armada, room 464 by 9:45 am.
Fortunately, the hotel had an elevator, so after shlupping our suitcases into our room, we left a note for Tiffany at the front (who would be arriving 2 hours later), and headed out to explore. Our first morning in Amsterdam could not have been more beautiful: the sun was peeking through the clouds and the temperature had not dropped much past 45 degrees yet. There were not crowds of people out, but just enough for it to feel like we were in a cozy town. Beth and I found a nice café for breakfast, called Café Luxembourg and enjoyed a pleasant breakfast. I got this egg scramble that had smoked salmon, bacon, onions, chives, and toast, coffee, and freshly squeezed orange juice on the side. After walking up and down the streets a bit more, we eventually decided to head back to find the other girls around noon. We ran into Tiffany, Kelly, & Bryn in another cute café on the walk back and joined them in conversation over their lunch. After laughter, stories, and hopes for the semester, we decided to embark on our next adventure…
After returning to the hotel to relax for approximately 2.7 minutes, we headed out to the “Heineken Experience.” This was a virtual tour of the Heineken factory. It was so fun! Beth, Tiffany, Kelly, Bryn, and I enjoyed it very much, and there were even some cute Dutch boys working! There were two stops were we got to enjoy a nice fresh glass of Heineken, and then moving on- except when we got to serve our own beer from the top from the professional’s instructions of perfection. We spent about an hour and a half here, until we had to go back to freshen up and get ready for dinner.
Now nine of us were ready for an evening out, starting with a delicious meal (Andrew, Alex, Darren, and Colleen had met up with us by then). We took a walk (in the brisk cold) to “Kantjil & de Tijger.” It was a weird mix of like, Indian and Chinese. I had pork kabobs (recommended by our waiter). After dinner we decided to walk toward the Red Light District- what better way to spend your first night in Amsterdam, right? Well, after passing sex shop by sex shop of toys hanging in the window, various movie clips being featured, and pimp-daddy look a-likes inviting us in to the “Live Shows,” we reached the shops with rectangular windows all around. I actually only saw 2 windows which were occupied, out of many, but then again it was still before 9 pm. That was enough for the first night though, so we headed back toward the hotel, stopping in “Smokey Coffee shop.” It basically was set up like a bar, high seats at the counter, boots on the side, and pool tables in the back. However, this establishment sold no alcohol and received no orders as extensive as an alcohol list generally is. At the window counter, three sections: pipes, marijuana options, rolling paper. You were either able to purchase pre-rolled joints, space cake, cookies, or objects to smoke out of. I wouldn’t have been completely surprised if they had mushrooms back behind the counter (shrooms are no longer considered “tolerated”). The environment in this place was very laid-back, relaxed, and fun. The TV played old music videos and songs of random artist that made for great entertainment. Anyway, not much after ten the group made its way back to the hotel, said our goodnights, and retired to our rooms: for a much needed restful night’s sleep for a long and beautiful day tomorrow.
Yesterday morning I left my house at 5:30 am with my mom and dad, arriving at Los Angeles International Airport at approximately 6:25 am. After unloading the trunk, Mom dropped my Dad and I off at the United Gate, and we proceeded to attempt my e-check-in. Because my stay in the Netherlands exceeds the allowable time frame for most tourists, I was asked to see an agent, and had to make my way to another line to speak to someone. By this time, Mama bear made it inside and we were all standing in different lines because we were not sure which one was right. Eventually we got to the counter and checked in. My two suitcases passed the luggage test, one weighing in at 49.0 lbs and the other at 50.5 lbs. No problem, though. Without much down in between, M&D and I headed to the security line, which looked like it was getting longer as the seconds passed. A few tears passed along with the hugs and kisses between Mama & Papa bear and I before I entered the line and they were kicked out of the aisle. I went through security without any problems in a total of about 15 minutes. However, M&D later said that the check in lines were outrageous on their way out- so I guess we had good timing. I took off from LAX at 8:53 am and found myself in Chicago just four hours later…well, technically a two-hour time difference. After meeting up with Beth, a four-hour lay over, and a 7ish hour flight to the Netherlands, I found myself woken up from my slumber while circling and landing in Schipol International Airport. Beth & my bags came without too long and we were soon off in our shuttle bus to Hotel Armada, room 464 by 9:45 am.
Fortunately, the hotel had an elevator, so after shlupping our suitcases into our room, we left a note for Tiffany at the front (who would be arriving 2 hours later), and headed out to explore. Our first morning in Amsterdam could not have been more beautiful: the sun was peeking through the clouds and the temperature had not dropped much past 45 degrees yet. There were not crowds of people out, but just enough for it to feel like we were in a cozy town. Beth and I found a nice café for breakfast, called Café Luxembourg and enjoyed a pleasant breakfast. I got this egg scramble that had smoked salmon, bacon, onions, chives, and toast, coffee, and freshly squeezed orange juice on the side. After walking up and down the streets a bit more, we eventually decided to head back to find the other girls around noon. We ran into Tiffany, Kelly, & Bryn in another cute café on the walk back and joined them in conversation over their lunch. After laughter, stories, and hopes for the semester, we decided to embark on our next adventure…
After returning to the hotel to relax for approximately 2.7 minutes, we headed out to the “Heineken Experience.” This was a virtual tour of the Heineken factory. It was so fun! Beth, Tiffany, Kelly, Bryn, and I enjoyed it very much, and there were even some cute Dutch boys working! There were two stops were we got to enjoy a nice fresh glass of Heineken, and then moving on- except when we got to serve our own beer from the top from the professional’s instructions of perfection. We spent about an hour and a half here, until we had to go back to freshen up and get ready for dinner.
Now nine of us were ready for an evening out, starting with a delicious meal (Andrew, Alex, Darren, and Colleen had met up with us by then). We took a walk (in the brisk cold) to “Kantjil & de Tijger.” It was a weird mix of like, Indian and Chinese. I had pork kabobs (recommended by our waiter). After dinner we decided to walk toward the Red Light District- what better way to spend your first night in Amsterdam, right? Well, after passing sex shop by sex shop of toys hanging in the window, various movie clips being featured, and pimp-daddy look a-likes inviting us in to the “Live Shows,” we reached the shops with rectangular windows all around. I actually only saw 2 windows which were occupied, out of many, but then again it was still before 9 pm. That was enough for the first night though, so we headed back toward the hotel, stopping in “Smokey Coffee shop.” It basically was set up like a bar, high seats at the counter, boots on the side, and pool tables in the back. However, this establishment sold no alcohol and received no orders as extensive as an alcohol list generally is. At the window counter, three sections: pipes, marijuana options, rolling paper. You were either able to purchase pre-rolled joints, space cake, cookies, or objects to smoke out of. I wouldn’t have been completely surprised if they had mushrooms back behind the counter (shrooms are no longer considered “tolerated”). The environment in this place was very laid-back, relaxed, and fun. The TV played old music videos and songs of random artist that made for great entertainment. Anyway, not much after ten the group made its way back to the hotel, said our goodnights, and retired to our rooms: for a much needed restful night’s sleep for a long and beautiful day tomorrow.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
in amsterdam!
OMG! things are so busy so i will have to wait for this weekend to really update. i LOVE it here. its beautiful, fabulous, refreshing, and COLD! its so fun. yay.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
2 more days!
Well it has been an amazing two weeks since Maui.
In these 14 days I was able to catch up with friends and enjoy USC's PreRush, as well as see my sister and spend some good quality time with my parents. Last Tuesday I went to Les Deux with Nicole and then spend the next 2 nights at USC with Brittany & Andrea. It was so fun! Going out for PreRush and seeing a bunch of my guy friends was so fun. Then on Friday I headed to UCLA to see Lassie and spend the afternoon, evening, and night with her. Then I took her to Erica's since they were going to Santa Barbra, and headed home because I had plans to go to this girl Sarah's birthday party with Jacqueline!
Jacqueline picked me up at Erika's house and we went to Sarah's in Irvine. Her birthday party was fun & mellow, and we ended up having to go all the way back to Anaheim for the night because my parents locked me out of the house! (thanks guys!)
Anyway, the rest of the days have been nice. Mom, Dad & I have been enjoying Restaurant Week in Newport. That's when a bunch of restaurants have a preset menu for lunch and dinner: appetizer, entrees, and a dessert for a certain price. Now it is already Thursday night, and I can barely believe it. I really am truly getting excited though. Within the last few days, I have finished up my packing, receiving my dorm assignment and my class schedule. I have also received my class schedule, four courses: Contemporary Dutch Social Policy, Representing Identity in Film and Literature, Introduction of Conflict Studies, and Ethnic Diversity and Popular Culture. I have 2 classes and a seminar on Monday, one class on Tues, Wed, Thurs, and no class on Friday! This is perfect and will be great for weekend travel.
So tomorrow M&D and I are going up to UCLA to visit Lassie for lunch and go to the Weisman Art Foundation. Then, tomorrow is my last real night (because I am not going to go out the night before my flight when I have to get up at like 5 am!) and then Saturday is my last real day! Oh my!
Well my schedule for the start of my adventure: Sunday I am taking a flight at 8:53 AM from LAX to Chicago. Then in Chicago, I am meeting up with this girl Beth who is going on the program through Annenberg, too, and we will be taking the connecting flight together to Amsterdam! We arrive in Amsterdam Monday morning at 9:10 AM. Beth and I will then take a cab to the hotel we are staying at with two other girls, one of which will be there waiting for us while the other arrives at like, 11:30 AM. Then I am sure we will all stash our luggage and get some lunch ish and explore! I am SO excited. Then, Monday night the four of us will go out to dinner with four of the other Annenberg students who came in early, too! WOW so fun. I will definitely keep everyone posted on how the first few days go. So we arrive the 26th and orientation is on the 28th so we have 2 days to figure everything out.
Until my descriptions become a reality...
Tot ziens!
In these 14 days I was able to catch up with friends and enjoy USC's PreRush, as well as see my sister and spend some good quality time with my parents. Last Tuesday I went to Les Deux with Nicole and then spend the next 2 nights at USC with Brittany & Andrea. It was so fun! Going out for PreRush and seeing a bunch of my guy friends was so fun. Then on Friday I headed to UCLA to see Lassie and spend the afternoon, evening, and night with her. Then I took her to Erica's since they were going to Santa Barbra, and headed home because I had plans to go to this girl Sarah's birthday party with Jacqueline!
Jacqueline picked me up at Erika's house and we went to Sarah's in Irvine. Her birthday party was fun & mellow, and we ended up having to go all the way back to Anaheim for the night because my parents locked me out of the house! (thanks guys!)
Anyway, the rest of the days have been nice. Mom, Dad & I have been enjoying Restaurant Week in Newport. That's when a bunch of restaurants have a preset menu for lunch and dinner: appetizer, entrees, and a dessert for a certain price. Now it is already Thursday night, and I can barely believe it. I really am truly getting excited though. Within the last few days, I have finished up my packing, receiving my dorm assignment and my class schedule. I have also received my class schedule, four courses: Contemporary Dutch Social Policy, Representing Identity in Film and Literature, Introduction of Conflict Studies, and Ethnic Diversity and Popular Culture. I have 2 classes and a seminar on Monday, one class on Tues, Wed, Thurs, and no class on Friday! This is perfect and will be great for weekend travel.
So tomorrow M&D and I are going up to UCLA to visit Lassie for lunch and go to the Weisman Art Foundation. Then, tomorrow is my last real night (because I am not going to go out the night before my flight when I have to get up at like 5 am!) and then Saturday is my last real day! Oh my!
Well my schedule for the start of my adventure: Sunday I am taking a flight at 8:53 AM from LAX to Chicago. Then in Chicago, I am meeting up with this girl Beth who is going on the program through Annenberg, too, and we will be taking the connecting flight together to Amsterdam! We arrive in Amsterdam Monday morning at 9:10 AM. Beth and I will then take a cab to the hotel we are staying at with two other girls, one of which will be there waiting for us while the other arrives at like, 11:30 AM. Then I am sure we will all stash our luggage and get some lunch ish and explore! I am SO excited. Then, Monday night the four of us will go out to dinner with four of the other Annenberg students who came in early, too! WOW so fun. I will definitely keep everyone posted on how the first few days go. So we arrive the 26th and orientation is on the 28th so we have 2 days to figure everything out.
Until my descriptions become a reality...
Tot ziens!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
19 days until departure!
I am currently sitting on the lanei of this beautiful ocean front condo in Maui, over looking Kaanapali Beach as the sun is about to set. It is almost time to get ready to go into Lahaina for dinner with my mom and Brittany. So far, it has been a beautiful two days, full of beach, tanning, and fun...but that is not all. For the past two days my mom and I have been shopping online at Lands End for warm jackets and boots. Just this morning we made our purchase: black boots and a mid thigh lined jacket with a hood, suitable for weather conditions as low as -10. Yet, the fact that my plane for Amsterdam is leaving in 19 days still has not quite hit me. Perhaps once I return to Southern California on Saturday, January 10, I will start to believe that I am actually not returning to USC for the average Spring semester. Once I return to California, I plan to spend much of the next week at UCLA visiting my sister and USC saying farewell to friends, and to Theta, three things that I have not consistantly been away from since my start at USC in August of 2006. Similarly, after my week in Los Angeles, the next, and final week of my time in the United States will be spent at home in Newport Beach with my parents and other friends. Although I went away to summer camp when I was younger, to college almost an hour away(!), and to Europe last summer for a few weeks with complete strangers, I still cannot quite imagine having my parents much farther than an hour's drive or a mobile-to-mobile phone call. However, this does not mean that I am not capable of stepping outside of my comfort zone and separating myself from my friends, family, school, sorority, and usual lifestyle.
As I said, I can barely believe that Spring semester of Junior year has come. I have known for the past two and a half years that this particular semester will be spent differently than those before and the ones to come after, but I still cannot believe that the time is here. Cassie is already in Hong Kong safely and has started school, while Katie leaves in six days, while many other of my dear friends will be venturing on European/Asian/Austrailian adventures as well. But I know if Cassie can do it, I can, because she is one of the most home-bodied people I know =]
Once I return home later this week, I will begin to make piles of clothes and decide what to bring...one suitcase worth...the same suitcase I squeezed shut for my four-week European trip last summer. FOUR WEEKS compared to FIVE MONTHS!!! Oh that should be interesting. My sister has a friend that lives in the Netherlands, and he reported the weather today at 5 degrees. That is cold- this whole layering thing better work! Most of my shopping is complete, so now it's just the question of which jeans to bring, how many, and this and that. Luckily I have just over two weeks to work out the kinks and figure it all out. I practically cannot believe that the time is almost here, but my sister is booking her flight to Amsterdam for her spring break tonight...so I guess I better get ready!
That's all for now...
As I said, I can barely believe that Spring semester of Junior year has come. I have known for the past two and a half years that this particular semester will be spent differently than those before and the ones to come after, but I still cannot believe that the time is here. Cassie is already in Hong Kong safely and has started school, while Katie leaves in six days, while many other of my dear friends will be venturing on European/Asian/Austrailian adventures as well. But I know if Cassie can do it, I can, because she is one of the most home-bodied people I know =]
Once I return home later this week, I will begin to make piles of clothes and decide what to bring...one suitcase worth...the same suitcase I squeezed shut for my four-week European trip last summer. FOUR WEEKS compared to FIVE MONTHS!!! Oh that should be interesting. My sister has a friend that lives in the Netherlands, and he reported the weather today at 5 degrees. That is cold- this whole layering thing better work! Most of my shopping is complete, so now it's just the question of which jeans to bring, how many, and this and that. Luckily I have just over two weeks to work out the kinks and figure it all out. I practically cannot believe that the time is almost here, but my sister is booking her flight to Amsterdam for her spring break tonight...so I guess I better get ready!
That's all for now...
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