More Amsterdam

Hey All!

We finally got internet, but unfortunately, I can't upload any pictures. After we left Paris, we made a stop in Brussels, Belgium. We got to try the famous waffles and walk around town. Sadly for me and my entire wardrobe of summer clothes, the weather is in the 30's and I am absolutely frozen. Last night, we got into Amsterdam, checked into a beautiful hotel, and then went to dinner. After a long day on the road, we were all exhausted, but our tour guide Herbie, (a.k.a Herbs) took us on a long walk through the famous "red light district" in the freezing cold weather. Needless to say, Amsterdam is an interesting place. Since prostitution and marijuana is legal here, we had the unique oppurtunity to see some STRANGE and TERRIBLE things. haha. What's funny is that Amsterdam is a gorgeous place. The landscape is lush and green, with sheep, dairy cattle, and birds everywhere. It truly looks like it came out of a picture book.

This morning, we had an early wake up call, and for the first time, a yummy breakfast. We started the day off with a bike ride about 20 minutes outside of town. It was about an hour long, and even though it was cold, we had the chance to see the great countryside, and even the beautiful canals that run throughout Holland and the greater part of the Dutch Countryside.

After this, we went to a CHEESE FACTORY, and got to see how authentic cheese was made. We got to sample everything and I bought some yummy cheese for Dad..(hope you like it dad!) Then, we got to see how they make the Dutch clogs. The demonstration was funny and informative, even though I dont understand how anyone can wear those heavy clogs!

Around noon, we went to "The Heineken Experience" This is the factory that produces all the Heineken beer in the world. The factory was really fun and interactive, and we got to try the beer and see how the process works. I actually liked this one alot more than the Guinness Factory in Dublin.

We had a couple of hours of free time after the Heineken tour, and we chose to go to the Anne Frank house. I have always been so intrigued by her story and her life, and how brave and strong she was. Seeing where she spent her last years in hiding before she was sent to Auschwitz truly sad. The space was so small and sad, I cant believe that eight people lived there for so long. They didnt have a choice. What a truly inspiring young woman, who would have been older today than my Mamaw.

After the Anne Frank House, the tour met up again for a group Indonesian dinner, which I loved, and then we had a boat tour along the canals of Amsterdam, and then we headed home.

I did some laundry in my sink and then headed downstairs to happily find internet! Sorry this post is all over the place, we are leaving at 5 in the morning for Cologne Germany, and we aren't supposed to have internet there. The next place I have internet I will post pictures and have a less harried post!

I hope everyone is doing well...I miss home alot and can't wait to be back!

Amsterdam

Hello All...

No internet in Amsterdam except for one computer here at the front desk so no time to blog!

C'est La Vie

Last night we went to the Moulin Rouge, and I was pleasantly suprised. I don't really know what I was expecting, but the performers, acts, and dancers were amazing. Although it was kind of odd at first that the women were topless, I started to really appreciate how brave and liberated they must feel up there on stage. The only part I didnt like was this terrible snake in a tank act they did (With REAL Snakes) yuck.

Today we had a first full free day in the beautiful PARIS! We woke up early and bought all day subway passes to the Arch de Triumph (SP). It was beautiful and surreal to see something so perfect and beautiful that I've been seeing in movies my entire life.

After this, we had a little glitch. On the way out to a beautiful cathedral on the outside of the city, the metro system closed down. This turned a 10 minute metro ride into a 3 hour trek across Paris. We finally made it and hiked up the hill and walked into the Cathedral while a mass was going on. It made me think of my Grandma Lela, who passed away last year. The pope had recently visited this Cathedral and there were pictures of him everywhere. My Lela was a devout Catholic and a huge fan of the Pope and it made me smile and think of her when I saw all the people praying and being happy in that church.

The cathedral itself was amazing, but this was the first time I was really uncomfortable in Europe. There were many street vendors and men walking up to our group and trying to get us to buy knick-knacks or try things, and they are very pushy and sometimes hostile when we refused them. Luckily, we had a large group and we all looked after eachother and were fine. We did have something weird happen to us though-a news crew approached us and asked us in French if they could show us a magic trick. Alex stepped up while I looked on. (all the while being filmed for french tv) After the magic trick and our reactions were filmed, we found out that we will be on channel 4 news on July 14 in Paris...if anyone is interested. YIKES

After this, we went to Notre Dame again, and then we went on to explore THE LOURVE. I have always heard about the Lourve, and all the amazing works of art that are housed there. Did you know about 84% of France's collection of artwork has NO room to be displayed at the Lourve? This means we the general public only get to see a small fraction of all these amazing pieces. We were informed by our tour guide Herbie that an extension of the Lourve is being built, so a bit more of it will start becoming available to tourists and art enthusiasts alike. My favorite person in the whole word (Emily Northcutt!) came to Paris recently and told me the Lourve was a must see-so I was extra happy I did!

After that, we went to the Eiffel Tower with the intention of going to the 2nd or top level to take some pictures. When we finally got to the tower through the zillions of people, we found out that a crazy person was attempting to beat the world record of jumping off the tower in rollerblades onto some sort of ramp. Instead of going to the top, we watched a lunatic jump off the Eiffel Tower.. it was cold and rainy anyway so we were glad we didn't have to wait in a 3 hour line. It took a while for us to get home, but once we did, we ate some baguettes and cheese and took a showers.

I FLOODED OUR HOTEL ROOM. I was brushing my teeth and decided for some reason to leave the faucet running when I hopped into the shower. When I got out, there was literally 2 inches of water standing in the bathroom and flowing into the hotel room. Seven towels later and a minor panic attack, all is well and we are leaving in the morning for Amsterdam.

We have about 7 hours of travel time tomorrow on the bus, so Im hoping I can keep from getting motion sickness and enjoy the beautiful countryside.

I will have to update Paris pics when I get to Amsterdam with a better internet connection!

PS. Excuse my spelling whilst in Paris....my spell check is set to correct French words only...so every single word I have typed is spelled incorrectly.

The City of Lights

This morning began with a crossiant for breakfast and an early morning trip to a famous perfume museum. We got to smell different notes at a famous perfumery and had the oppurtunity to buy some afterwards. I didn't care for many of the scents, but it was neat to see how the french began making these products centuries ago.

After the museum, we got on a bus and picked up a tour guide that gave us a great tour around Paris. We got an amazing overview of the history of France and learned alot about the architecture and had some time to take some more pictures of the Eiffel Tower during the daytime. Our tour ended with a trip to Notre Dame, which has to be the most beautiful cathedral I have ever seen. Even though it was flocked with about five zillion other tourists, it was truly awe inspiring to see. The entire outside of the cathedral is covered with many small sculptures. Our tour guide's explanation for this was when the Cathedral was first comissioned, many of the city's people weren't literate. Instead, they were able to know and understand pictures and symbols and because of this, were able to know the bible's story by looking at the outside of the cathedral. According to our tour guide, "the Hunchback of Notre Dame" is historically accurate, and it made me want to read it again since it's been years.

We had lunch at a great cafe, and then it was on to Versailles. We ALL fell asleep on the bus on the 40 minute trip to Versailles, and then we had about an hour to tour the beautiful gardens that belonged to King Louis the XV and XVI and their families. Afterward, we got audio guides and were able to venture into his palace to see the famous "hall of mirrors", bedchambers, drawing rooms, and fabulous artwork. These people sure did know how to live.

I am still amazed at the hundreds of thousands of other tourists that I am sure are also in Paris. They are from all over the world, and literally every attraction we go to is shoulder to shoulder people. I have learned that some Europeans don't consider personal hygeine a priority, and I have had some interesting moments trying to avoid certain individuals who didn't feel the need to shower that morning, or week for that matter! haha

After we toured the palace, we headed home and are now in the hotel room getting ready for dinner and for the Moulin Rouge show tonight. The show starts at 11pm, (its about 7:30 now) and will go on till about 2am. I am interested to see what it's all about.

Tomorrow, we will be waking up early for a free day in Paris. We have plans to wake up, get a large group together so as to bypass the long lines for the Eiffel tower, go to the first level and take some pictures, and then come down and have breakfast on the famous lawn. We were told that it would take nearly 3 1/2 hours to get all the way to the top, and we don't have that kind of time to waste! Then, most of us want to spend a significant part of our day at the Lourve. There are some famous catacombs in Paris that are a major attraction, so if we have time, that will be another thing we will be able to experience.

The internet is not working very well in this hotel, so I dont think my photos uploaded very well. I will try again-here is the link.

A Day in Paris

Goodnight to everyone!

I Can't Speak French

We are FINALLY in Paris! After an all day journey, we have finally made it. We left London around 7:30am this morning, and had an all day bus ride to Dover, England, then a ferry to Calais France, and then a 4 hour bus ride into Paris. I had a little trouble with motion sickness on a tour in Ireland, so I was careful to look out the window and sleep as much as I could so I wouldn't get so sick again. With all of the traffic and some delay, we had a late dinner and then a night ferry on the Seine. We got to see the GORGEOUS Eiffel Tower, as well as Notre Dame, the Lourve, and many things I have only gotten to see in history books and in movies. I still cant believe I am actually in Paris!

Paris is not what I expected, it is soooooo much larger than I imagined, with so many different kinds of people. From what I can tell, the stereotype is semi-true. The French don't like Americans, or act like they are too pleased to see us in their beautiful city. I try not to take it personally but its hard when I am trying to be courteous and friendly. Their attitudes may be because there are some individuals traveling in our tour that aren't working to hard to break the stereotype of "loud obnoxious Americans", but that isn't everyone. I will say however, some of the French stopped to help us with directions, which suprised me and made me happy. (I just found out from Elise that they weren't even French, but Italian. Knowing Spanish has been a little helpful. French is fast and nearly unrecognizable when I hear it, but I am finding myself picking up some words and phrases.

I have met some great people on the trip who are really excited about experiencing Paris the way that I am. Tomorrow, we have a guided city tour, a trip to Versailles, and finally, a night at the show, Moulin Rouge. I am really excited, but exhausted after a long trip today. We wake up in a couple of hours, so I'm going to have to cut this blog short.

Here is the link to a couple of pictures of the Eiffel Tower I took tonight!

Paris

Au Revoir from Paris!

PS. Congratulations to Daniel who recieved and accepted a job offer with NOV ROlligon, an oil and gas company outside of College Station. I'm so Proud :)!

All you Need is Love

Today was our last full day in London, as we leave early in the morning for Paris, France! We are taking a bus to Dover, then hopping on a ferry for France. We should be arrving around 4 or 5 pm. I dont know what my internet situation is there, but I hope I have it. I am really enjoying keeping everyone updated and being able to skype. I was pretty disconnected last summer when I came over here and I have to say it makes me a lot less homesick when I can see and hear people I love!

I am really looking forward to getting into continental Europe, but I really love London. There is only so much you can do in three days, so I plan to come back with some sort of idea of the things I want to see and do here. I think someone could spend 5 years in London and still not see it all. It is a truly amazing city and I cant believe that I got to be here at all.

Last night, we went to the London Eye, which is really just a large Ferris wheel that allows you to have a view of the city. We went around sunset and I got some breathtaking pictures. After that, Mark (Daniel's roommate from college) drove in from Southampton with a friend and we had dinner and some drinks. It was great to catch up. These boys live 1 hour outside of London and never go there. Mark said he could count the number of times he had actually been to London and I couldn't believe it. I guess its like anyone and how they feel about where they are from. You love home, but you don't want to live there forever, and if you do live there forever, its great to explore the world before you settle down. That's how they feel, and they are very excited because they want to move to the USA. It's just amazing to me because London is so great.

Today, we went to see the famous Abbey Road, which was so exciting because I am a HUGE Beatles fan. We got to see the studio that they made their albums in, and we even took pictures of ourselves walking across the crosswalk like in their album, Abbey Road! Because there was so much traffic though, my new friend Hope is the only one with a copy of the picture, so she'll get it to me soon. It was so neat to see that area. The walls of the studio and fence are covered with things people have quoted or lyrics from Beatles songs, and it was fun to sit there and read them all.

The rest of the day we just kind of wandered around the city. We didnt have time to see some of the things I really was looking forward to because time just got away from us, but I really feel like I have gotten a good feel for the city and I already cant wait to come back. I have been wanting to see The Lion King again ever since my mom and I saw it in San Antonio over Christmas, but it isn't showing at the Globe Theater, which is where I wanted to go, so I'll just have to catch it next time!

Here is a link to some amazing pictures I took yesterday!

London

Cheers for the last time in London, now on to the City of Lights!

All Hail The Queen!

Today we woke up bright and early to begin our tour through Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace. As it turned out, today was the opening of Parliament, so the Queen herself was leaving the Palace to deliver an opening speech. We got to see the whole procession and her carriage was leaving, as well as the 42 cannon salute that commemorates the opening of Parliament. It was really neat! After that, we continued our tour out to the Tower of London, as well as the London Bridge, and were left on our own by the tour guide around one.

We decided to go ahead and pay the admission to tour through the tower of London and saw the CROWN JEWELS-which are by the way unbelievable and breathtaking. There are diamonds in there upwards of 3000 carats. WOW.

After this, we went down to the Tube and rode it all the way out to Big Ben, which I have to say has been a lifelong dream of mine to see. Seeing it in person nearly took my breath away, and I cant believe it actually looks more amazing that I imagined it. We are going back tonight to ride the London Eye and see the whole city at night. I am very excited!

So far, my impressions of London are very positive. The people aren't quite as friendly, but we were told to expect that from the British. Everyone has places to go and people to see and we are just in the way! As I said yesterday though, we are doing a great job of navigating and getting the most bang for our buck.

Tonight, Mark is coming in for dinner so I am looking forward to that. They are having to drive into London so they aren't stay the night after all, which I am actually kind of glad about because we have a free day tomorrow and many things to see. This includes the famous ABBEY ROAD, which I have always wanted to walk along like the Beatles did for one of their albums. I may take my shoes off but I'm definitely not smoking a cigarette. (was that John that was doing that in the picture?)

Speaking of annoyances. Hyde park gave me EXTREME allergies. I probably sneezed a hundred times and my throat began to close up. I was starting to think it was all the cigarette smoke, but it is definitely whatever is in that park. I need some Benadryl...stat.

We are going to take some time to relax and then get ready to go see the London eye later tonight.

Below is the link to my pictures :)

In and Around London

Have a great day!

PS. Check out the quote to the right of my profile-it was on the wall in our crap hostel in London. It's my new favorite!