Amsterdam, June 29, 2010

Haallo from Amsterdam!
We have successfully arrived in The Netherland’s largest city, and it’s a party. I mean really, a party. Essentially, Amsterdam is a party in city form. But more on that later.
Sunday was our last day in Paris. We got a late start, but were able to take the train to Versailles and see the palace. On the way, Ian got a special treat; not one but two accordion players and a saxophonist jumped on board the train and played a few French songs. Heavenly. Anyway, after a kebab lunch in the Town of Versailles, we visited the estate of Louis XIV. The architecture was beautiful and dripping with gold and satin. The grounds were beautiful, and many of the ceilings were gorgeously decorated. We came back and had yet another (now daily) nap before going out to meet fellow Yeagers Patty, Kyle, and Sam, along with their friend. We had a delicious dinner in the Latin quarter, and they gave tips and anecdotes about Amsterdam as we shared tips and stories of Paris.
We had a great time in Paris. The city of love was very good to us. We were glad to be there for four full days, because we got to know the city (and the metro and the food) really well. Merci, Paree.
Monday morning was rough. We got up at 6:30, ate our breakfast of stale baguettes, Nature flavored yogurt, and sickeningly-sweet orange juice (it was free), checked out of the hostel, and went to the EuroLines bus station. Our bus left at 9 am and drove pretty much straight through to Amsterdam, making a few stops in Belgium and the Netherlands. We really enjoyed the “Engrish” signs on the bus, such as “No pique-nique” and “No ring” (meaning, no food or cell phones).
Let’s talk about the Belgian and French countrysides—they are really boring. It was mainly flat farm-lands with some scrubby trees and occasional windmills. The cities, however, were much more interesting. Brussels was really pretty, as was Utrecht. We were excited to get to Amsterdam, although we didn’t get to our hostel until about 7 pm. Our first dinner in Amsterdam consisted of pancakes: mine were topped with peaches, but Ben and Emily got a little more adventurous and tried shoarma and Indonesian chicken, respectively. They were really like big crepes, but they were delicious and filling. That night, we walked around Vondelpark (which is adjacent to our hostel) and watched all the people celebrating Holland’s victory. It was a huge party; someone in the park had a speaker on his bicycle and played some Ray Charles. Hearing Dutch people sing along to “Hit the Road Jack” is pretty entertaining. So, was it strange that someone had a speaker on his bike? Not terribly. There are bikes everywhere here! There are very few cars and most people get around on bikes. It’s not uncommon to see 2 or 3 people on one bike, somehow balancing, or to see a child seat attached to the handlebars, where they put their children. The bikers here are also pretty aggressive. We saw a lady get smashed in the elbow by a fellow biker, and I think that kind of thing is not uncommon.
We are in a six-person room in the hostel, and we had the pleasure of sharing a room the first night with Bernard (“Bernid” as he said it) and James, who were from New Zealand. They had been travelling around Europe for a few weeks. Since they were just starting off at gainful, full-time employment, they ONLY had 4 or 5 weeks of vacation. We felt really sympathetic… Today (Tuesday) involved an incredible amount of walking. We had to be out of the hostel by 10:30, so we hit the streets in search of the Poezenboot (the cat boat). The Poezenboot is a cat rescue/ sanctuary that houses close to 20 kitty cats. They were all adorable minus the enormous Maine-Coon (approximately the size of Massachusetts) that came close to ripping Ben’s face off. Lunch was an obscene amount of delicious Greek food, and then we went to the Amsterdam zoo. Artis was a lot of fun, but the best part was LEMURLAND, where we got to walk through an area where several ring-tailed lemurs were chilling. Other fun animals included Seals, Penguins, Elephants, Giraffes, false advertising for cheetahs that didn’t exist, and a lot of monkey shenanigans. During our extensive wandering through Amsterdam, we unknowingly stumbled into a corner of the Red-Light district, where Beckel was quite amused/appalled by the hookers. The world cup games are quite the craze here, so people watching is very entertaining. Currently heading out the door to go hear some awesome Dutch blues at a bar with statues of the Blues Brothers on its roof.

Paris, June 27th, 2010

Bonjour once more! Today is our last full day in Paris, and then we leave for Amsterdam via a eight-or-so hour bus ride. Paris has been very good to us. The people (except a few unavoidable jerks) have been extremely friendly and helpful, the food has been delicious, and the weather has ranged from a little hot to perfect, mostly perfect. Saturday was a busy day. We warmed up with the National Marine Museum, which Ben particularly enjoyed. Then, it was a crowded walk across the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, which is HUGE! None of us was expecting the tower to be so big. We had seen it from the Pantheon, but still it was intimidating. Having gotten a 360 view of Paris from the top of the Pantheon, we decided not to wait in very long lines to go up. Instead, we sat on a bench in the park with our baugettes, our croisonnets, our fromage, and our vin, and had a classic Paris lunch. Then it was off to Napoleon's tomb, which was a beautiful impressive building. It certainly gives a certain respect for the emporer. Connected to the tomb is the Army museum, so we took a brief look at the swords and armor as well. Connected to that was the Museum of Plan-Relief, which was tucked away in the attic of the Army museum. Intersting stuff. After stopping at the sewers (smelly) we made our way back to the hostel for the nightly hostel party in the basement.

More on Sunday later...

Paris, June 25th 2010

So, we went to the Aquarium and Louvre today, but the day was really about food. We definitely took 2 hours for lunch and 2 hours for dinner. It was very Parisian. The Louvre was beautiful and huge, and after exploring it, we were quite pooped. After a brief nap, it was off to the Latin Quarter to see the city at night. After an excellent meal at the cafe (I had snails!) we explored the pedestrian areas south of the river. There were some interesting clubs (Latin Club- sexy bar for crazy night!) which we did not go to. I did find a cheap French music store and got some French Cds for a Euro each.

Paree, June 24 2010

So, today we got to experience Paris "social movements." Turns out that Parsians don't like to work, and Versailles workers, aquarium workers, and possibly railroad workers were all on strike. So we improvised. Today, we accidently visited the Jardin de Plantes, including the menegerie, otherwise known as a zooooooooo! Lots of cute animals. Then, we made our way to the Pantheon, which was a cathedral, but was rededicated to the great men of the nation. We saw the tombs of Voltaire, Jean-Jaques Rousseau, Victor Hugo, and Marie Curie. Then, we climbed to the collande and got a 360 view of Paris! Good stuff. After a brief visit to the Jardin de Luxembourg (including the palais de Luxembourg, which is the French Senate,) we tried to go to the National Aquarium, only to find that the workers decided to go home early. Turns out the French have a five-hour work week, or something. Anyway, we tried to walk south to the Seine and find a cafe on the river, only to end up in a construction site. After we extracted ourselves from that, it was back to the Aquarium area for pizza. Oh, and I forgot, we had Fremage and Pain for lunch! Tres Bien! When we made it back to the hostel, we got some interesting French drinks, including Orangina and Peach Schweppes, and Fango with a mysterious flavor...

We might check out the nightly dance party in the basement of the hostel tonight, but we intend to go to the aquarium and the Louvre tomorrow, assuming the French don't decide to sleep in some more...

Paris June 23rd 2010

Bonjour de Gay Pareeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! We got to our hostel without a hitch, and did a good bit of walking today. The train and metro system here is fast and very efficient. We successfully picked up our Paris museum passes, though we were warned tomorrow is a "strike day," so who knows what will be open. The tentative plan is to try Versailles, but will see how lazy the locals are feeling.

That said, the people here (contrary to expectations / what we were told) have been extremely nice and extremely helpful. We found a nice little French cafe outside our hostel. I asked the waiter if he spoke English, to which he replied "a little." My next word, "tortellini?" didn't make a whole lot of sense, so the waiter replied "German?" Meanwhile, Ben stood behind and snickered. Emily then ordered her "Gratini de Momtes au Curry" through a series of pointing and saying "this one." Ben got his drink, and we enjoyed a lovely meal outside. After a failed attempt to find Jim Morrison's grave, we had a fantastic dinner of kebabs and pitas at a local place. Then, we wandered the local areas around our hostel, admiring the sweet architecture and cute little French cars. By the way, the French use the word "bumpers" quite literally, which we witnessed more than once. Now we are about to retire, because jet lag has still not released us from its exhausting grip, but by tomorrow we should be good. Baguette!

Baltimore, June 22nd 2010

To think about what Europe will be like is impossible. There is nothing with which I can compare it. Perhaps I'm being silly, but I feel like one of the crew of the Nina, Pinta, or Santa Maria, traveling to a new, unthinkable world. I'm excited, nervous, and awed.

I leave from BWI at 2:30, meet with Ben and Emily at 3:30 in Philadelphia, and then we take off around 6:30 for the Old World.