Oh me oh my, it has been a chore to keep this up, sorry all! Well, last time I posted I was in France and since then a lot has been going on!!
I will have to fill in the in betweens but for now, I know my parents and close friends check this to make sure I am still alive so I figured I should probably post an update while I remember and have some time...
I started my backpacking trip through Europe- so far I have been to Berlin and Munich,Germany, Luzern and Interlaken Switzerland, Venice, Venice Maestro, Bologna, Siena, San Gimignano, Florence, Rome, Salerno, Almalfi, Positano, Pompei and a few others.
A short recap- Berlin was fun, I tasted my first shwarma (turkish/ lebaneese food) which was totally amazing in kreutzburg (probably spelling it wrong), saw the Berlin Dome and the other must see landmarks, went out and danced at some of the clubs there too.
Munich was a blast, one of my faorite places so far- the city I learned a lot about on a tour I did, and I met an amazing group of people who were wild and crazy like me, maybe more so even :) I ended up staying longer than I had planned but was glad I did! I went to a festival called 99 Steps- everything with 9s. 9 types of food, 9 performers, 9 different djs, 9 of everything pretty much...and on 9-9 (September 9th).
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Monday, August 13, 2012
Stay at the Castle!!
This morning it was 23°C, or ine could say the perfect temperature! We had breakfast with the family that owned the chateau and met a woman and her husband from northern scotland who were also guests of the chateau and her father. After that we headed on the road to our next destination, Chateau Les Merles! We drove for about three and half hours while passing a lot of sunflower fields as well as many castles!! We arrived at Chateau Les Merles (Woohoo!) It's so big!! Charlotte and my room is at the end of the hall. We have another large bath as well and nicely decorated rooms! Wen we got to the castle we started the day with a nice lunch and then laid by the beautiful pool that has the backdrop of gorgeous French countryside. Lucas and Else played some golf while Charlotte and I made some bracelets, enjoyed some ice tea, and then played in the pool until close to 8:00 PM. There was also an inflatable tube and ball that were a lot of fun! The castle also had many features including a winery, golf course, pool, restaurant, stables, and an amazing view.
July 26th:
Else took Lotje and I to Chateau de Brigoidire, a newly opened. Astor to the public. They are in he process if renovating it but the rooms they had done already were very nice! They even had knight armor on the stairs! The wine cellar was neat along with the prisoners area and also its own chapel in one of the side towers.
Outside they had it set up like a festival with a lot of old games they used to play but were still fun! They ha a game where they had all these strings tied like a spiderweb with bells attached and you had to try to make it through without ringing the bells. There was a life sized chess board and some billiards type games as well.
After the excursion we enjoyed the pool an the castle! I read some of my book, The Hundred Secret Senses (great book) while soaking up the sun.
We had our farewell dinner at the castle and I tried a very divine French dessert as well, made of apple (tatata or something like that) with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a caramel drizzle on top. I also walked into the vineyard and watched the sunset.
The next morning both Charlotte and I got up at the crack of dawn and looked for the sunrise.. That is we walked on a path through the golf course to get a better view. We walked for a total of about 30 minutes and then when we got back to the castle it finally popped above the trees above the horizon so the best view of all was from right as you step onto the start of the golf course at the top of the hill!
Arromanches and Normandie
Arromanches and Normandy!! We went to Normandie and saw the American Cemetery. Lucas took me to the museum while Else and Charlotte went on a tourist train around the town- so beautiful, steep drop off cliffs with crystalline water. The cemetery was impressive, thousands of white crosses and a large monument and 'pool.' Omaha beach was very serene, and well-kept with breathtaking views. Also in the town I Arromanches the view was beautiful.
There unfortunately was a problem with the booking website canceling our reservation for this hotel right on the waterfront do we had to change the plan and instead we drive a fewore hours which would cut down on the next days long drive and stayed in a guesthouse in a chateau called [La G*********]. We got a warm welcome with a glass of wine and although he owners didn't have room at their dinner table because the other guests already filled up the openings, they suggested one of the two restaurants in town (very small town) so we went there and enjoyed dinner and then went back to get ready for the early start the next morning. My room was really nice, I called it my princess room- view outback I a wooden sailboat in the water and also I took a hot bubble bath :) I got some good heavy sleep as well! (July 24th)
La Touquet beach day
Day two of vacation- we awoke this morning leisurely. It was so cute, Charlotte came over and laid with me for a bit. We went down and had a cake slice with honey for breakfast, then I tried my first amazing French croissant: nothing like the ones in the USA! After breakfast we went to unwind and had a very relaxed day at the beach. I covered Charlotte totally in the sand and then made her into mermaid complete with a shell top! Also we went in the sea and played smashball. For dinner we went to La Petit Charlotte :) It was a very nice, relaxing day in the sun.
La Touquet July 21st
July 21 Sunday- today was our first day of vacation!! we ate lunch with a couple of else's friends in Brugge, Belgium. Brugge is a gorgeous town! the Townhall is enormous and very beautiful just as the conblestone streets and old buildings. before we left I had a Belgian waffle with powdered sugar, lekker! we drove the rest of the way to La Touquet after. We stayed at Hotel Equinox and it was very cute, and a great location- one block from the beach! We spent some time at the beach, people were out but but it wasn't too crowded. We were entertained by a woman who was trying to take down her sun tent because when she thought she got it down it would pop back open. Even with other people helping her it still was nearly impossible, a big struggle. We had dinner Att little pizzeria and then had a nice stroll down the French streets. I went back to the beach and it was low tide so I walked out to where the water was and took some nice photos (the beach was pretty empty now web with about 2 hours of light left).
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Leiden, Holland
Yesterday night we went to the best fish place in Holland- it's a local joint with fish you can't find more fresh- it is on the harbor and the warehouses where the boats bring in the fish and they get it ready to ship is across the street. Charlotte and I had Kipling. I was so full when I walked out that when I got home I ended up laying down, playing "Flow" (check it out- a great iPhone game) and falling asleep dismissing all my plans for the evening.
Today was my Leiden day. The day looked as if it could rain at any point, but luckily it held off.
I walked around a market that was by the canals downtown- everything sold from shoes, lace and thread/ sewing materials, cheese, dresses, toothpaste and toiletries, small clog shoes, fresh produce...a little bit of everything! I went to Stedelijk Molenmuseum de Valk (a windmill you can climb up into the different levels and see the rooms in the bottom where some people used to live). I got to go out onto the terrace part as well! The stairs, that is a story in itself. I thought the stairs in the houses in Holland were steep, well these were killer! You had to go down backwards and no joke the angle was probably about 5 %. Also, after climbing in front of where you would step off the stairs there was a trap door- not literally, but they used to open them to move things to the top or top to bottom with a pulley system. It made even me a little nervous to step on and I usually don't mind those things. Very interesting though!
After that, I went to the National Museum of Ethnology/ Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (which had displays for Korea/ Japan, Asia, China (including a Budda Room- filled with 5 large Buddas), Indonesia, and Afrika. There were artifacts (pots, jewelry, clothing remains, trinkets, etc.) that dated back thousands of years. Also, there were 3 stone samurais that were borrowed from China- 7,000 were found and they are displayed in different museums throughout different countries.
I saw their Town Hall (Impressive Italian style building), as well as Hartebrugkerk (I went inside as well) church, and one on the corner of Rapenburg. There were a lot of people about depute the weather and also it being a Thursday.
The train ride was only about 10 minutes, and I lucked out with the transportation because I arrived to the train station in the morning with a 5 minute wait, when I left a 3 minute wait, then home on the bs about 5 minutes.
When I was back in Den Haag I visited the Peace Palace. There was a half hour audio tour and I learned a lot. Andrew Carnegie built about 300 libraries and also donated a very large check that covered the designing and the start to building the Peace Palace. They had a contest to see whose design would win and a frenchman won. They altered the design a little so that it wasn't so strongly french influenced, but still it is lovely. It has the largest law library in the world, and also I found it interesting that countries from all over the world send gifts to decorate it (even now) as well as when they were building it different pieces were donated to the building of it- for example Germany built it's gate. Unfortunately just after it started ruling the World War broke out but it still remained. To this day it has help settle a lot of cases, and also outside it there is a peace flame where 5 countries flew fire over to put it all together to light the World Peace Flame that still burns. The first World Peace conference was held in the Hague!!
Tonight we had dinner with Loti- Charlotte's babysitter. She is a very lovely girl who is getting her Masters and is working with the organization of the elections (very busy as Europe has around 50 different political parties where as the US has about 2 that are the big runners). We had a deluxe salad dinner with everything you could think of and then watched some of a famous concert afterwards. The weather is still super rainy/ windy (the worst summer for Holland in 35 years). Tomorrow I will start packing for France this weekend!! :) Also, I was told tonight at dinner that we are going to Bruge to see that on our way! I have heard that is an amazing little town (Belgium), and I didn't make it when I was there before so I will be happy to be able to go!
Today was my Leiden day. The day looked as if it could rain at any point, but luckily it held off.
I walked around a market that was by the canals downtown- everything sold from shoes, lace and thread/ sewing materials, cheese, dresses, toothpaste and toiletries, small clog shoes, fresh produce...a little bit of everything! I went to Stedelijk Molenmuseum de Valk (a windmill you can climb up into the different levels and see the rooms in the bottom where some people used to live). I got to go out onto the terrace part as well! The stairs, that is a story in itself. I thought the stairs in the houses in Holland were steep, well these were killer! You had to go down backwards and no joke the angle was probably about 5 %. Also, after climbing in front of where you would step off the stairs there was a trap door- not literally, but they used to open them to move things to the top or top to bottom with a pulley system. It made even me a little nervous to step on and I usually don't mind those things. Very interesting though!
After that, I went to the National Museum of Ethnology/ Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde (which had displays for Korea/ Japan, Asia, China (including a Budda Room- filled with 5 large Buddas), Indonesia, and Afrika. There were artifacts (pots, jewelry, clothing remains, trinkets, etc.) that dated back thousands of years. Also, there were 3 stone samurais that were borrowed from China- 7,000 were found and they are displayed in different museums throughout different countries.
I saw their Town Hall (Impressive Italian style building), as well as Hartebrugkerk (I went inside as well) church, and one on the corner of Rapenburg. There were a lot of people about depute the weather and also it being a Thursday.
The train ride was only about 10 minutes, and I lucked out with the transportation because I arrived to the train station in the morning with a 5 minute wait, when I left a 3 minute wait, then home on the bs about 5 minutes.
When I was back in Den Haag I visited the Peace Palace. There was a half hour audio tour and I learned a lot. Andrew Carnegie built about 300 libraries and also donated a very large check that covered the designing and the start to building the Peace Palace. They had a contest to see whose design would win and a frenchman won. They altered the design a little so that it wasn't so strongly french influenced, but still it is lovely. It has the largest law library in the world, and also I found it interesting that countries from all over the world send gifts to decorate it (even now) as well as when they were building it different pieces were donated to the building of it- for example Germany built it's gate. Unfortunately just after it started ruling the World War broke out but it still remained. To this day it has help settle a lot of cases, and also outside it there is a peace flame where 5 countries flew fire over to put it all together to light the World Peace Flame that still burns. The first World Peace conference was held in the Hague!!
Tonight we had dinner with Loti- Charlotte's babysitter. She is a very lovely girl who is getting her Masters and is working with the organization of the elections (very busy as Europe has around 50 different political parties where as the US has about 2 that are the big runners). We had a deluxe salad dinner with everything you could think of and then watched some of a famous concert afterwards. The weather is still super rainy/ windy (the worst summer for Holland in 35 years). Tomorrow I will start packing for France this weekend!! :) Also, I was told tonight at dinner that we are going to Bruge to see that on our way! I have heard that is an amazing little town (Belgium), and I didn't make it when I was there before so I will be happy to be able to go!
Koln/ Cologne
This weekend I went to Cologne with my friend Ellie. We took a noon train and arrived about 3:00. We went to her hair appointment that was right down the street, then all met (her boyfriend, her and I) and we got some pizza for dinner and some Kolch (a popular German beer). We watched some episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and then Ellie and I started out getting a drink at a little corner pub. We then all met up and went to a place called "Max" for a drink (nice interior- lit with red lights, decorated with a disco ball, and a nice drink selection). After this, we decided to skip a party we had tickets to because it was about 30 minutes away by tram then had to transfer to the private bus to the event and we decided to just hang close to the house the first night). We ended up going to "Cubana" (a latin music bar) and randomly started talking to (then dancing with) a group of Belgium guys that were on a group trip for the end of college. They were nice, and pretty funny in general! We stayed out until about 6 am then walked home with the sunrise and fell asleep until noon.
Saturday we walked the "love lock bridge"over the Rhein River. There are thousands of padlocks across the fencing of the Hohenzollernbrucke bridge. When couples get engaged (or married) they come here and lock in their love (with their names or initials on the locks) then throw the key off the bridge into the water symbolizing everlasting love, a very sweet idea.
I made a joke about finding my name on a few different ones- apparently I am going to marry a "Jan, Frank, or Jose" hah! We also saw the outside (and inside) of the famous church named "Dom" and also saw the Cologne Cathedral, near central station which is quite impressive as well.
After this, we grabbed some snacks and then got ready for the 14th annual Lights Festival that was to take place later that night on the Rhein River, under the Lock Bridge. There were a lot of people who attended the festival- the bridge was packed, as were the walls and rivers edge below. We luckily managed to squeeze into the front to see the parade of lit up boats cruise along the river under the bridge, and it was a sight to see all the sparklers on the bridge too. Along with the boat parade and tons of food vendors, there were two sets of fireworks- a very nice display too! I thought at one point it was the finale but we had only reached the middle! ...And low and behold, who did we end up running into within the swarms of thousands of people? Yep, the Belgians from last night!!
Round 2 at Cubana bar, again a 6am ending but this time complete with chair dancing, our own "VIP" table per the owner, and it was a night for Hogs (a drink w champagne and mint). Lots of memories made!
Sunday it was drizzly all day so we had a lazy afternoon and watched more of "How I Met Your Mother" which, yes, is one of my new favorites. Also, a great little Italian restaurant, small, crowded but excellent food right around the corner from M's house.
Saturday we walked the "love lock bridge"over the Rhein River. There are thousands of padlocks across the fencing of the Hohenzollernbrucke bridge. When couples get engaged (or married) they come here and lock in their love (with their names or initials on the locks) then throw the key off the bridge into the water symbolizing everlasting love, a very sweet idea.
I made a joke about finding my name on a few different ones- apparently I am going to marry a "Jan, Frank, or Jose" hah! We also saw the outside (and inside) of the famous church named "Dom" and also saw the Cologne Cathedral, near central station which is quite impressive as well.
After this, we grabbed some snacks and then got ready for the 14th annual Lights Festival that was to take place later that night on the Rhein River, under the Lock Bridge. There were a lot of people who attended the festival- the bridge was packed, as were the walls and rivers edge below. We luckily managed to squeeze into the front to see the parade of lit up boats cruise along the river under the bridge, and it was a sight to see all the sparklers on the bridge too. Along with the boat parade and tons of food vendors, there were two sets of fireworks- a very nice display too! I thought at one point it was the finale but we had only reached the middle! ...And low and behold, who did we end up running into within the swarms of thousands of people? Yep, the Belgians from last night!!
Round 2 at Cubana bar, again a 6am ending but this time complete with chair dancing, our own "VIP" table per the owner, and it was a night for Hogs (a drink w champagne and mint). Lots of memories made!
Sunday it was drizzly all day so we had a lazy afternoon and watched more of "How I Met Your Mother" which, yes, is one of my new favorites. Also, a great little Italian restaurant, small, crowded but excellent food right around the corner from M's house.
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