Day 12 - 5/29

Transfer to Paris & Brussels

Local Time: 3pm

We are just leaving Brussels, the capital of Belgium. We stopped for about an hour and a half for lunch and some quick sight seeing. I had an AMAZING Belgian waffle topped with whipped cream, chocolate and fresh strawberries. I also picked up some fries with mayonnaise, another food Belgium is famous for.

In the city, we also saw a little statue of a boy peeing. There are many stories about the purpose of the statue. One claims that it commemorates a boy who saved the town from burning by peeing on a fire. Another story claims that when a little boy went missing his father promised to build at statue exactly where the boy was found.

Local Time: 11:55pm

We are finally in warmer weather!!! I'll finally be able to wear my dresses!

We arrived in Paris around 8pm. After checking into the hotel I went out for a walk around with a bunch of people from my tour. We didn't see anything too exciting but it was nice to have a look around the city. Tomorrow we have a very bust day starting with a three hour bus tour.

Day 11 - 5/28

Amsterdam

Local Time: 8pm

This morning I got up early to talk to Kevin on Skype. Its harder to find time to talk now that there is a six hour time difference.

After breakfast, we went on a tour of the Anne Frank house and museum. You usually have to wait in a long line to get in. However, some people from our tour went earlier because they went on an all day countryside bike ride. They waited in line so the manager of the museum agreed to let the us, the second group, skip the line.

The museum was awesome. It is located in the actual building where Anne Frank and her family were hiding. We got to tour the rooms where they lived and where Anne Frank wrote her diary. They also have a lot of artifacts and original documents from the war, including Anne Frank's original diaries. Auto Frank, Anne Frank's father and the only survivor of her family, is responsible for the preservation of the house and for publishing the diary.

After the Anne Frank museum, a couple other girls and I went to the Rijks museum. It has a lot of Rembrandt's work and a lot of historical Dutch works. I really enjoyed walking though and seeing it all. I bought the museum guide on the way out so I can read more about everything.

After the museum, we went to the Heineken brewery to pick up a few gifts. I opted not to go on the tour because it was expensive and a large part of the expense is your three 'free' beers. Since I don't usually finish one beer let alone three, I figured it wouldn't be worth it.

Next we went to a pancake restaurant for dinner. Pancakes here are more like crepes. They are very thin and loaded with toppings. Mine had strawberries, chocolate, whipped cream and powdered sugar. It was probably not very healthy but, like everything here, it was delicious!

After dinner we took the tram back to the hotel. The tram in Amsterdam is almost as confusing as the roads. We had a map of the tram lines but it lacked major landmarks so it was almost impossible to navigate. To avoid getting lost we did the easiest thing by taking a tram all the way to Central Station and then finding the tram that went back to the hotel. Even the locals have trouble understanding the tram system. As one women put it, “There really isn't a system.”

We made it back to the hotel and I'm spending the rest of the night organizing my luggage and packing. I opted out of going to the pub crawl because the amount of alcohol sounds lethal and we have to get up early to take a bus to Paris.

Day 10 - 5/27

Day 10 – 5/27

Arrival in Amsterdam

The boat was wonderful. I think that was the best night's sleep I've had since I've been here. I wish I could have had time to look around but I just went to bed. We also moved into a different time zone. We are another hour ahead so I lost an hour of sleep.

After breakfast we got on the bus to Amsterdam. On the way to Amsterdam we stopped in two little dutch countryside towns. The first one was called Zaanse Schans. There we watched a cheese making demonstration and tried a few samples. It was so delicious that I bought some Gouda cheese to enjoy when I get home. We also watched a wooden clog making demonstration. They use a machine to make them so it only takes about 5 minutes to carve a shoe. The use a very wet wood to make the shoes so they have to dry for weeks before they are done. I tried on a couple pairs and they are surprisingly very comfortable.

The second town we went to was called Volendam. Its an old fashioned fishing village. We walked around and looked in the shops.

When we got to Amsterdam we were relived to check into our beautiful hotel. Most of the rooms were triples but I was fortunate enough to get a double with the same roommate I had in London. There was even free wifi in the rooms.

We went to the center of Amsterdam we went on a boat ride through the canals. Amsterdam actually has more canals than Venice. The city is bellow sea level. Without, human intervention, all of Holland would be underwater twice a day at high tide. They say, “God built the world except for Holland. The Dutch built Holland.” They used to use windmills to pump out the water.

The canal cruise was an hour long. The commentator talked about the history of the city and the architecture. Because the city is below sea level, houses have to be built on raised concrete slabs. Some of the older houses lean to the side. They call them 'dancing houses.'

After the canal cruise, I went on a walking tour of the Red Light District. I figured I probably wouldn't see it unless I went on a tour. In Amsterdam prostitution is legal and marijuana is so decriminalized that it is almost legal. Prostitution is a chosen profession here. The women are proud and do not like to be pitied. They charge 50 Euros for 20 minutes and pay 80-100 Euros per night for a window. If they are under 18 years old or forced the owner of the window gets in trouble. They can also refuse any man they want. It was pretty funny to watch groups of men act like idiots. As our tour guide put it, “It is the women who are doing the monkey watching, not the other way around.”

After the tour I walked around with a few of the girls from the tour. We picked up pizza and dessert for dinner. I got a strawberry cheesecake for dessert. It was so good!

Day 9 - 5/26

London

Local Time: 9:00pm

Today was the last free day in London. I had planned to go see the changing of the guards this morning but we waited on a few people and ended up missing it. I did get to see Big Ben, the London Eye and Buckingham Palace. We were going to go to see the changing of the horse guards but while we were taking pictures of the palace it stated POURING. We were wearing rain jackets but our pants got soaked. There was no where to take cover so we huddled against the wall of the palace under my umbrella. We have a picture of it which I will upload later. Since we were soaked and the weather remained threatening, we got back on the tube and went back to the hotel. By the time we got to out stop we were almost dry so we decided to do some window shopping before going back to the hotel. As soon as we got back to the hotel, it started pouring again.

I don't feel like I got to see as much of London as I wanted to. I was sick the first nice day, in Stonehenge and Bath the second and today it rained. I also spent a lot of my time on the tube because the hotel was so far from everything. I'll have to come back to London for longer so I can see everything and have a better experience.

Now, we are on a bus traveling to the night ferry that will take us to Amsterdam. From what I hear, the boat is very nice and has free wifi all over. It will be a relief after the horrible hotel we've been in for the past 3 nights.

Day 8 - 5/25

Stonehenge & Bath

I felt better this morning so I went on the day trip to Stonehenge and Bath. Stonehenge was impressive although you are not allowed to walk up to it and touch the stones. I didn't realize that the stones are actually fitted together not just piled on top of each other. It makes sense because they have been standing for thousands of years.

I also learned that it was built in three stages. The first and oldest stage was a ditch. For the second stage, they brought blue stones from 150 miles away. For the third stage they erected the larger stones from 25 miles, which still stand today.

No one knows exactly why Stonehenge was built. It was most likely used as a calendar. One the Summer Solstice, the sun rises directly over the hedge stone(?). Each month after that, it rises between the gaps in the stones and then goes back.

Next we went to Bath. I had no idea what bath was before today. Bath is a city built around the ancient Roman baths. The baths are and were actually natural hot springs. The Romans had no natural explanation for the springs so they perceived it as a gift from the god Minerva. The baths were a place to bathe, socialize and worship Minerva. We walked through a museum that was build around the ancient baths and contains a lot of the artifacts that were discovered with them.

After the museum, we walked around the city of Bath. There was a lot of beautiful Georgian architecture. One building of townhouses was round with columns. It was inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. All of the doors were painted white to make it look uniform, except for one that was painted pale yellow. Apparently, the lady who owned that house caused quite a fuss by painting her door a different color.

It took us FOREVER to get back to the hotel. It was supposed to take about 2 hours but our bus driver had to stop a half hour into the trip to use the restroom, smoke, get coffee and put gas in the bus. It took about 45 minutes. Not one person on the bus other than the driver got out of the bus. Everyone, including our tour guide was irritated. The driver had plenty of time for all those things while we were in Bath. Our guide even told the driver, “In all fairness we'd all like to get back to London at some point tonight.” While we were waiting in the parking lot, we were joking about the trucks in the parking lot. Everything in Europe is the “est” or the “most” of its kind. So we said, “This is the oldest semi. This is the largest semi. This is the most expensive semi.” It was all very funny in the moment.

When we got back to the hotel, we got ready to go out to a club called Zoo bar. The bar was a lot of fun once we got there. It took us about 45 minutes to get there on the tube. I feel like most of my time in London has been spent on the tube. At the bar we got a free shot and half off drinks. It was fun dancing for about an hour and a half before we had to leave to catch the tube back. A really creepy guy tried to dance with me, but my friends saved me by pulling me away. We had to do the same thing for several other girls. A really short guy who looked like he was about 12, also asked to dance with me. I just held up my left hand and showed him the ring Kevin gave me. It was such a useful deterrent, that several other girls are considering getting fake ones for the next club. :-)

Day 7 - 5/24

London

Local Time: 3:30pm

Well today everything finally caught up with me. The time change, stress, staying up late, getting up early, long busy days, dehydration, etc. I woke up not feeling well so I stayed at the hotel today. I went back to sleep for a few hours but my stomach is still upset. I'm really disappointed to have missed the double decker bus tour of London, but hopefully, I will be able to see some things on Thursday. I'm still hoping to go to see Wicked tonight and go to Stonehenge tomorrow.

Wicked was amazing! Almost as good as it was in New York. After we took the tube home. In London they call the the subway the tube. Its actually a lot like the T in Boston except that you can actually understand the station announcements. They also constantly say, “Mind the gap between the car and the platform.” Or just, “Mind the gap.” They say it at every station. Everyone, including the locals, loves it.

Day 6 - 3/23

Transfer to London

Local Time: 5pm

No ghost encounters last night. I had a very strange dream though. I might have been sleep walking. I dreamed that I was in a strange place and I was lost and looking for a way out.

I slept on the bus to Warwick Castle. It was a lot more 'touristy' than the castle we saw yesterday. It was a newer castle so there were furnished rooms inside. They had actors and manikins of people who would have lived there in the 15^th century. They manikins were a bit creepy. I also climbed the walls of the castle. My friend Christina started going with me but she turned back because she is afraid of heights. There were over 500 steps but the view was beautiful. I also got to see them launch the trebugey (sp), a medieval war weapon similar to a catapult.

Next we saw Anne Hathaway's house. We didn't go in for a tour. We just stopped for a few minutes to take pictures and see the thatched roof.

We are just leaving Stratford, Shakespeare's birthplace. There was an exhibition with a tour of the house he grew up in. The house was actually an on site recreation of the original house. Only the floor was original. I didn't stay for the whole tour because it wasn't that interesting and I was starving. Christina and I went to a patisserie for lunch. I had chicken salad on a crescent. It was delicious!

The weather here has been unexpectedly cold and rainy. I did NOT pack for this. I was expecting 60s-70s for the majority of the trip but its been in the 30s-40s and raining. I had to buy a sweatshirt to keep warm and dry.

We are now driving to London where we will be staying until Thursday. Unfortunately, the hotel does not have free wifi. I'll have to buy access for at least one night.

When we get to London, weather permitting, we are going on a Jack the Ripper tour. Its a 'back ally tour' that will show us a side of London that we wouldn't normally see.

London

Local Time: 1:55am

We are staying in a different hotel than planned. The rooms are VERY small and basic and there is not free wifi. :-( Its also very far away from the center of the city. It took us an hour to ride the tube (subway) into the main part of the city. The hotel we were supposed to stay at was much closer to the main part of the city and seemed nicer. I have suspicions that we were never supposed to stay there. On a positive note, we have an affordable laundry service scheduled for tomorrow.

The Jack the Ripper tour was fun. A BBC actor guided us on an hour and a half tour of East London. Along the way he told us the story of Jack the Ripper. In 1888, Jack the Ripper was the world's first serial killer. He killed 5 prostitutes in the area and was never caught.

Tomorrow we are going on a double decker bus tour during the day and going to see Wicked at night. I'm very excited.