Amsterdam and Brussels: Canals and Chocolate

Last weekend a couple of us made the trip to Amsterdam and Brussels. We spent basically all day Thursday traveling. After two trains, a plane, a bus, and another train we arrived safe and sound in Amsterdam. After stopping for some yummy Chinese take-out we crashed at our hostel. We started on Friday bright and early with a visit to the Reijks Museum. This museum has an impressive art collection full of all of the Dutch masters like Vermeer and Rembrandt.
After lunch, we went on the hunt for pancakes and came across a cute place called pancake bakery. I ordered peach pancakes- it was bigger than the plate and delicious.
After lunch we wandered for a little while and then came across the Anne Frank Museum. It is amazing; they take you through the house where she hid for two years and have a ton of the artifacts on display. It was very sad, of course, but I'm glad we went.
After that we wandered around some more and came across a peace protest in front of the Parliment building. Their signs weren't very specific, so I'm not exacty sure what they were referring to, but they were definitely making some sort of point.
After that, we decided to go to the red light district, because it was broad daylight and we figured we should see it before nighttime when it gets sketchy. We probably spent a total of 10 minutes, and it was pretty much what you would expect except for one thing; someone had put swans in the canal. It was pretty, even if it was a bit out of place.
After that we came across the Old Church. I overheard a carriage driver telling his passengers that this is the oldest standing building in Amsterdam.

After that we did some shopping. There are these nine streets in Amsterdam that are famous for having specialized boutiques, and we had a great time looking around. Here's a picture of the sun setting on one of the canals.
We went to the Van Gogh museum that night and I liked it a lot. Not only did they show his art, but they also told his life story. He was a very tortured but interesting man.
On our walk back to the hostel we came across the I amsterdam sign and decided to take pictures. It's one of the more touristy things around, and I'm not really sure of the significance, but I liked it nonetheless.
Here I am on the way back to the train station. Like my new shoe?
This one is for Mom. Look! It's the PWC office in Amsterdam!
After another train ride we were back in Brussels and ready to explore. First we went to the top of a parking garage (it was an odd but good suggestion from our map) and took pictures. Brussels is an interesting hodgepodge of architecture.
We also happened to be there on Valentine's Day, so everyone was out. There was a group of people gathered releasing balloons. We aren't sure why; the explanation was in French.
Then we saw a waffle stand and stopped immediately. It was a good choice. Here are Erica, Megan and Emma with waffles.
After the waffle pitstop we were ready to find the Grand Marche or Grote Markt (everything is in French and Dutch in Beligium). Again, there were people celebrating and singing everywhere.

Here I am in the Grote Markt with a singing group behind me.
We also caught the tail end of a Love Bug Parade. These people are really into Valentine's Day!

So we decided to go find the famous statue Mannequin Pis (yes, that is the little boy who is peeing) because you can't go to Brussels without paying him a visit. Unfortunately, he was dressed up for Valentines Day... as a Chinese dragon. I mean obviously, that makes perfect sense right? Psssh. Needless to say, I was a little disappointed.

After that we wondered around some more and managed to see some very pretty architecture and eat all things traditionally Belgian. This included more waffles, fries, a chicken dish that I cannot pronounce, and chocolate.
This building is a light show at night. The stripes pulsated and moved. We stood and ate chocolate in front of it for a while.

Also, I did something a little out of character. Outside of that large church were these two wooden buffalo statues. People had written all over them, and normally I'm not one to deface public property, but it was Valentine's Day. And while my Valentine was in Milwaukee, where was I? Oh that's right, I was in Brussels. Very, very far away. So Joe, this one's for you.

Paris! Oo La La!

Bonjour!

The trip to Paris this weekend was unbelievable. It was great roomie bonding time, very educational, and a lot of fun. I took 133 pictures, so here are just a few of the highlights.

First off, our flight was out of Pisa, so we made a quick pit stop at the leaning tower. It was really cool, but unfortunately it was dark, so my pictures came out blurry. Here's the best one.

We got to Paris late Thursday night, so we crashed when we got to the hostel. However, we woke up bright and early so that we were ready to go. Our first stop: Sacre Coeur.

At Aimee's recommendation (thanks Aimee!) we decided to go to there to get a good view of the city. It is in a really fun district (Montmarte) so we wandered around and looked in a bunch of the boutiques before heading over to the Moulin Rouge. I had heard from several people that the Moulin Rouge was in a seedy area, so we decided that it was best to go in the middle of the day. We went across the street to a grocery store and bought food so that we could sit and eat lunch in front of the Moulin Rouge. Luckily it was perfectly safe in broad daylight.

Here I am being sassy in front of the Moulin Rouge. It seemed appropriate for the location.

After that, we went to Notre Dame and Saint-Chapelle. Notre Dame was amazing, but I think Saint-Chapelle was my favorite. I don't think I've ever seen stained glass like that before. The windows tell the story of the old testament, so it's really interesting to see the stories told in such intricate stained glass. It's also amazing to think that it was built in the 1240s and it's still around.

Me in front of Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

Inside Saint-Chapelle

After that we made our way to the Eiffel Tower. It is so huge! We didn't go up (the line was ridiculously long, and we had other things we wanted to do) but it was fun to see. We took plenty of pictures, but here's a nice one of the three of us. (Emily, me, and Emma).

Here's an artsy one from underneath the Eiffel Tower

After some walking around, we made our way to the Louvre. Here's a picture I took while we were crossing the Seine.
The pyramid entrance at the Lourve.
The Louvre is completely overwhelming. I think it's difficult for anyone to describe how big it actually is, but it would take days to see everything. I took a lot of pictures, but here are some of the more famous pieces.

Venus Di Milo
Winged Victory (Nike)



Mona Lisa
Also, here's a picture of Emily taking a picture. I liked how it turned out with her in focus and everyone else blurry. It's so artsy and appropriate for the setting.
On Saturday it was a little colder and was actually snowing at one point (something I haven't seen in about a month) so we started out looking for one of the famous flea markets and ended up going to the Musee D'Orsay instead. The Florentine weather has softened me. Here they have a ton of famous paintings, more pieces that the average person would recognize than there were at the Louvre. Here are some of my favorites.

Whistler's Mother
Haystacks (Monet)
Vincent Van Gogh's Bedroom Painting
After Musee D'Orsay and some lunch we went in search of the Arc De Triomphe and Champs Elysees. Yet another amazing monument in Paris. It was really cold and windy at this point, so we only spent a little time there, but I'm definitely glad that we saw it. Me, Emily and Emma in front of the Arc De Triomphe

We had a lot of good food in Paris (French the first night, Italian for lunch the next day) so we decided to walk around the area where we were staying and find something. Luckily, our hostel was near the Bastille, and there were all sorts of places. We ended up choosing an Asian fusion restaurant that had Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai food. I ordered stuffed crab and it was delicious. I have no idea what they stuffed it with, but whatever it was sure was tasty.


After that we went back to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night, which was breathtaking. Here are a few of the pictures I took.
Emma, Emily and me in front of the Eiffel Tower Every hour on the hour it sparkles for a few minutes.

So all in all, we had a wonderful weekend. Also, a good thing to remember is that the idea of Parisians being rude is a stereotype. Whenever we went to museums, ate out, etc. people were very polite. Also, when we asked for directions (which was frequent) we made sure to start off with something like "excuse moi", "bonjour madame", "s'il vous plait", "parlez vous anglais", etc. (again, thanks Aimee for the recommendations!). I think that made all of the difference.
Au revoir!

Around Florence

Ok, so sorry for the delay. Despite a lack of travel, I have been pretty busy. But, not to worry here are some new pictures.
The past two weekends I spent in Florence, and this past weekend I took a walk to Piazzale Di Michelangiolo. It was a good 40 minute walk for me, because it's just on the other side of the Arno river and a steep uphill hike, but it offers a beautiful view of the city. I was lucky enough to get pictures at sunset. Here's a shot from about half way up. These wide shallow stairs are common throughout Italy (possibly throughout Europe, although I wouldn't know because I have yet to travel elsewhere) because they were built so that horses could climb them.
Almost at the top. Hello kitty.

... and the money shot. You can see that the Duomo dwarfs pretty much everything else in Florence. I stopped at a food stand and bought a chocolate crepe so that I could sit and enjoy the view for a while. Totally worth the 3.50 euro.

Also, since I was here these past few weekends, I had a chance to go out with friends and explore. One night was trivia night at an Irish pub near our pensione. Here's Erica and Stratton looking very stumped during one of the questions.
Another night we went to a ristorante called Kitch that had a great aperitivos (apetizers) buffet. It was 7.50 euro for one (very strong) drink and unlimited buffet. We had a nice time chatting and eating. I ordered an apple martini.
Another night we went out to dinner and then out for drinks afterwards. Well, more like going out for a drink; the place we went to was expensive, but it was a nice treat. Besides, I got a chocolate martini, so it doubled as my dessert.
So, as you can see, it's been a fun, low key couple of weeks. Stay posted though; I'm going to Paris this weekend with my room mates and I fully intend to be a typical picture-taking tourist.