Home

I feel like I have been here before... That's because I have! I am writing this entry from the computer lab of Metrogate. No joke!

I woke up and finished packing this morning. I got my backpacks on (pretty much for the last time I guess) and walked to the train station. I took the train to the airport and checked in. I went to the gate and waited for them to announce the specific gate number. They announced and then I waited some more to board. I listened to music. We boarded and departed. The flight was only 50 minutes long. We barely got in the air and flying when it was time to descend back down. I had to wait in line for the passport check because a flight from the US just unloaded in front of me. Bummer. Oh well. I got checked and then grabbed my backpack and hopped on a train. I took the Tube to the storage place. I forgot about how much stuff I left in random plastic bags. It will be a squeeze to fit it all in tomorrow but I will get it done. I took the Tube again to my hostel, Hyde Park Inn. It is on the other side of the park from Metrogate. My mom stayed in a place right by it when she was here. My room is on the third floor. Ugh, too many stairs. Oh well. It seems ok and I am going to be there only one night so who really cares anyway?

I got settled and then started walking. I walked across the park and then over to Our Lady of Victories. It was good to be back there. I grabbed some lunch from Tesco and ate it in the courtyard thing by the library. I walked over to Metrogate where I am now. I don't think I will be able to write in the blog again until I get home.

I wish there was some succinct way for me to sum up all the experiences and fun and sights and sounds and just everything that has happened to me since I left back in January. That's not possible though. I know I don't need to do this but thank you to everyone who read this blog even once (but especially to the people who read it everyday). That means more to me than I could write and I will always cherish this blog and this trip. So yeah, I guess this is it. I might write again tomorrow when I get home. Only because I wrote in it just before I left so I think it would be good to write again when just after I get back. I will also be updating the posts, adding pictures, and stuff so feel free to check back if you want in the next week or so. Um, that's it. I can't wait to get home!

I thought of this song while I was writing this post. It's called "Home" by Micheal Buble. Here are the lyrics. (These lyrics coincide with how I feel.)

Another summer day
Has come and gone away
In Paris and Rome
But I wanna go home
Mmmmmmmm

May be surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
I just wanna go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

And I’ve been keeping all the letters that I wrote to you
Each one a line or two
“I’m fine baby, how are you?”
Well I would send them but I know that it’s just not enough
My words were cold and flat
And you deserve more than that

Another aeroplane
Another sunny place
I’m lucky, I know
But I wanna go home
Mmmm, I’ve got to go home

Let me go home
I’m just too far from where you are
I wanna come home

And I feel just like I’m living someone else’s life
It’s like I just stepped outside
When everything was going right
And I know just why you could not
Come along with me
'Cause this was not your dream
But you always believed in me

Another winter day has come
And gone away
In even Paris and Rome
And I wanna go home
Let me go home

And I’m surrounded by
A million people I
Still feel all alone
Oh, let me go home
Oh, I miss you, you know

Let me go home
I’ve had my run
Baby, I’m done
I gotta go home
Let me go home
It will all be all right
I’ll be home tonight
I’m coming back home

Herring In The Hague

Hello again everyone! I am sorry about this posting the day after and stuff. It is just very hard to catch up when you get even one or, in this case, two days behind. I will be all caught up by the end of the night though. I pretty much have to. I only have two more days left to post about (Friday and Saturday) and then I won't blog anymore. So sad. Let's not think about that. Let's try and figure out what the heck I meant by the title of my post.

I did not sleep well last night. I had a lot on my mind so I did not fall asleep right away. Eventually, I did fall asleep but I woke up at 4 am and two guys (one above me and one next to me and above) were snoring. I swear I am a snoring magnet in hostels. It is annoying. I listened to music and fell back asleep after over an hour. The other problem was the emergency light. So darn bright. Oh well. I woke up at 9. That was later than I wanted to. I showered and got ready and left to catch the train. I took the train to The Hague (Den Haag in Dutch, pronounced den haHHHH). Locals say that the money is made in Rotterdam (biggest port in Europe), divided in The Hague (seat of government and office buildings), and spent in Amsterdam (you know what is in Amsterdam). I thought that was funny. I got to The Hague and went to the Tourist Information place. They gave me a map and some ideas of what to do and see.

Random thought: What is with the "The" in The Hague? It can't just be Hague? I don't get it.

My first stop was the Mauritshuis or Marits House (picture 1). This is an art gallery similar to the Wallace Collection in that it is in a period building and was started from the donation of a guy named Marits. It is different because they keep adding to the collection. I loved the place. They had a free audio guide (thank you Museumkaart) which was awesome. I toured the museum going into each room and listening to info about any painting with a headphone symbol next to it. The stars of the museum are Vermeer and Rembrandt. I saved the Vermeers for last, like dessert. The most famous Vermeer of all is at Maritshuis. That is The Girl with the Pearl Earring (picture 2). I loved the painting. I wish I could describe more what I was thinking or the painting more but you really have to see the painting to know it. There were two other paintings by Vermeer in the museum. These are Diana and her Nymphs and View of Delft. Both were stunning. Vermeer was the master of painting light. As I said, there were also some Rembrandts in the museum. One was a self-portrait, probably his last self-portrait before he died. Another Rembrandt is the Anatomy of Dr. Nicholas Tulp. It is a painting of a bunch of guys watching Dr. Tulp cut up an arm. It's a cool way of doing a group shot, very original at the time. There was some Jan Steen as well. Those raucous families were at it again. Quite a few Rubens and Holbeins as well. The museum was awesome because of the art but also because the size was so manageable. It wasn't too big and wasn't too small.

I left the museum and it was raining (boooo). I walked over to the Palace Gardens. Pretty average garden. I tried to find the International Courts of Justice but they were off the map and I couldn't find them. I walked back down to the Binnehof. This is a big palace that is in the shape of a rectangle in the middle of the rectangle is a big church (picture 3). You have to take a tour at a designated time to go in so I couldn't do it. Just outside the courtyard of the palace was a stand selling herring. That's a big specialty of The Netherlands, raw herring. Yup, raw. I figured "I'm here, I have to do it". So I did. I got a raw herring sandwich (picture 4). Just bread, raw herring, and onions. The guy at the counter called it the Dutch Hamburger. Haha. It wasn't so bad. I had to choke down the last few bites (I actually looked at it which made it harder to eat) but I got it all down. Now to be too disgusting but I burped up the taste of it for the next couple hours. Not too pleasant. I ate the sandwich in the courtyard of the Binnehof. I took the tram to the other destination of my day, Delft.

Delft is the birthplace of Vermeer and where Delftware (the blue and white pottery) comes from. The tram ride was pretty boring. The Hague TI gave me a map of Delft earlier so I knew where to get off and where I was going. I walked around part of the Old Town first. Very pretty (picture 5). It is like a mini-Amsterdam without the sleeze. I went into the Old Church. Vermeer is buried here (picture 6) along with some other Dutch notables (I had no idea who they were though). The church had some really cool stained glass telling Bible stories. It was fun to see the stories told through the glass. The church was like most other churches in The Netherlands: white walls, a wood roof, and graves stones all over the floor. That is not to say that it was not impressive. It was really cool but still, kind of boring. I walked over to the Market Square (picture 7). It was a market day which made it much more exciting. It is fun to imagine this same scene with all of the same buildings happening 400 years ago. I walked around the market and bought some bakery items (I couldn't resist, they looked so good). All of them were delicious. I went into the New Church next. It has a HUGE spire (over 100 meters tall) that towers over the Market Square. I did not climb the tower even though you can. William of Orange (a prince, kind of big deal to the Dutch but I don't know much about him) is buried inside the church along with other royalty from the House of Orange (the Dutch Royalty). The stained glass in this church was pretty weird and hard to understand. William of Orange has a big mausoleum with statues of his four virtues at each corner (picture 8). It is an impressive mausoleum, I will say that. After walking around the church, I took a stroll through the old town on my way back to the tram stop (picture 9). Extremely pretty and would be nicer if it wasn't so cloudy (at least it wasn't raining I guess). I took the tram back to The Hague.

I had to walk from the tram station back to the train station. I walked through the business district (picture 10). This is what The Hague is known for. There were quite a few big office buildings. I liked looking at them. It was about 5:30 at this point so I was part of the commuter crowd. The train was pretty full but emptied as we went along. The train ride was only about 50 minutes both ways, fyi. I walked back to the hostel so that I could move my stuff to my new bed. I got a new bed because I reserved a bed for three nights but asked to stay a fourth when I arrived. Why I couldn't just stay in the same bed for the last night is beyond me but whatever. I have a bed and it is my second to last night in Europe. Plus, it keeps my streak (since I left London) of not sleeping in the same bed for more than three nights alive. I got some fruit salad and a slice of pizza for dinner. Not exactly a memorable "last dinner in Amsterdam" but what can you do? None of my meals in Amsterdam have been particularly memorable which is fine. Then I came to the library where I am now.

Tomorrow I ride a plane to London at 9 am. Then get my extra luggage. Then hang around London for a while. Then sleep. Then, on Saturday, take the plane HOME!! While I was riding the train back to Amsterdam, I thought about how today was really my last "sightseeing" day of my trip. It was a bittersweet moment. I never really knew what people meant when they say that but I think I do now. Bitter because I want to keep traveling and keep meeting new people and keep trying new things but sweet because I get to go home to my BED and some home cooked MEALS and my favorite people in the world. So yeah. Talk to you again soon!

Buh Bye!

Haarlem Renaissance

Phew. I have just finished writing the rest of the entries for Monday and Sunday and now I have to do today's. That's a lot of blogging. Oh well. It is always hard when you get even one or two days behind to catch back up but I am doing it. I woke up and had some more stroopwafels for breakfast. I also had some crackers. It was raining a little when I left my hostel which sucks. I bought my train ticket to Haarlem. That name should look and sound familiar because back when New York was New Amsterdam, Harlem was named after the Dutch town of Haarlem. Haarlem had it's Golden Age at the same time as Amsterdam as well. It was a town of merchants and traders. Amsterdam and Haarlem are only a 20 minute train ride apart. I purposefully did not bring my new book with me because I want to try and save it for later (like my plane ride back home or the plane ride to London). I just sat and looked out my window at the Dutch landscape. Not much to see frankly. There is a lot of urban sprawl like Industrial Areas. There was one little bit of field though with some cows. I arrived in Haarlem and it stopped raining. I walked down the street for 10 minutes to the Grote Markt (Market Square). This is the best part of town. The architecture of the city was similar but not the same as Amsterdam. There were still some skinny brick houses but they didn't seem as prevalent and there were fewer canals which really changed how the town looks.

I went into the Grote Kerk (picture 1). It is like most other Dutch churches (white walls, wooden ceiling, graves on the floor) but still super interesting because of all the knick knacks in the walls. I used my Rick Steves' book and did a tour around the church. I saw the pulpit with snakes running away from the Word of God as hand rails on the steps. On one of the columns, there is a mark showing the tallest and shortest members of Haarlem since the church was built. One guy was 8'8" and the other was about 2'9". Rumor has it that the dwarf guy got killed in a dwarf tossing competition back in the day. I don't know if I believe that or not. There is a cannon ball stuck in one of the walls in memory of when Haarlem was laid under siege by the Spanish in 1537. It was kind of like the Alamo. They defended braving but ended up surrendering. There is a column top with a carving of the Dog Whipper. He kept the dogs out of the church on rainy market days (picture 3). The organ of the church is unbelievably big (picture 3). It has 5,028 different pipes. By pulling a couple levers, you can make it sound like a tuba (!), a flute, or almost any other instrument. Handel and Mozart both played it. While I was walking around, a guy was practicing for the organ festival in a couple weeks. I learned that tid bit from one of the workers who came up to me as I was looking at those height marks. She spoke to me in Dutch. When I smiled and nodded dumbly she found out I spoke English. That happened to me like 6 times today. People spoke Dutch to me. It made me feel good that I didn't totally look like a tourist (or at least an English speaking one).

As I left and the church and started walking toward the Frans Hals Museum, I passed by a bunch of shops attached to the side of the church like barnacles. This is just like it was in Medieval times. The church had to make money to keep building or whatever so they put stores along the outside and rented the space out. Pretty cool. So, as I said, I went to the Frans Hals Museum next. I talked about him yesterday as well when I went to the Rijksmuseum. He was around in the Golden Age and painted all sorts of things (landscapes, portraits, group portraits, still lifes, you name it). This museum, obviously, houses the largest collection of him in the world. The museum is housed in an old dormitory or something. Anyway, I started off by looking at paintings by people who came before and were contemporaries of Hals. Then I saw a bunch of his Civic Guard group portraits (picture 4). They are so cool. Each person in each painting has a different personality and you can see it just by looking at this one little painting of them. It was fun trying to think about what each guy was like. I was excited to get to the next part because that was where his portraits were but there was an exhibition going on! That means all those paintings of his were not out!!!! BOOOOOOOO! Instead, I looked at a bunch of paintings by the de Bray family. They were good and stuff but I came to the Frans Hals Museum to see FRANS HALS! Oh well. Rick Steves talked about some of the paintings that were not hanging up so I looked at the paintings as postcards in the book shop. Haha. Not as good but it will do. I bought a couple postcards and then left.

I started to walk around a little bit trying to, what else, find a place to eat. I ended up at the same brand of department store as the day before. They have the same cafeteria style dining. I bought a cheese filled pastry and a sausage one. I took them and walked back to the Grote Markt and ate them there. It was a nice atmosphere and actually wasn't raining which was nice (still cloudy). I walked to the Teyler's Museum next (picture 5). It was the first public museum in the Netherlands. It was created by the bequeath of a guy named, you guessed it, Teyler. The museum houses fossils and other scientific stuff but also coins and paintings. I used my museumkaart (sweettttt) and got a free audio guide as well. I looked at the fossils. Pretty cool. It had been a while since I saw genuine fossils so it was fun to look and imagine those creatures long ago. One of the most interesting parts of the museum is that they have kept the arrangement that the stuff was originally in. So the visitor can get a look at how people back in the 1800s thought this stuff was organized. Pretty cool. There was a little room with rocks that glow in the dark and other rocks that glow under UV light. Those were really awesome. One of the rocks glowed bright blue. The paintings were ok. I liked some of the Dutch Impressionists they had. It was strange that the D.I. did not really use bright colors but did use some of the same techniques. I guess there aren't really a lot of bright colors in the Netherlands.

I left the museum and walked by the windmill in town (picture 6) and then walked through the tiny Red Light District. It was four pm so most of the "workers" were not there. I walked through because that sort of thing is special to this region. It would be like going to London and not riding a double decker bus or something like that. The district had the same sort of look as the one in Amsterdam. Women in womens showing off their stuff with a red neon light along the top of the window. The women almost always wear a bra and panties. I am just describing it so that you all get an idea of what it is like. Anyway, I walked through the area (which has two churches in it) and back to the train. I went to "Our Lord in the Attic" Church when I got back to Amsterdam. It is a museum about the hidden Catholic Churches in Amsterdam. I have already discussed them so I won't say much more about it. The museum is reallllly cool and the church is very nice (picture 7). It can seat 150 people. There is an altar with a painting of Jesus being baptized behind it. There are a couple cool statues in the back. There were two old kitchens in the back part of the house. They looked very Vermeer-ish (quiet, old, etc.). I liked the museum a lot (Vermeer-esque tiles picture 8). It would be fun to go to a mass there (they don't have them anymore).

I went to the library and did yesterday's post and emailed people and stuff (view from library picture 8). Then I went to get dinner. I bet you guess where I went. The grocery store of course!! I got fruit salad, a tuna sandwich, some pop, and some chips. I ate them at... Dam Square, of course! Haha. It was basically the same thing I have done for the past three dinners. Oh well. There was a pub crawl organizing on the steps by me. The woman working for the company who gets the money was being very persuasive with the people who were unsure. After eating, I went on the Red Light District Walk in my Rick Steves Book (the main canal of the RLD picture 9). Yup, he has a walk about it. There are lots of bars and coffee shops (um, marijuana) and lots of prostitutes. Just a crazy place. The weirdest part for me is that there are like churches and stuff in the area too (picture 10). I guess I am naïve or something like that but seriously, the Old Church in smack dab in the middle of the RLD. There were a couple very skinny alleyways where most of the "workers" were. They were organized by race usually. Anyway, it was a weird experience walking through there and if you want to know more about it or something let me know and I can tell you about it. I came back to the hostel and read. I talked to a girl from Canada for a little bit. She was nice. Then I tried to go to sleep.

Till Next Time!

Dam Over The River Amstel

I had to spend the night at Geneva Airport . The security guard came around, looked at my passport and said it would be fine if I slept there. I used my backpack as a pillow and slept for about 4 hours. Not bad for sleeping on cold floor. It was basically the same as sleeping on the ferry from Chania to Athens. Except there was no Catherine or tv or snacks or warmth. Well, ok, it wasn't really the same. Anyway, it was time to check in which I did. I was a little apprehensive (I thought something might go wrong again) but it all went smoothly. I went through security and waited to get on the plane. I did my now usual routine of trying to get on earlier and get an aisle seat near the front. The plane ride was only about 1 hour long. I listened to music since I don't have any books to read. It was cloudy and kind of rainy in Amsterdam when we landed. I grabbed my bag and hopped on the train into town. I found my hostel, Aivengo Hostel, pretty easily. It is only 5 minutes from the train station. There are two big dorm rooms with 16 beds in each. I am staying there four nights. That is the most nights I will be staying in the same place the whole trip. Weird. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I couldn't check in right away so I left my backpack and decided to go for a walk.

The walk I decided to do was through the Jordaan (yor-DAHN) neighborhood. This is the neighborhood on the western side of the city. It is a very artsy, yuppy area. There are many small canals (Amsterdam is known for having a lot of canals by the way). I started at Dam Square which is sort of the main square of Amsterdam (City Hall Building picture 1). I will talk more about that tomorrow when I do another guided walk. I bought a couple donuts for breakfast. Everything seems cheaper here. I also exchanged the last of my Swiss money. Goodbye pretty money, hello again Euro. I started walking and it started raining pretty hard. I kept my book under my jacket whenever I wasn't under some kind of cover. I walked through some canals and by a bunch of really cool streets. The houses here are so different. They are very skinny and very long. Completely different architecture from everywhere else I have been. They also used a lot of brick since they had multiple fires long ago (brick buildings in picture 6). Another thing about Amsterdam, there are a lot of bikes here. They are much more popular (and practical) than cars. Bikes are locked up to everything, I think it's pretty cool (picture 1 and 3). Also, Amsterdam has lots of ethnic food places. You know what that means... Kebabs again! Haha. We'll see if I ever get one here.

So back to the walk. I kept walking and finally came upon the Westerkerk (picture 5). This literally means Western Church. Rembrandt is buried somewhere under the chairs (they don't have pews). It has the tallest spire in the city. The organ is pretty sweet looking. I went into the Anne Frank House next. There was a little bit of a line to get in and it was pretty crowded inside but I didn't really mind. As most of you should know, Anne Frank was a Jew in Amsterdam during WWII. She wrote some diaries (for those with good memories, or who happen to look to the side bar, you will remember that I read those diaries back in February) while she was holed in a secret annex for two years. No pictures allowed inside (BOOOO) but I bought a couple postcards. It was insane trying to imagine 8 people living in that tiny little space for 2 years. They ended up getting caught and all but Otto Frank (Anne's dad) survived the concentration camps. So sad. I was really glad I went to the House today and I really liked seeing the room. It made me remember a lot of the stuff from the Diaries.

From there, it was still raining but I kept walking. I came to what Rick Steves calls "The Center of the Jordaan"which is a bridge over a canal. One road has a lot of shops, another road has a great view of the Westerkerk spire and the canal is tree lined and very pretty. I will admit, the neighborhood is pretty spectacular. I think I took some pretty cool pictures. We will have to wait and see when I put them on a computer. I walked back to the hostel and on the way stopped at a grocery store. There are a lot of pastries and salads and sandwiches there. It was a pretty big store and had cheap prices. I liked it. I bought some almond pastries, a fruit/lettuce salad (weird but looked interesting), and some crackers for sometime in the future (I always like having some crackers around just in case). I had the salad and pastries back in the hostel after I got checked in. My hostel is only about €18 a night. That isn't bad at all for where it is located and stuff. I sat around and regained some strength.

I decided to go to the library next (picture 8). It is pretty near to the train station in the northeast part of town. The library has loads of computers and free internet usage. That is pretty much the coolest thing ever. It is a very modern building and has some awesome views over the city. Like the view on the other side of the computer monitor I used to write most of this post. I spent a couple hours in the library starting, but not finishing, both of the posts from the weekend. They should be finished tomorrow. I also picked out my hostel for Friday in London. I went back to the hostel and sat around for a little bit. Then I walked down to Dam Square and ate some French Fries with mayonnaise (the Dutch way). It wasn't too bad, very different, but I still prefer ketchup. The Square was much more lively at 6 pm than it was at 10 am when I was here earlier. Lots of people walking around and stuff. I just sat and people watched for a while. I stopped by the grocery store again for some dinner. Just a ham and cheese sandwich and some stroopwafels. Stroopwafels are little waffles with the syrup inside them. SO GOOD. Oh man. I am like addicted. I ate that stuff back at the hostel and then went back to the library and emailed a bunch of people. I came back to the hostel and slept. Only one person snored in the entire room... and he was right above me. How does that always happen? Also, I was right under the emergency light which stays on the whole night. Very annoying. Oh well. I slept really well (I got about 10 hours of sleep).

Happy Monday!

Lonely Confusion

I woke up and showered and stuff and then got my things packed. I was sad to already be getting ready to leave the house in France (view from their spectacular porch picture 2). I felt like I had just arrived (actually, I pretty much did just arrive, I ended up only spending about 24 hours at the house). We didn't leave the house just yet though. I ate some cereal with some strawberries in it for my first breakfast (at the dining table picture 2). Then Jim was still getting ready so Francoise invited me to walk down to the bakery with her to get some more stuff. We walked and talked. It looked like it might be a pretty nice day out. I got a pain au chocolat and Francoise a pastry for herself and one for Jim. She says she always gets one for him even if he says he doesn't want one because he ends up always wanting one. Haha. We walked back and the two of us ate our pastries (my second breakfast). We hopped in the car (I took a timer shot of the three of us before we left picture 3) and drove to a mountain pass where, on a non-low-cloud day one would have a fantastic view of Mont Blanc. It was a low-cloud day so the view was not that great. That's ok. We walked into some souvenir shops which were cute. Then we drove down to a little trail. The trail lead up a mountain cliff where people were practicing their climbing. It was really nice out and very beautiful (pictures 4 and 5).

We ate lunch in the town of Thône (picture 6). It is another ski resort type place. It was France's Mother's Day. So, for the third time since January, Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! The place was pretty busy for a while because of the holiday but we still got a table. Jim and I got the full lunch menu. We got to eat some stuff from the appetizer buffet. I had some vegetables, some taboulé (really good) and some other salad type stuff. For my main course, I had steak with a boat load of french fries, a couple skewers of grilled cherry tomatoes and pineapples, and mashed potatoes on top of mashed carrots. If that sounds like a lot to eat, let me tell you, it was. It was all soooooo good though. Jim mentioned that I had been in Europe for 4 months but still did not eat like one. By that he meant I held my utensils the wrong way. In Europe, you always hold the utensils and never set them down. You always hold the fork in the left and the knife in the right. Americans switch the fork from the left to the right (at least I do). It was very strange at first but I did feel more refined eating the way Europeans do. I explained to Jim that 99% of the time I eat finger foods alone so that's why I never learned the European way. I was glad he shared it with me though.

We drove back to the house and picked up Cici and our bags and then drove on to Geneva (Cici did her usual routine of throwing up soon after we left, Francoise cleaned it up and we drove on). I should mention our gas situation. Jim started the trip with about 140 km on the car already before we left plus we took the scenic route to the house. Then we drove through all those mountain towns on Saturday and today so we were extremely low on gas. The problem is that all the gas stations in France only have pay at the pumps open on Sunday (no place to go inside and pay). That is a problem because the pumps don't accept foreign credit cards. The other problem is that since Jim is an international worker for the UN (technically UPU, or UN Post) he doesn't pay tax on gas in Switzerland. So because of all that, Jim didn't want to, and couldn't, stop for gas in France. He used the gas he had left for the lawmower and dumped it in the car. That was enough to get us back to Geneva where he bought more gas (tax free). They dropped me off at the airport about 2 hours before my flight was to leave. I hate saying goodbye. Especially to people as nice, caring, and fun as Jim and Francoise. This is a weird metaphor but my time with them was like the eye of a storm. Beautiful, calm, and surrounded on either side by the unknown. When I was with them, I didn't have to make plans, I didn't have to decide what to eat, I didn't have to pay for lodging. It was all great. I had the same feeling of a large weight dropping back on my shoulders when I said goodbye to them as when I said goodbye to Catherine and to my mom. Oh well. That's part of the journey, learning to deal with that feeling.

So I walked into the airport and tried to check in to my flight. No go. I kept trying and eventually asked the guy at the counter. He said I wasn't on the flight. Uh oh... So here's the deal with that. I bought my ticket from Geneva to Amsterdam for 150 CHF because the price kept going up and I was worried I would have to pay more than that. The next day, I checked the price... 50 CHF. I called Easyjet to have them cancel my first ticket so I could buy a new, cheaper one. The email they sent to confirm it never said anything about cancelling the ticket, all it said was that they deducted 100 CHF. I thought they had taken care of it for me, apparently not. Apparently, they cancelled the ticket but there was a 50 CHF cancelation charge, again, the email they sent never said anything cancelling. Anyway, I was freaking out and went to the cash machine to get some money to buy a ticket from the desk (it would have been 220 CHF). The machine only let me get out 200 CHF and when I tried to get more, it said I couldn't. I was really freaking out but eventually calmed down. I went online and bought a ticket for Monday morning using my mom's credit card for 50 CHF. That meant I had to stay the night in the airport. I wasn't sure if I could do that which made me worry a whole lot. I never thought to ask someone. I bought a sandwich for dinner and a book at a bookstore. The book was by Micheal Connelly, whom I had read before. Another detective book. I finished it in about 3 hours. I listened to music and wandered around until about midnight. The airport was deserted a security guard walked up. I thought I was going to have to sleep outside or something. Turns out, the guard asked if I wanted to stay in the airport. I said I did and the guard looked at my passport and then said I could lay down wherever. They locked the doors and I slept (picture 7 is my sleeping corner).

Au Revoir!

Mountains, Valleys, and Chalets, Oh My!

Jim woke me up and I packed up all my stuff and then ate breakfast. It was cereal and some fresh peaches. Very delicious. I love peaches and, as I have said earlier, I have not eaten cereal in ages because I can't really get milk. We got all packed and ready to go. Jim and Francoise warned me about their cat Cici (I don't know how to spell it, you say it like C-C). She is old and deathly afraid of riding in a car. We packed up the car and left the apartment. After only 2 minutes, Cici threw up in her cage thing. I was forewarned so was not surprised, however, it did stink a little. We stopped at what Jim said is "the usual cleaning spot" on the side of the road. Francoise cleaned the cage. She told me that once time she was sick so Jim and Ian had to do. They did not like it and I don't blame them. Overall, it wasn't that bad though. I just felt bad for the cat. In the past, they would leave the cat with their neighbors when they left but now Cici has to be force fed pills in the morning and evening. The neighbors can't do that so Cici has to endure the car ride. We headed out from Bern and drove into the French speaking part of Switzerland (we were previously in the German speaking part). We passed through Fribourg and Montreaux (Lake Geneva picture 1). Jim decided to take the longer, scenic route because he thought we might have a chance at seeing Mont Blanc. We passed into France and went through Chamonix. Chamonix is just barely over the border. On a non-low-cloud day, you can see the entire massif of Mont Blanc, the tallest mountain in Europe. Unfortunately, it was a low-cloud day so you could only make out some of the peaks (picture 2). Oh well. I got the idea and it was fun driving on the twisty roads and up and down the mountains (Cici did not agree).

We kept driving and finally arrived at their village, Le Petit Bornand. The village is located on one side of gorge. Le Petit Bornand has a population of 1,000 people but they are spread out in a bunch of different directions. We decided to stop off at the bakery in town to get some stuff. We got bread, some pastries, and a couple pizzas (for me and Jim). We brought it back to their house. On the way, we passed by their neighbor who they say is really dirty and based on his trailer, it definitely sounds that way. Their house is awesome (picture 3 and walkway picture 4). There are two garages, three bedrooms, two bathrooms, some space in the basement, a kitchen, and a dining room connected to a living room. I slept upstairs. We arrived and got settled. The clouds were still up around the tops of the mountains but they seemed to be clearing away and the sun made a few appearances and then a few more. That was a good sign. We ate our stuff from the bakery. It was super delicious. My pastry was a thing with creme and strawberries on top. Yummmmm. After eating, we started to get ready to go for a walk. First, Jim went to talk to the neighbors who are building a house a little farther up the hill. Francoise eventually joined him. I walked into the little field of flowers and grass behind their house. It was awesome standing in the field with the gorge spread out in either direction and the sun finally coming out. Some of the flowers were really pretty. They finished talking and we headed out.

We drove through the town of La Clusaz (picture 5). It is a ski resort and the place where Jim and Francoise used to have (part of) a chalet. They showed me the chalet. La Clusaz rests in a valley right by the Aravis Mountains. Seeing the ski lifts (obviously not in action) going up the mountains was mind boggling. I can't believe people ride those thing all the way up there. Jim explained that La Clusaz is a good example of why the Alps are so special and why they are soooo popular for skiing (other than the huge number of people who live close to them). The vertical distance between the town and the highest chair lift is something like 1,200 meters which is like 4,000 feet. The crazy thing is that that isn't even that much. The Alps are very steep I guess is the main thing (as you can see in picture 6). The Rockies come up on a plateau so the vertical distance is not as much. Anyway, we saw the chalet and then kept going to a parking area on the side of a beautiful valley. We hiked on a pretty level trail along one side of the valley (pictur 7 and 8). We passed by some cows and goats (picture 9). I loved the sound of their bells jingling. It was so green out. The trees and grass were just vibrant. The sun came out too which was fantastic. It felt good to hike for a little while. We talked while we hiked. I wish I could show you all the pictures but I can't right now. It was super fantastic and I am so glad that I was able to see the Alps if only for a day or two. I can't wait to come back again someday.

We finished our hike and started to drive back. We stopped in La Clusaz for some groceries. The grocery store was really fun to explore because it had tons of different, French things. There was pate and all sorts of cheeses and loads of wines. I liked looking at them. It was also FANTASTIC to not have to worry about what I was going to eat. As the faithful readers know, that is one of the few troubles I always seem to have when I travel. We left the grocery store and went back to the house. Jim mowed the lawn while Francoise and I drank tea and coffee and talked. I felt bad for not helping Jim but there wasn't really anything for me to do. I called my mom on the phone which was nice. Soon afterward, Jim finished and the three of us watched tv for a little bit. I think we watched mostly French stuff which was fun trying to figure out what they were saying. After a while, Jim brought out some salmon spread and we ate it with crackers. Then he got dinner ready. Francoise had a cheese pastry while Jim and I had raclette. Raclette is, I was told, a very Swiss thing to eat. There is a special cooker with a top and open sides. A heating element and you place a piece of cheese on a dish and stick it under the heating element. When the cheese is melted, you scrap it on top of some potatoes or some bread. IT TASTED GOOD. Haha, I loved it. There was some special raclette spice stuff that you can put on top as well that made it taste even better. Jim and I also had some deli meat (much nicer than that) like salami and smoked ham. All around great meal.

We finished the meal and then sat down by the tv again. I can't really remember what we watched but eventually we ended on a French soccer match. Jim and Francoise fell asleep in their chairs and I was getting tired myself. Jim woke up at one point and I told him he should go to bed. He said, "We make our appearances until 10". I thought that was funny. Well, right at 10 they went to bed. They apologized for being boring but I truly didn't mind. It is just as exciting back home I am sure. I stayed up for a little while waiting for the match to be done but ended up falling asleep on the couch as well. I went up to bed after that.

To Be Continued!

Blogging and Bern

I woke up this morning and read more of that Steinbeck novel in bed. It was addicting and time kind of flew by. I showered (the towel they lent me was phenomenal) and then ate cereal for breakfast. I haven't had cereal for what feels like ages. I started working hardcore on my blog. I updated posts and added pictures to the entries stretching from Money, Money, Money until today. That's like 10 posts or something. It was a lot and took a lot of time but felt really good. I felt like I was getting things accomplished and enjoyed that feeling. The sun was out and, just like back at Metrogate, I started feeling dumb for being inside while it was so nice out so I stopped working and walked into Bern. The walk was only about 20 minutes. Bern is situated on a curve in the Aare River so it is surrounded by the river on three sides. The town is so cool. So many old buildings with the typical Swiss architecture (picture 1). I walked down the main drag for a while. I stopped and had some pasta salad from the Coop Grocery. I bought a can of Dr. Pepper as well. The Dr. Pepper was so great. The pasta wasn't so bad either. I ate it while sitting on a step on the arcade that runs on either side of all the streets. There were tons of Swiss flags out as well. I walked past the famous clock as well (picture 2).

I continued my walk along the main drag until I got to the Parliament Building. There were some fountains in front of it that kids were playing in (picture 3). I walked over to the Bern Münster next. That's the main church in Bern and has the tallest spire in all of Switzerland. I, of course, climbed the tower. You could barely make out the Alps on the horizon. On the portal of the church, there is a thing showing the Torments of Hell (picture 4). Pretty scary. The church is Calvinist so there is not a lot of adornments but I did like the stained glass (again, fire and brimstone motif). I walked from there down to the river behind the Parliament building. Loads of cool houses and some free swimming pools right next to the river. Old people in swimsuits, eek. I climbed back up to the town proper and walked back through it. I stopped at a bench and finished The Moon is Down. It was a short novel about town in Norway resisting Nazi rule. So I walked back through the town and on the way out I saw the Bear Pits (picture 5). These are two concrete holes in the ground where some bears live. Bears have lived in Bern for hundred of years. I thought it was kind of sad but what do I know. I still took a picture of them and stopped by so the bears did their jobs.

I walked back to Jim's and passed by one of those plotted gardens. It made me think of that book I read for Adolescent Lit last year. I can't remember the name though. Back at the apartment, I blogged some more and then watched tv. Jim came back and we chatted. He made steak and tater tots (more elegant than that) for dinner. Super delicious yet again. I wish I could express my thanks to them better. We went for a walk around some of the country after dinner and then came back. I did some more stuff online and am about to go to bed. Tomorrow morning we are headed to their house in France via Mount Blanc (the highest point in Europe). That should be fun. No internet there. Sunday, I will be dropped off in Geneva to catch my plane to Amsterdam. My life is always exciting. Eight days left...

Till next time!