This one goes out to my boo, Kathleen. :)
I just got back from Europe, whirlwind trip but totally worth it! I got to Brussels on Thanksgiving Day, which means I got a home-cooked Turkey Day feast courtesy of my folks! Score!! Rich is a fabulous cook: deep fried turkey, world's best mashed 'taters, and stuffing...I can't describe the deliciousness of that stuffing! And Mom hooked me up with a chocolate creme pie. Such a good welcome dinner! :)
Mom's friend Micheline took us around Brussels the next day for a tour, since we've really only seen the airports in that city. It really is a beautiful city with lots of history. And yes, I saw the mannequin pis (the statue of a little boy peeing) . Micheline is such a cool person; she's Belgian so she natively speaks French and Dutch, and learned English and German. She worked with Mom at NATO. I actually emailed her my paper for French class, and she edited for me...so I think I might score an A on that one. :) And trust me, I need the A. Anyway, she and her husband have a gorgeous penthouse in Brussels, and they're very charming hosts. Tom, her husband tried to walk around the city with us, but the cold was affecting his lungs: he has half of a lung removed due to disease a year ago.
On Saturday after Thanksgiving, we planned to drive to Delft to check out the famous pottery, but as we were approaching the gas station in Schinnen (about 10 minutes from the house) the car started making horrible noises... so we pulled into the base and called the Dutch version of AAA. It was only 8:30am so it took them some time to get there. But the car was towed to the BMW store and we had a rental car by noon. So we decided to go to the Christmas Markt in Valkenburg, also close to the house, but as we were eating lunch, the dealership called and said the car was done! We were all kind of dumbfounded that it took so little time! It was only 1:15 at this point. So we hurried our lunch and picked up the car. It was nice...they even cleaned her up a little bit! So Rich went home to study while Mom and I went shopping a little bit in Maastricht.
Sunday was spent just hanging out at home, and enjoying some down time.
Monday morning the folks went to work, so I slept in and packed for France. That afternoon we went to Aachen to the Christmas Markt. I bought a ring made of green amber (from Poland) to match my earrings of the same material (got those in Latvia). Mom bought me a necklace to match, too, but I get that in January. :(
Tuesday morning Rich drove me to the Sittard train station at 5:30am. I took the train into Eindhoven, where the airport is. So I got to Eindhoven and had to take a bus to the airport. The flight was smooth, and arrived early. It was such a different atmosphere when I got off the plane. The weather was nice, the people seemed friendlier, and I could understand the French much better than Dutch! As we were approaching the city, I looked out the window and I fell in love with the city before I even got there. It's very Mediterranean: rocks instead of soil, blanched colors, sparse but beautiful gnarly trees, and wonderfully warm temperatures. I hoped on the bus that lead to the city... it took us to Gare St. Charles, the train station in town. My hostel was just down the road from the gare, but I still got lost because of the construction going on at the gare. I checked in at the hostel and started sightseeing around town. But I have to admit, I was kind of lost since I didn't know what to see, but I was so happy to see some skullers in the Viex Port (city center) rowing in the port!! I visited the tourist office to get my Marseille city pass, but since it was already noon, the lady told me it'd be a waste of money and come back tomorrow to get a whole day out of it. So that's what I did...just walked around until dark, then headed to the hostel. My room was a mixed 4-bed, but it was just me, a Chinese girl, and a French guy. They both spoke French, so I tried to communicate a little..but I suck, really. Anyway, there was some conversation nonetheless. About 8pm that night, an American backpacker came in to take the 4th bed. I was just glad to have an English speaker there. But it turns out that he's kind of a tool.
The next morning I decided to go to Aix-En-Provence for the day, so I got to the train station to catch the city bus up there. It was about 8:30 when we departed, and got to Aix about 9:15. Aix is a really small town, and I think it must be beautiful in the summer. There was not a lot to do outside the normal: museums, sights, etc. So I walked around, and up to Cezanne's atelier, but they were closing for lunch when I got there. So I just kept walking! I literally walked for 7 hours almost nonstop that day! I saw lots of cool typical provencal houses/apartments/buildings. So I got some sweet photos. When it started getting dark, I headed back to the bus station to catch my bus. I made it back to the hostel about 6:30 or 7. I went to the lounge to check my email and hang out to hopefully meet some cool people- that's half the reason for staying at hostels! There were a group of folks chatting at the table, and they were Candian, so I sat down and chatted too. Turns out one girl, Ruth, was actually from New Zealand. Kirk and Jill are newlyweds who are backpacking across Europe for their honeymoon, Ruadhan is an Irish lad backpacking, too. And Forrest, the American from my room is on a gap year and also backpacking. They all decided to go to a bar that night, but I was exhausted and my feet were aching, so I stayed in. I think Ruadhan stayed, too. But Ruth and I decided to meet in the morning and go see some sights together. Oh, and the French speakers vacated my room and two Australian guys were the new residents...but they were the unfriendliest Australians ever! They looked at me like I was an idiot when I invited to join us downstairs. Whatever...jerks.
So the next morning, Ruth and I met in the lounge about 8:30 for breakfast and then we headed to the tourist office so I could get my city pass. Pass in hand, we decided to do one of three self-guided walking tours. That took about an hour, but it was cool to know what we were looking at! It was 10:15 at this point, and we needed to be back at the Viex Port at 10:30 for our boatride to the Ile d'If. This is a little island with a castle/prison. It's famous because the The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask are based there. The boat ride was cool, and even in November, the Mediterranean is so inviting. I almost wanted to jump in and swim around. But, I didn't... my health insurance didn't kick in until December 1st! :) Anyway, Forrest and the Australians showed up on our ride, too. But the Aussies were still rude, but Forrest joined us and we were a little trio. The island was cool, but we were starnded there until the next boat, which was 12:35pm. So we took lots of pictures, and chatted for a while. Forrest is only 18, but thinks he knows everything.. I guess we were all like that at one point though. So Ruth (my age, and an attorney) tried to just shrug off his idealiztic chatter. It really didn't bother me that much, but I could tell Ruth was so unnerved. When the boat came to pick us up, we all separated to grab lunch and agreed to meet at the hostel in about 30 minutes (I needed a new memory card for my camera, Ruth had lunch in the fridge, and Forrest just didn't have anything else to do). So when we got there, Ruadhan had just woken up and was looking to go out. So we invited him; but he and Forrest decided to stay at the hostel so Ruth and I went back out to see the sights. We went to a couple cathedrals, a few museums, and some more walking tours. When it got dark, we headed back to the hostel (it's called Vertigo, so I'll use that from now on). We met up with the Candadians as they were headed out; they booked a train to Italy and were checking out. So, our little foursome decided to go grab dinner. There is a famous soup in Provence called Bouillabase, and I wanted to try some (it's a fish soup), but all the places had it for 30 EURO or more, so we nixed that idea fast. I could have afforded it easily, but the others were on a budget, so I decided not to push it. Forrest wanted to go to a tapas restuarant he saw the night before that was near the bar. Ruth is a magnificent navigator, so we all just followed her...but Forrest kept saying "I think you're wrong, this isn't the right direction" but we shrugged it off. She got us back to the bar in like 15 minutes, so she obviously wasn't lost. So once we got to that area, it was up to Forrest to find the tapas bar again... and he did after he asked directions (I know, amazng that a man asked for directions!). We opened the door to the joint and it was a full room of smoke. Ruth and I immediately retreated, it was sickeningly full of smoke. Hazy, even. But Forrest grabbed a table on the back patio, so we decided to stay since there was no smoke out there. We started discussing politics and the world...it's amazing how the other countries really know what's happening in the States. Ruadhan was disgusted when I told him I worked for a Republican. Disgusted might be too harsh a word, but he was suprised about it. Ruth did a dissertation on American politics, so she was pretty well-versed. They all disapproved of Bush, and really like Obama. They dislike Rudy Giulani, though. Conversation changed to hunting and human nature, etc. Forrest, in all his idealism started lecturing us on the ways of man and the animalistic urges we have and why hunting is justified, yaddah yaddah. (note of reference here: I don't like hunting...unless it's necessary. I think killing should not be a sport, and it isn't really necessary since we have cattle farms now). Anyway, Ruth had had enough of Forrest, so she and I were joking about him as we walked back to Vertigo!
Oh, before we went to dinner, Ruth and I grabbed some snacks at a grocery store and we split the price of a bottle of Pastis, the drink of Provence. So, we shared it with the guys. It was so gross...like licorace. Anyway, it's a drink you're supposed to mix with water or a grenadine. Having neither, we mixed it with Orangina Rouge... my favorite drink! It was still unbearable- except to Ruadhan who downed an entire glass! Leave it to the Irish, right? So, we did a little bonding over that drink, a little chatting. Ruadhan is so hilarious! Ruth and I were crying basically.
The next day, Friday, was my last day in Marseille, so I got up early to use the rest of my city pass. I saw more museums, more sights, all that jazz. I checked out of Vertigo and headed to the airport for my 7:15 flight. I made it back through Eindhoven, the bus, the train, and back to the house around midnight.
Saturday, we headed to Koln for the Christmas
markt. It was really fun, because there was so 
much to do there, and it was based in front of the cathedral that was built for Charlemagne. This thing took 600 years to finish! Mom and I bought more gifts, too. There's a winter drink in the Netherlands and Germany called Gluhwein, which is a warm mulled red wine (rock sugar optional) Mom and Rich love it, but it's a little strong for me, so I usually opt for hot chocolate. But, in honor of my last day in Europe (and to drink a cup for my friend Lee, as promised) I got a glass of it. We sipped it and took pictures of the markt, and just hung out a little, and got a break from the enormous crowd (mostly British, ironically). The whole day, all I could smell was the bratwurst...and almost every other booth was a wurst stand! So, as we rounded the last corner, Rich and I couldn't help ourselves! Each of us got a bratwusrt mit brochen... mine was the white kind (don't know what it's called...not a wurst expert!) and it was so yummy!!It was the perfect close of my European Thanksgiving!
That night, Rich cooked his renowned lime chicken. We watched "Mr. Bean's Vacation" which was a great comparison to my trip to Marseille! Saturday night was a good night of family bonding and relaxing. And the dog got lots of scraps!
I just got back from Europe, whirlwind trip but totally worth it! I got to Brussels on Thanksgiving Day, which means I got a home-cooked Turkey Day feast courtesy of my folks! Score!! Rich is a fabulous cook: deep fried turkey, world's best mashed 'taters, and stuffing...I can't describe the deliciousness of that stuffing! And Mom hooked me up with a chocolate creme pie. Such a good welcome dinner! :)
Mom's friend Micheline took us around Brussels the next day for a tour, since we've really only seen the airports in that city. It really is a beautiful city with lots of history. And yes, I saw the mannequin pis (the statue of a little boy peeing) . Micheline is such a cool person; she's Belgian so she natively speaks French and Dutch, and learned English and German. She worked with Mom at NATO. I actually emailed her my paper for French class, and she edited for me...so I think I might score an A on that one. :) And trust me, I need the A. Anyway, she and her husband have a gorgeous penthouse in Brussels, and they're very charming hosts. Tom, her husband tried to walk around the city with us, but the cold was affecting his lungs: he has half of a lung removed due to disease a year ago.On Saturday after Thanksgiving, we planned to drive to Delft to check out the famous pottery, but as we were approaching the gas station in Schinnen (about 10 minutes from the house) the car started making horrible noises... so we pulled into the base and called the Dutch version of AAA. It was only 8:30am so it took them some time to get there. But the car was towed to the BMW store and we had a rental car by noon. So we decided to go to the Christmas Markt in Valkenburg, also close to the house, but as we were eating lunch, the dealership called and said the car was done! We were all kind of dumbfounded that it took so little time! It was only 1:15 at this point. So we hurried our lunch and picked up the car. It was nice...they even cleaned her up a little bit! So Rich went home to study while Mom and I went shopping a little bit in Maastricht.
Sunday was spent just hanging out at home, and enjoying some down time.
Monday morning the folks went to work, so I slept in and packed for France. That afternoon we went to Aachen to the Christmas Markt. I bought a ring made of green amber (from Poland) to match my earrings of the same material (got those in Latvia). Mom bought me a necklace to match, too, but I get that in January. :(
Tuesday morning Rich drove me to the Sittard train station at 5:30am. I took the train into Eindhoven, where the airport is. So I got to Eindhoven and had to take a bus to the airport. The flight was smooth, and arrived early. It was such a different atmosphere when I got off the plane. The weather was nice, the people seemed friendlier, and I could understand the French much better than Dutch! As we were approaching the city, I looked out the window and I fell in love with the city before I even got there. It's very Mediterranean: rocks instead of soil, blanched colors, sparse but beautiful gnarly trees, and wonderfully warm temperatures. I hoped on the bus that lead to the city... it took us to Gare St. Charles, the train station in town. My hostel was just down the road from the gare, but I still got lost because of the construction going on at the gare. I checked in at the hostel and started sightseeing around town. But I have to admit, I was kind of lost since I didn't know what to see, but I was so happy to see some skullers in the Viex Port (city center) rowing in the port!! I visited the tourist office to get my Marseille city pass, but since it was already noon, the lady told me it'd be a waste of money and come back tomorrow to get a whole day out of it. So that's what I did...just walked around until dark, then headed to the hostel. My room was a mixed 4-bed, but it was just me, a Chinese girl, and a French guy. They both spoke French, so I tried to communicate a little..but I suck, really. Anyway, there was some conversation nonetheless. About 8pm that night, an American backpacker came in to take the 4th bed. I was just glad to have an English speaker there. But it turns out that he's kind of a tool.The next morning I decided to go to Aix-En-Provence for the day, so I got to the train station to catch the city bus up there. It was about 8:30 when we departed, and got to Aix about 9:15. Aix is a really small town, and I think it must be beautiful in the summer. There was not a lot to do outside the normal: museums, sights, etc. So I walked around, and up to Cezanne's atelier, but they were closing for lunch when I got there. So I just kept walking! I literally walked for 7 hours almost nonstop that day! I saw lots of cool typical provencal houses/apartments/buildings. So I got some sweet photos. When it started getting dark, I headed back to the bus station to catch my bus. I made it back to the hostel about 6:30 or 7. I went to the lounge to check my email and hang out to hopefully meet some cool people- that's half the reason for staying at hostels! There were a group of folks chatting at the table, and they were Candian, so I sat down and chatted too. Turns out one girl, Ruth, was actually from New Zealand. Kirk and Jill are newlyweds who are backpacking across Europe for their honeymoon, Ruadhan is an Irish lad backpacking, too. And Forrest, the American from my room is on a gap year and also backpacking. They all decided to go to a bar that night, but I was exhausted and my feet were aching, so I stayed in. I think Ruadhan stayed, too. But Ruth and I decided to meet in the morning and go see some sights together. Oh, and the French speakers vacated my room and two Australian guys were the new residents...but they were the unfriendliest Australians ever! They looked at me like I was an idiot when I invited to join us downstairs. Whatever...jerks.
So the next morning, Ruth and I met in the lounge about 8:30 for breakfast and then we headed to the tourist office so I could get my city pass. Pass in hand, we decided to do one of three self-guided walking tours. That took about an hour, but it was cool to know what we were looking at! It was 10:15 at this point, and we needed to be back at the Viex Port at 10:30 for our boatride to the Ile d'If. This is a little island with a castle/prison. It's famous because the The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask are based there. The boat ride was cool, and even in November, the Mediterranean is so inviting. I almost wanted to jump in and swim around. But, I didn't... my health insurance didn't kick in until December 1st! :) Anyway, Forrest and the Australians showed up on our ride, too. But the Aussies were still rude, but Forrest joined us and we were a little trio. The island was cool, but we were starnded there until the next boat, which was 12:35pm. So we took lots of pictures, and chatted for a while. Forrest is only 18, but thinks he knows everything.. I guess we were all like that at one point though. So Ruth (my age, and an attorney) tried to just shrug off his idealiztic chatter. It really didn't bother me that much, but I could tell Ruth was so unnerved. When the boat came to pick us up, we all separated to grab lunch and agreed to meet at the hostel in about 30 minutes (I needed a new memory card for my camera, Ruth had lunch in the fridge, and Forrest just didn't have anything else to do). So when we got there, Ruadhan had just woken up and was looking to go out. So we invited him; but he and Forrest decided to stay at the hostel so Ruth and I went back out to see the sights. We went to a couple cathedrals, a few museums, and some more walking tours. When it got dark, we headed back to the hostel (it's called Vertigo, so I'll use that from now on). We met up with the Candadians as they were headed out; they booked a train to Italy and were checking out. So, our little foursome decided to go grab dinner. There is a famous soup in Provence called Bouillabase, and I wanted to try some (it's a fish soup), but all the places had it for 30 EURO or more, so we nixed that idea fast. I could have afforded it easily, but the others were on a budget, so I decided not to push it. Forrest wanted to go to a tapas restuarant he saw the night before that was near the bar. Ruth is a magnificent navigator, so we all just followed her...but Forrest kept saying "I think you're wrong, this isn't the right direction" but we shrugged it off. She got us back to the bar in like 15 minutes, so she obviously wasn't lost. So once we got to that area, it was up to Forrest to find the tapas bar again... and he did after he asked directions (I know, amazng that a man asked for directions!). We opened the door to the joint and it was a full room of smoke. Ruth and I immediately retreated, it was sickeningly full of smoke. Hazy, even. But Forrest grabbed a table on the back patio, so we decided to stay since there was no smoke out there. We started discussing politics and the world...it's amazing how the other countries really know what's happening in the States. Ruadhan was disgusted when I told him I worked for a Republican. Disgusted might be too harsh a word, but he was suprised about it. Ruth did a dissertation on American politics, so she was pretty well-versed. They all disapproved of Bush, and really like Obama. They dislike Rudy Giulani, though. Conversation changed to hunting and human nature, etc. Forrest, in all his idealism started lecturing us on the ways of man and the animalistic urges we have and why hunting is justified, yaddah yaddah. (note of reference here: I don't like hunting...unless it's necessary. I think killing should not be a sport, and it isn't really necessary since we have cattle farms now). Anyway, Ruth had had enough of Forrest, so she and I were joking about him as we walked back to Vertigo!
Oh, before we went to dinner, Ruth and I grabbed some snacks at a grocery store and we split the price of a bottle of Pastis, the drink of Provence. So, we shared it with the guys. It was so gross...like licorace. Anyway, it's a drink you're supposed to mix with water or a grenadine. Having neither, we mixed it with Orangina Rouge... my favorite drink! It was still unbearable- except to Ruadhan who downed an entire glass! Leave it to the Irish, right? So, we did a little bonding over that drink, a little chatting. Ruadhan is so hilarious! Ruth and I were crying basically.
The next day, Friday, was my last day in Marseille, so I got up early to use the rest of my city pass. I saw more museums, more sights, all that jazz. I checked out of Vertigo and headed to the airport for my 7:15 flight. I made it back through Eindhoven, the bus, the train, and back to the house around midnight.
Saturday, we headed to Koln for the Christmas
markt. It was really fun, because there was so 
much to do there, and it was based in front of the cathedral that was built for Charlemagne. This thing took 600 years to finish! Mom and I bought more gifts, too. There's a winter drink in the Netherlands and Germany called Gluhwein, which is a warm mulled red wine (rock sugar optional) Mom and Rich love it, but it's a little strong for me, so I usually opt for hot chocolate. But, in honor of my last day in Europe (and to drink a cup for my friend Lee, as promised) I got a glass of it. We sipped it and took pictures of the markt, and just hung out a little, and got a break from the enormous crowd (mostly British, ironically). The whole day, all I could smell was the bratwurst...and almost every other booth was a wurst stand! So, as we rounded the last corner, Rich and I couldn't help ourselves! Each of us got a bratwusrt mit brochen... mine was the white kind (don't know what it's called...not a wurst expert!) and it was so yummy!!It was the perfect close of my European Thanksgiving!
That night, Rich cooked his renowned lime chicken. We watched "Mr. Bean's Vacation" which was a great comparison to my trip to Marseille! Saturday night was a good night of family bonding and relaxing. And the dog got lots of scraps!
Sunday was a travel day.... I left the house at 8:30am (2:30am US time), drove to the airport, flew to DC-Dulles, then transfered to ATL, hopped on MARTA and got home around 7:30pm (1:30 am the next morning NL time!)
Next year Mom and Rich want to do Egypt or South Africa for Thanksgiving...
And now, I'm here. :) Hope y'all had a great holiday!
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