Brussels, Amsterdam, Dad, Paris, and you're caught up finally!

Okay, I know it has been awhile since I last posted, but I have been feeling particularly lazy lately.

My trip to Brussels and Amsterdam was great! Here it is in a nutshell for your reading convenience:

BRUSSELS -
-Mussels
-Lots of GOOD beer!
-Chocolates
-Naked peeing boy (Manneken Pis)
-Waffles topped with chocolate
-Lots of hot chocolate (because it was freezing the whole time!)
-Delirium Tremens (the café - it holds the world record for numbers of beers available, which happens to be 2004 different beers!)
-Cinquantenaire - natural history museum
-Open-air bus tour (did I mention it was freezing?)
-Musical instrument museum
-Hotel complete with refrigerator (we put our food outside on the windowsill because it was THAT cold.)

AMSTERDAM -
-It was very rainy and very cold the first day, mostly rainy and still very cold the second day
-Rijksmuseum
-Dutch history museum
-Torture museum
-Anne Frank House
-Red light district
-Taking the tram too far and walking back into the city...several times.
-Really good french fries
-Everyone spoke English
-Hostel with never ending hallway (it was literally two city blocks once inside our hostel to get to the room)

Travel:
We took the train to Metz, missed the bus to Brussels (the bus left early, NEVER use Eurolines!!!), took the train to Brussels, the bus to Amsterdam (our EUROLINES bus was an hour late arriving in Brussels), then it was a grueling 10-hour bus ride from Amsterdam to Metz, - with a bus crew that spoke only Spanish because the bus was returning to Barcelona, and with an incredibly unsanitary bathroom (I have never seen so much urine at one time in my life) which made the ride quite unpleasant. Then we got into Metz an hour early (the bus immediately left after it dropped us off, so I hope no one in Metz had intended to go on to Barcelona that night - did I mention Eurolines sucks?). After that we took the train back to BLD.

And that was my vacation!

Here are the pictures:

We did go to Brussels first, not Amsterdam, but Blogspot and I don't always get along...
AMSTERDAM -
On the way to Amsterdam...In Dam Square, the Royal Palace
One of the many canals...
A very long stretch of road...this was on one of the several walks back into the city after overshooting our tram stop.
Amsterdam...
A windmill
Rijksmuseum, unfortunately this was the only sunny day and we spent the entire day inside this building. But at least now I know more about Dutch history!A photo of some pretty canal houses as evidence of the sun
BRUSSELS -


Parc van Brussel
Tin Tin saves the day!The Cinquantenaire Arch in Cinquantenaire Park

The Arch up close
Manneken Pis! ...it is a lot smaller than I expected.
Brussels from a distance...
The Atomium! ...it is HUGE.
The musical instrument museum! It is a little disappointing because the museum isn't set up very well.
Brussels...
One of many churches...
Concorde de Congrès
Delirium Tremens Café!
Julia, Scott, Scott's friend from university (in Canada, mind you) who we ran into while walking in the street in Brussels, and me in Delirium Tremens CaféLa Maison du Roi in the Grand Place
L'hôtel de ville in the Grand Place


The day after I returned, I had to go to the doctor, a mandatory step in gaining temporary French citizenship. I stupidly forgot to bring my passport, which turned out not to be a problem at all. After being asked virtually no questions regarding my health, I passed with flying colors and now I am officially a temporary French citizen!

After the break, Dad came to visit me! He rented a car and drove from Paris, which allowed us to go exploring through the countryside, which was both beautiful and fun. We ate the first night in the Ville Haute at a restaurant called La Grille de la Tour - it was here that Dad and I split a HUGE cut of beef, which they grilled over coals in the fireplace. Very good. The second day after I finished work, Dad and I drove to Paris, where we went to visit the Sainte Chapelle, ate great food, and found my birthday present - a very beautiful Waterman fountain pen. Thank you Mom and Dad! :)

Inside Sainte Chapelle
More Sainte Chapelle...More Sainte Chapelle...
Dad and I in front of Notre Dame de Paris

This last week, I went to visit my third school, which I start working in tomorrow. And I finally got my fourth school as well. This bumps me up to 10 hours a week! When people ask me what I do with my free time, I really have no answer...I guess I draw/paint and watch movies. Occasionally I read. It is really a life of excitement and danger - but at least it is in French. Today I did my laundry, which entails me paying WAY too much money to inhale second hand smoke while I wait. Exciting, I know.

This past weekend was fun, I went with Thierry and his friends to a karaoke bar, where I "sang" in French and English (Why yes I did sing bohemian rhapsody to the French public). Saturday night, was a crémaillère for Fabrice, a.k.a. a house-warming party. It was a lot of fun, with lots of pasta carbonara for dinner and an amazing apple tart made by Hélène for dessert. It went late into the night/morning, and I definitely took a nap yesterday.

Here are a few of the highlights:


Nicolas is proving to us that he is indeed French.
Thierry, making a funny face as instructed.
Maxim, Fabrice's son, taking a moment away from shooting nazis to demonstrate his face-making skills.
The crewEnter: the wig.
Fabrice
Julie
Thierry!


So that is what has been going on lately, I will try not to be as lazy and keep you better updated from now on!