Amsterdam

I am in my final week….wow that went fast!

I am in Amsterdam right now waiting for 10:30 because I have to change to another dorm room…I didn't want to stay in the huge 18 bed dorm room and the only way to avoid that was to stay in a 4 bed dorm last night and switch to a 6 bed dorm for the next 2 nights.

A bit of a pain but better than staying in a mass dorm, especially here where everyone seem to be going overboard with the relaxed drug laws. It seems like so many people here feel they have to do as many drugs as humanly possible while they are here, so many people are just walking around the streets and hostel totally stoned all day. I left the hostel yesterday and when I returned hours later many of the same people were just sitting in a blank stare in the exact same place they were when I saw them this morning. It’s a shame they are missing this cool city with lots to see.

The Anne Frank House

Hidden bookshelf entrance into the Anne Frank House.

I had a great 4 days in Paris. I figured out how to get past the rudeness factor. They will get insulted if you ask them if they speak English and then won’t help you  but I found that if you speak French right from the start, as horrendously bad as my French is, they will just automatically switch to English or speak to me in simple French and be very polite and helpful. At least I am somewhat conversational in French, anyone who wasn't would have a frustrating time here.

Other then that, it was a great city! I was so busy there as there was so much to see and do and only 4 days to do it. I climbed the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triouphe; visited Sacre cour, Notre Dame, the Louvre, Musee D’Orsay, and  the Picasso  Museum; took a day time and a night time bike tour and a night cruise on the river.

I also took a train to Bayeux and went on an afternoon tour of the D-Day beaches. I saw the Canadian and American cemeteries and a couple Normandy museums.

By Omaha beach by point du hoc, there are tons of German bunkers all over the place, some destroyed and some in perfect condition…you can even walk through them, The ground is still cratered from all the bombs and there are even German cannons left. Some of the British artificial port is still there as well. It was a really interesting day.

 I was lucky to get on the tour I did and the guy ran it even though there were only 2 of us. He was a walking history book with lots of stories from WW2 vets he knows.

Paris

Finally a city where I understand what is going on!! Well, almost. Too bad I have been out of school for so long that I have forgotten most of my French...but I can still get by in a city where people refuse to speak English....even though they can. I have given u asking if they speak English because they will just say to you in French that they can speak it but you have to talk to them in French. Only after they get frustrated by my attempts to put together a proper sentence to get my point across will they speak up, in fluent English "What do you want?!" I have definitely met the notorious rude french but have also met some really nice people as well, they seem to fit into one of two ends of the spectrum here. I feel sorry for tourists who no French knowledge, they get eaten alive.

It is really cold in Paris! Like 5C with a bitter cold wind. Yesterday it hailed twice, rained once, snowed once, was cloudy and windy and clear and sunny all intermixed on the same day over the course of 10 hours. I have never seen crazy weather like it, not even in Calgary, and we have crazy weather. Today is nicer, 10C and sunny with no wind.

I went on a bike tour yesterday and then to the Musee d'Orsay, which has a great impressionist display with lots of Van Gogh's, Monets and Reniors...a really nice museum. Today I went to the Picasso Museum and am going to head off to Sacre Coure ( where they filmed the end part of Ameilie where she leads him through the park) then I will climb the Eiffel Tower and on a night time bike tour to see all the lights and then a cruise. Busy fun day ahead of me!

I really like Paris so far and am enjoying my time here, also eating lots of crepes!! They have replace my gelato gorges of Italy.

I an staying in a nice hostel. I was supposed to be in a 4 bed dorm but a girl staying in one of the 2 bed dorms on the top floor is scared to sleep on the top bunk so they asked me if I would trade with her. So I get this amazing room with a balcony and a great view at the cheap price of a dorm room. Fate's paying me back for the Barcelona weather fiasco.

Barcelona

I left Italy at 12:22 yesterday and arrived in Barcelona today at 10:15am…five train changes and 3 languages later!

As it turns out, it is really hard to get into Spain from Italy and vice versa. It’s a lot further apart than it looks on the map and there are no direct high speed trains. You end up spending a lot of time changing trains and waiting in train stations. I actually intended to stay in Nice, France for the night, spend today suntanning there then catch a night train to Barcelona to split it up a little....but when I arrived in Nice at 8pm and walked to the hostel I wanted to stay at they told me they are full and so is every other respectable/affordable hotel in town due to a geology convention. So, I walked back to the train station and asked if there was a night train directly to Barcelona and luckily there was one leaving at 10:30pm getting into Port Bou at 6:15am with a sleeper car and a train change in Port Bou to Barcelona.
I got a couchette for 14 euros and about 5-6hours of sleep, thank god!

Well, 22 hours later I’m here!
I’m all ready to bask on the beach and sleep but sadly the weather gods are not on my side…it’s the first time so far on this trip so I can’t really complain BUT it is 10C with a cold wind today…yuck. I guess yesterday was 25C and blue skies. I have my fingers crossed for tomorrow, in 2 days I leave for Paris so this is my last opportunity for a beach.

I am staying at a pretty nice hostel right on the beach, it’s a little noisy (thin walls and immature loud kids). If I am lucky enough to get some good weather over the next couple days then the location will be worth the noise….besides, the showers are good and the breakfast and internet are free. I am so tired I am just forcing myself to stay awake until a reasonable hour.

Today I just wandered around town for a bit on a quest for soap, contact lens solution (I left the lid off mine and it spilled in my bag) and dinner. My feet were sore from carrying my heavy back pack around for so long and I had a “not enough sleep” headache so I just came back to the hostel where I have been reading for the last 3 hours and feel much better. Tomorrow I am going on a 5 hour bike tour of Barcelona which looks like a lot of fun…weather permitting!