AmsterDam it's nice here!

Just in case there is anyone who still swings by now and then to wonder if I have disappeared off the face of the planet, the answer is no. Rather, as the quarter draws to a close, the "study" section of study abroad becomes slightly more pressing. That is, I cannot cut out my adventures and I can no longer cut down studying, so it is blogging that trickles out a bit.

Amsterdam was extraordinary. That is really all there is to it; it is a beautiful, unique city full of lovely canals, interesting buildings and excellent museums. It also is dank with sin and vices, prostitutes decorating the windows in the red light district and the powerful odor of marijuana wafting down certain streets. It is a genuine city, a city that has its good points and bad points, and yet it is so difficult not to love it for all that. So, of course, I took the easy route and love it.

I also have some pictures from the week. Namely from Thursday.

Catacomes:

Why not have a little castle statue in a giant collective grave?

The hallways are sometimes quite lofty...

But generally not.

The whole thing is full of walls like this. You have to wonder who spent so much time arranging bones like this. "Hey, honey, what did you do today?" "Well, I stacked bones for hours…"

What I will be in (hopefully) a long while

Lovely skull, isn't it? Looks a bit like a planet!

We went to Coeur de Blé for lunch, and I finally got my free sandwich!

My last moments with my used-up carte de fidélite

My free sandwich! A new one, and not as good as my favorites, but tasty nonetheless!

Next, after a meeting for final paper editing, was a trip to the banlieue Saint-Ouen for a street art tour.

By the flea market.

Because some talented people somewhere spend their lives putting seas on walls.

Octopi, too.

And pandas.

Cleaning up.

There will always be space for more stuff.

My friend Natasha and I left early so we could catch our train to Amsterdam. We arrived with plenty of time at the Gare du Nord, so we went across the street for a snack.

Snack

We had a nice train ride, if a bit slow (we were delayed almost two hours because of track troubles, so we took the slower track). Luckily, after quite some time, we arrived!

Amsterdam Centraal 

It turns out the canals aren't a lie.

Canal that exists

Because it was after 21h30, and therefore quite late, we searched for dinner on our way to the hostel. After a long search for something affordable and tasty, we settled on pizza. It was not bad.

Pizza. With tons of vegetables!

Shared banana split for dessert.

More real canals

Fountain.

We arrived at last at the hostel, by Vondelpark behind the Marriot. It was a lovely place, and we checked in and got settled (it was around 12h30 by this point) and got our hostel for Venice as we waited for our friend Martin to arrive. (I have begun to include names as it has been too confusing for people and, anyway, I don't think it's a problem.)

In the morning, we got up and, after many adventures with showering (we had one pair of shower shoes, two towels, and two sets of soap/etc. between the three of us. Martin brought everything he needed. I was the most negligent, having brought nothing), we headed down to our free breakfast!

Toast. With cumin cheese or jam or nutella (which I got by accident, but that's fine)

Really, really good museli/granola, with yogurt (because no skim milk because it's Europe)

Unlimited coffee, including espresso, double espresso, black coffee, white coffee, latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate...

We went to the Van Gogh museum first. On the way, we passed by a really cool building, a supermarket that I studied when I worked on green roofs; this filed you see is really a slanted roof of a grocery store! It had quite a moment of fame, and is really cool!

Long lost friends and playing catch-up

If you are wondering where the posts have gone, please do try to remember the "study" portion of "study abroad". It has gradually become that all-too-familiar portion of the quarter during which everything is due but nothing is done. Traveling every weekend certainly does not help matters, on the computer-related time-constraints issue. Wifi in Europe is not nearly as available as wifi in the States (except perhaps in London, where it's better!) and so this has become a problem. Finally, I have begun to take many photos on my phone rather than my camera; advantage: it takes them faster/better which means jittery hands don't ruin things; disadvantage: a LOT harder to get them onto the blog!

Less time + more pictures + harder to get pictures up = fewer pictures

That said, here are all my pictures from today, and a few random ones from England! You don't need pictures from yesterday. I just had classes and napped (after arriving late from my bus ride from Hell, that is).

Le Mur des Justes. Commemorates people who helped Jews escape the Nazis/hid them

With a friendly military man to guard the memorial, of course

Then a lovely lunch from Chez Hanna, enjoyed at Place Saint-Louis (the western tip of the island)

Musée D'Orsay happened. For class, we studied Degas, Renoir, and a dollop of Monet. Then, I met up with a friend whom I have not seen in years, but who is also studying in Paris, and we got café (me)/lunch (her). Afterwards, I rushed off for my stage to meet with the professor.

Outside the Issy campus, for my stage

Also outside that same window. It was a lovely late-afternoon.

After the stage, I rushed back home for dinner. A tasty beet and carrot salad was followed by the boudin-blanc I love so much (with olive oil, potatoes, and apples), and then some fromage frais de chèvre and then some fromage blanc à confiture for dessert.

Ever since, I have been studiously laboring away, but here are some England photos. Just an arbitrary selection, really.

Tree in Hyde Park, morning, the odd occasion of sunlight in London!

A perfect English breakfast: greasy, not so delicious, but gets the job done! There was no cheese and spinach omelet on the menu, but there were other things with spinach and there was a cheese omelet so I asked. How kind of them!

Big Ben, in real sunlight!

Westminster Abbey, morning

Parliament in the sun…now THIS is a unique picture.

This is London. There were more cranes than I have ever seen in my life.

We strolled around the National Gallery and found some old favorites

Saint Pancras in the late-afternoon sunlight was lovely. Just before King's Cross, of course, for the obligatory Platform 9 3/4 photos!

In Covent Garden, these musicians were dancing around playing. It was quite good.

My delicious sandwich on the way to Poole. Aubergine, tomato, sweet pepper, chèvre, balsamic glaze.

Hengistbury Head, Poole. When I climbed the hill, the wind nearly blew me off!

Still by the sea

Roads in England are just better

How to keep your children in check in England...

Hello, bird. It was extinct, but is coming back (from Siberia…) Such an admirable creature, the heaviest flying bird would be an excellent pet (if not for the remarkably sharp beak)

That is all. Perhaps later the rest of the many pictures I have will follow, but then again, maybe I will touch them up and sell them all on Etsy and make a killing, and use my profits to come back and take more pictures…in that case, I can't just be giving them away for free!

Tomorrow night in Amsterdam...

Puttering around Poole

London, as I will explain if I EVER catch up on a) work and b) sleep, was phenomenal. After a fantastic breakfast at a little Turkish café near my friend's house, where we had wonderful pastries and good coffee, I took the tube to Waterloo for my train. It turned out to be quite simple, and I got to Poole with no trouble. THe train even had wifi! Still, I did not catch up on work. I'm trying!

My cousin met me at the train station and drove me to their house, where my other cousin, a bit sick and not able to go around much, was waiting. We had tea and conversation, and then went out to Bournemouth to visit the coast (since I have seen the coast by Poole, but not that far east). We went to Hengistbury Head which was a really beautiful park on the sea side with a hill that overlooked the Isle of Wight. It was lovely, and incredibly windy. I thought I would blow off the top of the hill for sure!

Just as we got to the car, it started raining, and it escalated to a torrential downpour, then hail, as we wound our way along the coast back home. We had tea time with lemon drizzle cake and then hung around conversing and cooking. Dinner was a delicious roast lamb with gravy and mint jelly, roast potatoes and parsnips, and asparagus and green beans, all followed by a freshly baked apple crumble. My cousin is one of the best chefs I know, and, needless to say, it was fantastic. With a great bottle of Grenache-Mourvedre to accompany the meal, it really was lovely.

We played a game called BrainBox after dinner, which essentially a memorization/observation game. You have a card with information and pictures, and 20 seconds (10 for me) to observe it before rolling a die and answering whichever question the number corresponds to on the back. If you answer correct, you hold on to the card; otherwise, you put it back. Whoever has the oat cards at the end is the winner.

We had more tea afterwards, and conversation. Then, it has been time to work. I have pages to go before I sleep, so I think I will gt on that. Good night! Pictures to follow!

Loving London

Well, I am in London. THe rest of Barcelona and London will come as this weekend progresses; if anything, you can rest assured that I am so busy enjoying my adventures that I do not have time to transcribe them! Or, at least, not with the midterms and other papers I have to write on the side! Don't worry, though, more is on its way!