Amsterdam

We started out our day visiting some elderly friends of Penny who lived outside Amsterdam- and then we went into the city. We first changed our tickets at the airport- we extended our stay till April 3rd. I will go to Greece and Penny is actually going to travel to Spain. We left the airport to tour the city. Amsterdam was amazing- the architecture is incredible- cars and bikes and people EVERYWHERE. Another interesting thing about Holland is the incredible staircases- they are very steep steps that are narrow- not even the length of your foot! I took a picture of a typical staircase in a parking garage in Amsterdam. The first stop for me in the city was the Red Light District- (a literal meat market) Hearing about this and seeing it first hand was quite a difference. The girls are in lingerie in tiny rooms "cribs" with windows- the rooms have a tiny bed - which is only fit for one purpose. I was so interested to see this after writing my 3rd year paper on Human Trafficking to see a city who has legalized and created such a market for prostitution. (yes I realize Las Vegas also has it too- but this was altogether different) Amsterdam fits all needs- in addition to the Red Light District- there is always the the "coffee" shops which sell legalized marijuana (see pictures- these shops Jack pointed out to me as ones that sell weed- of course the shope has a marijuana leaf above the door- if that isn't a big enough clue!) Ok, you are all probably thinking- so Carolyn- that is great! so far you have seen shops that sell weed and prostitutes- sounds like an cultural experience! Hang on avid readers! I have seen other wonders as well! While I was touring the more decadent area of Amsterdam- Penny went shopping with Hettie in Byenkorf- which was a very posh shopping center- there she saw famous dutch authors signing their books! On the way home from Amsterdam we stopped in at Volendam- which is a small village on the sea (which is very old- since 1400) We went into a famous hotel called -Spaaanjer there- where artists paint a picture in exchange of a nights stay! (see the picture of me with all the paintings- yellow walls!) Tonight we are going over to Jack and Hetti's daughter's house in Bennekom.

Lazy Day!!!!

Today I spent sleeping and exploring a couple shops in Bennekom. I got some wonderful pastries that were delicious and tonight we are going to have a wonderful homecooked meal. I spoke to my brother and sister in law on skype which was really cool. Skype is wonderful!!!!Tomorrow I think we are going in to Amsterdam?

Here is a picture of my first morning in Europe with Jack and Hetti. I was trying to get over the time difference!

Delft and Rotterdam

After walking around The Hague and having a small lunch in a wonderful cafe we proceeded on to our next destination which was Delft. We saw wonderful canals (bottom left picture)and a fabulous old church- where the royal family is buried underneath it. And yes- you can see the church is leaning by quite an impressive angle. (see top pictures) The roads here are very narrow- and are all brick- there is a mix of people on foot and bicycles- there are many bikes here! After walking around Delft we proceeded on to Rotterdam, where Jack and Hetti's son and girlfriend live (Jack and Minke) We had a wonderful dinner and a splendid time with them (see bottom right picture). We had drinks before dinner, then wine for dinner, then a dessert type drink after dinner. In Holland when saying goodbye it is customary to kiss one another 3 times total! Minke told me she thought in Greece they kiss 4 times. It is so interesting to learn the customs in different areas! I love it here! It makes me want to see so much more of the world!

The Hague

We had a busy day! It started out with a wonderful breakfast- of bread, cheese and eggs. We then went for a quick stroll in the village to run some errands. The pastry shops here are AMAZING. They make the most beautiful, wonderful chocolates and desserts- Incredible! We had coffee with a pastry. We then set out to The Hague- which was about an hour away. We saw the Queen's working palace (top picture). (2nd picture) is Jack, Hettie and Penny. Lastly, we saw the Peace Palace (botom picture)- but we couldn't tour the inside because the International Court was in session!

Bennekom!

Penny and I had a rather uneventful but long flight in to Amsterdam. I watched 3 movies and listened to music. We were met in the airport by Penny's friends Jack and Hettie. We are staying with them in their condo- in a small village about an hour outside Amsterdam called Bennekom. The houses are amazing here- very cute and quaint. The drive to the village was interesting- apparently no one uses turn signals in Holland- they just must be an accessory on the car- sort of like a person's appendix -not really necessary! We saw a couple windmills and lots of sheep on the drive. Holland from what I can see is very flat and green. I even saw a house with a thatched roof! I will put up some pictures tomorrow of the village where we are. We will be here for about 5 days or so. Then we will depart for Paris on the train. When we arrived- I took about a 5 hour nap! It was wonderful!!! Everyone dresses so well here- I feel like quite the "american" walking around in my dark jeans- all the girls here have these spendid boots with heals and are all wearing black- either pants- or skirts! Well I am watching a bit of a football game "soccer" because Jack and Hetti's son in law is the assistant coach for the Dutch men's team. Then I am off to bed!
Here is a picture I got off the web- of a church that I see outside my window where I am staying. I will post pictures in the next couple of days- Everything is brick here!
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/5134073.jpg

Destination Schipol

We are off... well almost- we had an uneventful drive to the airport- thanks to Penny's good friend Joan. We leave Eugene at 9:50 to Seattle and then to Amsterdam, hopefully our luggage will be making the same journey and meet us there! Our flight to Amsterdam is ~10 hrs. I have my cheap paperback throw away that I can amuse myself for the first 2 hrs after that hopefully I can watch a movie? Since I have mastered Italian and Greek in the last several days - my English skills are now suffering so there may be all sorts of gramatical errors in the next several postings. I think I may learn French in the next 9 hours. Sure why not!

Blogging initiation!!

The start of what will hopefully turn out to be an amazing trip with lots of fabulous encounters with strange people and interesting things to see!!!! (I am not saying people in other countries are odd- just that Penny and I seem to have extreme luck of meeting the oddest people imaginable on any sort of outing- for instance- on a simple trip to the Goodwill- we met an angry homeless man who proceeded to ram his shopping cart into me after calling me some very "colorful" names! over and over again- Penny always blames these encounters on me- saying I attract trouble- by smiling and laughing too much- oh boy this trip is going to be interesting!) Our first stop is Amsterdam- we are meeting up with friends of Penny's- Jack and Hetti, who live outside Amsterdam- they will be traveling with us throughout our trip. Except when I go off on my Greece amusement at the end of the trip where I will be alone. I have never blogged before.....so this is going to be interesting... so Braden- I will see how easy this really is! No thoughts or questions about a "certain test" that I took earlier in the week- all such negative thoughts have been purged from my being!