And before you know it you're back at school and you've conquered another country. I can't believe I just spent 5 days in Paris. Sometimes I have to stop and pinch myself. It's been over 3 months since I've stepped on American soil, and in those 3 months I've been to 6 different European countries. Many of my friends are homesick and I feel bad because I really don't want to come home yet.
So, about this weekend...
Paris is terrific. I love the city of London so much, but Paris might be coming in for a close second place. I wasn't ready to leave this morning. Paris is the kind of city where you can see something several times and not get tired of it. In fact, I went to see the Eiffel Tower 4 times... twice by myself.
We took the EuroStar from London to Paris... you know, that train that goes on a track underwater? It was interesting. It makes me a little sick to my stomach to think that we were driving under the ocean, but it was a quick ride and it was efficient. We got into our hotel late that evening and we just went to the local McDonald's to hang out. Not the American thing to do at all is it? haha. Ordering was a bit of a challenge. "hamburger" and "cheeseburger" seem to be a universal language, so it wasn't too bad.
Thursday Caitlin, Lauren and I went to Sacre Coeur which is a large church that has an amazing view overlooking the city of Paris. From there we walked to the artists' corner... this section of town where amateur (but very good) artists display their works. Also, artists are there to draw your portrait. All 3 of us got our portraits done and we were very impressed with how they turned out. For lunch we ate at a small cafe near the Musee D'Orsay (museum). It started raining and rather than use another one of our Metro (Subway) tickets, we decided to walk the mile to see Notre Dame. By the time we got to the grand cathedral we were soaked. After Notre Dame we walked another mile to get back to our hotel. We took a little nap, and around 7 p.m. my parents called to say they were in the lobby. I went down to meet them and we decided to go to dinner. Caitlin and Lauren joined us for a nice meal at a pizza cafe on the corner near our hotel. Afterwards we all went to the Eiffel Tower (by Metro). It turns out that at night the Eiffel Tower is lit up (duh) but every hour, on the hour, it "sparkles." It was amazing to see. I mean, the Eiffel Tower in itself and in any view is amazing, but for my first encounter to be when it was sparkling... so awesome. Of course we took plenty of pictures. ( You know my mom wouldn't have it any other way.)
Friday I met up to spend the day with mom and dad... their last day in Europe. We went to the Eiffel Tower to see it in the daylight. It was beautiful, again. We took a boat ride down the River Seine and to Notre Dame. The weather was perfect. After our boat ride we took the Metro to the Arc de Triomphe. This is where Napoleon's great victories were recognized and also where the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from World War I is located. The Arc is on the edge of the famous street, Champs Elysee. This is where all the boutiques are that you see in movies and such. We ate lunch at Planet Hollywood on Champs Elysee and then we shopped for a little while. I went back to the hotel to meet Lauren and Caitlin. We went to the Louvre. Yes, THE LOUVRE. Here we saw Venus de Milo and the Mona Lisa. It was pretty awesome. Plus, I'm reading Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code right now. It's an awesome novel, and for anyone that's read it you know what I'm talking about when I make references to the Louvre and other places in Paris. The book primarily takes place in Paris and the Louvre. It's really cool to visit these places in real life. I don't know.. I'm a big nerd like that, I guess. :)
So Saturday mom and dad flew back to the States. Sad day. We had a great trip together. In total, they spent 3 days in London, 3 days in "the castle" of Harlaxton, and 3 days in Paris. I was so glad they were able to experience Europe with me. Saturday was my alone day. Mom and dad were gone, and Caitlin and Lauren had already done some of the stuff that I wanted to do. I didn't mind at all. In fact, sometimes I prefer exploring cities on my own... in the daylight anyway.
I went back to the Eiffel Tower. I sat on the bridge overlooking the River Seine for awhile. I laid in the grass in the park next to the Eiffel Tower. I read, I rested, I journaled. I ate a French crepe (dessert). I took the Metro all over the city. I went to Moulin Rouge. I went to Opera Garnier. I saw the Place de Concorde and the Jardin de Tuileries. I shopped at souvenir stands and I took lots of pictures. It was a great way to see Paris.
Last night, our final night in Paris, I went with Kimberly, Jess, and Lauren to Hard Rock. It was a good time. When we got back we started packing up our stuff for our return trip. :(
I got up this morning and realized it was the first time in 20 years that I wasn't spending Easter with my family. No baskets filled with Cadbury eggs waiting at the bottom of the steps for Ryan and I. No egg hunt at Grandma's. No deviled eggs made by Aunt Bev and Aunt Sharon . . . It was sad to think about all the Easter events I was missing at home. Well, I take that back. I don't think I miss the Easter events so much, it's just that I associate those events with my family, and I miss my family. . Sure, I spent the last 9 days with my parents and it was great. But I miss my brother. And my grandmas and aunts and uncles and cousins. Major holidays are hard to spend away from your family. Bummer.
I still went to church today. I wanted to go by myself, so I did. Although I'm not Catholic, I went to the service at Notre Dame. Oh, and not only am I not Catholic, I don't speak French either. Needless to say, it was an interesting service. I had no idea what was going on, but I'm still glad I went. I just had that need to be in a house of God for Easter... regardless of religion or language. Makes sense doesn't it?
The trip back to Harlaxton was fine. The EuroStar didn't leak or anything. I'm back in the manor and weighing my options for the evening: laundry? homework? sleep? Haha. I think we all know which one is going to win.
Au revoir. Goodnight.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Henkes' Euro-trip
Mom and Dad arrived in London last Thursday. They said their flight went well. My flight would go well too if I were seated in first class. They were served champagne and chocolates, and they had plenty of room to recline and stretch their legs. Maybe they'll upgrade my ticket for the return flight home? haha.
I met up with mom and dad Friday at their London hotel. It was a happy reunion... I haven't seen them in over 10 weeks. They look the same, they act the same... I'm glad nothing's changed.
Friday night we went to see the Mary Poppins musical. It was amazing. We had great seats, too. I was so impressed with the show... the effects were so neat. I would recommend this show for any age.
Saturday we bought tickets for one of those big double-decker tour buses. The weather was awesome... probably somewhere around the mid to upper 60s. (My parents couldn't have picked a better weekend.) The bus tour was fun. It gave us a chance to cover the entire city in a matter of a few hours. We sat on the top level and took tons of pictures while we "oooooo'd" and "awwwwww'd" like typically tourists. I had already seen most of the London sights on my 2 previous trips, but this was a first-time show for mom and dad. They saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, London Tower, etc, etc. I even taught them how to use the Underground (London's subway system). They were getting quite good at it by the end of the weekend.
Sunday we caught a train to Grantham. Once in Grantham we took a cab to Harlaxton Manor. Mom and dad got their first glimpse of the castle where I live and study. They were amazed. They couldn't stop talking about it. I gave them a semi-official tour and then they got settled into their room... a suite in the Blue Corridor of the Manor. We used our few days at the manor leisurely. I took mom and dad to town and showed them where I do my grocery shopping and stuff like that. They enjoyed several delicious meals in our dining hall (the Refectory). Last night they bought 8 pizzas for my friends and I. This gave them a chance to mingle with my friends here at Harlaxton. Everyone had a good time... you'll have that when free pizza is involved.
Last night was also Sir Harlaxton. It's a male beauty pageant that Student Government puts on. They asked Lauren and I to be the MCs of the event. We didn't really prepare anything for the show, but it went well. We had a lot of fun, and it was great that mom and dad could see it. My friend Austin ended up with the crown and title of Sir Harlaxton 2005.
Mom and dad are on their way to Paris now. I still have one more class today, then I'll be joining the school trip bound for Paris. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with my parents one more time before they head back to the States.
Wish me luck with the French! ha. Cheers!
I met up with mom and dad Friday at their London hotel. It was a happy reunion... I haven't seen them in over 10 weeks. They look the same, they act the same... I'm glad nothing's changed.
Friday night we went to see the Mary Poppins musical. It was amazing. We had great seats, too. I was so impressed with the show... the effects were so neat. I would recommend this show for any age.
Saturday we bought tickets for one of those big double-decker tour buses. The weather was awesome... probably somewhere around the mid to upper 60s. (My parents couldn't have picked a better weekend.) The bus tour was fun. It gave us a chance to cover the entire city in a matter of a few hours. We sat on the top level and took tons of pictures while we "oooooo'd" and "awwwwww'd" like typically tourists. I had already seen most of the London sights on my 2 previous trips, but this was a first-time show for mom and dad. They saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, London Bridge, Tower Bridge, London Tower, etc, etc. I even taught them how to use the Underground (London's subway system). They were getting quite good at it by the end of the weekend.
Sunday we caught a train to Grantham. Once in Grantham we took a cab to Harlaxton Manor. Mom and dad got their first glimpse of the castle where I live and study. They were amazed. They couldn't stop talking about it. I gave them a semi-official tour and then they got settled into their room... a suite in the Blue Corridor of the Manor. We used our few days at the manor leisurely. I took mom and dad to town and showed them where I do my grocery shopping and stuff like that. They enjoyed several delicious meals in our dining hall (the Refectory). Last night they bought 8 pizzas for my friends and I. This gave them a chance to mingle with my friends here at Harlaxton. Everyone had a good time... you'll have that when free pizza is involved.
Last night was also Sir Harlaxton. It's a male beauty pageant that Student Government puts on. They asked Lauren and I to be the MCs of the event. We didn't really prepare anything for the show, but it went well. We had a lot of fun, and it was great that mom and dad could see it. My friend Austin ended up with the crown and title of Sir Harlaxton 2005.
Mom and dad are on their way to Paris now. I still have one more class today, then I'll be joining the school trip bound for Paris. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with my parents one more time before they head back to the States.
Wish me luck with the French! ha. Cheers!
Thursday, March 17, 2005
Watch out UK... here come Ron & Ann !
I received a phone call this morning from my dad... He just wanted to tell me that he and mom are in London! wooooooo! I get to see them tomorrow! In my entire 20 years of existence I think the longest I have gone without seeing my parents is 2 weeks. I've been over here in England for over 10 weeks. Can you believe it?
I am so excited to see mom and dad! I hope they're enjoying London today. Tomorrow our British Studies class has a field trip in London, so once I get done with my required tours and museums I can go see my parents!!! We'll stay there all weekend and Sunday I'll bring them back to the Manor. I can't wait!
So yesterday we had our second British Studies test of the semester.. It was pretty killer, but we didn't let it ruin our evening. Last night we had the big Wine Tasting event. It was so much fun. We thought it was going to be really formal and slow and boring, but it definitely was not! It was great! Lots of dancing and singing and conga lines!
Today has been pretty chill. I had 2 classes, but I'm so excited for Mom and Dad to get here that I can't seem to focus much. I went on a bike ride this afternoon into Harlaxton Village. It was nice. The weather here is finally starting to warm up.
I put new pictures up on my site: http://community.webshots.com/user/ashleyhenke
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE! cheers!
I am so excited to see mom and dad! I hope they're enjoying London today. Tomorrow our British Studies class has a field trip in London, so once I get done with my required tours and museums I can go see my parents!!! We'll stay there all weekend and Sunday I'll bring them back to the Manor. I can't wait!
So yesterday we had our second British Studies test of the semester.. It was pretty killer, but we didn't let it ruin our evening. Last night we had the big Wine Tasting event. It was so much fun. We thought it was going to be really formal and slow and boring, but it definitely was not! It was great! Lots of dancing and singing and conga lines!
Today has been pretty chill. I had 2 classes, but I'm so excited for Mom and Dad to get here that I can't seem to focus much. I went on a bike ride this afternoon into Harlaxton Village. It was nice. The weather here is finally starting to warm up.
I put new pictures up on my site: http://community.webshots.com/user/ashleyhenke
HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY EVERYONE! cheers!
Monday, March 14, 2005
YOU DID WHAT?!
You won't believe what I did this weekend! I traveled with the school and I went Kayaking and Ghyll Scrambling (Waterfall Climbing). It was amazing! I don't know how many times I almost chickened out though. I'm so glad I didn't!
We all left Thursday night after dinner for Ambleside, England. The Lake District is this incredible region of mountains and lakes where over 25% of Britain's population visits each year. Our Hostel was the Ambleside Youth Hostel. . . it was alright. Nothing fancy, but it was fun. After our 5-hour bus ride Thursday evening we decided to head to bed early.
Friday morning Daphne, Lauren, Kylie and I walked a mile into town to buy "waterproofs" for kayaking and ghyll scrambling. We ate delicious apple turnovers at a little bakery, then we went back to our hostel for a nap. That afternoon we took a ferry boat to Bowness. We ate a snack at the pub there and played in the arcade, which was really more like a casino. There were ducks and swans all over the beach at Bowness. Daphne and Kylie just happened to be frightened of all forms of birds, so we made them take pictures with the birds.
Friday night we took Sonya out to dinner for her birthday. After dinner we walked to a small bar called Churchill's, where they were having Karaoke. Kylie, Lauren and I sang Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer." It was awesome. We did a fantastic job. Our friends all took pictures of us.
Saturday morning we got up early for our outdoor adventures. As most of you know, I'm not really an outdoorsy girl. I love sports and such, but I hate strenuous activities that involve bugs and sweat and getting hurt. And as most of you also know, my best friend Lauren Doerner is even less outdoorsy than myself. (Same is true of my friend Kylie.) There were so many times when we almost skipped out on the activities we had signed up for.
Our first activity was Kayaking. Our instructor Mikey showed us how to use our paddle. We had to all stand in the grass and practice swinging our paddles. We all got lifejackets and big plastic gloves. Next, we took our little kayak boats to the edge of land and we worked our way into the small opening. Before I knew it, I was out on the lake... no turning back. It was amazing, although it was a little shakey at first. I got the hang of it quickly and I had so much fun. Today my arms are really aching. Lauren and Kylie both had a great time, too. At the end of our "lesson" our instructor Mikey had us try some dare-devil moves. I had to stand up in my kayak with my arms straight out. It was hard. I almost fell in.
After kayaking we really wanted a nap, but we only had an hour to get ready and get on the bus for Langdale. Once in Langdale we put on harnesses and yellow helmets. The large group divided into small groups of 6 or 7. Before I knew it I was hiking through and up waterfalls on this giant mountain. Our tour guide Neil was really fun. I only fell 3 times. I have several bruises and minor cuts, but nothing too serious.
Just when I thought we'd head back down the mountain, we approached this very vertical waterfall. My friend Dave said, "We are sooo doing this." I thought, no way is Neil going to let us do this. Well, he did. Neil climbed up the drier part of the waterfall, then he tied a rope to a large rock and threw the other end to us which we tied to our waist harness thing. Before I knew it I was on my way up the waterfall, praying every step of the way. It was sooo amazing and so scary at the same time. I was the first girl to go up the waterfall side. The cold water was pouring down. I was so afraid if I looked up to see where I was going I would lose a contact. My hands were so cold from the water and I could barely grip the rocks. The scariest part was when you couldn't find the next ledge with your foot. I still can't believe I did it. It was so awesome to reach the top and give my tour guide a high-five. Hooray!
The only bad part about my weekend: no cameras on the kayaking and ghyll scrambling... too wet. I was so sad. I love pictures so much. Nobody's going to believe that I climbed this waterfall! I promise, I did!
We all left Thursday night after dinner for Ambleside, England. The Lake District is this incredible region of mountains and lakes where over 25% of Britain's population visits each year. Our Hostel was the Ambleside Youth Hostel. . . it was alright. Nothing fancy, but it was fun. After our 5-hour bus ride Thursday evening we decided to head to bed early.
Friday morning Daphne, Lauren, Kylie and I walked a mile into town to buy "waterproofs" for kayaking and ghyll scrambling. We ate delicious apple turnovers at a little bakery, then we went back to our hostel for a nap. That afternoon we took a ferry boat to Bowness. We ate a snack at the pub there and played in the arcade, which was really more like a casino. There were ducks and swans all over the beach at Bowness. Daphne and Kylie just happened to be frightened of all forms of birds, so we made them take pictures with the birds.
Friday night we took Sonya out to dinner for her birthday. After dinner we walked to a small bar called Churchill's, where they were having Karaoke. Kylie, Lauren and I sang Bon Jovi's "Livin' On a Prayer." It was awesome. We did a fantastic job. Our friends all took pictures of us.
Saturday morning we got up early for our outdoor adventures. As most of you know, I'm not really an outdoorsy girl. I love sports and such, but I hate strenuous activities that involve bugs and sweat and getting hurt. And as most of you also know, my best friend Lauren Doerner is even less outdoorsy than myself. (Same is true of my friend Kylie.) There were so many times when we almost skipped out on the activities we had signed up for.
Our first activity was Kayaking. Our instructor Mikey showed us how to use our paddle. We had to all stand in the grass and practice swinging our paddles. We all got lifejackets and big plastic gloves. Next, we took our little kayak boats to the edge of land and we worked our way into the small opening. Before I knew it, I was out on the lake... no turning back. It was amazing, although it was a little shakey at first. I got the hang of it quickly and I had so much fun. Today my arms are really aching. Lauren and Kylie both had a great time, too. At the end of our "lesson" our instructor Mikey had us try some dare-devil moves. I had to stand up in my kayak with my arms straight out. It was hard. I almost fell in.
After kayaking we really wanted a nap, but we only had an hour to get ready and get on the bus for Langdale. Once in Langdale we put on harnesses and yellow helmets. The large group divided into small groups of 6 or 7. Before I knew it I was hiking through and up waterfalls on this giant mountain. Our tour guide Neil was really fun. I only fell 3 times. I have several bruises and minor cuts, but nothing too serious.
Just when I thought we'd head back down the mountain, we approached this very vertical waterfall. My friend Dave said, "We are sooo doing this." I thought, no way is Neil going to let us do this. Well, he did. Neil climbed up the drier part of the waterfall, then he tied a rope to a large rock and threw the other end to us which we tied to our waist harness thing. Before I knew it I was on my way up the waterfall, praying every step of the way. It was sooo amazing and so scary at the same time. I was the first girl to go up the waterfall side. The cold water was pouring down. I was so afraid if I looked up to see where I was going I would lose a contact. My hands were so cold from the water and I could barely grip the rocks. The scariest part was when you couldn't find the next ledge with your foot. I still can't believe I did it. It was so awesome to reach the top and give my tour guide a high-five. Hooray!
The only bad part about my weekend: no cameras on the kayaking and ghyll scrambling... too wet. I was so sad. I love pictures so much. Nobody's going to believe that I climbed this waterfall! I promise, I did!
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Hurry up and wait...
Have you ever thought about how many times in life you "hurry up and wait?" It's true. My friend Daphne pointed this fact out this weekend. A group of 6 of us Harlaxton girls were planning a trip to Amsterdam. We did a poor job planning... leaving on a day when we had a required field trip... almost missing our train... and making it to our flight check-in with 6 minutes to spare. We had 20 minutes to find our departure gate in London Stansted Airport. We ran our little hearts out. We jumped on a tram to take us to gate 30, we thought we were going the wrong way and I felt like I was going to faint. There was no time for error. Lauren had a slight asthma attack, but retrieved her inhaler while we took a short break up one of the escalators. We arrived to our gate with 10 minutes to spare, only to find out our flight had been delayed due to bad weather in Amsterdam. (Hurry up and wait.)
That was fine with us. Sure, we had rushed for no reason, but now we had time to get some food and just sit. The next announcement over the load speaker told us that our flight was delayed an hour and a half. When that time finally rolled around we loaded up our carry-on luggage. As we were making our way to form a line there was another announcement: Easyjet flight 2398 to Amsterdam has been canceled. Please take a seat in the gate 30 area and wait for further announcements. We were freaking out.. Oh great! What were we supposed to do now? Sleep in the Airport? Not that this is a big deal, because I've done it 3 times now in the last month.
We waited patiently for the next announcement. They said Easyjet would take care of our accomodations. Our entire flight made their way down an escalator and onto a bus that took us to retrieve our luggage. Next we walked a 100 yards or so to a hotel: the Radisson SAS. It's a new hotel, and it was awesome. We had to pay nothing. We just showed our boarding passes and they gave us a room key. Caitlin and I roomed together. We screamed when we walked in our room. . . . flat-screen TV, telephone in the bathroom, heated tile floors in the bathroom, mini-bar (sensory activated: if you took something, the front desk would automatically know). Next we found out that at 10:30 there would be a full buffet open for us. hooray! we enjoyed it and also met some new friends... Erica from New York who was studying in Salemanca, Spain... 4 Italian boys on Spring Break: Jessepi, Marco, Pierro & Luigi.
We had to be up the next morning at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast and to find out about our new flight time. (free breakfast, of course) It turns out, Stansted Airport could not accomodate our flight that morning, so we loaded coach buses to London Gatwick Airport (an hour and a half away). We finally departed for Amsterdam some time after noon.
We checked into our Hostel (the Bulldog) located just outside the Red Light District. It was pretty nice for a hostel, but it was no Radisson SAS. We walked around a bit and had some dinner. We called it an early night because we were tired from our traveling.
It was soooo cold. In fact, our receptionist told us that Thursday night was the coldest weather Amsterdam had received in 20-some years. great! We always pick the best times to visit places. ha.
http://www.holland.com/uk/
Friday we got up pretty early and we visited the Anne Frank House. Next we went to the Heineken Brewery where we took a tour of the factory and learned how they made this famous Dutch beer. My favorite part was a ride where you pretended you were a Heineken bottle going through the factory. It was funny... they shook you up and bounced you around. After the factory we split up. Four of us took a tram towards a shopping area. When we got to the stop we wanted the door wouldn't open on our section of the tram and we started banging on it and the tram just moved onto the next stop. It was okay. We still knew where we were, but we were several blocks away from where we wanted to shop. It was pretty funny. The Dutch people on the tram were laughing at us.
Later that night we went to a comedy club called Boom Chicago. It was amazing, and oh so funny. It was similar to "Whose Line is it Anyway," if you've seen that show. It was all improv. We arrived early and got seats in the front row. The cast asked for crowd suggestions all night. They used several of our suggestions because, well 1) we were in the front and they could hear us better, 2) we just had great ideas. :)
At the end they sang a song to our friend, Daphne, incorporating info about her: working at McDonalds, McFlurry, Big Mac, her hometown: Washington, Indiana. It was really funny. The six of us stayed after the show and chatted with the cast. They were so cool.
Saturday was really cold and snowy. We all took the tram to the Van Gogh Museum. It was expensive to get in, but it was so worth it. We spent over 2 hours there. Next we ate lunch at McDonald's and we even rode a Carousel that was set up in the center (centre) of the city. We spent our last few hours in Amsterdam souvenir shopping. Because I'm from Holland (Indiana) I was a horrible tourist and shopper. I wanted to buy everything, because everything either said "Holland" or had a windmill or tulips on it. I managed to control my urges, but I still spent more than I should have. Oh well. How many times do you get to Amsterdam, Holland, the Netherlands? Exactly.
Our flight on the way back was, you guessed it, delayed an hour. It was fine though because we didn't have a train to catch that night. In fact, all the trains would be done running for the night. Our only option would be to catch one the next morning at 7 a.m. This meant we'd have to stay in London Luton Airport all night. There weren't any benches or any places to sleep. Our only options were to find a hotel or try and get a taxi back to Grantham. We knew it would be expensive because Grantham is just over 2 hours away by car. We were right: £150 ($300 US). Luckily we had 6 girls and were able to get a 6-person taxi van... making our final expense only £25 a person ($50). It was well worth it.
What a great trip! You can check out my new pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/ashleyhenke
(album: Amsterdam ... on page 2)
That was fine with us. Sure, we had rushed for no reason, but now we had time to get some food and just sit. The next announcement over the load speaker told us that our flight was delayed an hour and a half. When that time finally rolled around we loaded up our carry-on luggage. As we were making our way to form a line there was another announcement: Easyjet flight 2398 to Amsterdam has been canceled. Please take a seat in the gate 30 area and wait for further announcements. We were freaking out.. Oh great! What were we supposed to do now? Sleep in the Airport? Not that this is a big deal, because I've done it 3 times now in the last month.
We waited patiently for the next announcement. They said Easyjet would take care of our accomodations. Our entire flight made their way down an escalator and onto a bus that took us to retrieve our luggage. Next we walked a 100 yards or so to a hotel: the Radisson SAS. It's a new hotel, and it was awesome. We had to pay nothing. We just showed our boarding passes and they gave us a room key. Caitlin and I roomed together. We screamed when we walked in our room. . . . flat-screen TV, telephone in the bathroom, heated tile floors in the bathroom, mini-bar (sensory activated: if you took something, the front desk would automatically know). Next we found out that at 10:30 there would be a full buffet open for us. hooray! we enjoyed it and also met some new friends... Erica from New York who was studying in Salemanca, Spain... 4 Italian boys on Spring Break: Jessepi, Marco, Pierro & Luigi.
We had to be up the next morning at 6:30 a.m. for breakfast and to find out about our new flight time. (free breakfast, of course) It turns out, Stansted Airport could not accomodate our flight that morning, so we loaded coach buses to London Gatwick Airport (an hour and a half away). We finally departed for Amsterdam some time after noon.
We checked into our Hostel (the Bulldog) located just outside the Red Light District. It was pretty nice for a hostel, but it was no Radisson SAS. We walked around a bit and had some dinner. We called it an early night because we were tired from our traveling.
It was soooo cold. In fact, our receptionist told us that Thursday night was the coldest weather Amsterdam had received in 20-some years. great! We always pick the best times to visit places. ha.
http://www.holland.com/uk/
Friday we got up pretty early and we visited the Anne Frank House. Next we went to the Heineken Brewery where we took a tour of the factory and learned how they made this famous Dutch beer. My favorite part was a ride where you pretended you were a Heineken bottle going through the factory. It was funny... they shook you up and bounced you around. After the factory we split up. Four of us took a tram towards a shopping area. When we got to the stop we wanted the door wouldn't open on our section of the tram and we started banging on it and the tram just moved onto the next stop. It was okay. We still knew where we were, but we were several blocks away from where we wanted to shop. It was pretty funny. The Dutch people on the tram were laughing at us.
Later that night we went to a comedy club called Boom Chicago. It was amazing, and oh so funny. It was similar to "Whose Line is it Anyway," if you've seen that show. It was all improv. We arrived early and got seats in the front row. The cast asked for crowd suggestions all night. They used several of our suggestions because, well 1) we were in the front and they could hear us better, 2) we just had great ideas. :)
At the end they sang a song to our friend, Daphne, incorporating info about her: working at McDonalds, McFlurry, Big Mac, her hometown: Washington, Indiana. It was really funny. The six of us stayed after the show and chatted with the cast. They were so cool.
Saturday was really cold and snowy. We all took the tram to the Van Gogh Museum. It was expensive to get in, but it was so worth it. We spent over 2 hours there. Next we ate lunch at McDonald's and we even rode a Carousel that was set up in the center (centre) of the city. We spent our last few hours in Amsterdam souvenir shopping. Because I'm from Holland (Indiana) I was a horrible tourist and shopper. I wanted to buy everything, because everything either said "Holland" or had a windmill or tulips on it. I managed to control my urges, but I still spent more than I should have. Oh well. How many times do you get to Amsterdam, Holland, the Netherlands? Exactly.
Our flight on the way back was, you guessed it, delayed an hour. It was fine though because we didn't have a train to catch that night. In fact, all the trains would be done running for the night. Our only option would be to catch one the next morning at 7 a.m. This meant we'd have to stay in London Luton Airport all night. There weren't any benches or any places to sleep. Our only options were to find a hotel or try and get a taxi back to Grantham. We knew it would be expensive because Grantham is just over 2 hours away by car. We were right: £150 ($300 US). Luckily we had 6 girls and were able to get a 6-person taxi van... making our final expense only £25 a person ($50). It was well worth it.
What a great trip! You can check out my new pictures: http://community.webshots.com/user/ashleyhenke
(album: Amsterdam ... on page 2)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
