the past three weeks

Alright - I'm sorry. Yes, it's been far too long, I realize, but I've honestly been too busy to think. Let alone write. Since Amsterdam, I've been to Strasbourg, Alix has been here, and I've been hit with my final round of papers and tests - the light at the end of the tunnel isn't even close yet, but it's getting there.

First of all - Amsterdam. What a cool city. I had an excellent time. There were a ton of kids from my program that all happened to go over on the same weekend, but everyone was spread out in different corners of the city and we didn't really run into anybody else. Marina (my spring break buddy) and I stayed in a hostel next to Vondel Park and spent the majority of our time there soaking up the sun in the tulip gardens next to a gorgeous lake.

Our hostel was a monster of a building and was mostly a youth hostel - we got hit-on by 18 year old Austriens the first night - but had a fun atmosphere, good breakfasts, hot showers and looked so ridiculously germanic on the outside that we had to take pictures. We stayed in a 20 bed dorm on the top floor with huge open ceilings and red and yellow latice work.

As my money is ever dissappearing, we didn't do much sight seeing in Amsterdam, but mostly just walked around the city. It's a really interesting place with little winding streets full of ecelectic shops, bars and restaurants. There are of course the "darker" sides of the city as well - many trashy porn shops along the red light district (an experience to say the least... I've never seen so many sad looking women lumped together in one place) and then the very legal drug shops. The city bustles with tourists and business men, old hippies and eclectic european youths. It gives the city a bizarre feeling - classy and trashy all at once, but certainly charming.

I also really liked how many bikes were scattered around the city - it's clearly the best way to get around and so environmentally concious, too! My only regret over my weekend is that I didn't rent a bike and go exploring. Aside from the Anne Frank house - which is certainly worth the visit, though very sad and humbling - the only other touristy thing I did was to visit Keukenhof flower gardens. Acres and Acres of tulips, lakes, trees... just beyond words. I took too many pictures and Marina and I spent a good four hours wandering around the paths. We also saw a little bit of the remaining tulip fields, but the tractors were following behind us and digging them up as we went along.

Back from Amsterdam, I had a few days of classes and then I took a short weekend trip to Strasbourg, France, on the German border. It was dreary for the day we were there, and aside from a very gothic cathedral and a historically preserved French village, there isn't much to see or do. We ate pretzles, drank beer, nearly fell on our asses when we discovered how cheap food is outside of Paris, and went home. Oh, and we did see the European Union, but I'm going to come right out and say that it wasn't all that impressive.

As soon as I made it back to Paris, Alix arrived! It was wonderful to have her here, and we did the tour of most Parisian land marks. All Alix has been talking about since she bought her ticket to Paris was the bell tower at Notre Dame, so we went up it, which was a first for me. A great view of Paris and the Gargoyles look really incredible and scary. I forgot my camera, so I'll have to go back.

Having my lovely cousin here really gave me a strong dose of home sickness, add to that the fact that she brought me gossip magazines, candy bars and extra crunchy peanut butter. oh! and Big Red gum... the french do not know what they're missing. She stayed with me for the week because the closest hostel to my dorm is an abosolute dump, and we slept head to foot in my tiny bed just like we used to when we were twelve. We stayed up giggling and talking, only this time we were a great deal older and found there was much less space to sleep in. Every morning when I'd get up for class I'd have to pick Alix's legs up off the floor and place them under the covers.

And while Alix was here, she lucked out and got to come on a weekend excursion to the Loire Valley with my group. Four castles in two days. Four castles. Two days. I hate to sound like a snob, but seriously, once you've seen one castle, they all start to look about the same. But the French country side was gorgous and we got to see some impressive fortresses - not to mention the trip meals of excellent and traditional french culinary treats. *Did I mention that Alix and I tried escargot while she was here? Yum-O (oh Rachel Ray, how I loathe thee). Seriously - mom and dad are going to have to try them.

I've made a Picasa album, so now all of my pictures both stupid and pretty are available for your viewing pleasure. I've labeled most of them and they're all in chronological order, with the exception of my southern trip that I still have saved on a friends computer. Only a month left to go and I'm certain it'll fly by what with mom and dad visiting and my week long trip to Germany just before I fly home.

PARIS