Yesterday I made my first trip to Rotterdam, where my friend Melissa lives. Her, Jess, and I spent the day walking around the city: we made our way through the shopping district, stopping in all the swoon worthy stores. Then stopped in 101 Pannekoeken (which was located right on the corner of Pancake Street!) for some world famous pancakes. It was kind of neat because the kitchen was right out in the open, and we had a table next to it, so we could watch the chef make all the pancakes and poffertjes. Boy, was he ever skilled! He flipped those pancakes and poffertjes with such ease! (For those back home, poffertjes are bite sized pancakes that are generally served with a dollop of butter and icing sugar, but you can also eat them with other toppings).

We took a peak at a market, where I found some great deals on souvenirs. Took a tour of Kubus Woningen (the cubic houses), which are exactly what they sound like: cube shaped houses! While they're really neat, aesthetically, they don't look like a very cozy place to live. But perhaps it was because the show version had no carpets or comfy looking furniture.

After looking around the shopping district a little more, we headed back to Melissa's for a very delicious home cooked meal by her host parents, Robert and Ineke, followed by the best of the best olliebollen (the first of the season!), and pepernotjes, both very traditional Dutch holiday goodies.

And then we got ourselves ready to party!

A while ago, we bought tickets for Full on Ferry, a masquerade party hosted by Ferry Corsten. Being a lover of trance, I was really looking forward to this party, especially knowing the magnitude of trance parties in Europe.

Since it fell on Halloween weekend, we figured it was a Halloween party, and got ourselves all dressed up: I as a 50s housewife, Melissa as a soccer player, and Jess as a cop. We found out pretty quickly that we were one of the only ones dressed up. Mostly people came in normal clothes and masquerade masks, and very few were actually dressed up. A lot of people were very confused as to why we were dressed up. We got a lot of comments and stares, and by the end of the night, we were all pretty annoyed with it. We decided that it was just a coincidence they decided to hold this party on Halloween weekend, even though it was advertised as a masquerade party. (For those who don't know, Halloween is a very very new concept in Europe, having only started to make its way over within the past few years. It's not nearly as celebrated here, but we made the assumption that this would be a costume party for Halloween).

So anyway, the stage show was AMAZING. There was fire, and visuals, and the stage actually floated! It was this UFO looking stage surrounded by lights, anchored to the ceiling, which actually lifted off the ground and floated over the audience. And the platform that the DJs were standing on inside the floating stage rotated as well. It was really neat to just stand at the back of the room and watch all this happening, while thousands of people danced and threw their hands in the air. It's really unfortunate that my camera decided to die just as the stage was taking off. I really wanted to capture it on film because I knew trying to explain it wouldn't give it any justice. So as soon as I can find a video, I'll post it for you all to see!

And aside from the stage show, the music was incredible. It's too bad dancing in heels is next to impossible! I normally don't wear heels out dancing, but it was part of the costume, and it just wouldn't look the same in sneakers. ;)

I think, though, that they ripped us off on the drinks. They must have watered down the drinks, or have been serving non-alcoholic booze, because none of us had even a buzz! Those cheap bastards!

Well, that is my weekend in a nutshell. I hope I can make it back to Rotterdam soon, preferably on a nicer day as it was pretty cold and rainy yesterday. I'd love to check out some more of the interesting architecture, and see more of the city.

I uploaded a few photos to Flickr, but not many. For now, I will leave you with a photo of us girls taken at the party last night. I hope everyone back home had a safe and fun Halloween!

Not much to report at the moment, but I just wanted to take a quick second to post a few of the photos I just uploaded to Flickr.

That last one is of Lauren and I in Amsterdam (she's from Canada, too!). It was quite wet outside (as I'm sure you can tell by the umbrellas), so we couldn't actually sit in the shoe. It was great to see a familiar Canadian face, and I wish Lauren the best of luck on her journey in Ghana!

I just got back from the most amazing weekend I've had since I've been in Europe. I would just first like to mention how astounded I am with how genuinely kind and hospitable Belgian people are. I couldn't have been left with a better opinion of my time there, and I really can't wait to go back again (hopefully soon!)

So anyway, we started out on Friday afternoon for Lochristi (a small town just outside of Gent), where Jurgen's parents live. After meeting everyone, Jurgen offered to drive me into Gent while the family had their time together (and since his family doesn't speak English very well, I wouldn't have been able to really join in the conversation anyway).

He dropped me off at the edge of the center, and I made my way down the main shopping road, stopping in shops and taking photos. Oh, and of course trying Belgian chocolates... I just couldn't go to Belgium without having my first tastes of real Belgian chocolate. (Ps. Every bit as amazing as they say). Oh yes, and the Belgian frites, too. While waiting for a ride back to Jurgen's parents, I stopped in the coolest frites shop, where they served wine and beer, and were blaring hardcore on the radio. It was just a very different atmosphere than your typical Canadian greasy fast food joint. I loved it!

Just as I got back to Jurgen's parents', Jurgen decided he wanted to go into town for some beer... great idea! Jurgen, Joanna, and I went to this pub called the Dulle Griet, a pub with 200 different types of beer, and where they serve the biggest beers I've ever seen... 1.2 litres in a huge test tube looking glass that has to be propped up with a wooden frame. Before you get that beer, though, you have to give one of your shoes as collateral (I guess because the glass is so expensive, they want to make sure you give the glass back). They take your shoe, and put it in this wire basket that gets hoisted up to the ceiling. When you return the glass, you get your shoe back. It would kinda suck if you accidentally break the glass, and you have to walk out of the bar with only one shoe! ;)

After our drinks, we took a walk around town, which was so gorgeous at night. Gent is a very old city, with buildings dating back to medieval times. At one point, when we were walking down some small side streets, it actually felt like we were in medieval times... the roads were dark, with these huge old buildings, and just with the way our feet sounded on the cobblestone roads. It was really cool to know that we were walking down roads that were built hundreds and hundreds of years ago.

We then made our way to this pub that specializes in jenever, a type of alcohol I've never heard of til this past weekend. That's all that was sold in the pub, just many many different flavors of jenever. After a few shots, we made our way to find some frites, then back to Jurgen's parents'.

Jurgens' parents were really nice in offering me a place to stay at their house for Friday night, and knowing that this was my first time to Belgium, Jurgen's dad dug up maps and booklets for me to use on my trip. They were also so kind to offer me a place to stay if I decided I wanted to stay longer in Belgium, and even to take me to Brugge themselves! I just thought it was so nice that, not even knowing me, they opened up their home to me, and did what they could to make my stay there enjoyable.

The next morning, after Jurgen, Joanna, and the kids left for England, I had a typical Flemish breakfast with Jurgen's parents (bread, pastries, jams and other spreads), then they dropped me off in town (but not without leaving me their phone numbers in case I needed to call for help, or for a place to stay, or whatever!)

Earlier in the week, Jurgen hooked me up with my own personal tour guide for Saturday... his cousin Jeroen who lives in Gent (who was also so kind to offer me a place to stay on Saturday night). So, Saturday was spent being given the royal tour of Gent, and because he's lived there his entire life, he knew all these little tidbits that he shared with me. It was pretty much as good as a paid tour guide, except funner, and I had more input into where we went! We went to the Gravensteen (my first castle experience!), complete with a torture museum. We went for a beer at a pub he used to work at, walked around the center, checked out the inside of a couple churches, including Sint-Pieterskerk (the hugest most gorgeous church I have ever seen in real life), and then of course stopped for more Belgian chocolates and some Belgian waffles. Oddly enough, we searched high and low for a Belgian waffle place, and couldn't find any. Just as we were about to give up and get pancakes, we walked into a place with both! Worked out perfectly!

Later on we went to a party his friends were throwing, and ended up staying out til 6am! It's been quite a long time since I've been up partying that late, but I must say, it was a blast! I met some really great people, danced to some great tunes, and before I knew it, I was checking my phone to see it said 6am.

I originally went to Belgium with hopes of seeing Brugge in the same weekend, but since we stayed out so late, Sunday was pretty much a write off. But I'm not at all disappointed I didn't pack everything into one weekend because I know I'll be back (hopefully sooner than later!)

The only really lousy part about my weekend (which I could have done without), was missing my connecting train in Antwerp. I searched everywhere for a train schedule that told me which train to take to Den Haag. I could only find a train going to Amsterdam, so I headed for that track, and tried to find someone to ask about getting back to Den Haag. By the time I found an attendant, he was getting on the train, and told me that this was the train... as it was pulling away. "Sorry," he says. I slowly started to piece together that I had infact missed the last train out of Belgium that night. I had a minor freakout, then decided to just get a hotel for the night... 55 euros later. I guess that's what credit cards are for, right? Emergencies, such as this.

And then the kicker is, I called Jeroen from the hotel to tell him I was safe (as texting and calling in Belgium almost completely ate up the minutes on my phone, and I thought I'd save the last few euros if I really needed them), and at checkout this morning, I was charged 4,50 euros for the call. Who would have thought that local calls would cost so damn much?! I should have just used the cell phone.

Well, at the very least, I can take this as a learning experience, and try not to feel too bad about the 60 euros I had to spend unexpectedly.

So, yes, aside from that, most amazing weekend! I know those I met this weekend will probably never read this, but thank you so so so much for being so accommodating to me. It really made my weekend, and it just warms my heart to know that there are such caring people in the world.

Well, that's all for now. If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and I promise to update soon! Oh, and ps. For more photos of Gent, check out my Flickr page!

Hey everyone,

I just wanted to pop on to give you all a quick update, and to let you all know that I'm still alive! Sad to say, I don't have any pictures for you guys this time, but there will be more soon. I promise!

The Dutch lessons are finally starting to get more difficult. Because I already had previous Dutch knowledge, the first few weeks have been a bit of a review (while learning new things at the same time), but now it's come to the point where EVERYTHING is new. It's time to start really studying, so I can start speaking! The good news is, I'm really noticing an improvement in how much I can actually read. Understanding spoken is still a bit difficult because people speak so fast, but I'm starting to understand Kasper better when he talks in Dutch. If only everyone talked like a child! ;)

This past weekend, I made my first trip out to Utrecht. That is by far the most gorgeous city I've ever seen in real life, thus making it my new favorite city! I wish I had photos to show you guys, but next time I go, I'll be sure to take lots.

It's a university city, so there are a lot of young people that live there, making it a pretty happening place on a Saturday night! It's very picturesque at night, as well, with all the canal side patios, and lights reflecting off the water. It's really neat, because there is an upper portion of the canal where the road is, and then there is a lower portion which many of the restaurants and pubs use as their patios. It's really gorgeous to sit out on the water like that.

I never cease to be amazed at how beautiful the pubs are in the Netherlands. Every time I step foot into a new pub, I always say I've never seen a pub as beautiful, until I step foot into the next one! The only complaint I would make about the pubs here is the limited selection of beer! I would figure with so many different types of beer across Europe, there would be more selection in bars. But sometimes they have only one kind, which is a little absurd to me. But at least I'm trying new things, right? ;)

So, anyway, next week is Autumn break here in Holland, and my host family is on vacation as of this Friday. Because my Dutch classes are also taking a break for the holiday, I have the week to myself! SO, this weekend I'm making my first out of country trip, to Belgium! My host family is heading to England next week, with a stopover in Belgium to visit Jurgen's family, and they've invited me to come along. I've barely started planning, aside from knowing that I want to see Ghent (Jurgen's family lives just outside Ghent), and Brugge. These next couple days will be spent researching, so if you guys have any suggestions, please let me know!

Well, I think that gives you a little idea of what I've been up to lately. I have to try to update more often, but sometimes its hard to take a moment to just sit down and write.

I hope everyone in Canada is doing well, and having fun. I miss you all!

My first Dutch lesson started yesterday. The school is right around the corner, a 5 minute bike ride at most. It's a rather small class, with a very diverse group of people, all of different backgrounds in the Netherlands for different reasons.

My teacher said my pronunciation is very good, and asked whether I needed to be in the beginner's class. I really think I do, but it was nice to hear that I am doing well so far.

My next class is on Thursday, and I can't wait! I'm happy to finally be learning something again, and hopefully it won't take me too long to get into the swing of things. I really want to start speaking Dutch soon!

I also went to Amsterdam for the first time this past weekend. I've been meeting some au pairs in the Netherlands through some groups on Facebook, and a couple of us took a day trip.

Amsterdam is so different than Den Haag. I'm not sure which I like better. Den Haag is more beautiful, but Amsterdam has a more diverse population. And so many more people out and about, too! In Den Haag, I feel like I stand out as a foreigner, but not in Amsterdam (I guess because there ARE so many foreigners there).

And I can't believe how CHEAP it is to travel here. It only cost about 11 euros for a round trip to Amsterdam. So, it IS possible to do Europe on a budget (so if any of you are thinking about coming for a visit...)

So, anyway, our first stop was a pancake house. Neither Kelly nor Chloe had experienced the real Dutch pancake yet, so we made it one of our missions of the day. Needless to say, I had never seen so many different kinds of pancakes on one menu before. Sweet, savory, special sweet, special savory, American, Canadian, Hawaiian, the list goes on and on.

We stopped in many cheesy souvenir shops, then made our way to the Anne Frank Huis. It was really weird knowing that we were in the house Anne Frank hid, and seeing some of the original stuff that was in the house when they were in hiding. It's also much bigger than I had thought! The only disappointment was not seeing the original diary. They temporarily replaced it with a copy while they restored the original, or something to that effect.

After that, we just wandered around, stopped in more cheesy souvenir shops, had a bite to eat, then wandered through the Noorderkerk Market.

I didn't get many photos, but I'm hoping to get some good ones when I go back this weekend. I'm not sure what's on the agenda yet, but there's still so much to see that I'm sure whatever we end up doing will be fun.

For now, I will leave you with a photo Kelly took of Chloe and I in the Dam.