So, I was on my way to Centraal Station today, and I just had to stop to take a photo:

Spring is definitely in the air!

Today ended my much needed week long vacation. I'm sure by now you're already sick of me saying how fast time is going by, but I really can't believe it's already March. Seems like March 1st hit, and already the days are getting longer (I woke up this morning, and it was actually light out!), and if you can believe it, the flowers are already blooming! Today it was about 9 degrees (Celsius), and sunny. I loved the smell of the fresh air flowing through the house. I really can't wait for springtime in Holland... it's going to be so beautiful!

But, what I really came to blog about is Paris!

Late Thursday night, Chelsea and I board the Eurolines bus from Rotterdam. And I tell you, within minutes of the bus arriving, I knew I'd never be traveling with Eurolines again. First off, it was nearly the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life. The bus driver basically started yelling at us as soon as he opened the doors. And to make matters worse, he didn't speak a word of English or Dutch, so we had quite a hard time figuring out what he was yelling at us for (turns out it had something to do with our tickets?).

Aside from Chelsea and I, there was also a family waiting at our stop, which the bus driver had a huge beef with. He absolutely refused to allow them on the bus with the package they had. After many minutes of arguing, all the family members except one boarded the bus. The man with the package ripped it open, which ended up being quite a large cake, and tried desperately to give it to random passengers on the street. Finally, a guy on a bike took it, but not before the bus driver tried to pull away without him.

And just to add to that, there was no bathroom on the bus (on a 7 hour trip). Luckily, the driver made a few stops along the way.

We took the overnight bus intending to sleep on the way, so we could arrive early and get more out of the day, but the seats were way too close together to even begin to get comfortable. Surprisingly, the bus ride went surprisingly fast, despite the fact that Chelsea and I didn't get a single wink of sleep.

In the future, I am sticking to train travel. It's faster (compare 7 hours on a bus to Paris, to 3 hours on the train), more comfortable, and not much more expensive if you book in advance. Plus there's always a bathroom.

We arrived in Paris at 6am, and had a couple hours to spare before we were to be at our host's flat, so we took the opportunity to check out the Eiffel Tower. I gotta be honest, it was kind of disappointing! It's much smaller in person, kind of dull and rusty, and since it was first thing in the morning, it wasn't lit up like it is at night.

After that, we made our way to our hosts' flat. We decided to couch surf for the weekend, and were hosted by two French girls, Anne Laure and Marie. After saying our hellos, having coffee, and a bit of a chat, we headed off to meet Emily and her friend Stef at their hotel. Oddly enough, they ended up being on the same metro line, so it worked out perfectly.

While they got ready, Chelsea and I took a walk around the neighborhood to find some breakfast, and settled on a creperie... our first tastes of real Parisian crepes! And let me tell you, I've never tasted a crepe so damn good! They make them with all sorts of toppings and fillings, and fold them into a neat little cone so you can eat on the go. Banana Nutella crepes ended up being my addiction of the weekend.

And then we made our way to the Arc de Triomph. I never knew it was so big! Of course I'd seen photos, but they're always from a distance, and I never took into consideration the size of things near it. I was pretty blown away when we stepped out of the metro station. I was even more amazed when we were actually standing under it, and realized that it's almost entirely carved.

A 35mm lens does almost nothing to capture things of this size.

And then Avenue Champs Elysees, Paris' most famous street, which starts at the Arc de Triomph. The street is most popular for it's high fashion shops, though the only one we stopped in was the Louis Vuitton store.

Emily and Stef went their separate ways, while Chelsea and I headed to Montmarte, which we both ended up falling in love with. It's this really cute, artsy area of town, with lots of cute restaurants, pubs, art galleries and neat clothing and jewelry stores. There were also tons of street artists, selling art or making art.

Montmartre is also home to Sacré-Cœur Basilica, a gorgeous cathedral on Montmartre hill that we took a tour of. And after seeing the amazing view of Paris from the hill, we opted out of the 12 euros it would have cost to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower. (It's a shame it was such a foggy day, because it really was much more beautiful in person than in the photo).

If there was anywhere I'd want to live in Paris, Montmartre would be it. It just seemed so relaxed.

Even though we were both feeling pretty sketchy after not sleeping for about 36 hours at this point, we had one more stop to make: the Louvre.

I had always been told how humongous this museum is, but I really wasn't expecting it to be the size of a small city. It is just MASSIVE, and ridiculously gorgeous. There was no way we would have been able to survive. We went in, saw the Mona Lisa, and left. The Louvre will be left for another trip.

After a good 12 hours of sleep, we were ready for another day. Our hostesses, Anne Laure and Marie, took us to an Indian restaurant for lunch, then this cute little vintage shop, with goods from the 1930s-1980s. Even though I didn't find anything I wanted to buy, it was fun to poke our noses in everything.

Then we went our separate ways, and Chelsea and I went to check out St. Sulpice (the church where The Davinci Code was filmed), St. Eustache, and Notre Dame Cathedral.

Since we loved Montmartre so much, we headed back for some food (we went to this cute little fondue restaurant), and another much needed to see:

Sunday was our last day, and since our bus left in the afternoon, we only had time to check out one last thing: The Catacombs of Paris. This was Chelsea's suggestion, and I'm glad she put me on the idea because it was the neatest thing we saw.

We walked many steps underground, then walked through long stretches of hallways before we finally reached the bones.

And then there were just bones upon bones. There must have been millions of bones lying there.

So, after more banana nutella crepes, it was time to catch the bus, which we nearly missed. We were supposed to be at the station by 3pm to catch the 4pm bus. We made it to the station at about 3:57pm, and ran as fast as we could (til it hurt!) to the bus terminal. And since we didn't have to check in at the stop in Rotterdam, we had no idea we had to actually register before we could board the bus. The bus driver was not impressed (but at least he spoke English!). Funny enough, the same people from our stop in Rotterdam (with the cake), were also running for the same bus. And of course, the attendant registering us took his sweet time lecturing us about being late.

But, we made it!

It was a pretty eventful weekend, and even though we saw a lot in those 3 days, I still feel like there's SO much more to see. It was totally the unexpected things that made the weekend, though. I think those are always the things that I love the most about seeing a new city. I mean, there's always a little planning involved, but I love stumbling across things that I never knew about.

And now I have to decide where to go to next! But once I do, I'll be sure to let you know! Bye for now!

Well, it's about that time again. I think mainly because today marks 5 months since I arrived in the Netherlands. I can't believe that in a month I'll have already been here half a year. I'm really amazed at how fast time is flying.

This month also marks 10 years of being a vegetarian. I know this has nothing to do with Europe, but I just wanted to mention it because it's a pretty big milestone for me.

Anyway, what's happened since my last update? I think the most important thing is that I finally met some relatives here! My dad passed on some info to me months ago about a cousin I have who owns a hair salon in Koog aan de Zaan (which is about an hour and a bit from here, past Amsterdam). He knew I was itching to get my hair done, and suggested I go see her. Apparently they were anxiously awaiting my call, because they knew exactly who I was the moment I opened my mouth to ask for Nanette.

So, we made an appointment for the middle of January, and I went up to meet my cousin for the first time. (Just a side note: Nanette is actually a 3rd cousin, our grandmothers are sisters). To be honest, I wasn't expecting much at all. My dad's side of the family is quite conservative, and with her living in a small Dutch town, well, I'm sure you can get the idea of my expectations. But I was pleasantly surprised at how well we hit it off.

Her and her husband, Wilbur, own a really chic hairsalon, where she cut and dyed my hair "out of love" (her words, not mine). She dyed my hair a dark chocolaty brown, and did a really amazing job at trimming up my very uneven (but growing) hair. And she even understands the concept of blunt bangs! (Most hair dressers always want to make them wispy.) AND she's even going to continue doing my hair!

So, after my hair was all done, they took me to their house, with a bit of a scenic detour.

Koog aan de Zaan is pretty much the cutest most Dutch town I've seen yet. I really wish I had had time to take photos so you could see what I mean. Cobblestones, windmills, bright green houses with red slanted roofs. And their house was SO gorgeous! They completely renovated the whole house to their liking. It's a townhouse situated right on the lake, where they have a view of windmills across the way, and the interior is very turn of the century European.

We sat and chatted for a while - talked about our cats, and families and other random tidbits. Then they took me out for dinner in Amsterdam, to this cute little Italian restaurant, and afterwards we parted ways. I can't wait til I can go and visit them again!

Well, to be honest, not a whole lot has been happening since my last update. However, this weekend I'm off to Paris! We leave Thursday night, and return Sunday. Although, I'm thinking about stopping over in Belgium on my way back, since I have all next week off. I've yet to see Brussels, and I'd also like to see more of Antwerp.

So, you should be hearing from me again soon, and with more photos. Sorry for the lacking update, but I think I'll have a lot more to say next time around.

For now, I'll leave you with a photo I took last weekend:

That's the Vredespaleis in the background, or the Peace Palace. This building is about a 3 minute bike ride from my house, and if I walk a block to the end of the road, I can see the back of it. Aside from being an amazingly gorgeous building, it's also a really important building as it's the home of the International Court of Justice and the Permanent Court of Arbitration. Pretty neat that such important things go on just around the corner.

Anyway, til next time... xxx

10 THINGS I'VE LEARNED SO FAR...

Well, it's been just over four months now, and I've been meaning to make a list of things that I find interesting or different about the Netherlands, in comparison to Canada. I think this will be a work in progress.

1. First and foremost, peanut butter! I was warned about this before I left, and it really is not the same. North American peanut butter is much sweeter, and has a smoother texture (and no I'm not trying to compare smooth to chunky). But now that I've been here for a while, I've managed to adapt to the taste, and even like it.

2. There's so many varieties of toilets. Now, I know you probably think this is a weird thing to notice, but I can't help but not. In Canada, almost every single toilet has the exact same handle you push down to flush. Here, there's always a new flushing mechanism to try and spot or figure out: a big square button on the wall, a small round one in the corner, a chain hanging from the ceiling, a plunger to pull. And a lot of toilets have two flushers: one that distributes a lot of water, and one that distributes a smaller amount (you know, depending on what sort of "business "you're doing). And while we're still on the topic of toilets, they're usually in a separate room - hence "water closet." Some of these toilets really are in a room the size of a small closet. There might be a sink in there, or there might not, but more often than not, the bathtub and/or shower is in a separate room. And I've never seen a bathtub/shower combination. If a house or apartment does have a bathtub, it's always separate.

3. Ranch dressing is pretty much non-existent. Same with pie crust. I never had so many confused looks in one day as when I biked all around town trying to find a pie crust to make chocolate pudding pie for Christmas. "Do you have pie crust? Yeah, you know what a pie is, right? Well, just the crust. No filling, just the crust."
And I say pretty much non-existent because these sorts of things are sometimes available at the British shops, but they don't come cheap.

4. Breakfast. I really miss a good greasy breakfast. You know, 5$ greasy spoon diner type deals, with toast, home fries, and 3 eggs over easy (and a choice of bacon, ham, or sausage for you meat-eaters). The closest thing I've found to that are uitsmijters, which are basically over easy or sunny side-up eggs on bread. Not toast, but plain white bread. Not even any butter. And apparently they can't toast the bread, even if you ask.

5. People don't tip. Not at bars, restaurants, anywhere. People in the service industry make better money than back at home, so they don't thrive on the tips. I still feel like a cheapskate by not tipping, but it's just not customary.

(I actually want to edit that last one, because I now realize that people DO tip. When I first arrived, I was told people don't tip. Since then, I've learned that they do, just not as much as back home. And now do I ever feel bad for never tipping!)

6. But on that note, there is no sense of customer service here. There is no "Hello" when you walk in, and rarely even a glance to show that you were acknowledged. The positive of that is that there is no pushy salesperson on your ass. But there's no friendliness on check out, either. Well, rarely. The other weird thing is there are rarely any employees guarding the changing rooms: you just walk in, BUT you also return your own clothes when you're done trying them on.

7. The same lack of friendliness also holds for the general public. There are no friendly smiles or hellos to the person passing on the street or standing next to you in line, and sometimes even no excuse me's if someone bumps into you. That was one of the biggest things that made me homesick when I first came here. Apparently people here see our Canadian friendliness as being fake. But on the flip note, once someone knows you (like say you are being introduced as someone's friend) people are incredibly welcoming and hospitable, and will instantly take you in as their own friend.

8. Contrary to popular belief, they do not drive on the other side of the road.

9. Red light districts are not limited to Amsterdam. They're in many cities, including Den Haag, and they're even in Belgium. I guess Amsterdam's is just the most well known because it's the largest.

10. The train system is fantastic. Really, Canada ought to learn a thing or two. First of all, train fare is dirt cheap (well, compared to Canada anyway). Trains run to most cities, and they run all day long (and throughout the night as well... just not as frequent). And your ticket is good for the entire day, or for the entire weekend if you purchase a weekend ticket. So basically you can hop on whatever train you want, and if you miss your train, chances are the next one is leaving in 10 minutes. And they're almost always right on time (to the minute), and they're quicker than driving (which is definitely not the case in Canada).

More to come!

I was browsing my friend Amy's blog, and I came across this old beer commercial.

This is for all of you who ask me to say "about." Enjoy. =)