ok, so a more detailed update for the last five days.
monday-- plane ride. 7 and a half hours. isle seat. guy beside me was pretty nice though. helped me figure out how to get to the subway and then to train station for my chunnel ride to brussels. there was some seat shuffling before take off, seems some family didn't get seats together and made a fuss. a i just love people.
tuesday--made it to heathrow half and hour early and then sat on the tarmac for 35 waiting for a gate to be available. good times. then it was through customs. breezed through with my work visa. different and way shorter line for the likes of me:) then i found my bag and went through the nothing to declare line and was out in the airport before i could blink. found the subway made the trip to the train station. i had to buy a calling card as i forgot my calling card access number at home. so much for being overly prepared. i wonder what else i have forgotten?? then it was waiting for the eurostar to wisk me away to brussels. let me just say that there are some very strange individuals out there and i am (in my own opinion) on the lower end of strange. thr train was ok. i got on and sat in what i thought was my seat, but was rudley informed in french that it was not and i was in the wrong number carriage. dam ticket could have been more clear. oh well, found the right seat and enjoyed the 3 hours to brussels. the chunnel is 20-25 minutes in the dark, not really all that great, maybe i missed something. got to brussels at about 8 i think and grabbed a 10 minute 6.45 euro taxi to the hotel queen anne. it was a great lobby, the rooms were a bed, bathroom with shower and well did i mention the bed? two nights there. i fell asleep after talking to the answering machine at home. i was very exhausted after such a long two days.
wednesday-- first day in brussels, was getting lost and lost and then lost once again before finding the grande place. big shopping strip. went back to hotel and napped because i still think i was delerious from the adventures from the day before. then i found out about a tour to ghent and bruges. signed up for that and decided on one more day in brussels went to the sleep well hostel and booked a bed for thursday night.
thursday--went on tour. ghent was a bus tour through the city. it was ok. went to a church that was huge. decorated for the spring with flowers, grass leading up to the pol pit. as of right now i can;t remember the name of the church, but it was one of many seen that day. then we drove by the earls castel. he was actually called teh devil (deablo). then on to bruges. what a great place. very nice walking tour. very old and amazingly detailed architecture. we just having that compares to that in canada. there was a plaza that had a building that was 14th century and attached to it was a 15th century addition and beside that was a 16th century building, and then on the other side were a 17th and 18th century buildings and across the plaza was a 21st century structure. it was just so cool to see that many years all in one place and to see the gradual changes in architecture through the years. back to the sleep well, first night in a hostel. and let me just say it should change its name. people were in the halls, until 3am making as much noise as they had been at 11pm. so not cool.
friday-- train station in brussels heading to amsterdam. got in around noon. found hostel the flying pig down town. asked to book room at flying pig beach. and left bags in storage there. wandered around from noon until 7:30 when the shuttle picked me up for the beach. amsterdam...... went and saw the van gogh museum. it was spectacular. van gogh was an artist all his own. went from dark and dreary to colours, but still with a deeper meaning behind most of his art work. some of his art work however is really just him practising with different colour schemes and brush strokes. was lost for a while. didn't eat any brownies.
saturday-- went to leidon on bus. went to museums as it was raining all day. also, it was a free museum weekend here. talk about perfect timing. also went to out door market. it was so neat. a combination of stampede, garden market and a jumble of whatever else thrown in, for 4 streets. it was teh coolest thing i have seen. just like you see in the movies when they go shopping through markets. hawkers, cheap food, everything you could ever need and some stuff you didn't even know you wanted.
anyways, i am staying at the beach hostel until monday and then i am taking the train to berlin. and then who knows where i will go from there. i have decided that i really enjoy the smaller towns then the most see cities here in europe. my small town girl coming through i guess. hope everyone is well.
ciao
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