"Is this train going to Deventer?" "Especially for you!"

Last night was another long night in Groningen, but it was followed by an 'early' morning start. Phil, Marlinda and I left this morning for Heerenveen where we went to a shop dedicated to speedskating. They had everything you need for training from bikes to inlines. My favourite part was the little ice rink they have inside that you can test out skates on. Clever.



From there we left and headed to the oval in Thialf, which I have just learned is the 'Heerenveen' oval. We didn't skate, we just quickly stopped there so I could take some pictures since I forgot to when I was skating there earlier this week.. Oops. Good thing Phil was nice and drove me around.



Speaking of Phil's driving, Phil drove his car here from London. That means he drives on the 'wrong' side of the car. It was weird getting in the front on the left side of the car and not having a steering wheel.



Groningen is a cute place. I would tell anyone to go there. Be sure to rent a bike while you're there! Everyone has them. Right next to the train station is a place to store your bike if you don't have room for it where you live. It holds 5,000 bikes and is FULL. Most people lock their bikes up to things just outside of their house, but others just leave them chilling in the street. Apparently if yours gets stolen you're free to take another one. It's frowned upon, but that's how they roll.

As I type this I'm sitting on my third and last train of the day, and am in route to Berlin. 5 hours of travel to go! Matt's picking us up at the train station and is letting us stay with him and his room mate. Germany plays in the Semi-final of the World Cup tomorrow so I'm sure we'll be able to check out their party scene, too. That would put me at 3 for 3 :) Then all I would have to do is see a movie in Germany ;) We'll be in Berlin for 9 days and then we're off to the coast of Montpellier! Seeing the water will be a good change. I miss seeing lakes every where I look..

Wish you were here!


Things I learned in Groningen

1. They love techno music. It doesn't even need to be in Dutch. It just needs to be techno. I loved it.

2. The haunted restaurant downtown makes the best omelets.

3. Bikes have their own road next to the road for cars and you have to yield to them quite often.

4. It is SO cool being some where where people not only know what speedskating is, but also appreciate it. I felt really cool.

5. I felt less dumb while doing dryland in the park because of this.

6. I usually had no idea what I was eating, but it always tasted really good.

7. Dutch people are really tall and look rather old for their age. We went to a barbeque for Paul's birthday and I thought he was 24 or 25. Turns out he just turned 20.

8. Sven is better looking in person.

9. The Dutch are really assured of themselves and the fact that they WILL win the world cup. Hup Holland Hup!

10. The Dutch know how to party.

Pauze

Yesterday we were off to a later start because of our workouts, but Sam and I went into town again. Since it was Sunday most shops weren't open (they don't open again until monday at noon.. they like long weekends). On our way into town I saw a guy jumping off the bridge and into the canal. It was really gross. I would not swim in that water. But then I saw his friends drinking and figured that explained a lot of it. Once in town I managed to find Sven and snap a picture with him. I can easily say this trip is much closer to complete. And I had mango ice cream for only 90 cents! The cheapest thing I've found so far! And it was AMAZING. The only thing better than that so far was what ever Philippe ate while we were at lunch. Sorry that was so vague.



After that we went back to Phil's apartment, relaxed, and then drove to Marlinda's house and had dinner with her and her family. They were so nice and the food was delicious! I tried this "typical" dutch food, although I'm not sure what it's called, and it was really good! It looked like a sausage, but was like hamburger on the inside. Yummm. From there Marlinda, Phil, Sam and I left to go see Eclipse. Yes, another movie in Europe. I'm two for two now! The first thing I learned while I was there is that when you're at the movie theater, you can buy beer. That was a new experience (No, I don't drink). The second thing I learned is that they don't watch the whole movie without stopping. They like to have a "Pauze". They just stop in the middle of the movie for 10 or 15 minutes so you can take a break, go to the bathroom, and get drinks and food. I thought it was hilarious. When we left the theater it was midnight and of course, it still wasn't completely dark out. I guess the sun doesn't really set all the way here. Oh! I forgot to mention that this same night there was a giant music tour going on in downtown. We walked right by it and it sounded like a giant techno dance party. It was awesome. All the music here is pretty much techno. It's so great! I also saw Hayley's twin at the dance tour! I'll get a picture up later.

Today we were off to another late start since it was such a long drive back from Marlinda's house yesterday. We walked into town and Phil and Marlinda showed us all the cool stores we had missed. The clothes are still ridiculously over priced here though :( We soon decided we were hungry though, so we went to a haunted restaurant. Apparently a girl died upstairs and since then lights have been tipping over and some other strange things. The inside is still all the same since the 1800's and apparently when you go there at night it can get pretty spooky since it's mostly candle light. But if you're ever in Groningen you should go. Phil said to try some super loaded omelette (I have no idea what it was called.. I usually don't understand the menus), and it was the best omelette I have EVER had. It's right up there with what ever Philippe ate at lunch..



After that we came back to Phil's place and relaxed for a little while before heading out to his team mate Paul's house for his birthday. He had a barbeque and the food was great! Again, I can't be sure on all of what I ate, but it was good. I wish I was better at this food thing.. A lot of Phil's team was there, so that was fun. They're all really, really tall. Actually, everyone here is really tall. Even the girls that were in town were towering over me. Hm. Anyways, while at Paul's we learned that his brother, Bos, thought his room was too hot at night, so he set up a new crib (tent) for himself outside. The guys had to move it out of the way to play soccer so no one ruined his "pad". Well done boys.

From the barbeque we went to visit Ingo for a while, and then we had to leave. We had some packing to do and an early morning tomorrow because Phil, Marlinda and I are driving to Heerenveen to go to a giant shop dedicated to speedskating! Super cool :) After that I'm off to Berlin where I'll be meeting Matt! I can't wait to see him. However, 4 train rides are between now and then. Tomorrow looks like another long day of traveling.

Wish you were here

"Where are you from?" "America" "I'm sorry."

Getting to Groningen was a long journey, but we made it here 2 hours earlier than we had expected. Phil and his girlfriend Marlinda came and picked us up from the train station and off we went to Phil's apartment. We dropped our bags and went out for pizza. Did I mention the Dutch had just won their world cup quarter final? They were all going crazy. After we ate we walked to downtown Groningen (which was a sea of orange), met Ingo along the way, and found some of Phil's team mates who had had a little too much to drink. They were hilarious. Everything you've ever heard about the Dutch and how they drink and party is true. They were so much fun! And very happy they had won. They're so sure of themselves that they already have shirts that say "2010 World Champions". You go Holland, you go. I was told "we make up for our small country with our big egos."



After parting ways with Phil's team mates Phil, Ingo, Sam, and I walked Marlinda to the train station. From there Ingo gave us a tour of Groningen which included the red light district and coffee shops. You wouldn't want to miss those. Groningen's a pretty small town, but it's cute. All the people here are really nice. And the sun is up until 11pm! And then goes down and comes up 5 hours later. 4am and the sun is back up and shining. Only 5 short hours of darkness. It's so strange and disorienting.

Yesterday Phil took me skating in Heerenveen with his team. They were all so nice! And the ice rink is really cool! They have blow up pads. I really wanted to test them out, but 'unfortunately' I remained up right. I loved skating again. It was a nice change from drylanding and inlining. The best part? Phil hates running. So instead of a cool down jog we went to the building next to the oval where there's a training room for the athletes. And who did we stumble across?? SVEN KRAMER. Best thing that has ever happened to me. For those of you who don't know who he is, he has a million world records, olympic medals and is on a Dutch pro team for speedskating. He was the one who didn't switch lanes in the 10k and lost his gold medal.



After we got back from skating, Sam and I went into town. There was a market in the middle with all sorts of fun things. They had clothes, wooden shoes!, food, and a lot more. I tried on some of the wooden shoes and thought they were pretty cool. Too bad I can't really get them home. We went to the fish market, too. Sam found a full herring and ate it with onions. It looked gross, but he claims it tasted good. The sign even advertised it's health benefits!



Holland's pretty cool. I can do dryland here without feeling dumb. And It's awesome being some where where speedskating is not only KNOWN but is appreciated! It's sweet not having to explain myself when people ask. In fact, I'm apparently a 'big deal' for being a skater from the USA. Strange. Pretty neat though :)

I'm here for the next few days and then I'm off to Berlin with Matt. Hopefully I'll be able to go skate again by then.

Wish you were here!

"Can I drink the water?" "Tourists."

Things I learned in France

1. Driving is a bit of a free for all. If you want two lanes that's cool, but if you want 3 ½ that's cool, too. I like to call it controlled chaos. But the French can parallel park like no ones business.

2. I've been saying baguette wrong my whole life.

3. I open my mouth too much when trying to speak in French.

4. The sun here will turn me super tan, which is great and all, but it will also turn me into a space heater.

5. French people don't wear flip flops. I wore flip flops everyday.

6. French people are much more affectionate than I thought they were, but I like it. I think it's cute.

7. There's a lot of walking when you're here.

8. Train surfing is my new favorite activity.

9. Public transportation is very popular here. In one day here I used the trains more than I've ever used any form of public transportation in the United States. Combined.

10. I really, really like it here <3


Controlled chaos :) 8 lane round about, no lines at all.

"You just open your mouth a lot"

Yesterday was our last full day in France so we decided to continue being tourists by going to the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre. Florence and Philippe, who is quite the tourist himself, went with us to the Eiffel Tower, but unfortunately Florence couldn't join us at the Louvre.

When we arrived at the Eiffel Tower we headed right for the line so we could get a spot while Philippe found out if we were in the right one (since there were 3 different lines), and thus began the waiting. Once we got our tickets and were squished into a fun little elevator, we arrived on the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. There was a good view of the city, but the best part was when Philippe bought the Eiffel Tower shaped gummy treats ;) Once snacking for a little bit, we got in another elevator and headed for the top (Fun fact! The second floor has a restaurant!). The Eiffel Tower offers quite the view from the top. We could see all of Paris and the huge distance we walked on Tuesday. Seeing the distance we covered from that high really put things in a new light (We basically walked across half of Paris). We could see everything from the top! Arc de Triomphe, Notre Dame, the business center, and everything in between. The view was incredible and all the wind kept us cool (since things tend to be hot in Paris).

Once our feet were back on the ground we headed out to find some lunch. We went to a cute little corner restaurant that had english menus. Score! The food was really good, too! I forgot what Philippe had, but it was the best thing I've eaten since I've been here. And that's counting a real crepe and creme bru le!

From there Florence dropped us off at the Louvre. Fancy smancy. When we got in we headed right for the Venus de Milo where Sam did his own impression which was top notch. Philippe and I tried to figure out why this statue was so much better than the others, but it eventually came down to us deciding we don't really understand art. Once we had escaped the masses we went through the renaissance art (where the halls were nearly empty) and eventually came across a painting called the Mona Lisa. It's much cooler in person. The best part? The Mona Lisa is a small little painting that gets a whole wall and everyone crowds around to see it. However, right behind it is a giant painting that takes up the whole wall, and no one really looks at it. Poor painting, haha. While there I learned that the Louvre isn't only full of a bunch of famous art I should probably know of but don't, but it also has an Apple store and a bunch of shops. This is where my first REAL shopping experience in France took place. I found a couple things I wanted to buy, but quickly learned why all my European friends load up on clothes in America. Things in Europe are much, MUCH more expensive.

After the Louvre we had about 2 hours before we were meeting Florence for dinner, so we chose to walk up and down the streets of Paris shopping, eating at McDonalds (Which is WAY nicer here, by the way), and sitting in a park.

It was a nice way to end a great time in Paris. I've uploaded pictures of my time here on facebook for those of you who are interested.

Right now I'm sitting on a high speed train headed for Belgium where we will get on 4 more trains to reach Phil in the Netherlands. It's going to be a long day..

Paris, Je T'aime

"The slide is under construction. Besides, it's for children"

The last two days have been jam packed with sight seeing. Since yesterday I'm sure we've managed to walk at least 12 miles in the heat. And being the smart one I am, I chose to wear flip flops. Good call, dano ;)

Yesterday we went to the Arc de Triomphe, walked up about 250 some stairs to the top, and had an amazing view of Paris and Champs-Elysees. Totally worth the stair workout. After that, we walked all the way down the Champs-Elysees to the Louvre.. Which is apparently closed on Tuesdays. But we got to see the pyramid and sit on the edge of the water next to it, which was super relaxing after the long walk.

The people sitting behind us are all on the edge of the pool. We all had the same idea that day ;)

After sitting for a while, we walked on to find Notre Dame. It is absolutely beautiful and if you ever have the chance, you should go there. It's hard to describe because it's so amazing. Words aren't enough. From there, we went down the block to a little restaurant called Quasimodo's (I think) where they didn't have ice cubes, but they did have a menu in ENGLISH. That's right, english! Anything in english at this point is great.

Once we were rehydrated we went to get Julia, went to dinner, and went to watch the world cup game by the Eiffel Tower again with all of Philippe's friends. That night it was Spain versus Portugal. It was CRAZY. There were so many people we couldn't even get into the field. So we all stood in the masses and watched from afar. Almost everyone there was cheering for Spain, and after they won the crowd went wild. There were fireworks and lots of fans driving around honking and yelling "Espana!" Not to mention all of the vuvuzelas. Navigating through the giant crowds reminded me of a mosh pit. After making it throuhg, we retreated to Philippe's sister's flat in down town Paris where we spent the night.

The next day came too soon, as I rolled out of bed for a quick workout before starting off another eventful day. First on the list was Parc de la Villette. If you do not know what this is please look at this link and you will understand why I needed to go there so badly.

http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/2000_images/Europe/LaVillette/villette04.jpg

Basically I am a child.

So off Sam, Philippe, Julia and I went to Parc de la Villette. Except I thought it would be fun to take a boat there.. Unfortunately, they were all kind enough to listen and be a tourist with me. What we didn't know was that this boat ride would turn into 2 hours of locks. Once we had finally arrived at the parc, Philippe asked the tour guide where we could find the slide. He responded and french and the three of them laughed. I asked what he had said, and apparently the slide was under construction, and "it's not a big deal anyways. It's for children." Thank you kind sir.

While walking out of the Parc (Since we had to leave right when we got there because we didn't know it would be a two hour boat ride) I snapped a picture of this theater- 360 degrees of screen. Pretty cool :)

At that point we had to go because it would take an hour to get back on the train, so we hurried through the parc to the train and we were off again on another train adventure. At our last stop Philippe's neighbor picked us up from the train station and brought us home, where we all grabbed our swimsuits and made a run for the pool. To end it all, Philippe made us all dinner. How nice :) (it was delicious by the way. Ask him to cook for you sometime when you meet him).

Tomorrow's looking like the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre with Florence, Philippe, Julia and Sam. One last day in Paris tomorrow, and then I'm off to the Netherlands on friday.

Ooh Europe.

"My mom said I should come here and eat a baguette" "What's that?"

Today was pretty chill. We were all super tired after a long day yesterday (at least for us, philippe just likes to sleep a lot), so we slept for some where around 13 hours. After that we took a million trains into Paris and hung out with Philippe and his friends. I tried my first crepe! Which tastes like a flavorless pancake to me.. which was some what unfortunate haha. After that we went to a field by the Eiffel Tower and watched the Brazil vs. Argentina world cup game. Since the French didn't make it into the top 16, it looks like they've all jumped onto the Brazil side. There were so many people there watching the game! And some of the brought their vuvuzelas. Of course ;)

After that we left the game, met a drunk frenchman ;) and went to meet Phliippe's mom at the champs elysees, which is pretty awesome by the way. Once we got in her car we drove around Paris at night and saw all the lit up buildings and museums. At that point it was about 12:30 at night so we went back to Philippe's, and Philippe and his mom went to bed, and here Sam and I are, at 1:53am and we are wide awake because it's 6:53am.

Oh! And totally random, but I saw a firetruck here and it was a Mercedes! Which I thought was funny. So I took a picture :)

Wish you here :)