Amsterdam

This past weekend, Melanie, Teresa, and I traveled to Amsterdam. I was really unsure what to expect but these are the main observations I found:

1. Amsterdam is one of the cleanest European cities I've seen.
2. The Anne Frank house is a little overrated. Don't get me wrong, it was really cool to be standing in a place where such a tragically, famous story took place, but the rooms were bare with just pictures and writings on the walls. There was no furniture or appliances, so it was hard to really grasp a sense of reality when walking around the house.

Best observations in the Anne Frank house:
-Actual pencil marks on the wall where the Anne Frank and her sister recorded their height.
-The bookcase that hid their secret living corridors.
-Actual wallpaper where Anne Frank decorated her wall to make it more homey
-Seeing the actual Anne Frank diary

3. The Van Gogh museum is really amazing. I am not a big art buff, but a lot of his work is very capturing and I am really glad I took the time to go.
4. Yes, marijuana is legal and no, not everyone is walking around blazed out of their minds. There are coffeeshops on about every corner but they are mainly filled with tourists.
5. Locals are very nice. Comparing everywhere I've traveled this summer, the Irish and people in the Netherlands were very outgoing and willing to help with any questions we had about directions.

Below are some pictures from my trip! 



Anne Frank House



Cool Mosaic entrance at a coffeeshop



Pancake Corner!!! Sooo good



Inside the Pancake House. Mel and I natrually got the unhealthiest item on the menu: pancakes covered in chocolate with vanilla ice cream and whipcream!

 Overall, Amsterdam was one of my favorite cities. The people, culture, food, and ambiance of the city was unforgettable and I hope I can come back again one day.

Paris, Ville Des Lumières

Melanie and I traveled to Paris last weekend. I had been there once before a few years back and though it's not my favorite European city, the city lights never get old.

Notre Dame

Mel and I went on a champagnes tasting cruise on the Seine River. We tried 3 different champagnes. Everything was going well until our boat crashed into another boat head on. No one was hurt, but it was fairly entertaining watching the police and two boat captains yell at each other in French.

Our Sommelier!

We had fondue for lunch!

Yeah, we're still 10 years old it's fine

We walked towards this random carnival that was going on near the Louvre. Naturally, we had to ride the log flume.

The Louvre

Overall, the trip was amazing. The weather was not the best but we got a lot done in just a few days. Sorry it has been a while since my last update, I have been super busy with work and getting done with my 3 essays and presentation. Amsterdam update soon to come!!

For the Luck of the Irish



I just got back from Dublin yesterday with two of my roomates.  Although I didn't sleep for practically 42 hours over the weekend, the time was well spent galavanting around the city and enjoying music from one of my favorite musicians, Paolo Nutini. If you don't know him, check out his Sunny Side Up album on Itunes. Absolutley amazing.

Mom and Dad, you may be wondering why I was up for so long. Here was my schedule for the weekend:

Saturday: Had to leave at 4 AM for our plane. I was busy packing and planning travel options, so I barely got any sleep.

8:00 AM: Melanie, Teresa, and I arrived in Dublin airport.

10:00 AM: Melanie and I arrived at the city center and ate breakfast. Teresa had family in Dublin, so she left for a train to Belfast.



11:00AM: Melanie and I bar hopped and drank Guniess and Jameson while watching Rugby. We made friends with the bar owners. (If you can imagine how a bar owner at an Irish Pub would be, your assumption is probably correct). By the end, Mel and I totally understood the necessity of Irish drinking songs.

12:00PM: Bought souveneirs and sightsaw throughout Dublin.

Center of Dublin



2:00PM: Mel and I got the bus, along with fellow hippies and gypsies, to get to the Oxegen Music Festival.



Mel and I

3:00PM: We arrived and were immediatley overwhelmed by the ambiance. Camping grounds, carnival rides, huge tents, beautiful scenery, and best of all, the array of different types of people.

Carnival

3:10PM: We arrived at the concert grounds and explored the different stages and figured out what bands we wanted to see.

(Note: I was absolutley determined, beyond all means, to get front row to Paolo. About a fourth of the 50,000 probably wanted the same thing, so Mel and I planned accordingly.)

4:00PM: Ate Dinner and listened to Two Door Cinema Club and saw one song from The Pretty Reckless. (She was really terribly for all you Gossip Girl lovers out there.)



The Pretty Reckless was pretty reckless. Gross

 5:00PM: Mel and I decided to head over to the Vodafone stage, where Paolo was playing at 9:20PM.

(Once we got there, we saw Bruno Mars and Imelda May and slowly moved our way vertically towards the front row. After Imelda's set, we were about 4 rows of people back from the front center. The Arctic Monkeys and Foo Fighters were luckily playing during the same time at a different stage as Paolo, so a few people filed out, leaving Melanie and I a straight shot to the front!!)



Front Row!

People behind us

Imelda May



Bruno Mars

9:20PM Paolo started playing and Mel and I started basically crying.


Paolo!!

Full Band Shot

11:05PM: DeadMau5 came on.

He had amazing light effects

2:00AM: Got on the bus to the airport (Me and Mel were exhausted, to say the least.)

4:00AM Arrived at the airport.

7:50AM: Our flight left on time to get back to Brussels and I slept the whole way back.

Overall, the trip was amazing but equally exhausting. This was my first music festival, so it was great to not only see one of my favorite bands that rarely visits the States, but also go to a foreign country that has a completley different passion for music that I have seen before. I am so thankful to be able to have all these experiences this summer!!

Next weekend I will be going to Paris so lookout for updates about that!!