Holland, Paris, etc!!!

Hi,

It's been a while. And a lot has happened....

On Saturday, Anke, Oma, baby Ana (okay she's 2 now), and I went to Reutlingen. We explored the open air market and then went and shopped around town. Ice cream was involved at some point. As I told Oma, my goal that day was to eat ice cream. Later that day we stopped at Anke's brother's house to visit him and his girlfriend. That evening was the Schlaitdorferfest, the party I took part in 2 years ago. It's a big party for such a little town. It involves drinks, music, and fireworks. Was a lot of fun hanging out with Jenna and her friend and seeing along to songs I'd never heard of.

On Sunday Anke, Jenna and I drove to Frankfurt. They dropped me off at the train station, where I took the train to Amsterdam. On the train I sat next to a Chinese girl pursuing graduate studies in Amsterdam. We had a nice chat and that made the time go by faster. When I arrived at the station Marlies and I had a hard time finding each other. Apparently the trained arrived at a different platform than they had said they would earlier, so we had to try and find each other. Thank goodness for technology, as we found each other after several text messages and phone calls. 

That evening I met her family, and then Marlies and I went out for drinks at an outdoor cafe. I had sex on the beach and a hot chocolate, and a movie was being projected on the wall. "Little Miss Sunshine."

On Monday we went on a boat tour where we saw expensive houses on the water and windmills. After that we toured a windmill. They are so small, how can people live there! Some people in Holland still do live in windmills---weird, huh??

That night Marlies, her brother, her boyfriend, and I went to an outdoor concert. We met up with her friends, drank some wine, and enjoyed the 80s and 90s music. 

On Tuesday we got up early and took the train to Paris! That day we saw the Eiffel Tower, and even climbed up to the top using the stairs!! We also saw the Tour de Triomphe, Notre Dame, and ate dinner at an outdoor cafe! 

On Wednesday we got up early to go to the Louvre, where we only had to wait 15 minutes to get in. That place is known for its long lines. We saw the Mona Lisa, which was a lot smaller than I expected. After that we went to the Sacre Couer (Sacred Heart), which is a beautiful church. We also went shopping and then later, out for drinks and dinner. (I got champagne...after all, I can treat myself in Paris!)

And today we got up at 7am to head back to Holland...blah! Too early. So we're back, I'm exhausted, and ready for a nap.

That's all for now! Molly