If asked to join a friend in Amsterdam, there is only one logical reply. Which led to two days jam-packed with as many museums as we could fit in (yes, we were still conscientious students on that point). We unfortunately didn't see two of our friends who partook of alternative thrills the city has to offer but enjoyed the sights and sounds of a vibrant city. Including, the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, the Hermitage Amsterdam and the rain.
Tess, aka Kate, and I stayed in one hostel where our roommate were quite taken with us and did all they could to creep into my bed at night. They sang to us in the morning, brought us presents in the evening and wanted to hear all about life on the farm (my life, aka Lucy's life... ). This being the case, we stayed out dancing til the early hours of the morning and spent as much time awake and enjoying Amsterdam as we could. I only used my real name once the entire weekend, when one guy - seemingly no different from the rest - asked me for my number. And where that went is a much longer story for another blog...
December 01, 2009
November 02, 2009
You busy this weekend?
My year in england is meant for studying, getting my masters in only twelve months instead of the years it would take in North America. So of course, after lectures I impulsively try to escape however I can. This weekend I escaped to Spain for a day in Alicante and another in Barcelona with my friend Tania.
October isn't particularly warm, but its warmer than England and we had sun and we had wind, strong winds. We stayed in barely put together little hostels and saw as much of each city as we could.
Although a good weekend, the memories we'll have of this weekend consist of five men stealing my purse and Tania having to sell her brand new camera in the bus station in order to get us to the airport and back to Leicester, with about 17pence to spare.
October isn't particularly warm, but its warmer than England and we had sun and we had wind, strong winds. We stayed in barely put together little hostels and saw as much of each city as we could.
Although a good weekend, the memories we'll have of this weekend consist of five men stealing my purse and Tania having to sell her brand new camera in the bus station in order to get us to the airport and back to Leicester, with about 17pence to spare.
October 16, 2009
Just a hop, skip & a jump...
...across the Ocean.
So lately it's been a lot of little roadtrips and random mishaps. And now I have moved to England. Leicester, England, where I will be attending the School of Museum studies at the University of Leicester to get my masters.
English life - tea and gardens, TV, nosy neighbours, local pubs, royal families, gossip and ADIDAS. It was all available to me. Fine, to be fair, my neighbours aren't nosy - they're just loud and obnoxious, I don't have a TV, and I zone out whenever anyone talks royalty or celebrity because I just don't know any of the names. I also don't drink tea. But in the time I've been here I have met two British people who don't partake and this has reassured me, although I still hide the fact and politely refuse an offer of a cuppa.
Leicester is not a favourite among anyone in our program buts it's the biggest city I've ever lived in and holds it own few treasures. Its full of trees, used book shops and the novelty of always being within eye distance of a pub calms those who really dislike its commercial feel. The next year is sure to bring surprises as I have no idea where I may end up...
So lately it's been a lot of little roadtrips and random mishaps. And now I have moved to England. Leicester, England, where I will be attending the School of Museum studies at the University of Leicester to get my masters.
English life - tea and gardens, TV, nosy neighbours, local pubs, royal families, gossip and ADIDAS. It was all available to me. Fine, to be fair, my neighbours aren't nosy - they're just loud and obnoxious, I don't have a TV, and I zone out whenever anyone talks royalty or celebrity because I just don't know any of the names. I also don't drink tea. But in the time I've been here I have met two British people who don't partake and this has reassured me, although I still hide the fact and politely refuse an offer of a cuppa.
Leicester is not a favourite among anyone in our program buts it's the biggest city I've ever lived in and holds it own few treasures. Its full of trees, used book shops and the novelty of always being within eye distance of a pub calms those who really dislike its commercial feel. The next year is sure to bring surprises as I have no idea where I may end up...
August 16, 2009
Big Skies and Cotton Candy
So I didn't make it all the way to the west coast... but why go all the way when you can stop in Montana, Big Sky Country and home to countless amounts of fairs. State fairs, county fairs, local fairs...
June 01, 2009
On the Road - Exploring America
Over the past six months I have been keeping it low key - roadtripping it around north america! In December Sarah and I drove to Quebec city, then slowly worked our way back through Montreal and Ottawa. In January we drove down to Boston for a weekend, with Zach and Jeff. Finally in April we aimed for Florida, exploring New York, Pennsylvania, Virgina, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan. I just recently returned from Cuba as well where I spent a week on the beach with Joanne.
In Quebec, sarah's motto was "whats the worst that could happen"... somehow this led to a lot of random adventures for which I could find no excuse. From sneaking into hotels for the rooftop views and hot tubs, truly getting our moneys worth from every hostel we stayed in (as well as the hotels we didn't stay in), going to the Lets Rock 70s revival concert, frolicking in the snow, or playing strip poker. But really, we spent days walking through the snow exploring each city. We saw the sights, the biodome, art galleries, and restaurants.
In Boston Jeff and Zach made all the difference - we saw none of the sites but all of Boston! In order to save money we spent Friday night at the frat house at North Eastern, and although we saw Harvard on Saturday we spend the next night in a frat house at MIT. A long drive for two days in the city was still very worth it!
After exams we had five days, our goal to spend an afternoon at the beach, preferably in Florida. First night we were still only in Pennsylvania but the next day we made it through the Virginia's and Carolinas so the next day we started off early exploring Charleston, still had the afternoon in Savannah and made it to Florida by nightfall. We actually spent two nights in Florida - one camping on the Atlantic coast between sand dunes and the next camping in a rose garden on the gulf. We'd already seen so much mroe than we expected - dolphins, historic cities, plantations, Daytona, nascar, half a dozen beaches and lighthouses, and many a small American town. We spent the next few days in Alabama and Tennessee. When we found out that our fifth day was the opening of the Kentucky Derby Festival - with Thunder over Louisville, the biggest fireworks show in North America - we had to stay!! So we had an entire afternoon in Nashville, and a morning at the Cincinnati flower festival in Ohio. Louisville is absolutely amazing! Old houses, huge flowering trees, the friendliest of people, and lots of Derby festival buzz. The energy and the fireworks made for a night to remember, helped by the long drive home afterwards that lasted til 9 the next morning!
Up next - the west coast?
In Quebec, sarah's motto was "whats the worst that could happen"... somehow this led to a lot of random adventures for which I could find no excuse. From sneaking into hotels for the rooftop views and hot tubs, truly getting our moneys worth from every hostel we stayed in (as well as the hotels we didn't stay in), going to the Lets Rock 70s revival concert, frolicking in the snow, or playing strip poker. But really, we spent days walking through the snow exploring each city. We saw the sights, the biodome, art galleries, and restaurants.
In Boston Jeff and Zach made all the difference - we saw none of the sites but all of Boston! In order to save money we spent Friday night at the frat house at North Eastern, and although we saw Harvard on Saturday we spend the next night in a frat house at MIT. A long drive for two days in the city was still very worth it!
After exams we had five days, our goal to spend an afternoon at the beach, preferably in Florida. First night we were still only in Pennsylvania but the next day we made it through the Virginia's and Carolinas so the next day we started off early exploring Charleston, still had the afternoon in Savannah and made it to Florida by nightfall. We actually spent two nights in Florida - one camping on the Atlantic coast between sand dunes and the next camping in a rose garden on the gulf. We'd already seen so much mroe than we expected - dolphins, historic cities, plantations, Daytona, nascar, half a dozen beaches and lighthouses, and many a small American town. We spent the next few days in Alabama and Tennessee. When we found out that our fifth day was the opening of the Kentucky Derby Festival - with Thunder over Louisville, the biggest fireworks show in North America - we had to stay!! So we had an entire afternoon in Nashville, and a morning at the Cincinnati flower festival in Ohio. Louisville is absolutely amazing! Old houses, huge flowering trees, the friendliest of people, and lots of Derby festival buzz. The energy and the fireworks made for a night to remember, helped by the long drive home afterwards that lasted til 9 the next morning!
Up next - the west coast?
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