I rented a bike! (2 bikes actually)

Well I'm sitting in Amsterdam which has less beautiful architecture than Paris or Brugge in Belgium but I like the vibe alot more!! After a great weekend relaxing with Leen Christophe and their adorable daughter Silou, Leen took me to Brugge on Monday. A word to the wise, Monday does not seem like a good day to sight see in Europe!! Many things were closed. It is a medieval city and all of th buildings and streets have been relatively preserved to look medieval. Leen's mom is a teacher and so she took me around by bike in the afternoon. Saw a lot of beautiful buildings and churches and enjoyed being in a smaller city. Then took a train to Amsterdam (actually 3 trains but that's neither here nor there) and after 6 hours of traveling enjoyed that I met a girl from Arizona and we got drinks and a "muffin" at a coffee shop. Today we went to the Van Gough museum and then I rented a bike and rode around Amsterdam a bit. There are bike lanes and bike stop lights and bikes literally everywhere!! I feel pretty safe riding around and it's a great way to see the city!! This evening I think I am going to do a tour of the red light district, see what there is to see!! I'm here until Friday, then I'm going to visit my friends Verena and Maragrete (who I met working in a hostel in NewZealand) then Bjorn (who I met at the university when I studied abroad) and Elise (who I went to hog school with). Thank goodness for good friends in Germany!! That should be about a week to 10 days and then I am off to Italy!! As nice as all of my trip had been I'm getting more and more excited for Italy (though I hear English is very uncommon, which has not been the case at all here!!) miss all of you and am also excited to be back in md evens if it's hot!!

Paris- Belgium

I have now made it through Paris and on to Belgium!! Paris was beautiful but I did not sleep well and kept myself busy with lots to see so I was very glad to sleep in this morning and have a relaxing day in Belgium!! I landed in paris tuesday morning, after only sleeping for about 2 hours on the plane. I figured out what train to take then tried to walk to my hostel but SURPRISE no map so I had no idea where I was going so I got a taxi. Then my room was not open until 3 so I wandered around and found the notre dame cathedral and had a chocolate crepe. Day 2 I started early and went to the louvre. I saw the Mona lisa, Venus de milo and lots of other great art. Mya favorite part was probably medieval louvre. They have excavated parts of the louvre from the 15th century andnyoiu can walk along paths. It was really cool!! Then I saw the eiffel tower and the arc de triumph. Finally I had dinner with Stephane ( who studied abroad at st. Mary's my senior year). We ate a baguette with cheese and ham sitting on the siene. I felt very european! I also really liked the new way they are giving guided tours with the you guide speaking into a microphone and all of the people in the tour have headphones. One frustrating thing has been my inability to speak French (but luckily a everyone speaks English) and the people who try to get money on the streets. An organization of the deaf come around and ask for money and people drop a gold ring and then ask you if it is yours. This happened to me 4 times in a row!! The next day I went to the museum orangie (spelling? I've already forgotten) where there is some great works by Monet, Picasso, renoir and other great French artists. It was the wierdest weather day it would be sunny then in 2 minutes pouring down rain then sunny again. I got a ticket to a boat that goes up and down th siene and you can hop on and off for 12 euros. I tried to get lunch at a "famous" bistro but I was too late so I sat at another outdoor cafe. Then I walked around with plans to go to musee orsey later for their late night hours, only to learn they were closed early that Thursday :(. A bit disappointing. My last day I walked around Montmartre where moulin rouge is. Hit was great to see a different part of the city!! Then I sat at the train station for 1 1/2 hours to get a ticket to come and see Leen!! She has taken very good care of me, and today they took me to a museum, of flounders fields, about WWI. They have a new technology you get a bracelet and you can scans it at Exhibits and get information in your language. It was pretty cool!! We had ice cream with friends of theirs at their house later and tonight leen's sister comes over for dinner! It is so nice to be with friends and to relax!!

Europe Eve

On the night before I leave for my Europe trip, I am tying up loose ends (including my blog!!).  So for those of you who don't know...

School ended June 8.  I had to move all of my things from my classroom to a 5th grade room, as I will be teaching 5th grade (and thus, still seeing most of my darlings) next year.  Then I had to get started moving all of my things out of the house.  I am taking the plunge and moving in with Phil August 1 (where you ask?  We don't know) so I moved out of my house to save some $$ while I'm in Europe.  And I have been taking my first ESOL class, to be certified to teach ESOL in August 2013.  It's been a crazy few weeks, and I have not been the world's easiest person to deal with and for those of you who have put up with me, I am so sorry.

As I leave for Europe, I'll be posting my travels, and maybe some pictures here so please feel free to check and leave nice friendly comments :-D.  My mom has been nice enough to lend me her new iPad for the trip, so anywhere there is wifi, I will be there on skype or facebook or something.  My skype name is clkoch99 and you probably know me on facebook.  I'll be back July 21, and can't believe I am actually about to take part in my backpacking across Europe adventure!!!