Paris

The last 5 days here have flown by. We have pretty much covered all of what is considered city center of Paris and it was awesome. The Cathedrals (we got to watch part of a french mass service which was cool, but we didnt understand it), the Lourve, the Effiel Tower, Moulin Rouge, the Gardins, a cemetary, the Palace of Versaille, and more... everything was so cool. We walked a lot and would get lost just heading up and down side streets that had stores and markets. We actually ended up staying at the Korean homestay for the entire time in Paris which was cool cause we didnt have to worry about locking up out luggage cause its pretty much a families apartment and we just stayed in one of the rooms. We also got breakfast and dinner everyday so we got to experience a bit of Korean food, which was great. The day we went to the Palace of Versaille was pretty cool because the night before there was either some sort of a hail storm or a little snow because there was a thin blanket of white on the ground so it made all the gardins in Versaille look really cool. The last 2 days have been sunny with some blue skies but still pretty cold but not as bad as Amsterdam. Today we talked to a french guy who could speak a little english and he told us that he didnt like america and the lifestyle because he felt americans are to proud and not really excepting of other cultures and people. We kind of had the same conversation with the lady running the homestay about american culture and lifestyle. She feels that americans live in a cycle and dont really care to adventure and explore other things in life other than what they are used to. Anyways I enjoyed listening to their views and perceptions and i guess i could agree to a certain extent. Tomorrow morning we are off to Madrid! Unfortunately we have about 12 hours of trains to ride before we get there, but I guess I will get to see a lot of the country side so it should be cool. I will try to get more pictures posted asap. Au revoir (goodbye)

Paris

Our last day in Amsterdam we toured the Heineken Brewery which was pretty cool and just walked around another huge market and more of the city. We were staying right next to a park and all the ponds and creeks are frozen over so we were goofing off and running across the ponds. Probably not the smartest idea since we saw and heard the ice crack a few times, but we were just following some guy from amsterdam's lead cause he was riding his bike across the froze over pond. Today we arrived in Paris after way to long of a day of traveling on trains. We left our hostel in Amsterdam around 8:30am and didnt get into Paris until around 8:00pm. So far the experience has been nothing I would have ever expected cause we met a Korean kid on the train going to Paris as well whose name is Hanjin and ended up traveling with him the whole way and are now staying for the night with him in a Korean home-stay just below whats considered city center paris. We decided to do this cause we did not make any arrangements yet for hostels in Paris and it sounded like a good deal, and so far it has been. We had a curry dish for dinner, there is free internet, and the few kids here are pretty cool. Tomorrow we are off to go do the sight seeing and take the metro all over Paris. Not many people here speak english, but it has been fun trying to communicate with them using the basic French phrases.

Amsterdam

Leaving London was the first stress of traveling i encountered because we showed up 30 min before our train left to Amsterdam and there was hundreds of people in line. We had to get though security and customs and somehow got very lucky and got on the train about 5-10 before the doors shut. Arrived yesterday in Amsterdam and it is not what I expected... at least weather wise. There is snow on the ground and it is freezing cold. We are staying at a hostel called Durty Nelly's and it is a little bit sketchy but I guess that is part of the hostel experience. Last night we went out wandering around to Rembrandtplein square where we ate at this place called FEBO. You bought hot food out of a machine like a vending machine that they loaded. After eating we were back to wandering and ended up in the Red Light District. Its pretty much everything I imagined as far as the prostitution in red windows go. It was pretty fun to look at them and then watch them start dancing and pointing at you to try to lure you into their rooms. I did not go into any rooms just to make it clear. There are a ton of pubs and "coffeeshops" on every corner as well. It was definitely an eye opening experience of nightlife. Today we walked around the town of Jordaan and there was a cool street market going on. A lot of clothes and fabrics. Tonight we may be going on a pub crawl but have not decided yet.

Last Days In London

Yesterday after our night out John slept at the hostel and I decided to go out and get lost walking around Central London. I ended up in Trafalgar Square in a protest about photography. Everyone was holding signs saying "Im a photographer not a terrorist". Britain's danger or terrorism levels have been risen to high since we arrived and I guess they are expecting a terrorist attack. I was told by a protester that the Britain police dont want people taking pictures of attractions anymore cause they think its a plot of some terrorist act. At the protest there were these 3 men dressed in all white nun like dresses with their faces painted solid white. They were wearing name tags that said "London House of Common Sluts" and were some weird freaking people. After that I walked around the National Art Gallery which was pretty cool and then we were off to our next hostel. We stayed last night in Palmers Lodge which is more north of central London and just hung out at the pub in the hostel with some kids from australia and kids who are studying abroad in Paris from Chicago. This hostel is much nicer than the last one, but its a completely different environment. Its so much bigger that it doesnt really force people to hang out, where in the last one the only place to hang out was the kitchen, and this place is run more like a hotel than a hostel. We have an hour now till we leave to go catch our train to Amsterdam.

More London

Yesterday we went to Tower bridge, London Bridge, Tate Modern, and St. Paul's Cathedral, as well and another cathedral and some street market thing. Pics will come soon, but im still trying to figure out the blog and how to put pics on it. Yesterday as well I got to experience the nightlife scene of London. We went out with all our friends from our hostel and went to the Ministry of Sound club and went deaf listening to techno and house music all night. Lots of fist pumping was involved in this place. Didnt end up going to bed till 6am, which I guess is normal for the nightlife over here. I am gonna have to figure out when I can sleep cause having to check out of the hostel at 10am is not fun with only 3 hours of sleep. I am now off to my next hostel and then seeing where the day leads us as we spend our last day in London.

London

Today we walked all over london and saw the some of the tourist attractions like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben and the Westminster Hall and The Houses of Parliament. We then went to Camden town which is supposedly Europe's largest street market and it was awesome. I dont have any room in my suitcase to buy more stuff or else I would have bought a ton. I met a kid from Venice, Italy named Matteo and he came out with John and I today and walked around the city with us, he is a pretty cool guy who is just trying to practice his english here. In Camden we went to a little pub to have a drink and tonight are cooking spaghetti at the hostel. There are a bunch of cool people staying here from Sweden, Finland, and Australia, who are taking a bar tending course, so they just drink all day and then come back to the hostel and continue to drink. London is a very cool city, but pretty expensive (at least for the american dollar). We had a 9.20 british pound lunch today which comes out to like $20. Till next time.

San Francisco International Airport - The Beginning

Let the journey begin! I am sitting in the airport as we speak trying to figure out how to blog. It doesnt seem like it should be to hard to figure out. Im hoping my flight does not get delayed because I am sitting here watching thunder and lightening storms and the downpour of rain, but still have 2 hours till my flight. Anyways I will do my best to keep the most up to date information and pictures on my blog for those of you who want to follow my adventure. Goodbye America and here I come Europe