Friday, April 27, 2007

Posted 1 year, 2 weeks, 1 day, 18 hours, 24 minutes ago

I had the most wonderful experience yesterday when two Hungarian girls and I went down to the south to go horseback riding! We rode for an hour, and I taught them the basics while a Dutch instructor assisted from the ground. Usually if I teach a lesson, I would be teaching from the ground, but I truly wanted to ride! I had brought my riding boots all the way over here with the hope of riding some amazing Dutch Warmblood, Friesian, or Andalusian, but haven’t gotten any use out of them in all of these eight months. I had a wonderful time, and was able to ride two different horses.

The owner of the stables invited me to go with them to the forest trail rides, but I couldn’t go next week because Kasha (my traveling buddy) and I are taking a road trip to Eastern Europe. So a whole week driving a car all over Europe will start on Saturday. We are going to Berlin, three Polish cities (where her family lives), through Slovakia to Budapest, through Vienna to Prague, and then back through southern Germany (the Alps!). We have places to stay with family and friends of friends, so this trip should be relatively cheaper than our Italian adventure! I am sure I will have loads of pictures to share when I return next Saturday. (And then I will probably teach another riding lesson on Sunday and go trail riding on Monday!) I love Spring Break!!

Monday, April 23, 2007

Posted 1 year, 2 weeks, 5 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes ago

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better - I mean, I have had a lot of traveling and excursions here in Europe since August, when I first got here, but this weekend was just amazing… Windmills, Tulips, and camping in the National Park? It just screams tourist, but it was totally cool.

Saturday morning, my two French flatmates and I headed out to Kinderdijk (known for the rows of old windmills). We then drove up to Keukenhof (where the tulips are grown in endless colorful fields). I was so amazed at all of the colors tulips can be, they were so bright and vivid, the pictures don’t do them justice. And then afterwards we went to the National Park de Hoge Veluwe to camp overnight. This was so much fun, and we actually got lucky finding a place after hours that was extremely cheap, not on the map, and had a wonderful restaurant. Sunday, we went into the park and took the free bikes they supply all over the park. We biked about 60 km, which is far, but the bike paths were excellent. We saw deer and the landscape in the park was so surprising for the Netherlands - it looked like an African safari, then an endless desert, and then like out west in America!

I had an amazing weekend learning French and teaching English to my flatmates, and it totally brought us closer. We now have plans to visit the northern islands at the top of the Netherlands, the beaches in the west, and go down to Lille in France… so many more things to do and only a limited number of weekends!

Monday, April 16, 2007

Posted 1 year, 3 weeks, 5 days, 21 hours, 30 minutes ago

What a busy and fantastic week! An American girl and I flew to Italy. We stayed in Pisa, Florence, and Rome. Each town was different from each other, but I loved all three! Pisa was quiet and smaller than the others, but extremely relaxing. We saw the Leaning Tower and just strolled aimlessly in Pisa for two days. After taking the train, we stayed in Florence for three days. Florence was packed full of museums, cathedrals, shopping districts, and gardens. We saw Michelangelo’s David in the Academia Museum, Bottecelli’s The Birth of Venus in the Uffizi Museum, walked up the 463 stairs to the top of the Duomo to get a 360 degree view of Florence, and also visited the Boboli Gardens and Museum. After the high speed train, we arrived in Rome - our final destination. Rome was definitely the busiest city of the three, and it was full of many different attractions. We saw the Vatican, including the Sistine Chapel and the Basilica, the Spanish Steps, the Fountain Trevi, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, as well as many other fountains, statues, historic ruins, and monuments. Everywhere you turn in Rome you either see an amazing piazza or historic monument/statue/building - it’s no wonder I came back with 562 pictures! I saw everything I wanted to see and so much more!

My feet were killing me when we got back on Friday, but I had promised my flatmate that I would go out with her to see a ska band perform live at a local club - The Skabadivers. They were pretty good, but the ‘pogo’ dancers were extremely entertaining (and dangerous)! And Sunday, a friend and I went biking in the north out into the country. It was beautiful!! The weather here is really gorgeous and it totally makes up for the rainy season. I am about to go out for another bike ride (I just got done with classes). This time we are all going to bike to Belgium.

I’ll leave you with some of the main highlights of my trip…

Leaning Tower of Pisa:

Florence River Walk:

The View from the Duomo in Florence:

The Front of the Vatican:

The Back of the Vatican:

The Coliseum:

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Posted 1 year, 1 month, 4 days, 19 hours, 18 minutes ago

IOP is officially in the books for me. I passed all of my exams (but I still haven’t heard back from my Dutch results).

A friend and I are going to Italy for the Easter vacation. We are leaving Sunday for Pisa, staying in Florence for most of the week, and then spending the last three days in Rome. In my long list, I hope to see the Torre Pendente di Pisa, explore the amazing art museums in Florence, visit the Coliseum, Spanish Steps, and the Vatican in Rome, and of course indulge in the Italian cuisine!

But this is a great break from my stressful school work. I put a lot of effort and long nights into IOP, and I am glad to finally have a breather. IFM (International Financial Management) is the next block - starting on the 16th. This last block is going to be extremely hard - from what I have heard.  I plan on enjoying this free time while I can!

Feliz Pascuas - Happy Easter!