Gap Year

I AM IN LOVE WITH AMSTERDAM

Just to say...I feel quit phillisophical today about how odd travelling is. I mean I have essentially spent today looking at a little boy -plus his girlfriend and dog- peeing. If you dont know what Im talking about look up Mannekin Pis. A little odd, isnt it? Says a lot about Belgians I feel! I have to say I havent really enjoyed Brussels. It just doesnt seem a very likeable city, though to be fair its probably not helped by the fact that my hostel is in a bit of a ghetto! Oh well, I enjoyed lookingat all Mannekin Pis costumes in the museum and people watching -listening to what people said by it. Also twas quite amusing as the British costume on show was -oh I forget his name_ but from My Fair Lady. So to see this little boy in bronze wearing tweed and peeing... Anyway on to Bruges tomorrow.

Interlude...

So I ran out of time before I could post that but really briefly...Bruges was nicer. Had the best cup of -white- hot chocolate I have ever had in a shop that sells 44 different varieties of hot chocolate wandered around some with a friend I made on a park bench no less and chatted to this somewhat crazy American girl. Had to go through the bar to have a shower which was less than great esp as all the locals frequented the bar as during happy hour it was a beer from €1.10. Ummm...saw some lace making and some sugar spinning and just generally FROZE MY ARSE OFF. Wearing all my clothes at once. But Bruges was pretty. And I got to freeze my arse off some more on my trains on from Bruges as Belgian trains are always late -seriously, they're so often late that the information desk was able to tell me which ones would be late and for how long so I was sat in Antwerp's huge station freezing to death for ages but never mind hey anyway, are you ready for this...

Ah did I forget to mention about the drunk girl throwing up in the room a few nights ago? I think I did... Not that anyone wanted to know that Im sure! Anyway just to say -it hit 28 degrees in Luxembourg yesterday plus I had to climb this hill from the hostel that practically makes San Francisco look like its not trying! Anyway, off to explore Brussels - Im thinking Mannekin Pis might be an azmusing first stop, what do you reckon?

I went to Versailles with a girl in my dorm and it was wonderful if incredibly expensive -25 euros for a day pass- but the palace was very beautiful and much more colourful than I was expecting. Every room had at theast " different colours of marble and there were so many rooms that you can hardly ever imagine what they could all be for. The queens' room was like feminity overload -so so girly that it would be a bit much even for me and I'm a girly girl! Pink and gold, flowers, lace and frills, feathers... actually the whole palace was so buisly decorated. Texture everywhere, velvet fleur de lys wallpaper paintings all over the walls and ceilings and as you would expect the hall of mirrors wqs even more amazing than it seems in the films. Took the sweetest Petit Train over to Marie Antoinette's playground and wandered around in all her little grottos and meadows though it was like 17:00 by then so didn't make it all the way over to her hamlet but nevertheless. Then wandered by the king's playarea shall we say. Couldn't go in as was closed but quite beautiful from the outside. Ditto for the grand canal with masses of marble and bronze statues everywhere. Lovely. Contemplated going out as was my last night in Paris but just too knackered so just shared a bottle of wine then went to bed -seeing as it only cost 2.67 for the bottle, isn't that unbelievable?

Next day of to the country that according to my guidebook 'puts the lux in Benelux', namely Luxembourg. Getting off the train it even smelt different to France but I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, Luxembourg is SO sweet. I think I may come back here just to have a wander around some of the villages. The capital city has a population of 76000 which compared to Paris just feels like a village but it's SO pretty and quiet although once again I get the impression that HI hostels are not exactly the most fun or chilled places to stay. Seriously, I got up at 7:30 this morning and I was the last one left in in my dorm! What is that about? Really people. In Paris that wouldn't even be true at ten thirty! Anyway, on to Brussels tomorrow just for a couple of days then Bruges and on to Amsterdam which I must say I am really looking forward to!

I set off for Normandy for a couple of days and now am back in Paris. Not much to say about Caen really. Went to the Castle of William the Conqueror with an Australian woman who seemed to have no idea at all where she was going so just came with me and then wandered a bit but that's about all. Bayeux, however was a totally different story. It's so quaint -you can turn a corner and see an old water mill with izy growing up the side or a small tudor-style building. It's really very sweet. Anyway... this morning I went to a memorial mass -with members of the royal British Legion and the Ambassador to France- which was so so touching you cannot even begin to imagine. To see all the veterans shuffling up the aisle and bowing their heads in respect of lost comrades. Well naturally it made me cry. What can I say, I'm a sap. It was so moving though. And basically the message was that we have to fight for what is right for tomorrow just like the war heroes did for us. *wipes eyes*. Then after booking my train back to Paris, I went to see the Bayeux tapestry which is really amazing. Even though I knew it was long I really never would have imagined it would be that long and so much work too...well this is my era of history so I enjoyed the whole William the Conqueror Centre. And I remembered the castle types from history... I then figured I had just about enough time to check out the British cemetery -so moving to see all those rows and rows of white gravestones and then the monument which brought my whole day together. In latin: 'We who were conquered by William have freed the land of the conqueror'