The Netherlands, Belgium, and now France

Wow, its been forever since i've last written. things have been soo hectic and internet has not been easily accessable so i'll try to give a recap of the past 2 weeks without overwhelming you.

Leiden, the Netherlands

went to a few museums in Amsterdam including the Van Gogh one which was incredible, one of my favorites so far. walked through the red light district with a minister who has a ministry there. it was interesting to talk about what we saw with a christian perspective. We had a free day and i went back into Amsterdam to see Ann Franks house and then renting bikes with a few people and rode out to the beach. it was about 1 hour each way and soo much fun. we rode throught some residential neighborhoods and got to see parts of Leiden that we wouldnt have gotten to otherwise. it was so unbelievably refreshing to be at the ocean. we have all missed living in santa barbara and being 5 minutes away from water. Also went to a Mexican restaurant in Leiden. i had been craving mexican food soo much! it wasnt very good but what can be expected from a mexican restaurant in the Netherlands. but i got my mexican fix so it was great.

Bruges, Belguim

Belgium was wonderful...one of my favorite places we have been to so far. The town of Bruges is so cute: cobble steets, large squares, hidden streets, canals, chocolate shopes everywhere, chirstmas stores everywhere, amazing waffles. We didnt really do much as a group here. i spent most of my time wandering the streets and exploring. Had a horrible experience at the post office just trying to send some things home. it took forever, was too expensive, got yelled at in French but eventually got everything sent. Had one of my favorite days on the trip here. in the morning about 15 of us rented bikes and rode outside of the city. we didnt know where we were going and just went down random roads into the country side. there were no cars, fields of yellow flowers, farms, it was absolutely beautiful. After our bike ride our whole group spent the afternoon playing games in a park. we played steal the bacon, duck duck goose, and capture the flag and then all got waffles after. it was so much fun to run around and play games like we use to in junior high. We also went into Brussle for one day. The weather was horrible, it was raining all day. we went to the offices of the European Union and had 2 guest lectures. The rain def. ruined the day since we couldnt really go out exploring but the chocolate shops in the city were incredible. Almost everyone offered free samples; i went into a lot of chocolate shops that day!

France

We spent 2 nights in a little town right outside of Bayeux. Our hotel was soo nice. it was right on a golf course with ocean views, had a pool and a sauna. our group was in heaven. We saw the Bayuex Tapestry and got to explore the town. it was such a great introduction to France. There was this great open air market, flower shops everywhere, people were so friendly, amazing crepes from street vendors. For Halloween we had a party. It was so much fun. Everyone dressed up and we had a costume contest. Since our resourse were limited about half of us dressed up as someone else from the trip. Me and a few other girls dressed up as our professors and their families. Our costumes were pretty fantastic. we got second in the constest. We bobbed for apples, made mummies and ate tons of candy! We spent one day traveling around to the different beaches and important locations of Dday in Normandy. We also went to the American cemetary. The cemetary is on American soil; it was strangly comforting.

We arrived in Paris 2 days ago. I love love love this city. So far my experiences have been way better than the last time i was here over spring break...ie a waiter hasnt made me cry. We are not staying at the best place. It is like a mix between a dorm and a hostel. There is a cafeteria where we have to eat 2 meals a day. Its not the best but its a place to sleep at night. Our first night here a bunch of us went to the Eiffle Tower to watch the light show. it was so beautiful. Went back again last night and had a little picnic. It was so much fun... i want to go there every night. Today I ventured to Montmartre and Sacre Coeur. There are amazing views of the city and you can see the Eiffle Tower in the distance. Saw the Moulin Rouge as well. Our week in paris is extremely busy but im sooo excited to be here and am having a great time so far.

i love you all and miss you soo much. cant believe i will be home in about 1 month...this semester is going by too quickly.