europe!

Just got done showering and changing before bed, and I’m about to lay down to go to sleep. Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day of traveling. We’re getting up early to go to a Pancake restaurant a few blocks away in Amsterdam. It’s supposedly famous for their pancakes (my manager at apple who went to Amsterdam 10 years ago asked me if I was going to go there!) Then back to the hotel to make sure we’re all packed up before heading off for the day. Leaving the hotel we’ll need to walk a block or two to the Tram stop, which we’ll take to Amsterdam Centraal, the Train Station. There we will catch a train to the Amsterdam Airport– about a fifteen minute ride, for our 2:55 departure to London, Heathrow airport. Once we arrive in London we’re going to need to hustle to Terminal 5 to catch our flight to BWI through British Airways.

Like I said– a crazy day and lots of travel, but I can’t wait to get home!!

So this trip has been awesome. And Amsterdam was a great way to end it. Beautiful weather (for the first time of the trip) and just a nice place to walk around and relax. All I’ve got left to do (really all I want to do) is do a bit of shopping (that is if I can find anything worthwhile) and then I’ll be ready to go. I miss Steve, my mom, and my apple friends. And I’m excited to be coming home to a huge product launch. I worked the iPhone 3G launch July 11th of last year and it was nutty. Working one the Friday I come back will be probably a bit painful, but fun!

Anyway. What I’ve learned on this trip: Europe is better than the US in nearly every way. Everyone is a lot more accepting and the streets feel a lot safer. Not to mention, everything’s cleaner. People take pride in their cities, and it’s very apparent. Walking around Baltimore and seeing the benches that say “Baltimore, the greatest city in America” with a homeless person sleeping on it covered in trash is depressingly ironic.

I’ve also learned that all souvenir shops no matter where in the world you are pretty much have the same merchandise, just with a different city name. It’s out of control. All souvenirs are cheap and crappy. It’s really difficult to find anything worth buying, unless you find a local artist or something that is native to the area… which luckily I was able to do almost everywhere.

Anyway, it was an awesome trip and I can’t wait to come back– maybe not to Paris :P. I would also love to see more of Europe.

So the rain let up last night long enough for us to go out to the square and find out the light shows are only occasional. However, the Grand Place did light up– and it was pretty. Maybe not worth getting excited for, but it was nice.

Spent the day in Amsterdam and so far it’s awesome. First thing we did was find our hotel, it’s in the middle of everything, right by “Rembrandt Square.” It’s definitely interesting! The bathroom is strange to say the least. Cool… but weird. I’ll upload pictures– it’s got a strange glass door, the sink is glass, and a half-door that’s glass in the shower. Weird. But it looks cool!

We got lunch at a place called “go Fresh.” I got fresh made juice with carrots apples and pears. Yummy. And a salad with smoked chicken, apple slices, avocado, red onions and their own lemon dressing. It was FANTASTIC. Second best meal of the trip thus far. Then we shared a slice of lemon cheesecake. Also very good
Strange thing about Europe– it seems no one tips. I tipped them though. It was too good not to!

We walked the Canals for a while. It’s pretty, all the little skinny crooked houses lining the canals. We also went to the Van Gogh museum, which was awesome. A quick trip, but well worth it. I then bought a painting from another local artist and came back and took a nap while dad went out exploring.

He came back and then took me where he had gone during my nap. We went to this awesome souvenir shop– I’m going back tomorrow to actually buy things (and take pictures, the place is ridiculous!) and we hit up the red light district. Gorgeous girls all over the place in the windows (and less than gorgeous girls on the side streets– well that’s not true, some pretty ones there too… but that seems to be where they hide the less pretty ones :P). I watched a guy “negotiate” with a girl. She holds out her hand and says “five hundred,” He holds out his and says “four” and she scrunches up her face and shakes her head. Hilarious. Pricy. Funny.
Amsterdam is pretty swell. Bikes everywhere. I could do without the sex shops and the bar scene, but I love the city. The houses are cute, and the canals are fun… and everyone rides their bikes, it’s rare to see a car. Bikes, scooters and motorcycles. That must be awesome.

Wow we ate well today. As soon as we got here (Brussels, Belgium) dad got a waffle in the train station. Then after walking around a while, I got another waffle, one with brown sugar, and he got one with powdered sugar. Later, I got another with strawberries and chocolate, I think he got another plain, and just now after dinner I had a plain one. That makes three for each of us
Dinner was delightful. Lobster soup, Half a lobster, and a bucket of Mussels. Yummy
Definitely the highlight of the trip so far food wise, and it will be hard to be topped, if impossible entirely (we do only have two days left, both in Amsterdam).

The place we ate for dinner was hilarious. It’s called Rue du Boucher, or Butcher’s Alley. Restaurant after restaurant, all essentially serving the same menu, Mussels, Lobster, Fish, etc. All with an inside cafe seating, and an outside seating, with awnings that go out to the middle of the alley (so there’s only a few inches of walking space uncovered) and space heaters outside so you can enjoy your food outside no matter what the temperature is.

The funny part is the way they draw you to their restaurant, each of the places has their most attractive or persuasive employee out front following you around like those people at the mall trying to buff your fingernails. Each of them complimenting you and trying to entice you to choose their restaurant over the 20 others with identical menu and pricing. It’s hilarious. Choosing was actually really difficult. Earlier today we walked through and kind of laughed at everyone trying to talk to us (it’s really funny) and one of the guys I said to him “maybe in a few hours.” When we walked back through, ready to eat, we had a hard time choosing until he said to me “I remember you, you said in a few hours, it’s been a few hours.” I had to give it to him, so we ate there. Good choice!

A storm just rolled in so we might not be able to see the grand place lit up (since it lights up in a half an hour).

Sights wise– it’s kind of lacking here, but who cares? The food’s good!

The grand place is awesome, and there’s an awesome light show there every night, but we’ll miss it due to the rain if it doesn’t stop soon. Then there was the Mannequin Pis. A little boy statue, where his penis is a fountain. Yes. It’s that straightforward. “Mannequin Pis” Because he’s a “pissing” statue. Every souvenir shop has pewter figurines of him for sale. It’s a riot!

Anyhow — I’m off for now. Write more tomorrow from Amsterdam!

These are questions I asked before I came here. Luxembourg is awesome. And to answer that question it’s a country, and we’re in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. And it’s AWESOME. Pictures to come to mobileme in a few moments. This place is awesome.

Bruxelles (or Brussels) tomorrow, and Amsterdam Friday & Saturday!!

Hanging out on a bench under a tree in Luxembourg. This place is awesome. The weather is beautiful. The city is awesome. And when you go under the bridges the place is breathtaking. I love it!! It also helps that the hotel isn’t crappy it’s awesome too, and has wifi

So far, Luxembourg beats Paris in every way!

So, we’re halfway through day 2 in Paris, and I’m not amused. To say the least. Yesterday was torrential downpours all day, and apparently they don’t believe in pavement here so we trekked through the mud to the Lourve, just for them to inform us that it’s closed– and the last time it was open this late (like the information packet we got at the hotel said it would be) was 10 years ago. The Eiffel tower actually is pretty ugly in person. At least from a distance. It’s painted an awful color brown. My dad and I joked the reason it’s that color is because no one else wanted that color paint so they could get enough to cover the whole building.

We went out later that night once the rain let up and got some shot of the Eiffel tower lit up (which was actually kind of nice) and decided to head back in and give it another shot tomorrow.

So we got up this morning and reserved our tickets for the train to Luxembourg for tomorrow morning. Then off to the Arc du Triomphe. We checked that out– walked through the shopping district, then the rain hit. We decided to give the Lourve another shot. So underground we go to take the metro. We get to the Lourve, the rain lets up (temporarily) take a few pictures of the outside (as we had done the day before) just to walk up to the entrance to see a few parisians in suits behind a sign that says “The Lourve is closed on Tuesday” in 7 different languages. Great.

So then we decide to go to the Musee’ d’ Orsay. Apparently we weren’t the only ones, a line of hundreds of people. Not going to do that!

That’s pretty much how Paris has been. Letdown after letdown. Oh, and maybe if I find time tonight I’ll write about how awful the hotel is. Maybe I’ll just post some pictures, they’ll do better than my words could ever do.

Looking forward to tomorrow! At least we’ve got some stories to tell!

Check out the photos at the mobileme gallery (link on the side)

Today we went to Buckingham palace, and then back into town, across the Westminster bridge and over to the street performers, which was a riot!

We then came back and took a nap before off to the O2 to see Britney Spears! The concert was amazing. I’m off to bed now– more about today later

So I downloaded my pictures from my camera to the computer for backup, and I was going to upload some to my mobileme gallery, but the little netbook can’t read RAW files so I have to wait until home… sorry! In the meantime I’ll just have to take more pictures with my iPhone, those can be uploaded!!

<33
Brea

I’m loving London so far. Not for the sights, not for the touristy things, not even the shopping (which maybe I’ll love a little bit more tomorrow :P). All of those things are great, but it’s the little things that make me giggle the entire time.

Like the fact that at home the Back to School slogan for the Apple Store is “Buy a Mac for college, get an iPod Touch.” Here it’s more proper, “Buy a Mac for your studies and an iPod Touch can be yours.” Every time we step on or off of the subway there’s a voice that says “Mind the Gap” and “Mind the Gap” is written on the sidewalk in front of it (basically right before the “gap”). Or every time you get on a “lift” (elevator) it says “Mind the door” as the door is closing. It’s hysterical :). Everything’s just a bit different.

Instead of saying “exit” the signs say “way out.” Instead of restroom, “toilet”. All of the street signs are on the buildings adjacent to the street, at the corners instead they have a sign that points in a million directions listing landmarks. And instead of an arrow at the end of each sign there’s a person walking, facing in the direction you need to go. It’s cute.

It’s clean here, the people are polite, and all of the buildings are beautiful. It’s awesome. All I need is to find a place I can something other than “fish and chips” to eat and I’ll be ready to move. Steve, you in?