Ah yes, we woke up, went to the Anne Frank house, found the line quite long, and decided to keep wandering. Visited Dam Square but unfortunately the beautiful palace is under construction and there were more people there than Karlien's ever seen, and the people next to us were A. Smoking and B. feeding the birds, which made it rather unpleasant and our stop rather a short one.
We wandered some more and got some KROKETTEN which were delicious and came with salad, which I eagerly devoured (fruits and vegetables sometimes sadly being in short supply on a three-country tour of Europe). We then managed to get back to Maayke's apartment and met her younger sister Emma, who took us up/out/over/down to Leusden, where Karlien's grandma lives. It was her birthday and so we all went out for real live (dead) Dutch pancakes with all the three sister cousins and their boyfriends and her grandma's sister. It was quite delicious and we got ice cream afterwards and even though it was mostly unintelligible Dutch conversation they kept me filled in enough that it was cool to see another family's culture so up-close. :) OH and we went to Emma's apt afterwards and hung out for a bit and so I got to see 1. Another Dutch city and 2. Another Dutch apartment.
I fell asleep in the car I was so tired.
I woke up this morning and was kind of almost ready to be going home right then so I repacked my suitcase, but of course there was another day of Amsterdam to enjoy, so we went out shopping and to Hema for food but there was so much ridiculous rain that we couldn't really just wander around enjoying the city without being nearly completely miserable. Well, alright, the really bad rain wasn't until later when we were watching the Gay Parade and it kept switching on and off. Umbrellas up, umbrellas down--which is not an easy feat in a crowd of 380,000 (or 30 in a small space, depending on how far in you want to zoom). I got quite wet because rather than trying to put up my umbrella in between Karlien's and the concrete bridge statue/post/decoration thing, I just tried to fit under hers, but eventually hers or the one next to us would start dripping down my back. So that put rather a damper on the parade, even though it was entertaining and a good people-watching opportunity. Some of the floats went too fast which left us with long gaps of nothing to look at. We eventually chickened out and headed home--I was frozen and damp and was SOOOOO happy to get into dry warm clothes and finally have a bit of internet. Emma came and took us "out for drinks" while we waited for Maayke in order to go get dinner.
We went to this fabulous African food place and since the older ladies weren't there they could talk in English 95% of the time and I was so amused because they quote each other in conversations and are so dramatic and it's just fun to watch them. I had a really good time and the food was fabulous--it's the kind where it all just comes on a big platter and you get this pancakey thing --almost like edible cloth or something-- and everyone can just dig in with their hands and the help of the thin pancakey thing. We only ate about half of what we ordered, but it wasn't for lack of love or time because we all thought it was all delicious and we hung out and talked for quite a bit. Just fun to hear stories and tell about Kent--we didn't have anyone but each other to talk to in Bruges and of course we didn't have any stories to tell each other but the ones we had experienced together, so it was nice to have some fresh material and Maayke and Emma are really extremely entertaining. Loved it.
So then walking back and looking at the lovely apartments (almost an oxymoron in most of the US) I got a bit ...not quite so extreme as sad, but wistful maybe, that I was leaving tomorrow. It's a good thing I like all you people so much and that I'm coming back in the spring or I would be much more regretful about leaving. I've basically checked out where I need to come back to sometime, and Amsterdam is definitely on the list because I didn't do anything touristy besides going on a boat tour yesterday, which is probably the MOST touristy thing we've done all week. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that, we went on a boat tour yesterday which was a really great way to see the city and learn some history and interesting facts you would never find out otherwise. :)
And now I actually have to wake up in 7 hours or something ridiculous like that and since it is still my ambition to read over all my journals from the summer on the plane tomorrow, I should probably head to bed. Hope this posts. Internet's not connected at the mo.
And what joy! For some reason it's sort of been in my head that it'll be like the way here--short flight, long flight, short flight--but all I have to do is get on the first plane and land in America! The land of large cars and my cell phone working (assumably) and switches instead of buttons for the lights and the toilets. Crazy.
This SEEMS like a good place to do some kind of "So, to sum up" but I refuse because that would imply that everything is all summed up and, however, the loose ends have not quite been tucked in yet. So I fold my arms and plant my feet and shake my head and refuse, to summarize.
I will probably eventually do some kind of summing up, but suffice it to say that this should be my last post in Europe (for now) and that I intend to come back here soon to continue my . . . quest.
Good night, dear readers! See (some of) you tomorrow! =D
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