Spring Break: Sketchy Paris + Amsterdam

Tuesday morning I said goodbye to Mom at Charles de Gaulle airport and headed over to Gare Nord, again, for my train to Amsterdam. I had a couple of hours to kill, so I decided to explore a bit around the 10ème.

And... it was scary. Okay, no, not scary, but not the nicest area. There were sketchy wedding dress shops and places where you can buy human hair (not unlike Pittsburgh...), and well, I don't know what else but I just really did NOT get a good vibe from it. But I kept walking, and ended up (for the 5894053905th time) at Montmartre (18ème). And then... well no, I didn't get lost, per-say, I just got disoriented. And then realized that I reallllly needed to get back to the train station, but I couldn't figure out which way to go, and I was running out of time/freaking out, and then I just bit the bullet and bought a subway ticket, took it two stops, and made my train. Amsterdammmmm.

By the time I get to Amsterdam, I have no cash left. So the first thing I do is go to an ATM and get some money out, so I can buy a ticket for the tram... and the machine gives me all 50s. I head to a convenience store to try and break it by buying some cheesy snacks and a soda... and I somehow walk out with a bag of cheesy snacks, a soda, and two lottery tickets. Not really sure how that happened but it did. I don't think I won. I'm not sure, because alas, I do not read Dutch, but I don't think I won.

Not that it even mattered for me to get change, because I didn't pay for the tram. I didn't pay for the tram most of the times I took the tram. I just didn't really understand how to buy the tickets... and if no one was going to say anything to me, then I'm not going to say anything to them. (horrible person)

Thanks to some very nice Dutch teenagers, I managed to find my hostel, where I then met up with three of my friends from my program who had been traveling together for the previous week and a half. We visited the city a bit, got some pizza, and then got lost coming back. Of course.

The next morning I experienced the excellent continental breakfast provided by the hostel... which was comprised of stale bread, cheese slices, pb, jelly, Nutella, and stale cornflakes. However, the hostel was mad cheap, so I guess you get what you pay for... I then went and headed to Albert Cuypmarkt, which is a huge market that's open 6 days a week. I was a little bit disappointed, but it was still cool. It was more touristy than I had thought it'd be, but they still had some good fruits/vegetables/produce/etc. I then spent some time in Sarphatipark reading. It was soo nice out.

Met up with my friends, got pancakes, then went to my second brewery (ooh, that word is fun to type. brewery. do it. brewery.) tour at Heineken. This one was a lot more commercialized than the one in Bruges, complete with a "4D" ride, personal TVs with old Heineken commercials, and beer tasting.



Thursday started with a run in Sarphatipark, then I met up for lunch with my friend Arthur who's spending a term in Amsterdam. After lunch I went to Dam Square, where there was a huge concert/festival going on. It was a holiday, actually, Liberation Day, which celebrates the end of the occupation by the Nazis in Holland during WWII.


Shopping in Amsterdam

The next morning I started my trek back to Rennes. I had my railpass, but I didn't have any reservations or tickets. The booklet says that you "need" reservations for actually all of the trains that I was planning on taking: Amsterdam->Brussels, Brussels->Paris, and Paris->Rennes. However, I decided I didn't care, so I didn't make any. And I was fine. it was a long day, yes, full of planes (not really), trains, and automobiles (okay not that either), but I got back at a good hour.


Canals in Amsterdam

CITY	POSITIVES	NEGATIVES
Bruges	Really nice hotel breakfast Cool market Pretty buildings Chocolateee	Cold Couldn't understand much
Brussels	Things weren't too expensive EU was really cool The fact that the entire city is obsessed with a pissing mannequin.	Cold
Paris	I understand the subway. I understand the language. Lots of cool walking tours. Getting into stuff for free with my visa. Cool bookstores Awesome market.	Had to be on the lookout for dog crap again in on the sidewalk... The guys at the hotel were creepers. Things a lot more spread out.
Amsterdam	Everyone spoke English, was really nice Quaint, cute city. ...I found a really cool earring store.	Nearly getting run over by bikes, trams. Mad small hostel.