Day 84 = March 28

Saturday we headed out of Leiden.  Mom and Tam went back to London to catch their flight and Amanda and I went to Paris.  One the train ride to Brussels, there was engineering work going on so we had to take a bus between two of the station.  We thought that mom and Tam were going to miss there train back to London.  But we made it with about 30 minutes to spare. Amanda and I then walked around the train station and headed to our train platform.  When we got there we found out that we needed to have a seat reserved.  So we had to go get that figured out so we could make it to Paris.  When we finally got to Paris, it took us about a 30 minute walk to get to our hostel, and it was all up hill. 

Come to find out that our hostel is located close to the highest point in Paris. We got checked in and we got to room which was on the top floor with one really cool view of the city.  It did not look toward the tower but it was still cool.  After we got checked in, we headed for the Eiffel Tower.  We started walking and then it started to rain, so we got on the subway and rode the rest of the way to the tower.  Come to find out we were a long ways away from the tower and it would have taken a long time to walk all the way down there.  We got down to the tower and found it and were starting to take pictures of it when the lights went out on it.  Don't know why but we had only seen it for about 5 minutes when this happened.  We walked toward it for a little while and the lights came back on.  We slowly walk toward the tower taking pictures on the way.  We decided that we wanted to go the tower so we did. It was really cool.  We could see a long ways but you could not see the end of the city lights. They kept going as far as we could see.  One thing that Amanda did not like was going up the elevator from the ground floor to the second floor.  It was different.  It had glass windows and you could see out as we went.  Then at the top, around the outside of the room there were little flag telling you how far away different cities in the world and what direction they were.  They had DC and LA and it was interesting how far apart they were.  Also at the top there was an apartment built where the designer of the tower had a place to invite people over and they could stay at the top of the tower for a night.  After we got done with the tower we went back toward our hostel.  We rode the metro most of the way.  When we got there we walked to the top of the hill so we could watch the tower sparkle for five minutes after the hour.  That was cool.  When that was done we went back to the hostel and went to bed. 

Rick 

Day 83 = March 27

Today we toured Leiden.  We met mom and Tam this morning and Amanda started showing us around the city.  We went and saw part of the original wall that surrounded the city.  We then went and looked at one of the wind mills in town.  After that went to the other wind mill and got to go up in it and tour it.  It was really cool to be able to see how they worked.  It was a lot of fun.  After that we went shopping down the main shopping center were we found some souvenirs.  We then ate lunch at one of the panakoken places.  After that we went and saw some more of the city and were the market usually is.  Then we got some food for lunch on the train ride to Paris and London and for supper.  After that we went back to Amanda's dorm and made supper.  We ate and relaxed a little, then mom and Tam went back to their hotel and we all went to bed.

Rick

Day 82 = March 26

Today we went to Winschoten, what some call no man’s land we have been told.  It was a very different part of the Netherlands than what I have seen so far.  It is much more rural area.  The train ride up there was not too bad.  It was nice being able to see some different areas.  We got to see a lot of farms on the way up.  We were surprised on how few animals that we saw out grazing.  When we talked to Roy he said that they are all in confinements, even more than the US.  We made it to Finsterwolden after taking a bus.  We were walking toward where the cemetery was and came across a house with the name Kuiper on it.  So we stopped and asked if they knew if they were related to us, they did not know.  We then went to the cemetery where we found a lot of Kuiper's and did find moms great aunt Grietje Kolder.  It was raining and cold so we left and got on a bus to go back to Winschoten.  We decided not to stop in Berreta since it was so cold.  We then came back to Leiden for the night.  We got some supper and crashed for the night.  When we were out, we saw these houses that were attached to the barns and I thought that they were really cool. The barns were really big too.  

Rick 

Day 81 = March 25

Today we got up and Amanda went to school and mom, Tam and I went to Amsterdam.  The first thing we did was go to the Our Lord in the Attic.  After that we walked to where the free walking tour was to start.  I got a bite to eat and we looked at souvenirs and then went on the walking tour.  It was raining and cold when the tour started, so the made it a little downer but it was ok.  We were shown the old church, red light district, dam square, a small court yard with the oldest wooden house in Amsterdam, and then the Anne Frank house.  When we were done with the tour we went through tourist shops and then went back to Leiden.  We got food at McDonalds and then just crashed for the night.

Rick

Day 80 = March 24

We went to Buckingham Palace and Hard Rock Café this morning.  Took pictures there and then went to train station.  Got some food to bring onto train for lunch and then got one the Eurostar.  It was one of the high speed strains so that was cool.  I slept most of the way so I do not remember much of that train ride.  When we got into Brussels I had to get my train pass validated. After that we got some souvenirs and chocolate.  We then got on our train to Leiden.  We arrived in Leiden at about 7:45 and went to mom and Tam’s hotel. Got mom and tam checked in and relaxed for a while. Amanda and I went to her dorm and crashed for the night.

Rick

Day 79 = March 23

Today we got up and got ready to go and we headed to Windsor castle.  I had gone out there when I was in London for the first three weeks but I was unable to go into the royal apartments, so I was able to go back for free.  The outside of the castle was how I remembered it to be, but when we got to go into the royal apartments that was amazing. The first place you walk into is the stair case and room that is decorated with war armor and swords and guns and cannons and was just sweet.  There were so many priceless pieces from all over the world that were either gifts or stolen during wars.  There was a tiger head that had teeth made a pure crystals that were huge.  After that we went through so many different rooms decorated so elegantly and just beautifully that you just cannot describe it.  There is one room that was HUGE.  The room is used to hold balls and this special dinner every year.  A table is brought in that is big enough to seat 160 people and before this dinner; rulers are used to make sure that every setting is perfectly lined up.  Also in the room are the shields of all the knights from like the last 1000 years lining the walls and ceiling, making the room so unique.  Unfortunately this room is not original in the castle; it had to be restored after the fire of 1992 destroyed over 125 rooms in the royal apartments and royal living quarters.  There were several rooms that we were able to go through that had been damaged in the fire.  Many of them were restored as close as possible to their original state before the fire. 

One way to describe the rooms there was simply amazing.  There are so many price paints that could never be replaced and some of the most beautiful architecture that is literally thousands of years old and are just so amazing and beautiful.  And the view from some of the rooms was spectacular, on the one side of the castle there were gardens that made for one amazing view. 

After that we had lunch and came back to London.  We saw the London Eye and Big Ben at night, then the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.  We also stopped at Piccadilly Circus on our way back to the hotel for the night.

Rick 

Day 78 = March 22

Today we got up and got ready to go.  We had breakfast and then checked out the hotel.  We had to catch a bus back to the airport where we could get on the tube to go down town.  We first went to Westminster Abbey and went to church service.  We took pictures by Big Ben and Parliament and then by the London Eye.  We went to the Waterloo train station and ate lunch. We bought our train tickets for tomorrow to go to Windsor Castle and then headed to the British Museum.  Mom and Tam went into the museum and I sat outside watching the luggage.  I took a nap while I waited for them.  When we got done there we went to a souvenir shop and then to the hotel.  We sat there for a while and then went out to eat at Garfunkells.  We had fish and chips and this big BBQ platter for two.  It was really good.  After supper we went back and crashed for the night.  I went and checked into my hostel and talked to Amanda for a few minutes before going to bed.

Rick 

Day 77 = March 21

SPRING BREAK!!!!!!!!!  It’s finally here.  Ok so other than meeting up with mom and Tam I am not doing a whole lot but I have started my month of travel.  So I got up this morning. Showered and got ready to go. I had to do some dishes and finish throwing out garbage and those little things.  But I left my room at about 10 to catch the train to London.  The train ride went pretty quick. I got to nap for a while so that was nice.  When I got into London I went to the British Museum.  I went there I was in London the first three weeks but did not get to see everything, so I decided to go back.  I was able to it all this time so that made me happy. After I got done in the museum I went to Subway and had lunch/supper.  I got done eating and I then went to the London Eye and just say out on the grass and relaxed for a while.  I took some pictures of it as the sun was going down, some turned out really cool. After that I walked to an Underground station and went to a Burger king to get a shake. Then I went to airport to wait for mom and Tam.  After a few minor problems of not knowing where they were coming in at, I finally met up with them. We found our way to the bus station and made it our hotel.  We had a really nice hotel, the beds were amazing and I am glad to have my back pack, I think that it will work really well for spring break. By the time we got all of that done it well time for bed. 

Rick 

Day 76 = March 20

I packed.  And that's it.  I did do laundry in the morning and cleaned but basically I got ready to leave for my month of spring break.  It kind of sucked packing the first day since I did not have my backpack yet.  So instead I used my laundry bag.  Yeah it is going to look really goof to walk around with a laundry bag for a day but it will be better than garbage bags.  So other than packing it was not an exciting day at all. 

Rick 

Day 75 = March 19

Today is my crappy day, again.  I had all 4 classes and non of them were very exciting.  Fluids is going alright, it is becoming a little more challenging but not too bad.  Materials just sucks.  Since we have two different professors it is making thing really difficult.  And we are now into new material so it is making things kind of hard.  After my first two classes I went down town to get my hair cut.  I then went back to the room for a while and went to my last two classes.  In probability there is suppose to be 150 students and there were only 11 there.  After class I went back to the room and made supper and just started to surf the internet.  I also worked on getting ready to leave on Saturday.

Rick 

Day 74 = March 18

Today I had 3 classes. My classes are going alright.  This week they have been empty since a lot of people are leaving for break early.  After I got back from classes today, I went for a run, it as a longer one today, it was a little over 6 miles today.  When I got back I showered and then made supper. That night a whole bunch of people were over getting ready to go out parting so I hung out with them for a while.  When they finally decided to leave and I went to bed. 

Rick 

Day 73 = March 17

I had my one class today, econ.  Its going alright, I am understanding it I think.  In the afternoon I went for a run. It was a beautiful day out.  The sun was shining and it was warm and just amazing.  I had supper and worked on homework and spring break.  Nothing real exciting.

Rick

Day 72 = March 16

I can’t remember anything interesting that happened on this day.  It was a Monday so probably nothing anyways.

Rick

Day 71 = March 15

Amanda and I walked around for a while and looked at souvenirs.  We bought some stuff and then got lunch at this hotel which was really good. We meet up with the rest of the group, got ready to go and went to airport.  Amanda went on her way and the rest of us got our stuff done.  I was able to meet back up with Amanda in the airport terminal. Her flight left a little bit before ours did and ours left on time. Our flight was good.  My ears did not hurt which I was REALLY happy about.  We made it out of the airport really fast which was really nice.  We then went down to the train to get back to London and as Rachel was getting on the train the doors started to close and she got stuck in the door.  It was kind of funny since she made it into the train but her bag got caught in the door so she was just stuck there.  Thankfully a guy on the train helped hold the door open so she could get unstuck and the rest of us were able to get on the train yet.  We then made it into London and got on the tube.  A drunk boy got on the train after us and was acting really stupid. He was falling all over the place and was definitely not in the right state of mind.  He was poll dance and had his fly down to.  He just about fell on to Megan a few times.  We then made it onto the train for Swansea which we only had 5 minutes to spear.  I got some food on the train.  Rachel went and got water and it turned out to be sparkling water and when she went to open it, it exploded all over her.  When we got back into Swansea we had to get a taxi back to the village and I went to bed there soon after.

Rick

Day 70 = March 14

I, like always, woke up late.  Got ready and ran through breakfast. The first thing that we did was we went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral.  It was definitely no my favorite cathedral that I have gone to.  After that we went on the free walking tour.  I really enjoy going on those.  It is nice to be able to learn about some of the history behind the city.  When the tour was done we stopped at some gift shops and went to temple bar area.  The group found a bar that was playing the rugby game. We watched the game for a while but Amanda and I did not just want to sit in a bar watching a rugby game the whole day so we left and went walked around.  We walked through some gift shops and came back to hostel for a little bit and took a quick nap.  Then we went and ate supper and meet up with the group.  When we were done eating supper we went to a bar that had over a hundred different beers.  I was able to try 7 or 8 different ones since every one order something different.  The group went to a different bar and Amanda and I called it a night.

Rick

Day 69 = March 13

Wow was today a long day.  We started our day last night when we got on a train at 8:29 leaving for London.  The train ride to London was not too bad.  There were not many people on the train so we all (Rachel, Megan, Lisa, Brittney, Wendy and I) had our own two seats to sit in. So I was able to get some sleep on the way to London.  When we arrived in London, we ran off the train to make it on to the Underground before it closed.  We made it on to the Underground and rode it to the other train station.  We stayed at McDonalds until 4. Checked into flight and flew to Dublin. I Waited for Amanda to arrive since her flight came in a few hours after ours did.  We go checked into hostel and got some lunch at a pub which was really good.  We all kinda relaxed for a while in the afternoon and got Amanda checked into her hostel.  The rest of the group when to the Jameson Distillery and Amanda and I just went into the entrance but did not pay to go on the tour.  We then went to the Boondocks Spheres.  We go supper at this little super market place which was alright, at least it was cheap. After that we went to a pub and had a few beers and listened to some live music.  After that I walked Amanda back to her hostel and I went to bed.

Rick

hey

hey everyone. I am sorry that I have not gotten this updated over spring. been to busy. hope all is well for everyone. Take it easy

Rick