Bonjour Paris!

Today we left Amsterdam on bus of course and headed toward Paris. During the bus ride I kept thinking how about how unreal it was that I was long to be in PARIS! When we got closer I could no longer nap I was far to excited.


 










We finally got to are hotel (which was practically in the ghetto) and then were off on a tour given by the GLS Paris leader. 


 
 





He took us to see a fountain in the Latin district and showed us around.
 



 





We ended at Notre Dame where we took pictures and  went to see the inside of the church. After that we did dinner in the area.

 

 




That's not all we did though! After dinner we made our way to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night. It was amazing! We waited until 11PM for the light show it gives off. It was absolutely breath taking!

 




 

I feel so grateful and eased to have seen the Eiffel Tower in Paris at night. It was amazing!
 

Amsterdam!!!!

Today we are in Amsterdam.

We woke up and as a group made our way into town to a local art museum. We were supposed to go to the van Gough museum but I don't feel like that much was lost on the last minute change.

We saw very interesting pieces as well and artifacts from the past.

After the museum we made our way to the flower market. Amsterdam is famous for their tulips and other flowers. I almost bought bulbs but I didn't think I would have room in my suitcase so thought better of it.

Then it was lunch time so I ordered a Dutch classic, porfrjiches the Dutch pancake.

Finally it was time for something I have really been looking forward to! The tour of the Anne Frank House, which is where Anne and her family hid during WWII. 

We weren't allowed to take pictures but the experience was still worth every penny. We got to see the places that Anne talked about in her journal and see the bookshelf the door was hidden behind. We also got to see the original journal Anne wrote in. 

It was such an amazing experience. I wouldn't trade it in for anything.

After that it started to rain so we escaped into a restaurant called Sara's Pancake House. I again had the Dutch pancake with some tea, I just couldn't say no.

We browsed some shops then made our way back to the hotel grabbing some fast food on the way.

Today was such a great day! I feel like we accomplished and experienced so much in such a small amount of time. And tomorrow is Paris! I feel so blessed!

Brussels to Amsterdam

Today is the first sleep in days we have had. We didn't have to leave until 9AM! We loaded up and went to Brussels and participated in the parlementariun exhibition were those who paid attention learned in great detail about the European Union. I however, had a hard time staying focused because it was to crowded and you had to so most of the reading yourself and that was just touch at nine am.

After that we went to the city center of Brussels. We had a waffle for lunch (and yes they are better here) and we looked around.

We wanderd for a bit and stumbled into a Smurf Museum which we did not go into.

After our break we landed back on the bus to Amsterdam. We arrived late after being stuck in traffic so I called it night. Until tomorrow.

Luxembourg to Leuven

Today was once again a bus day. We left Strasbourg and headed toward Belgium, but made a pit stop in Luxembourg.

Before we left Strasbourg we went on a tour of the Council of Europe. Where weekend about what it was and got to see the place where decisions are made. It was very interesting!

We didn't get to see much of Luxembourg, but we were there long enough to get post cards and have some lunch.

After Luxembourg we went a town in Belgium called Leuven. It was such a cute little core town with great energy.

We went to a Chinese restaurant called Ming that was tasty. Then we explored a bit before we went home for bed. It was a pretty relaxing day lots of bus time, bit it was fun none the less.

Strasbourg, France

Strasbourg is such a cute little city. We arrived here after the visit to the concentration camp.

We dropped our stuff off at the hotel and went off to find some tapas for dinner. I only ordered a small tomato salad as I ate to many m&m's on the bus ride .

After tapas we explored the area to see what it had to offer. It was very cute here. After are mini exploration we decided it was time to head back to catch some zzzz's.

The next day we woke up and decided it was a beautiful day so we should go on the 4€ boat tour. The boat tour was so much fun!

Before we made it to the boat we stopped in the little shops and I got a heart decoration which I love! I had wanted one from Salzburg, but the shops had been closed so I couldn't get it there.

Following the boat tour we had lunch then went to explore gardens, but they were a flop, so back to the hotel we went for a siesta.

We then left once more to explore and find dinner, which took hours! But finally we decided no matter where we go it will be expensive so we should just eat. I had salmon and spatzel almond with dessert.

Following that we went back to the hotel for the night. That was my first French experience.

Dachau Concentration Camp Tour

Today we went to tour the Dachau concentration camp. I have been waiting for this experience ever sense I left for Europe. I find myself being fascinated in human nature and I trying to grasp the events per WWII and during WWII. Getting to visit the camp was a great way for me to be able to respect those who were murdered, tortured, those who lost family members at the camps, and those who lost their lives in the war fighting for the safety of the captured.

I think this is something someone should experience at least once in their life. It teaches about the importance of excepting others and trying to understand and respect instead of tear down and create prejudices against groups.

The most important lesson I learned was the importance of holding true the hope and dedication of many, "Never Again" should this happen.

Do Re Me Fa So La Te Do

Today was a wonderful day! We started off with an early morning breakfast. Following breakfast we met out bus that was to take us to our tour bus for the...SOUND OF MUSIC TOUR!!!!

We had so much fun on the tour! I bunch of us went and we learned a lot of interesting facts about the musical as well as got to take a lot of cool shots at locations the movie was filmed at.

Fact One: The sound of music is based on a true story. The Vontrap family was a real family who lived in Austria. Maria moved from the abbey to bake care of the youngest who was ill and grew a bond with all seven children. She was then asked to be their mother. They started performing as a family for money as the Captian was no longer as well off and used touring as an escape from Nazi Germany and their taking over of Austria. When they made it to the United States they stayed and opened a music school in Stow Vermont. They were asked at one point to perform at Hitler's birthday party and declined.

Fact Two: the filming of the movie in Salzburg was only supposed to take six weeks, but it took eleven due to rainy weather.

Fact Three: When the family falls out of the boat in the movie it is real. Thy did one take that looked fake, so they had to re shoot, but Julie Andrew's lost her footing in the second taken. She was supposed to grab the youngest who couldn't swim and people had to jump in after her. She almost drowned.

Fact Four: There were three gazebos used in the filming, one authentic one in Austria and two duplicates located in Hollywood.

Fact Five: the house is actually two different houses located in salzburg. The front is one house, the back with the lake is located at another, and the interior was all shot in Hollywood.

Fact Six: The last seen filmed was the first scene of the movie.

After the tour we took a siesta then went to the hotel for dinner. After that we did one last walk around of Salzburg, Austria and said our fair wells. Tomorrow we are off to Dachau Concentration Camp then Strasbourg, France.