Hotel Atlantic The Hague

... hours with my host Nai and the italian guy he's also hosting (which I'm not a fan of). Nai is super nice but the Italian guy is a bit weird. It's all good, just not a fan..

Tomorrow afternoon I should be heading into Amsterdam.. Hopefully it won't be raining quite so much there.

So I had a nice couple of days in Lille, where I had the chance to spend some time with my Peruvian friend Monica, who I had met in Lima during some volunteering stuff. I saw some pretty cool stuff in Lille, most notably the Museum of Beaux Arts (Arts Museum, of course), and some nice architecture.

Then, last ...

... unpacked and went for a brisk walk through the park and did some discovering down towards the main city square. Everything I wanted to see was within a few blocks, which made it very simple.

So early the next morning I went down to the Binnenhof and Buitenhof (Government buildings). Very impressive buildings. I found it unusual that the general public use the road in the complex, between the buildings, as a thoroughfare. People, bikes and cars go ...

... his cheese searched for illegal substances. HAH

The first part of our Holland adventure was to be spent at Anita's cousin's apartment just east of The Hague (pronounced Den Haaa*phlegm* in the local tounge). Like a lot of Polish have done since they joined the E.U, her and her family left Poland a year ago for the chance of a better life, and like a lot of Polish, their english was as good as ...well, my polish ...

... all night! I can handle it for about one hour, after three I was ready to get out of there. Not that electric-circus-style parties aren't great and have there humourous points (like the voluptuous girls dancing on pedestals), but three hours was enough. I believe I heard about four to five lyrics the entire night, and that doesn't include the word 'dance' - because that's just mixed into all the beats that are played ...

Wow! So it has been several days since I have written in this blog. I have been meaning to catch up but so much stuff has been happening that I just haven't had the chance. But now I do, so here's a re-cap since last I wrote! Last Friday Mike & I finalized our plans to spend Saturday on the western side of the country in Rotterdam and Den Haag (The Hague). Rotterdam is the 2nd largest city in Holland, and the Hague is a nice place to be because it has a nice beach area called ...

... over our weeks here that much of Holland is under water and the land is largely reclaimed. The Cruquius Museum showed us how much of Holland should really be underwater but is instead now housing, towns, farmland, and also Europe's largest airport. From the Cruquius, the two boats scooted back up the Spaarne River into Haarlem. Viewing the ...

... include DJing, simulation of distributing bottles on a horse carriage and the best, simulation of being a beer bottle during the production procedure!!! I disclose nothing further. After finishing with sightseeing, we headed back at the hotel for some rest and then later that night, same drill, we visited the Red Lights district, went to one more coffee shop, had some drinks at nearby bars and finally called it a night.

It's a grab our luggage and hit the ground running. Clear customs and head out to find that red bus. Once you find the ticket machine outside the airport, then cross the street, it's not difficult to get to Harlem. The cost is only 3 euro for a 15 minute trip from Amsterdam Central Station to Haarlem. The trains are comfortable, and filled with commuters. There are 6 trains going southbound per hour. The scenery grabs you quickly. Extremly modern ...