Bruges and Amsterdam

So the Jason Mraz concert was of course awesome. It was held in the Royal Albert Hall, which was so gorgeous. It looked like there should have been an opera going on instead of a concert. I really wanted to meet him after the show since he is going to be in Jersey this week, but no luck. I did meet his opening act, Ingrid Michaelson. She was really good, funny that I had to go to London to hear about a girl from Staten Island.

Cancelled class is always good. And Thursday I went for dinner with my sorority sister’s real sister. She was so sweet and invited me to her house next week to break the fast on Yom Kippur, which I am def going to go to.

Friday we left at 4am. It took a while and driving through France, but we finally arrived in Bruges, Belgium! It was such a nice town. Pretty small considering it’s the second biggest city in Belgium after Brussels. I had a waffle there as required, and French-fries since they really originated in Belgium. But the best thing of course that I ate was chocolate. Every other shop in the city was a chocolate store. It was so good. I of course stocked up. 5 hours later, we were in Amsterdam! It was the craziest city I have ever been to. We had a small walking tour, and then were on our own. I made friends with these girls in the program as well, and we decided to look at the red light district. It was actually really sad seeing these girls in the windows literally for sale like they were just manikins in a store window. And it was so busy there, and there were lines to get into all the shows going on, of people of all ages. It was just really weird to me.

Saturday morning we took a tour of Edam and Volendam. Edam is an adorable little Dutch town. They had a cheese museum and clogs everywhere and it was just so cute. Then we drove and stopped at the infamous Dutch windmills. Volendam was really nice too. It was a port town. There were boats and little shops everywhere. When we got back to Amsterdam we went to see the Anne Frank house. It was really sad being where she was actually hiding. Her diary was actually there on display to be read. I think the saddest part was when you are leaving and there is a picture of her father returning for the first time after the war. When we left there, we wanted to go to the Van Gogh museum, but there wasn’t enough time. I actually really didn’t mind since I’m not the biggest fan of art. We went for dinner at this traditional Dutch restaurant. Now I know why they are not known for their food. It was awful.

Sunday morning, we slept in a little then just walked around the area of our hotel. We then left for the longest bus ride of my life. Door to door, including stops, took 10 hours. It was actually really cool though because we left Holland, drove through Belgium and France, and then crossed the channel into England, so 4 countries in 1 day! I hate though that if you go from one EU country to another you don’t get a stamp in your passport. My passport would have so many stamps in it!

Yesterday was work and class. Nothing special. Then Meaghan and I went to Jewish deli around the corner from our flat so that I could have matzah ball soup on Rosh Hashanah. It was hard not being home for Rosh Hashanah dinner.

Today I didn’t go to work, but rather to temple. It was weird not being in my temple with my rabbi. It was even weirder that they had an organ and a choir. However the weirdest part was when they were talking about God protecting the queen and the royal family. You definitely don’t get that in America! Tonight is our mid-semester meal. I can’t believe it’s mid-semester already! Under 2 months until I am home!

This weekend I go to Scotland. I am definitely looking forward to it. I really need to see someone in a kilt playing a bagpipe. After that, my trip will be complete.