Amster-DAYUM

Wow,my first impression of Amsterdam stayed with me the entire time. I love it! The tram ride from the train station to our hostel I got the conductor to yell out instructions over the intercom to my friends to our final exit. "Jonny! 4 more stops." "Jonny! One more stop!" It was awesome. The personalities and people all had a great attitude and were ridiculously friendly.. Amsterdam is the strangest transportation city I've ever been too. The closer you get to the center of the city the less chance you can use a car. Bikes are everywhere, like literally have their own lane and have the right-away above cars and pedestrians. And you can only get to the center of the city by riding a bike or walking.

We went and got food when we arrived and then we were off to the red light district! What else do you do when you're in Amsterdam!? So we started our journey and knew only the general direction on a hunch. And what is the first attraction we go see!? ...The sex museum!

A picture of the girls outside the museum. We couldn't drag them outta this place!

The Red Light District, or RL as we called it, is really cool. There is literally something for everyone. If you're looking for a party at 1 in the afternoon? There is a bar for that. Look for girls? There are places for that. Gay or straight, drinking or smoking, sad or happy... there is a place for that. Tons of funny things to see and say you saw, millions of ways to have fun, it was what I expected it to be a fun town where everyone finds fun.

We were all pretty tired from a day of traveling so we all went to bed pretty early. But the next day was EMMA'S BIRTHDAY! Hey-o! We started off our celebration by heading to the Heineken Experience. It was the old Heineken Brewery but is now a place to go learn about the historical dutch brewing process and drink some beer. It was a pretty cool place that took about an hour to go through until you arrived at the beer garden. Sounds like an awesome start to a birthday to me.

We had a lovely dinner in the park but after a long day of drinking we decided to just grab some beers and sit by the canal and drink. Tons of boats were driving by, everyone was drinking and toasting us on the side of the canal. It was a lot of fun just to sit, relax and enjoy the company. I snagged tons of pictures and the Dutch loved it!

Our last full day in Amsterdam we decided to follow Lily out to a suburb called Asmere. It was dumping in the city so we decided it would be a nice day to get out of the city. We took a 45 minute bus ride and when we arrived it was dreary but not rainy. But soon the clouds parted and it was a hot day! The gamble paid off! We went to a lake beach and had an amazing lunch next to the water.

We hung out at the beach for a while and soon the whole town was there! We walked back towards town, about a fifteen minute walk then went to Lily's aunt's House. We relaxed in the shade and drank tons of water, chatted, ordered pizza and went on a bike ride. It was so nice being out of the city after being in one after another for so long.

The Dutch girls are some of the prettiest girls you have ever seen. They are tall, blonde and very skinny. I have to say that I could live in Amsterdam. It's a fun town and everyone speaks english. The main way to get around is by bike. There is such a fun vibe around the city and a prettyness in a city that I have never seen before. Maybe there is a way I can spend some time in Amsterdam because I really like it there. One day perhaps...

Off to Berlin! Ya!!

Europe... The Pics He Didn't Show

No update from Amsterdam yet, but here is an on-going collection of photos and captions from each city I've been to so far. In Berlin! Its raining, but I'll manage. Enjoy!

PARIS

Found the Holy Grail. Glad I didn't have a giant albino chasing after me like Tom Hanks/Robert Langdon

Now if only bonds used his strength to slay Hydra instead of hit homeruns and cheating :'(

Look! The Romans played with Lola too!

Ahhh, the home of Pharaoh Calipari

Ancient Greek Philosophers: Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, and Schmidty

I hope Ben Stiller is a Museum Curator at the Louvre!

Yeah I went to the top, AND I used the stairs!

First Level!

Second Level!

Top Level!

They made this place after the MOVIE! So cool, Nicole you should have won best actress gurl

BARCELONA

What the H!?

I don't know if you can see this on your computer, but can you see where Nick didn't put sunscreen? haha

The Steve Erwin got a new paint job, Whale Wars!

Uhhhhh..???

Oh what up Brenden!? I didn't know you went international

PORTUGAL

Peeing outside, check

Just a cool picture outside the Castle in Portugal

Some festival in Lisbon, but I did not know sheep were packing like this. Play on player

Jonny giving one of the crazy swiss girls a piggyback ride. Lol... Nick

I was taking pictures of the free shots our friend at the BS cafe poured us... I zoomed in a little far haha

Paris.. lol Did She Just Say Oui Oui?

Paris... what a dump!

We'll that was my first impression. For a city and country that prides themselves on culture and international influence I was surprised at h

ow dirty the city was. From the train station, to the 30 minute metro ride and the areas near my hostel it was pretty dirty and not very chic as I expected. But once you finally get into the heart of the city, the beauty truly comes out. The city is designed around rivers and many centuries, wars, and revolutions have transformed the city into something special.

The first day we walked around the area of our hostel to explore because we couldn't check into our hostel until 2 PM and we had about 2 hours to kill. The picture sums it up best.

Douches are actually showers... or something like that. It says that in our bathroom so I'll go with that. PS- No Bidets! Not that I was excited about using one, but when in Paris....

On our first day we went to Notre Dame, which I thought was in India but apparently not... It is such a large church with some of the most amazing stained glass I have ever seen.

Inside and outside of Notre Dame.

We tracked down Brenna's favorite resturaunt in Paris which was right near Notre Dame. Just across the river. On our walk back to the metro after our delicious French dinner we stopped and watched a street performer, who pulled Katie and Brenna out of the crowd to assist.

We were wiped our and the next day and went to the Eiffel Tower early. All the guys happened to match one of the girls outfits so we all took 'prom' photos in front of the Eiffel Tower.

There are three levels to the Eiffel Tower. I took a picture at each level as we ascended. It costed us 9 Euro (about $12) to climb the stairs to the first two levels, and then take an elevator to the top. The city is so flat and you can see so far in every direction. The wind is pretty brutal at the top, even on a 75 degree day, but we all thought it was worth the hike up the stairs and the 45 minute wait.

We went to the Louvre on our last full day. The museum is enourmous and cannot even be explored in a day. You have to choose what you want to see. I chose to look at ancient history of the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans because I knew the most about those exhibits. But there was mesopatomian and modern history. Millions of paintings that I wouldn't understand the history or symbolism behind. But it was blown back by the sheer size of the museum.

The hostel we stayed in was St. Christopher's Inn. I would say it was an average hostel. Compared to the other hostels we stayed in it is the worst but that is not saying it is bad. The hostel is pretty big and very nice. The room we stayed in was definitely the nicest and best furnished room we have stayed in yet. The negatives were that it was pretty far away from the main part of Paris (about 20 to 30 minute metro ride) and the bar/cafe that was attached to the hostel was EX-PEN-SIVE. The other hostels had beers on sale for 1 Euro in Portugal, 2.50 Euro and Happy Hour in Barcelona, and 4 Euros here in Paris. Lame.

We're off to Amsterdam now! So excited! The next three destinations Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague are the destinations I have been most excited about and now the first one is coming. Paris was my least favorite out of the destinations I have been to so far but with that being said, I really didn't experience Paris like I did with Lisbon and Barcelona. We are far removed from the actual city and I had very little French cuisine. What I did experience makes me really want to come back and fully enjoy the city. One day when I have millions to blow in a city I will come back and live it up. Very cool city, next time will be even better.

8:30 AM train to Amsterdam! Next post coming soon! Legggooo

Monsieur Schmidt

BARCA... Mes Que Un Ciudad

Lisbon was very good to my crew and I. We stayed at such a warm and friendly hostel and after a 15 hour train ride to Barcelona I was drained. But after 3 nights and four days in Barcelona, I can honestly say that this city is the funniest city I have ever traveled to. It is nuts here, and it was an interesting adjustment for me to make. It is an absolutely HUGE city. Like never ending, but fortunately we have great tour guides with the girls who literally take all and show all the boys around.

The first day we got into town around 2 PM and we were all pretty tired. We walked around the city looking for Emma's favorite gelato shop from when she was here four years ago... but despite her best nostalgic searching, we couldn't find the spot and to only find out later that it has gone out of business. But on our quest for treats we came across a massive protest. And I'm talking thousands in the streets protesting the government. All the signs were different but they one man explained that they all saw the government as a false democracy. I stood on top of a news paper stand and got an awesome photo.

Only a view from the side. We didn't bother to go in to the heart of the protest, probably for the best.

Our hostel is complete opposite of our last hostel. The last one housed about 20 to 30

people total and while I don't know how many were here, but we had 27 people in our room alone. It is called Hostel Kabul and is a complete party hostel. Every night there was a pub crawl that ended at a club downtown. It was actually a pretty good deal, for 7 euros we got 2 free shots and a buy one get one free shot with free entry into a club, plus skipping the line. Also, right before going out, our hostel had happy hour and about 50 kids drinking. Clubs don't even open til 2 AM and one night I didn't go to bed til 7 AM. Lets just say I slept very well the next night haha

On our second day we hiked up to a hill/park called Parquell (sp?). It was designed by Antonio Gaudi. You don't know who that is!? Well I didn't really either before the trip. But he is a famous Spanish architect who died about 90 years ago. This park had an awesome view of most of the city of Barcelona. Huge statues, buildings and monuments stood out and it was truly an awesome view.

To the left is the basketball court that Ricky Rubio learned to play basketball on as a child. And to the right is my friend Lily and I at the top of Parquell. The photo does not even do the view justice.

We went to the beach a few times while in Barca. They are awesome. I have never seen so many beautiful women in my life, no homo. And many of the were topless, even moreso than Portugal. But that also means naked dudes, homo. Some of the ladies in our group even embraced the local culture ;) The beach stretches for miles and with 80+ degree weather, its extremely fun but everyone got burned.

Oh, we also picked up another traveler. My friend Lily is spending most of her summer in Holland with her Aunt and Uncle and she wanted to visit Barcelona with us so she met up with us for here and Paris. She is an old friend that dates back to my early days at Camp Seymour.

On our final day our group split up. Most of our group went on a kayak and snorkeling trip while Katie, Emma and I went on our own adventure. We took a gondola, yes they have it in Spain, to the top of a huge hill where an old Spanish fort is located. This place has an even better view than Parquell and lots of historical monuments.

To the right... hope you got your tickets to the gun show! And to the right is a picture of the nicest girls you'll ever meet.

Our next stop is Paris and a 12 hour train ride. It's supposed to be a better train than our last one. I'm about 25% done with the trip and I'm not ready to leave. Traveling has exposed me to some great people and great destinations. This will surely not be my last visit to Barcelona, I recommend this city to anyone looking to have a great balance between history, culture, fun and partying. A truly great city. Until next time...

Erik

Port-U-Gal!!

From Seattle, WA to Lisbon, Portugal. We took off from SeaTac at 11:30 flight that headed to Philadelphia, PA for a connection to our overseas destination. The night before Nick, Jonny, Alan and Emma rode down with me from Bellingham to stay at my house because it is only a 25 minute drive to the Airport. We had so much extra food from Jonny's Grad BBQ so we brought it alldown to Maple Valley to have a big BBQ send off. Our last 'American Supper' was awesome. My great friends Hannah, Becca and Shaun came out to enjoy dinner and my sister and her best friend Jamie were also in attendance.

We arrived at the airport pretty early just to make extra sure we made our flight. Didn't want to pull what Brian and Nick did the summer before and miss their flight to Vegas haha.

Apparently I didn't get the green V-Neck message...

The flight went by super fast actually. Emma and Alan were in my row for our flight and on the way to Phili we played a game called Farkle which I am a natural. Currently undefeated. And I slept most of flight over to Portugal. When we arrived Nick was looking through his bag and found a huge surprise. Apparently someone had snuck a male erotica magazine into his bag called "Workload." No one has claimed credit for the strike, but I'm sure someone will eventually admit to the incredibly funny and well executed prank ;)

Once we landed we were all hungry for a little snack so we stopped at this little cafe to get some food. This was our first introduction to Portuguese food and it was soooo good.

This is at BS Cafe in Lisbon. All of us on the left and my delicious salad on the right. Tasty!

Lisbon is a pretty cool city. It's huge! And so many hills! It's literally like San Francisco with how many hills and how steep they all are. And its a decently priced city. Not too much for food or drinks. In fact that salad was 3,30 Euro (I don't have the symbol for the Euro) or about $5.

Our hostel has been a dream. It is located a on top of a huge hill but that is the only knock I have. The service has been so good. Every night they have put on a cookout that is really cheap to eat 3 to 5 Euros for dinner which you can't beat. Not to mention how friendly and easy going all the staff members are, nothing has been a hassle so far and I really think we have been spoiled with great treatment. I have a feeling other hostels won't be nearly as nice. I would HIGHLY recommend this place to anyone. If you're traveling to Lisbon stay at the "Chill Out Hostel" furr sure.

To the left is a picture of our cookout with many of the other guests. To the right is a group picture of our hostel group hitting up Bairro Alto district of Lisbon.

The nightlife in Lisbon is great, you get a drink in the bar and then you take it out to the street where you socialize with everyone. In our hostel we have people from Belgium, Switzerland, Australia, England, Holland, Russia, Tanzania and even a girl that is from Pullman! So crazy. But not as crazy as the chain smoking group of Swiss girls. Like not cool crazy but crazy crazy.

We have taken two day trips to beaches around Lisboa (area around the city of Lisbon). We traveled to the city of Caiscas, about a 30 minute train ride, to hit up the beach and small town. It was a very small beach right at the mouth of the Tagus River (although i would argue that it is more of a bay myself).

Panorama view of Caiscas, Portugal. And yes there were a few topless girls lolzz

Gotta rep the DISIDUAL tanks in Portugal! Thanks Brendan!

Disidual.com

Its been a great trip so far! Only our first of 9 stops. The next month should be continue to be as awesome as this one. Next stop is Barcelona, Spain. More beaches and I actually speak un poco espanol! Keep following along and hopefully this blog is somewhat interesting for you, or it could be just an ego booster haha

Much Love