Yet again it's been long time no write. I keep coming across things to say and pictures to post, but they just add up so quickly that unless I post them quickly I feel overwhelmed. I'm also an incredible slow poke and sometimes making one of these entries takes me like an hour, haha.
But all that aside-- I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Actually I just celebrated Christmas on Wednesday with my mum on account of my coming home late for the holidays. This two weeks in America is really kind of turning out to be how I thought it would, too, if we're being honest here. I have eaten a ton of delicious, fattening food, drawn a crack ton of sketches, and watched a metric fuck ton of Downton Abbey. Classy, right?
Most of this in pajama pants and a T-shirt, save for a getting gussied up a few times to step out.
Can't see too well, but I love this red and off white striped cami-sheath (one way). It's super circusy with the mustache necklace (unknown, gift from a friend). New blazer was super discounted, too (Express).
Cute retro pumps I bought in a boutique in downtown Rome ages ago (Danita K, an unknown).
It's been nice chilling out and waking up at 6 am everyday, seeing old friends and family, but boredom is creeping in and I think I'm ready to return to the real world soon.
Today I watched the entire inaugural day of President Obama up until the parade when I really just needed to get up and do something for a while. The speech was really great, and I love that he wasn't afraid to mention some real issues he's ready to delve into in these months ahead instead of all of the usual metaphorical nonsense wrapped up in diverting patriotism. I'm relieved global warming might finally be ready to receive some coverage as a serious issue and not some kind of superstitious subplot.
So yes. Here's to 2013.
Maybe this year I'll finally become Barbie, like I always wanted to.
Truth is my lovely purple SONY VAIO laptop that I bought in June 2009 (and has been nothing but a complete pain in the ass since December 2009 due to a shitty hard drive, a shitty fan, and an craptastic video card) is simply too annoying for me to use any more. So for the past two months I've been using my mother's hp desktop. Luckily, the SONY guy is coming over this week to fix my baby all brand new again. The thing is, that has meant no blogging.
Also, in July I got hired by the cafe at Barnes & Noble, and getting back into having a routine has more or less worn me out. That also led to a lack of blogging. XD
However, in light of me needing to back up all my files before my system is reset by the SONY man, I decided to put up with my crackling fan, screen failure, system lagging, and fatigue and finish my last damn trip post. :D
So, on to Amsterdam, my favorite destination of our trip!
From the train outside of Brussels.
Most delicious pancake of my life, with churizo sausage, green peppers, tomatoes and cheese!
Loved this place. Just down to road from the Anne Frank Huis, if anyone reading this ever
travels here, I definitely recommend this place!
Wine shop run by a really funny guy. XD
Fellow shopper in the used book store. <3
Mannequin legs in the window!
So many trams. We got free rides because they kept running out of day passes, and none of the
drivers cared. I freaking loved Amsterdam.
I liked the focus on the glass rather than the view, haha.
Famous bridge! And a swan family!
Part of our sight-seeing tour on our second day there was the Gassan Diamonds Co. We
saw how they were made, their quality classifications. I know now how to accurately judge
the quality of my future engagement ring. ;)
Now THERE is a rock! A brilliant cut 57 facet top wessleton with perfect clarity. Behold, ladies.
It's the size of my finger nail, I kid you not.
Forgot to take photos of the Van Gogh museum, so I took photos of the tickets, haha. The
museum was very nicely put together as far as his life line and the evolution of his work, but it
was sad they didn't have some of his more famous pieces.
Lady on a bike almost got hit by a tram here. She wasn't paying any attention!
The building here on the way to Dam look like they're drawn in a Disney film.
I love the countryside. And the gloominess here is so lovely. This was taken on the way to
Zaanse Schans to see the windmills after my very unhappy, hangovery morning.
Windmills in the Zaanse Schans! And the wind was actually blowing and stuff, so they were
actually working. :D I freaking love windmills, you have no idea!
Whirling windmills and goats. Not for the faint of heart. D:
New shoes, lol
Swan family! Swan mum was there too, but didn't make it into the photo.
Our awesome room at the Rembrandt Classic Hotel. We loved our huge room and lovely view.
People are hilarious. <3
This is from the workshop Rembrandt used for his etchings. Very inspiring and incredibly complicated looking.
The chandelier make a nice crown, no?
This burger was a monster. And came with not one but TWO types of potato. D:
Cool tower.
4 days in Amsterdam and we were back to the airport.
So many pictures! I hope it wasn't overwhelming. XD
How about it. 4th of July here, and like a true American, I'm posting about Paris and eating a croque monsieur. It's sunny outside still, but raining buckets and thundering confusedly, so who knows about fire works.
Anyway, I meant to post this earlier, but I got lazy, and then I got stressed out about some things, and now I'm back to normal. So, here we go!
Forgive some of the pictures btw, as many of them were taken through coach bus windows. Though I tried to make it look as artistic and purposeful as I could, haha!
Off to Paris by Eurostar☆. It was a nice, smooth ride and interesting to listen to the people ahead of us having champagne and talking politics.
French countryside. The sky was so beautiful, and I wanted to get a picture of these little tower-things on some of the farms we passed. I have no idea what they were, storage possible, but they looked so neat out there in the middle of the fields.
On our way through Paris by coach, we went by the Printemps department store. It looks so beautiful! I about died we didn't have time to go in.
Again, not much of a view from our hotel, but walking about out there made me think somewhat of LA, which I liked.
Room. I spent so much time trying to figure out why there was only one painting in the room, and it was shoved over in that corner.
The walk to the Tour Eiffel from our hotel. Not bad at all, and especially useful for when our tour group abandoned us there the second day, haha. Yes, we are apparently those tourists.
I took a lot of pictures underneath, too, but on my mum's camera. There is just something so cool and steam punk about it.
Waiting for it to get dark to take photos of the lights. This is my new imitation Chanel bag from Camden Market. ♥
Lingering by the Seine as it slowly got dark.
Love those people over there. They seem so happy. ♥
Video-ed the lighting up of the tower! Forgive the bad angles!
Street signs! Dunno if you've noticed, but I love foreign street signs. Taken during our day full of Paris-tours. (Day 2).
People waiting to cross the street.
Dior shop window... not that you could tell or anything, haha!
This was taken from the cafe we ate at at the foot of the Sacre Coeur in Montmartre. I put this photo up for 3 very important reasons:
Sacre Coeur up on the hill
Our waiter kept setting his serving tray on this van and leaving it there
There was a man painting himself gold for well over an hour
Sign and map of the area at our local metro station. Always good to know where you are.
Macarons bought in Montmartre. They were so delicious! The white one was cheesecake, then there was orange, raspberry with chocolate, lime, and strawberry. They were wonderful and perfect and cost me a pretty penny, but completely worth it.
Taken along the Seine during an evening river cruise. The cruise was way over-priced and a waste of time, but the view was beautiful.
Heading down the Champs-Élysées at night. I filmed this in segments all the way to the Arc de Triomphe from the front seat.
Part 1
Part 2
Part3
Part4
The next day we were off early to Versailles.
This was from the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles, which we were rushed through on our 3rd and last day of Paris. I took pictures of everything here from candlesticks to floor tiles, haha.
Toting around my Primark bag, prepared to buy stuff (which I did, later), I took a quick snap of myself. Just one as not to appear too vain. By this point I was giving up attempting to look cute. Shitty shampoo+constant fatigue will do it to ya, eh.
That afternoon we went to the Louvre and got stuck on a sweltering hot bus in the middle of traffic for an hour (European public transport is always trapping us, haha), which I have photos of, including a competition between my mum and I to see who could look more tired.
The next day we were up early and off to my favorite city, Amsterdam!
I leave you with a song appropriate for the holiday. 8D
