EuroTrip Day 1

AmDam. I was in 4 countries today.

Here's how my day went: the 4 of us didn't go to sleep last night because we had to catch a taxi to the coach station at 2:50 am and that would have just been pointless. Before we left though, I showered at Linds' and Genna's and they have this crazy glass wall surrounding the shower, which I believed to be a permanent structure. Instead, it wasn't, so when I reached for my towel, the glass wall turned into a door which flew open, making me fly out of the tub, flip over, bang my head on the sink, and slide across the floor. Good times. I wonder if it's possible to injure yourself more than I can in a week. Fortunately, I've been there, done that, so things like that don't phase me and have led me to develop a high threshold for pain. But, for now I'm pretty heavily bruised and for a split second I thought I'd have to call Alex because I was sure I'd break my leg. Luckily, I didn't. Anyway, we arrived at the Sheffield coach station at around 0315 and our bus left at 0345... I refused to allow us to be late again, so we left super early. We were dropped off at london victoria (i slept the whole time) and as soon as we get off the bus, Genna ran around the corner and started vomiting from motion sickness. I felt bad for her, but I was kind of vomiting at the sound of it. Gross. From there, we took a taxi to meet up with our Cosmotourama tour group at some random hotel café and we took another bus to dover, which took about 2-2 1/2 hours. Then, we hopped on a ferry which took us to Calais, France. The ferry was the bomb. Everyone should take it. Oh, and I got my 2nd passport stamp... chhyeah.

Once we got off in France we boarded another tour bus and proceeded to drive through our 3rd and 4th countries of the day-- namely, Belgium and Netherland (aka Holland for you history enthusiasts). I decided that it is Holland to me because it's prettier and more representative of the culture... not that I've seen much of it. We literally just drove through. We drove through Antwerpen and Brussels in Belgium, but again, I slept most of the way plus it was cloudy and rainy, so I didn't see much. We dined at some truck stop on the side of the highway where we get to travel at 120 km/hr. Oh, and they drive on the right side of the road, which is an unbelievable relief. At the truck stop, I partook in a half decent salad, baguette, and some belgium chocolate deliciousness. I live by the baguettes, but I'm also for not spending any money on food here, so tomorrow, I'll be cutting back and enjoying the many nutri grain and cliff bars my dad sent me with. I'd rather pick stuff up along the way then fester in the back of the bus and get fat from little exercise.

So far, our tour group is pretty elderly and then there's the 4 of us. That's okay with me... takes the pressure of partying off tremendously when sometimes I just want some down time. Linds and I were thinking of heading into a Coffee Shop, aka Marijuana bar to get some Pot Cakes... lol not, but our tour guide said that if we wanted to stick our head in, it would be enough to get high. I think it's hilarious how they call it Coffee Shops-- AmDam's "coffee houses" are the legit cafés. However, if you ask for a "grasshopper," "stairway to heaven," or a place for "flying high," people will know what you are talking about. Naturally, stairway to heaven is my favorite... I bet it's my dad's too. Don't worry, though, I'm not into drugs. I endured D.A.R.E. and memorized that handbook like the back of my hand. Ask my mom what I used to say to people offering me alcohol. Other neat facts that I learned today included the fact that "gouda" cheese, an invention from Holland, is actually pronounced "How-duh." Also, Belgium chocolate is pronounced, "pralina" like our pralines if you weren't able to put 2 and 2 together. Also, most Belgians speak Flemish, French, and German... in case you were wondering. Oh, and a well known Amsterdam joke is that if your bike gets stolen in AmDam one night, it will turn up at one of the street vendors the next morning, so you can buy it back. Teehee. People bike here. And the people are tall. Basketball recruitment.

Tomorrow, we wake up at 0700 and proceed to shower, eat breakfast, and tour Amsterdam until we drive on to Munich. I will be drinking some beer in Munich. I feel like I would be shot if I didn't by any number of people. Wish I could watch UNC tear up Nova tomorrow... sorry Hallie Jean, but I'm pulling for my bros.