Well it's finally here. The day I never game much thought about until now. Time for me to pack up and ship up out of France. First and foremost I'd like to thank God for this opportunity because without he/ she I know none of this would have been possible. Seriously though, I come across an ocean to a completely foreign land staying with complete strangers and I now have forged friendships and relationship that will last a lifetime. It's crazy how life works but I'd like to thank the Marmions along with all of the Chambery Les Aigles players, coaches, and anyone who came to watch us play. Thanks for letting me into your family and I'll never forget any of you because you can bet money that I will be back. The only question is when?
Gros Bisou,
Marshall
p.s. I know I haven't finished the story of my London trip as well as the updates of my last few weeks in France but its my blog so it's my rules. Plus this keeps you coming back for more. :P
Monday, May 23, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
1 week five different airports
Howdy there, welcome back to the sideshow known as my life. It’s been about two weeks since my last blog entry but its for good reason. During that same time period I’ve been in 5 different airports, countless different train stations, spent all of my money, and couldn’t have had more fun while stumbling across Europe. As our English friends would say (insert accent), it was a nice holiday. Just kick back, relax (and hopefully) enjoy my tale.
For a month I’d been excited about this trip because for once I was traveling to meet up with people I knew and not just hoping to meet people as I went. On top of that I had been telling my friend Camy for the better part of a year that I was going to London to visit her so I could see the sights and she could teach me how to skank (popular dancing style in London). So early Tuesday (April 19th) morning (and when I say early I mean still dark outside early) saw Pierre and I heading to Geneva for him to drop me off at the airport for my flight to Amsterdam. Yes I went back to Amsterdam, don't judge me, but when beer is that free flowing and food that amazing can you blame me? However, this time I went back to meet up with Deirdre (lil lost mama in Venice) and her buddy Vinny who is in the same study abroad program. (Quick side note the Big Ten is everywhere, Deirdre is a Michigan undergrad while Vinny is a UW- Madison undergrad.) As I hopped on the plane at Geneva (airport 1) I had an idea of the adventure that lay ahead of me but the more pressing issue in my mind was getting some sleep. The flight from Geneva to Amsterdam is only about an hour but that satisfied my desire for rest. I landed at Schipol Amsterdam (airport 2) half past 7 am. The first thing I wanted to do was put my bag down and explore. My quest for food led me into the more suburban area of Amsterdam to check out a breakfast place with a variety of teas, fruit smoothies, and extreme customization of anything on the menu. Unfortunately it was closed due to construction. As I was in the area I decided not to be a total heathen and have an attempt at checking out some culture. I walked over to the Anne Frank house and just as quickly as I reached it, I turned back around and continued on the journey for food. The line for the house was about three blocks long, sorry Anne but I refuse to wait in a line that long especially when I'm hungry. The journey for food led me into the red light district as I stopped in a typical dutch bakery to buy some pastries and a fruit smoothie and then into a British pub for some pancakes. After spending about an hour wandering through the red light district and the city I headed back to my hostel for a nap and to see if I could get ahold of Deirdre. Our only form of communication was through facebook (thank you technology) because her phone didn't work outside of France. Sometime in the late afternoon is when we were finally able to get ahold of each other and made plans to meet up for dinner. After dinner we decided to head out and bar hop. Not exactly a tough feat in Amsterdam because I don't think you can walk a block without seeing a bar, especially in the red light district. Although we decided to call it quits after the first bar and meet back up tomorrow morning for a full day of fun.
The next day (Wednesday the 20th) we decided to meet up at a little cafe around 10 30 am, which I of course was late to because I misjudged how long the walk would take. Anyway this was just our meeting point and after a couple of drinks and little pastries we decided to head out and get the day started. (side note Amsterdam had some of the best fruit juice ever, not only the freshness but also the quantities and different fruits available. Strawberry juice = crack.) We headed out to rent bikes. I noticed I didn't mention this in my last blog but biking is a legitimate source of transportation in Amsterdam. There are biking lanes everywhere, which as a pedestrian if you're not careful you could be walking in, complete with their own set of traffic signals and everything. There's always a crowd of people cruising around on their bikes traveling all over the city. Amsterdam is definitely biker friendly and we wanted to join in on the fun. Let me tell you this is definitely one of the highlights of my entire time here. Cruising through Amsterdam soaking up the sun on a beautiful day, riding by the canals, and just seeing the city from a different perspective was so refreshing. After we rented the bikes we decided to check out the Heineken brewery which from our location was on the complete opposite side of the city so we embarked on the journey across the city. When we reached the Heineken brewery we decided it was definitely time for lunch and sat down to eat outside at an Irish restaurant around the corner. After lunch Vinny and Deirdre realized that they hadn't brought all their money and left their cameras at their hotel boat (cool right?). The plan was for Vinny to ride back to their hotel get everything they needed and Deirdre to follow me to my hostel which was much closer to the brewery and meet back up around 45 minutes at a place halfway between our places. The plan started off good but somewhere on the bike journey I lost Deirdre (deja vu), who admittedly was not having a great of time biking as Vinny and I were even though it was her initial idea lol. Anyway I turned around to go back and look for D but to no avail. I proceeded with the plan and went to my hostel to pick up some things but I was pretty much without most of my things as Vinny had my book bag. I went to the meeting place a little early, just in case, and paced around for a bit before I decided to just take a load off and sit and wait for Vinny so we could begin the search for D. Luckily for me Vinny and Deirdre showed up because she said she realized she wasn't going to be able to keep up and just rode back to the hotel and met up with Vinny before he left. It was fine with me, especially because I had my book bag back. From then on it was business as usual an we went on to the Heineken brewery tour together (my second time). After the tour the bike rental shop was closing and I booked it back just in time before closing to get my passport back. Vinny and Deirdre didn't make it back in time because their bikes were back by their hotel boat so they had to walk all the way back there and then try and make it back in time. It was of little concern to them though because they were staying in Amsterdam longer than I was. I waited around after I turned my bike in and the shop closed to see what the plan was for later that night, if any. We said we'd decide over facebook and go from there. I went back to my hostel got ready for the night. After finally getting in contact with Deirdre she said Vinny was out in the red light district looking at the girlies and that she was exhausted from the day so she was going to call it a night. Since it was my last night in Amsterdam I decided that Vinny had the right idea and went out to go on and do the same. The ladies in the window were definitely an improvement over the ones I saw the previous week during the day. There were definitely a couple that I had to stop and look at before moving on. After all this walking I decided to head back around 2 am to get ready for my flight the next morning and get some food. On the walk back I was asked by a bald dude with no shirt on underneath his baggy black overalls, which allowed you to see most of his chest area, where, "It was all going down now. In the red light district?" I told him yes and pointed him in the right direction. Just a typical encounter in late night Amsterdam before I finally got some food and was able to try the huge cone of french fries I had seen throughout my time in Amsterdam.
The next morning as fun as my stay in Amsterdam had been it was time to move on to my next destination, London. Of course, what should have been a simple trip to the airport was anything but. I had an 11:30 am flight from Schipol to London city airport, not to early and not to late. I got up at 7: 30 am and get to Amsterdam central station at 9:30. Time-wise I'm doing great so I search around looking for the train I should get on to get to the airport. I keep looking at every single schedule I pass and see that trains going to Rotterdam central head to the airport so I see a train leaving to Rotterdam central leaving in the next 5 minutes. I go upstairs and ask a couple if they know if this train goes to the airport, and they respond they think so using the same reasoning I used. I figure its all good so I jump on the train. It was all going smooth until we passed by Amsterdam Ajax stadium. A huge sight and when we got there I knew we weren't going to the airport because I had never seen the stadium in all of my other trips to and from Schipol. I immediately hop off the train and had to go all the way back to central station and then back to the airport. I made it to the airport around 11: 15 not much time at all to run and catch my flight but there was a small window of opportunity, that was completely eaten up by the vastness of the Amsterdam airport. It is huge. The only airport I think that compares to it is Hartsfield- Jackson in Atlanta, but without the tram service. Imagine having to walk through the Atl airport and you'll begin to understand what I mean. Schipol is so big that they have electronic boards with the estimated time it will take you to walk from that point to anywhere in the airport, with some of the gates being 20 to 25 minutes away. I walked all over the actual city of Amsterdam and to get from one side of the map to the other took about 30 minutes. Anywho long story short I had to pay to get on another flight since I had bought my ticket on a little cheap website. (Here's the start of me spending all my money) I called my friend Camy to let her know I had missed my flight and I would instead be getting in around 4 pm as she extended a welcome to London and then called me a silly boy for missing my flight. I sat in a corner by my gate until it was time for my flight. This part of Schipol was unlike any other airport I had seen as each gate had it's own security checkpoint instead of the standard mass security check. I boarded my flight to London City (airport 3) and my invasion on the Brits began.
This is it for now. I'll continue the story in another post. Until then, have a great day.
The next day (Wednesday the 20th) we decided to meet up at a little cafe around 10 30 am, which I of course was late to because I misjudged how long the walk would take. Anyway this was just our meeting point and after a couple of drinks and little pastries we decided to head out and get the day started. (side note Amsterdam had some of the best fruit juice ever, not only the freshness but also the quantities and different fruits available. Strawberry juice = crack.) We headed out to rent bikes. I noticed I didn't mention this in my last blog but biking is a legitimate source of transportation in Amsterdam. There are biking lanes everywhere, which as a pedestrian if you're not careful you could be walking in, complete with their own set of traffic signals and everything. There's always a crowd of people cruising around on their bikes traveling all over the city. Amsterdam is definitely biker friendly and we wanted to join in on the fun. Let me tell you this is definitely one of the highlights of my entire time here. Cruising through Amsterdam soaking up the sun on a beautiful day, riding by the canals, and just seeing the city from a different perspective was so refreshing. After we rented the bikes we decided to check out the Heineken brewery which from our location was on the complete opposite side of the city so we embarked on the journey across the city. When we reached the Heineken brewery we decided it was definitely time for lunch and sat down to eat outside at an Irish restaurant around the corner. After lunch Vinny and Deirdre realized that they hadn't brought all their money and left their cameras at their hotel boat (cool right?). The plan was for Vinny to ride back to their hotel get everything they needed and Deirdre to follow me to my hostel which was much closer to the brewery and meet back up around 45 minutes at a place halfway between our places. The plan started off good but somewhere on the bike journey I lost Deirdre (deja vu), who admittedly was not having a great of time biking as Vinny and I were even though it was her initial idea lol. Anyway I turned around to go back and look for D but to no avail. I proceeded with the plan and went to my hostel to pick up some things but I was pretty much without most of my things as Vinny had my book bag. I went to the meeting place a little early, just in case, and paced around for a bit before I decided to just take a load off and sit and wait for Vinny so we could begin the search for D. Luckily for me Vinny and Deirdre showed up because she said she realized she wasn't going to be able to keep up and just rode back to the hotel and met up with Vinny before he left. It was fine with me, especially because I had my book bag back. From then on it was business as usual an we went on to the Heineken brewery tour together (my second time). After the tour the bike rental shop was closing and I booked it back just in time before closing to get my passport back. Vinny and Deirdre didn't make it back in time because their bikes were back by their hotel boat so they had to walk all the way back there and then try and make it back in time. It was of little concern to them though because they were staying in Amsterdam longer than I was. I waited around after I turned my bike in and the shop closed to see what the plan was for later that night, if any. We said we'd decide over facebook and go from there. I went back to my hostel got ready for the night. After finally getting in contact with Deirdre she said Vinny was out in the red light district looking at the girlies and that she was exhausted from the day so she was going to call it a night. Since it was my last night in Amsterdam I decided that Vinny had the right idea and went out to go on and do the same. The ladies in the window were definitely an improvement over the ones I saw the previous week during the day. There were definitely a couple that I had to stop and look at before moving on. After all this walking I decided to head back around 2 am to get ready for my flight the next morning and get some food. On the walk back I was asked by a bald dude with no shirt on underneath his baggy black overalls, which allowed you to see most of his chest area, where, "It was all going down now. In the red light district?" I told him yes and pointed him in the right direction. Just a typical encounter in late night Amsterdam before I finally got some food and was able to try the huge cone of french fries I had seen throughout my time in Amsterdam.
The next morning as fun as my stay in Amsterdam had been it was time to move on to my next destination, London. Of course, what should have been a simple trip to the airport was anything but. I had an 11:30 am flight from Schipol to London city airport, not to early and not to late. I got up at 7: 30 am and get to Amsterdam central station at 9:30. Time-wise I'm doing great so I search around looking for the train I should get on to get to the airport. I keep looking at every single schedule I pass and see that trains going to Rotterdam central head to the airport so I see a train leaving to Rotterdam central leaving in the next 5 minutes. I go upstairs and ask a couple if they know if this train goes to the airport, and they respond they think so using the same reasoning I used. I figure its all good so I jump on the train. It was all going smooth until we passed by Amsterdam Ajax stadium. A huge sight and when we got there I knew we weren't going to the airport because I had never seen the stadium in all of my other trips to and from Schipol. I immediately hop off the train and had to go all the way back to central station and then back to the airport. I made it to the airport around 11: 15 not much time at all to run and catch my flight but there was a small window of opportunity, that was completely eaten up by the vastness of the Amsterdam airport. It is huge. The only airport I think that compares to it is Hartsfield- Jackson in Atlanta, but without the tram service. Imagine having to walk through the Atl airport and you'll begin to understand what I mean. Schipol is so big that they have electronic boards with the estimated time it will take you to walk from that point to anywhere in the airport, with some of the gates being 20 to 25 minutes away. I walked all over the actual city of Amsterdam and to get from one side of the map to the other took about 30 minutes. Anywho long story short I had to pay to get on another flight since I had bought my ticket on a little cheap website. (Here's the start of me spending all my money) I called my friend Camy to let her know I had missed my flight and I would instead be getting in around 4 pm as she extended a welcome to London and then called me a silly boy for missing my flight. I sat in a corner by my gate until it was time for my flight. This part of Schipol was unlike any other airport I had seen as each gate had it's own security checkpoint instead of the standard mass security check. I boarded my flight to London City (airport 3) and my invasion on the Brits began.
This is it for now. I'll continue the story in another post. Until then, have a great day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)