Paris

Wow! Another amazing trip! On Thursday of this week, my colleague Eric and I took the train to Paris so a financial analyst at our Nike France office, Olav, could train us on how to analyze a certain type of data that we both need for different parts of our job. I continue to be so thankful for this amazing opportunity - Paris for work?!? I'm a lucky gal!

The train ride from Amsterdam to Paris is about 4 hours, so during that time, we just basically BS'd, replied to e-mails, and slept. We left Amsterdam in a nice gray haze (as usual - this weather kind of sucks!) and arrived to sunny, bright Paris. I have to say... I think that one of the reasons that Paris is my favorite city in the whole world is because every time I've been there, it's been absolutely gorgeous outside. I'm sure there must be bad weather days there, but none for me! :)

First thing's first. We went to the Nike showroom in downtown Paris to meet up with Olav, and the other financial analyst for Nike France, Christophe. We first went out to lunch, where they had wine and beer. I'm liking Nike France already! :) They then went through their business results, and then we headed back into town to have some drinks and dinner. After dinner, Eric and I walked around thee beautiful city and just enjoyed the scenery.

The Louvre at Night

The next morning, Olav drove us to the actual Nike office, which is a little farther out of town.

The Rooster is the French National animal, and this one at the Nike Office was complete with a swoosh!

We went through our training for the first three hours, and then headed back to downtown Paris, where Olav gave us a retail tour of the city. It was really cool to see the different ways our product is represented in the market - from the craziness of Footlocker to the classiness of sneaker boutiques like Opium. After about 6 hours of walking around the city (did I mention my feet were killing me?!?), Olav left us and Eric and I started exploring. We had an amazing dinner and nice wine, and then just checked out the little cafes around our hotel, stopping for a glass of wine here and there.

That being said, it was nearly a miracle that we both got up in time to get a long run in for the day. We ran about 7 miles around the city - it was so fun to be on a long run and seeing Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, and other sights that are so very, very, Paris! :)

After getting cleaned up, Eric and I went to L'Orangerie, which is an art museum that has housed Monet's "Waterlilies" tapestries since his death. That's the most famous item in the musuem - they are basically 8 huge tapestries, 4 hung in each of tworooms, which represent Monet's view of the garden from sunrise to sunset. Pretty cool.

Eric in front of L'Orangerie

One of the huge tapestries

After this adventure, Eric and I met up with one of his former colleagues for lunch. We had a lovely time, but then Eric had to catch the early train back to Amsterdam, so I was on my own. I decided that I wanted to visit the Rodin musuem. He was a famous sculptor in his time, and his most famous work was "The Thinker". The museum was amazing - it was both an indoor musuem, and then a huge outdoor garden that contained a lot of his works. Amazing!

The house where Rodin used to live, which now houses many of his famous works

The Thinker

The Kiss

At one point, Rodin took a young lover, who was one of his students. Her name was Camille Claude, and this is her piece called "The Waltz". This was by far my favorite piece... if you look closely, you will see that the dancers are dancing, but not touching... kind of how I feel about my own relationship right now. :(

The beautiful garden outside of the mansion

After this, it was time to hit the road. I just barely made it to my train before we left the station. I arrived back to Amsterdam 4 hours later, greeted by thunderstorms. Seriously?!?

No trips planned for this next weekend, because I have to get ready for my parents!! They arrive on August 9th! We're going back to... you guessed it, Paris! We'll also visit Versailles and Normandy. Can't wait! :)

Prague!

Ah, Prague! One of my favorite European cities. I had done a whirlwind trip of this city in 2005 as a sidetrip from Amsterdam when I was on a business trip for InFocus, so I was really excited to go back and have a little more time there. One of my friends and former co-workers, Michelle Bennett, had told me before I moved that she would be in the Czech Republic for work in July, so this has been something I've been looking forward to for four months now!

So, still on a high from my great birthday the day before, I got up at 6 to catch my flight to Prague. It's a prety easy flight from Amsterdam - only about 90 minutes. I left Amsterdam in rain, and arrived to Prague in... rain! Luckily, Friday was the only day that rained there. I could get used to the whole sunshine thing - I'm hoping that it catches on in Amsterdam soon! Rain is like, SO last year! :) Michelle was catching a bus from the city her office is in, and I had to figure out a bus/metro combo to get into the city, but we found each other without a hitch, thanks to the miracle of text messaging - what did we do without this?!? :)

We had a yummy Czech lunch - me, the same Goulash I had the last time, and Michelle, some schnitzal and potato salad... and Czech beer! :) One thing that was a little disappointing... the last time I was here, the exchange rate was 25 Czech crowns to one US dollar, and now it's only 14... so everything was quite a bit more than it had been the last time, which was kind of a bummer. Beer was still only $2/pint, so that's good! :)


Michelle with her first of several Czech beers during the trip

We spent most of the first afternoon in the Jewish part of town, Josevof, which was an area that I hadn't gotten to visit when I came three years ago. Prague once had Europe's largest Jewish population - 110,000. However, after WWII, only 10,000 returned. These numbers are still so shocking to me... In the Jewish part of town, there is a museum made up of six synagogues, each of which tells a different part of Jewish history in Prague. It was pretty fascinating. The most impressive asthetically was the Spanish Synagogue, which was decorated in a Moorish style.


The Inside of the Spanish Synagogue

One of the most striking was the Pinkas Synagogue, which is a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. The names of all of the victims are written on the wall... every inch is covered, and it's a fairly large place... very impactful. :(


Names Written on the Wall in Pinkas Synagogue

After this tour, we went to the Old Town Square to relax a bit and to see the sights there. It's a really beautiful area, with two beautiful churches and the famous astronomical clock as the centerpieces.


Me with Tyn Church on the Old Town Square


The Famous Astronomical Clock on Old Town Square

We took a dinner cruise on the river that runs through town that evening. The highlight was definitely the cute 80-something man that played the accordian for us during the 4 hour trip. :)


Michelle on the cruise boat with Prague in the background


Prague Castle by Night

The next day was full of beautiful sights. We started out by walking across the famous Charles Bridge. This bridge was built in the 14th century under the direction of Charles IV, and it is just NOW getting a facelift... luckily, there wasn't too much scaffolding about, so we could see most everything.


Michelle rubbing the lucky plaque on the Charles Bridge... you supposedly get one wish in this lifetime. I made one too. ;)

After buying some local art from the artisans on the Bridge, we made our way up to the Prague Castle to tour both the castle and the impressive cathedral up on the hill. The cathedral is honestly the more impressive of the two, but both are impressive in their own way.

That evening, we had dinner at a nice Italian place. It was a nice dinner, but ended up really awkwardly... so, I've read and experienced that tipping is really not done in Europe, and I had remembered that when I was here the last time that we really didn't tip. BUT... everywhere we went this time, the waiter let us know that service wasn't included, and at this particular restaurant, when we got up without leaving a tip, the waiter followed us out saying "No tip? Bad service?". I think they know that Americans tend to tip too much, and so they like to try to scam us. But, regardless, it was really awkward. I just got the heck out of there! Very strange!


Michelle and I before being accosted by the waiter

We didn't really have much planned that night, except we knew we wanted to get gelato. On the way to the place that sells gelato, we passed this "Black Light Theater" that looked kind of interesting. Turns out they do shows, and the next one was starting in 45 minutes. So, we got our gelato, enjoyed it, and then saw the show. Honestly, it was just okay. I feel like I could have enjoyed it way more under the influence of drugs! ;) It was a lot of dancers wearing neon outfits dancing across the stage. So, maybe a little too "artistic" for this cowgirl.

Today was my last day in Prague. We had done most of the highlights of the city, so we decided to take a side trip to Kutna Hora, which was once the second most important city in the Czech Republic because of its silver mines. We got to see St. Barbara Cathedral (the patron saint of miners), a silver mining museum, and, finally, the famous "Bone Church". This church was once determined to be built on holy ground, so everyone wanted to be buried there. There came a point when there were so many people buried there that a monk found bones sticking out of the ground, so he began to collect them and pile them in the church. Eventually, an artist came and assembled them all into things like chandeliers, family crests, etc. It is said that the bones from more than 40,000 people make up the decorations in the church. Very spooky, but kind of cool!


St. Barbara Cathedral and the Jesuit University in Kutna Hora


A man demonstrating how to make silver coins


The Bone Church


Chandelier in the Bone Church


Spooky!!

Michelle and I parted ways after the tour arrived back to Prague, and I caught my quick flight home. I'm taking another trip this week... this one for work. I have to go to Paris to train with one of our financial analysts there. I'll be there Thursday and Friday, and then I'm going to stay for Saturday as well to do a few more of the things on my "must do" list in Paris. Should be a fun trip!

Best Birthday EVER!!!!

So, you may find this hard to believe, as I'm living in a foreign country far, far away from my family and my long-time friends, BUT... today was my 28th birthday, and was the best birthday I have EVER HAD!!!

Let's start with this morning... Sean and I have been quite good about having "dates" once or twice a week, where we use our video cameras so we actually get to "see" each other. So, at 6:30 am this morning, I got to spend an hour with my sweetie. Before we talked, though, I had checked my e-mail, and he had taken the time to scan my birthday cards (yes, that's right, he couldn't make up his mind so he got me two - I think I'm rubbing off on him!) and send them to me, because we're still a little unsure of how things take to get here. Very sweet! So, we chatted for about an hour, and then I got ready for work in my sassy little red dress that I had worn to my going away party (thanks again, Waldo, for sewing my button back on!).

Now, let me give a little background. In Holland, on your birthday, it is the birthday boy/girl's responsibility to bring in their birthday treats. That might not seem so fun, but think about the disappointment that we all have inevitably had on our own birthdays when NO ONE has remembered. Okay, now you get me... this idea is actually GENIOUS, because this way, if you want to celebrate, everyone knows, and if you don't, then no one finds out. So, I made the funfetti cupcakes that Michelle had graciously brought for me from the US, and then topped then with homemade cream cheese frosting. The cream cheese is a bit different consistency here, so the frosting was a little melty... but still yummy. I brought these into the office, and at 11:30, everyone came by and we had a little celebration. So... on your birthday you also get birthday kisses from everyone - that's right. You kiss your co-workers. In the Netherlands, this is three kisses - right, left, right, or left, right, left... I don't think it matters. You don't REALLY kiss, more just like making the noise and putting your faces together, but you can if you want to. The Italians actually plant a smackeroo on you. This whole thing kind of freaked me out to begin with, but now I kind of like it. :) So, after all the kissing, I actually did a little work. :)

My colleague Lisa took me out to lunch and out for a bit of shopping (where I think I bought the most expensive bra and underwear set I have ever had in my entire life, but I digress...), and then I came back to the office to try to work a little more. But... then I got a call from the front desk, saying that flowers had arrived for me. They were from Sean. Now, if you know Sean, you know that this is a bit out of character, which made it all the more special. I'm on the verge of tears at this point... happy ones. I was completely overwhelmed by everything good that had happened so far. Then, something else good happened... my friend Lupe, who I met almost 10 years ago when we studied in Spain together, called me from the States. This woman is one of the sweetest ladies I know... even though we don't talk or e-mail very often, she has made it a point to call me every single one of the birthdays that I have had since we left Spain - she has tracked me down in Toledo, Ohio, Portland, OR, and now the Netherlands, despite frequently changing locations and phone numbers. So, okay, then I lost it. I'm sitting at my desk, absolutely filled with love, happiness, and appreciation for all of the wonderful people that I call my friends, crying happy tears. But, duty calls, and I need to suck it up before yet another meeting begins.

My workday ended with an emergency call from the development team... they were having a costing crisis. But, alas, I got to their area, and all the developers were standing in a line with sheepish looks on their faces. They made me go down the line, each of them giving me my birthday kisses, and, at the end of the line, the last person gave me a gift - a CD that I really like here that is not offered on US iTunes (Amy MacDonald - Scottish singer - check her out if you can!). I got back to my desk and received another very lovely phone call from Waldo (and a lovely homemade card from her as well - thank you!), and then finally made my way back home. I got little done in the workday, but went home feeling like maybe, just maybe I'm going to be alright for my time here.

Finally, I got home and then later Karyn met me at my place. We went for a really nice dinner at the restaurant across the street from my apartment. It was so nice to share my birthday dinner with such a lovely lady. We've determined that even though we are total opposites (she likes to sleep in and I have a hard time forcing myself NOT to set an alarm, for example), we are great for each other. I'm so thankful to have such a great friend here. :)

WARNING: THIS IS MUSHY! I want to take this time to thank all of my friends and family for being so wonderful. Even though I'm far away, you have done such a nice job of making me feel special and loved. I am so blessed to have so many wonderful friends... that's part of the reason that it is so hard being away. I miss and love you all!!! xoxo

Stimulating the Economy

So, my "economic stimulus" payment from Mr. Bush finally arrived, and I decided that I better do exactly what the name says - stimulate the economy. Sadly, I can't do anything about the US economy, but I did my darnedest to stimulate the European economy this weekend. :) I decided about halfway through the week (which had been plagued with lots of thunderstorms) that I really HAD to leave Holland for the weekend. The weather was really getting me down (especially since I have the Portland weather on my desktop at home, and I could see that it was 80 and sunny! GRR!), so I asked Karyn if she would be up for one of my notorius "adventures". I checked to see what cities were within driving distance, and then, as Karyn knew that all the sales were going on in France right now (change in seasons), we decided to head to France, and, more specifically, a cute town called Lille.

I'm a bit of an early riser, and so I got up around 7 on Saturday to get my long run in, and was greeted by a lovely clap of lightening and an ominous roar of thunder. A bit discouraged, but not dissuaded, I waited it out for 3o minutes, until it was "just" raining... none of the scary stuff. I then proceeded to run all 8 of my miles in a torrential downpour. Now, that, my friends, is dedication (okay, and maybe a little preparation for all the wonderful French food I was about to consume). ;) Karyn met me at my place at around 10, and we took off on our 3 hour drive to Lille. When we got there, we were starving, and so we stopped for some wine and mussels (very big in France) at a cute French place. And then... the shopping began! We shopped until the very last shop closed, which was about 9 pm. I found a fair amount of things... lots of cute new tops and fun summer skirts - now, if only the weather will cooperate so I can actually WEAR some of this stuff! :) Sadly, there are not a ton of shoes in my size in France, or actually in Europe for that matter. It's a bummer having big feet, but it does save my credit card! :)When the shopping was over, we enjoyed more wine and French food, and then crashed for the night. I think I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow! I was WORN OUT from shopping! :)


For breakfast, we had some lovely pastries and an omelette. We then made our way to the local art museum, and enjoyed a lot of fine art and a special Goya exhibit. Karyn was an art history major in college, so it was fun to hear what she had to say about paintings that were "just paintings" to me in any other setting. After this, and a quick stroll through the local market, we made our way back to Amsterdam. It was a really fun weekend - honestly, probably one of the very best I've had since I moved to Europe. :)


KP with her economically stimulating purchases :)


Commerce building on the main square in Lille


Beautiful Greek-style Opera House in Lille


One word - yum!!!


Karyn looking French with her baguette in front of the Art Museum



One other item of note from this week... so, I've really been trying to improve my golf game, as someone very special in my life is a total golf nut. I've been going to the driving range twice a week, and I finally put my skills to the test on Friday, when I played (a par 3 course, but still played!) with my co-worker Richard. I did a lot better than I thought, and actually had fun (not something I can say about many of the rounds that I've played before now!). I think this girl may just have a golfer in her! :)

This coming week is a big one - my big 2-8, followed by a trip to Prague with my friend and former co-worker, Michelle Bennett! Can't wait! :)

More 4th of July Pictures

As promised, more pictures...


Kevin with his "braces" AKA suspenders


My friends surprised me with a Nike+ kit as a thank you for the party - yes, I'm a little behind on the times


Dao the sassy cowgirl



Stefano, the ganster cowboy


KP has something up her sleeve...


Pub time!!

Fourth of July Fun!

Some of the hardest times to be away from home are the holidays... both because we don't get a day off work and because I'm not actually celebrating them with friends and family like I usually do. Memorial Day was kind of weird, but the thought of being here for the 4th made me pretty sad. That problem was easily solved when I decided to have a 4th of July party with my co-workers. :) It was so much fun to think up an "American" menu, which consisted of "pigs in a blanket" (unbelievable that I could find cocktail wieners here, but I did!!), hot dogs (the buns were a bit of a problem, and the hot dogs came in a giant tin can! Different), potato salad, deviled eggs, pasta salad, baked beans, watermelon, corn on the cob, chips, brownies, and, the piece de resistance, the apple pie!

I went to the grocery store on Thursday to get all the goods. Now, let me paint a little picture of how this works. In Holland, you either bring your grocery bags, or you buy them (for 20 Euro cents each), and then you bag your own groceries. I was planning on having about 20 people over, so my grocery cart was FULL! Now, bagging your groceries is always the stressful part of the trip to the grocery store for me, because the checker doesn't really give a darn if she is putting bread down the chute before a giant can of hot dogs, and, so if you aren't quick about things, you are going to have some mighty squished hot dog buns. It used to piss me off, now I'm getting used to it, and it's kind of a game for me. Anyways, what happens is your groceries go down one side of the bagging area, and then there is an arm that moves back and forth on the bagging area, and the checker moves this arm to one side to send the next person's groceries down the other side. Well, I bought so much that the ENTIRE area was full of my stuff, so I was totally holding up the line as I madly tried to bag all of my groceries. You wouldn't believe the strange looks I got! Anyways, after that, I was feeling a sense of accomplishment... all in all, the trip took about an hour and a half (I'm usually only at the store about 15 minutes.) Here is a picture of everything I bought all spread out... if you double click, you can make it bigger to look at some of the names of things... note the "Cool American" Doritoes (same as our "Cool Ranch").

Five trips back and forth to the car later, we have everything! Double click to look at some of the names of these things! :)

Friday night, Kristin, my fellow Ohioan, came over to help me peel potatoes and apples, bribed with a promise of a yummy dinner. She peeled like a champ and made Ohio proud. While I made dinner, I think she peeled about 20 potatoes! That night, we got the potato salad (my mom's yummy recipe) and the apple pie filling all done. Whew!

Kristin - the apple and potato peeling machine!

Saturday morning, I was too excited/stressed to sleep. So, I was up early, making brownies and deviled eggs. I was surprised by a phone call at 9 am from Sean, who was on his way home from the 4th of July party he had been to... it was midnight there. That was a really great surprise, and made me feel like it was meant to be that I was skipping my long run (which I did do later!) to cook! :) Just a side note on that... things are going really, really well. This distance thing has been very, very hard at times... sometimes hard for one person when it's not for the other and vice versa, but, I think we've finally gotten into a good rhythm, and we're feeling stronger than ever. I think the countdown is 46 days until we get to be together again, and I can't wait!!!

So, on to the party... I had asked people to dress up in their best American outfit, and some took it more seriously than others. It was great! I offered prized to the people who Kristin and I (the only Americans at the party) deemed to be the best-dressed. I was able to find Nutter Butters, Pop Tarts, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups at the American Food Store, so the winners were happy to get these tasty American Treats. This was definitely the most multi-cultural 4th of July I've ever had - we had people from Italy, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Thailand, Scotland, Mexico, and, of course, the US of A. It was great. I had asked everyone to just bring beer from their home country, so it was fun to try beers from all over the world. Here are some of the pictures. Of course, being the hostess, I forgot to take a lot because I was making sure that everyone had a beer in hand and food in their bellies, so, when I get more, I'll post them separately!

The American Spread

What's more American than Apple Pie?? This was SOOOO yummy!!

Kristin and Alex went the cowgirl/boy route...

Kristin and Olivier

Kevin and his girlfriend Nicole - Kevin won first prize!

Alex brought Tiramisu... yum!

Kevin really WANTS to be an American!

Fun times at K Pitty's

Happy 4th of July!!!!