High Tea and the Ocean

A couple of days of catch-up in this one. First we start with High Tea at a very fancy hotel. Mimi really wanted to do this while we were in the British Isles. It was a bit spendy, but worth it.

What we've been up to

Yesterday I woke up and felt better, so I went with the others to Howth (rhymes with "tooth," not with "mouth") to see the ocean and go hiking. Unfortunately, I think I overdid it a little because I ended up back in bed at 8PM with chills and fever. Or maybe that fever was a sunburn... Hard to say, but I felt like crap anyway. I'm going to take it a bit easier today and drink lots of fluids, and hopefully I'll stay on my feet.

Oh hey, did I mention that I got a minor sunburn? We all did. IN IRELAND.

It was gorgeous, and it's shaping up to be the same today. I guess we're just lucky with the weather.

Sick

Sorry for the lack of posts. I'm sick. Hopefully I'll get better in time to enjoy Dublin a bit, but right now I just wish I were home. That's all. I'm going back to sleep.

Vermeer

Yesterday we took a train to Hague (or Den Haag) because everyone wanted to see Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring. You know the one. It's famous.

Cheesy cheese

I have been well and truly converted on cheese. I used to think I didn't like it that much, and even if there was some that was okay (gruyere... yum), I certainly didn't like goat cheese.

Yeah, no. Cheese is genius.

PRIDE

I took a frankly insane amount of pictures at the Pride parade, so I'll just throw a few of my favorites up here.

Paint Your Palette Blue and Gray

We went to the Van Gogh museum with our roommates.

The guy on the bunk laughing at Stellar's antics is Darren. There's also Alvin, a Chinese-Canadian drummer who is very cool. The museum was amazing, but unlike the Orsay, when they say that there are no pictures allowed, they aren't fooling around. No pictures this time.

Canals and Bikes

Everyone else wanted to sleep in, so I wandered around alone this morning. I tried to get lots of pictures so you could understand how cozy and beautiful Amsterdam is.

AMSTERDAM!

Guys guys. I love Amsterdam. I haven't even been her for a day, and I can already tell. Everyone is friendly and speaks English. The canals are twisty and full of adorable antique boats. Our hotel is cozy and comfortable. There are bikes everywhere. And all the natives and tall and beautiful.

Third Time's the Charm

Today was our time to make up for the things we missed during the week. Namely, the Musee de Orsay and the Catacombs, both of which had foiled us with their long lines before. I especially wanted to see the Catacombs, since I had tried and failed to visit them when I was in Paris with Tyson. First up was the museum, for which we got up at an ungodly hour.

The line was long, but not as long as before. Stellar wigged out when she saw what was inside. There were some of her favorite pieces by her favorite artists. I recognized almost none of them, so I just went along for the ride and enjoyed the new experience.

Laundry and Impressionists

Laundry day.

We were perplexed. The soap dispenser was on the other side of the room from where you put coins in, and the machine ate three of Stellar's euros. We managed to get our clothes clean though.

Out on the Town

Some select photos from last night. Check out how red Stellar got.

The Best Crepes in Paris

On Friday night, after spending the day at Versailles, we wanted to get some more cheese and baguettes and have a picnic dinner on a pedestrian bridge. Apparently lots of people hang out on this bridge at night, play music, eat food, drink wine... But we got back pretty late and we were exhausted, so by the time we went back out all the boulangeries were closed. We went by the bridge, but we'll have to wait for another night to join in the fun.