Back to school...

Where a kid can be a kid :)

So I'm not sure how long this has been going on... not too long, maybe 3 or 4 years, but our family goes to Chuck E Cheese before/after/during (some time around then) back to school shopping. The pizza is gross... the crying babies are stupid... but the games/tickets/prizes are kinda' fun.

This year it'll just be Spence and Matty going back to school (Jess has started her high school/college abridgment program, so she doesn't count now... :( Welcome to the college-kid-reject-club Jess), Spence starting high school (VOMIT) and Matt starting middle school (KILL ME).

The day after I returned from my European escapades, we went and toured Matty's middle school, and then headed off to Chuck's... and here are the associated photos:

Isn't he cute?

This is what we saw as we walked in and prepared to order.

...I got the salad bar.

Sorry you're always gonna be the tiny baby Matty.

Freakin' cute kid.

Fun times that I HIGHLY doubt will ever end completely... (this is also Bill's favorite place to eat)

Yeah... we're all still kids at heart, even if our ages say otherwise :)

Day 1

I'M BACK! And I've been working on this blog a lot because...my circadian rhythm is screwed up... and I've got a mild form of O.C.D. and can't stand to leave something unfinished.

So, I went on a 14 day European excursion with my friend Seriza from hygiene school. We went with the tour company: Contiki, an Australian tour company that designs tours specifically for the 18-35yr old age-range. Now... to me, this meant that we'd be doing fun things (you know, whitewater rafting, shopping in fun areas, etc)...little did I know it meant ALCOHOL.

Seriously. Every night. EVERY. SINGLE. NIGHT. Many people went out and drank til they passed out. It was... pretty unbelievable. To each their own, right?

Okay, here we go:

Las Vegas to St. Paul, Minnesota:

The lovely view of St. Paul from the air

"Land of 10,000 lakes"

We left Las Vegas at around 2pm and landed in St Paul around 8:30pm (central time). Our flight from St. Paul to London Hethrow Airport (LHR) left at 9:45pm so we had to book it to the next gate and made it with 15 minutes to spare (VERY nerve wracking).

Then... at 9:45pm, we got on a plane headed for LHR... but were stalled on the ground for 2 hrs :|

Finally at 11:40pm, we took off to England. :)

Day 2

London:

My first glimpse of London through the airplane window just before landing :)

A map of the "Tube" (London Underground)

We had to ride the Tube for an hour and a half to get to our stop and...

I was exhausted!

First step out of the Tube station! :D

Our view from the hotel window

A really cute little park across the street

The underground station :)

Really pretty architecture

SMELLED LIKE PEE!!!

We landed in London around noon on Friday Aug 6th, took about 2 hours to get to our hotel and then changed and got ready and went to our Contiki-meeting just down the street from where we were staying. After the meeting, we decided to walk around the area a bit (we weren't comfortable enough with the Tube to venture out anywhere). We weren't able to find traditional English fish and chips, so we settled on a vegetarian curry restaurant and... eww. Seriously.

After we ate, we walked around the park, and then headed back to the hotel to get some much needed shut-eye...before heading off to Amsterdam at 6am the next day!

Day 3

London to Amsterdam:

The London skyline. We only got a glimpse of it while driving out of the city.

The White Cliffs of Dover

Here is where we got on a ferry to get across the English Channel (which was an awful 90 minutes for me. I got really really sea sick).

Here's the first sign of us being in Belgium. :)

100 km an hr!

More windmills...

Amsterdam: Day 1

A picture of our Bus, thru the window at our hotel in Amsterdam.

Jason, our "tour manager" made little itinerary sheets for us at each city we were in.

Yeah...that's Amsterdam...

lol... Manneken Pis?!

Translation: Fries and mayo.

Red light district just down that alley... no thanks. :\

Boys urinal...

Jason: "Here's where you go to have great conversations with the bartenders"

Translation: Here's where you get pot.

We went on a canal cruise around Amsterdam that...turned into a booze-cruise less than 5 minutes after leaving the dock. :|

Jason in his "Amsterdamsel" gear!

The "tour guide"
(who basically said, "Ef history, lets drink!")

Oh, just wanted to show you how bright it is outside at 9pm over in Europe! The sun doesn't start to set until around 10pm or so...which is really aggravating, since most stores/shops close at 8pm! With PLENTY of daylight wasted!!!

Canal Cruise pics

We were fortunate enough to arrive in Amsterdam during the last few days of the Gay Pride festival they hold every year... :P

Here's what the group started off drinking...

After the booze-cruise, the rest of the group went to a "Dutch cultural experience" aka "Live sex show"... Seriza and I went and got some of those fries with dipping sauce... then got a taxi and went to the hotel to shower and sleep. :)

(We were the grandmas of the trip, I guess.)

Amsterdam: Day 2

The tree looked like it was in camo.

The buildings in most of Europe, but particularly in Amsterdam were all really narrow and built up. Our tour manager, Jason, informed us that because they are so tall and narrow, they can't lift furniture through the stairwells, so they have these hooks they use to pulley the large furniture to the upper level windows! Crazy!

The Anne Frank House

I was so impressed with how reverent and respectful everyone was in this museum/house. I was amazed that there was such a long line to get in as well! Happy to see that so many people still value and respect amazing bits of history like Anne Frank.

The front of the Anne Frank House.

Gay and Lesbian info booth.
(Is there THAT MUCH to know? wtf?)

Walking around town after the Anne Frank house,

we got cheese croissants...

YUM!!!

And this weird waffle thing...

(cold and stale and...pretty gross!)

BICYCLE!

Bike after bike after bike.

This city is HUGE in cycling and whatnot!!!

Cute.

Leaving Amsterdam headed for Germany, we saw this classic Dutch scenery...

the WHOLE drive down...

Oh. You have to pay to pee in Europe. Usually anywhere between .50 euro - 2 euro (roughly $.75-$3.00)

AMAZING toilette seat:

See how its a little off? Well, I got my camera out JUST IN TIME to catch it spinning! (Don't worry, this is pre-pee). As soon as you flush, the toilette seat spins, and that blue column tilts up and sprays the seat with an antimicrobial spray! Very cool! :)

Our Pee-receipt :|

Dave (driver) and Jason (tour manager)

Both Aussies.

Amsterdam in one word: ...Pot

or Bicycle. It's a tie.