City and Countryside

Before I caught my train to Veenendaal to see my friend Timo, I needed breakfast. I thoroughly enjoyed my croissant and jam, hard boiled eggs, and free cappuccino from the Nescafe machine. They were playing all the thought provoking music such as, 'Stairway to Heaven' and Zeppelin. It made me think that at that moment in the hostel, was a moment I will remember for life, and that it is the start of a journey. It may sound corny, but I am all about deep 'feelings'. After all that thinking... I packed my bags and laid down for a bit to just relax. Well, I ended up sleeping until 10:15 (from 930ish) and check out is 10:30am. So, I woke up and grabbed my stuff and hoofed it up stairs... literally. I called a taxi and was on my way...

The drive through Amsterdam is very beautiful, the city is so vibrant and inviting.
Got to the train station and almost broke my back carrying all my stuff around with me.... had just enough change for my train ticket, and managed to get to the platform with a few minutes to spare. It was a tricky situation, because I didn't have a phone and they don't really have pay phones here, so I had to make the train to meet my friend. I got on the train (what I thought was the right train... later found out it was not). I sat beside this little old lady who was so friendly in her broken English and body gestures. She was very surprised to see me with so much stuff... we chatted briefly and she helped me with the train stations. Eventually, my stop came and I grabbed my stuff and took off, thanking her graciously.

Turns out, I got on the wrong train and I needed to go to Utrecht first and I ended up in Veenendaal-the city I needed, but on 30 min from my destination. So, I managed to open my cell phone to get my friend's number to call him, but the kiosk phone was dead... just my luck. I tried my luck asking the girl at the desk how to get to the central station and she advised me to take the bus. Great, I am thinking in my head, take the bus with all my stuff... it's all the guys fault at the info booth, he told me to take train 4b instead of train 5...I know now.

I suck it up, and wait for the bus, the bus driver is really friednly, go figure. He drops me off right at the station. Perfect. Turns out I arrive just before my train is suppose to arrive. As I get to the platform, I see my friend on the other side. I am about to yell over... and two trains pull into the station at the same time. We miss each other by seconds. So, I grab my stuff go around to the other side, but he has left. So, I am loitering for a few minutes putting together my game plan. Then I see these 3 teenage girls across the street, I go over and plead my case, of course they were so nice, they let me use their cell to call Timo and phew... he answers.
Here I am thinking he is driving and may have gone to the other station. Turns out he lives right by the station 2 minutes away. He walks over and everything is ok.

So, I have been hanging out at his place for the last 2 days catching up and walking around his city (or town). Today, we went to see FC Utrecht vs PSV two professional club futbol teams in Holland. Really cool! Everything you have heard happens. FC Utrecht played horribly! They are the team of the city I will be living in. Unfortunately, they lost 5-1. Some pretty awesome goals. It was an awesome experience to see the excitement of all the fans in the city. And, the away team's fans are put into a seperate section away from the home team to stop rioting. It was insane. Afterwards, we walked around the city, and I am super excited to live in Utrecht. It is a beautiful city. A perfect fit.

Tonight, we will go into the centre and go to the bars with some of Timo's friends. I'll get a taste of Dutch countryside clubbing.... :0 lol.

I am having a great time in Holland, it really is a beautiful country.

Meagan in AMSTERDAM part 1

I have arrived, and I have been in this country for just under 24 hours and already have stories. It never ceases to amaze me.

The Flight:

The flight was fine, nothing to crazy happened it was actually quite pleasant to say the least. I started reading 'Eat, Pray, Love'(sorry no italics working for me), it is a fabulous book. It definitely helped pass the time. I slept a fair amount as well, which is never a problem. Half way through the flight we hit some turblance, might have had something to do with going over the Atlantic Ocean. When it happened I woke to what I thought was an emergancy intercom message, because there was so much shaking from the turbulance, but it was ok. In my half dream state, I made it more intense than it actually was.

The Airport:

Arrving in the airport was fine, cattle carted through the airport into the customs to check my passport. Very quick and efficient. Very Dutch. I had my first glimpse of the beautiful Dutch men at Customs. One guy looked like this actor from several movies I have seen, the name escapes me now. In due time...
I passed through no problems, AND I got my first European stamp = Meagan very very happy! :D

Then came the baggage. As I mentioned yesterday my total increased to 2 checked bags, causing me to have a total of 4 bags. Damnnit. So, waiting for the baggage carosal to dispense my luggage was a bit of a wait. This is always the case though, my bag is always last. Causing me to think that a) they forgot my luggage b) someone took my bag thinking it was theirs. But, like always my bag is last and they came together like a little unit. The wait for the bags to shimmy their way towards me felt like the slow motion scenes in movies, where two people are running towards each other in a galopping, slow hair toss moment. Now, this was the tricky part. I couldn't figure out how to bloody well use the stupid luggage buggy resulting in me having to carry all my bags through the airport (later, as I was getting my stuff into the taxi I would figure out... you just have to push the handle down, oops).

Finally, I arrive at the other end of the airport... and I see a beacon for a taxi service. By this time, I have given up on taking the train. So, I ask the lady at the desk who was so helpful she caught a taxi driver outside who was going into the city centre, and taking another man. She asked him if he could take me also... as he was pondering, the client did a once over and said sure come along(I guess tight jeans and boots worked well in my favourr and got me a deal and a ride into the city).

The Taxi:

I packed all my bags into the back and settled in for a ride into the city centre with my nwe found friends. It is funny though, I instinctively wanted to start speaking Spanish to the other passanger.... turns out he is from Chile working for this luxury hotel chain based out of Madrid. He was in Amsterdam looking over the hotels there. He gave me his card, and told me to stay in touch, in case I needed anything. Such a nice gentleman. So, we all chatted in the car ride, which was so much nicer than the hell I would have had to endure with all my bags on the train, a bus and then walking to find the hostel. The taxi driver was very friendly and told me some history of the city and helped me with some Dutch. Dutch people are a) adorable b) very friendly c) speak excellent English d) very helpful.

The Hostel:

I am staying at the Flying Pig chain in Uptown Amsterdam. The niec posh area with Gucci and every other big house name in fashion, blocks from the hostel. BMW's and Benzes line the street next to bicyles. I am in the bottom of the hostel next to the bar... haha. It's all good. Also, my room is decorated with painted pictures of weed. Ahhh... the themed marajuana room. Eventually, it would become fully inhabited by all men, I reckon them to be Dutch or German. All blonde and tall...
Amsterdam:

I drop my stuff and head out into the city. I know there are things I would like to see, but I have no plan. I just take note of my surroundings and head out to the street. Taking note of bicycle paths-which are given precedence, and the very bizzare road system- which just looks like a mish-mash of lines everywhere, and everyone is viaing for some road space. Luckily, the walk sign is a universal man, and to make it even more clear, on green. I head across the road to a canal area and walk around. One of the first places I come across is a stationary card shop. :) ahhh heaven... I love these places, with beautiful cards and postcards and cute trinkety things. I just observe careful of a prior warning not to buy post cards at the first place you go to, they get cheaper... I walked through the plaza and saw a giant chess game, and people socializing in the square.
I found a cute little bagel shop, and ordered a hummus bagel with tomatoe and cucumber, and settled in to observe the everyday occurances in Dutch life. I chose the window seat the looked out onto a bike rental shop. You can really tell whoa re tourists and who are locals. I think I blended well. I had on my cardigan and skinny jeans with boots... The bagel was delicious and I observed quite a bit from my surroundings. Afterwards, I walk along and end up right along side the canal and take some pictures and walk back up to the plaza, heading for the Van Gogh Musuem. I follow the map diligently and I am rewarded with a timely arrival. 12.50€ gets you into the musuem. I love Van Gogh, and I learn quite a bit more about him... for instance - he was inspired by Japanese art. It was also really neat to see his evoultiuon as an artist, his paintings become (for me) much more beautiful in his later years. Jet-lag or something catches up with me, so I have to cut out early... but I saw all of the Van Gogh pieces... then I picked up some postcards of my favourite pieces and a book on the expedition... total 6.75€. Not bad. I think. I am not bothering converting in my head, it kill me- in addition, to people smoking everywhere.

The debacle:

After I came back from the musuem, I took a nap and then woke up and was trying to open my locker, but somehow I got it locked and jammed and spent about 30 min trying to get the combo lock. To my dismay, I couldn't get it, and I ended up going into frustration over-drive I swear the guys in my room thought I was going to turn into the Hulk. They sort of got quiet and stopped moving... but then I decided much too late, that I should just get them to cut it. Unfortunately, by this point I was mentally exhausted from this debacle that I was crying and when I asked for help at the bar, I started crying and a guy beside me was like "do you need a drink, it's going to be ok,". The event ended nicely, after a few minutes trying to break the lock and me getting a pad lock. NEVER AGAIN will I use a combo lock. bastard. Oh to top it all off, well I was trying so hard to get my combo lock, all the guys in my room were pampering for a night out, and either naked or in their tighties. Hahaha. Oh boy, I was too busy with my lock to care, I think they were confused, seeing as I was the only girl in the room. They took longer than I did, and I didn't need to worry about smelling nice, as the air lingered with Dolce and Gabbana and several other man scents... not to say it was bad. I was just expecting one of them to pull out a make up bag and apply eye liner too. But, coodoes for choosing nice colonge. European men are very different from North American men.

Later, I cut the edge with a Bailey's on ice, and ordered a Toad sie... which is essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with different ingredients... or a pathetic Quizno's sub... I prefer a Dutch twist on a grilled cheese sandwich, but I did compare it to Quizno's ever so slightly. After, awhile I was tired and wanted bed, I also did not want to accidentaly fall into a repeat of last weekend. It was too fresh, and would have not have made for a pleasant train ride.

Now, it is morning and I am waiting for my breaky and listening to "Sexy Boy" by Air at about noon loud. Ie- a tad loud for 8am. But, hey I am in Amsterdam.

Later on I am heading on the train to Veenendaal to meet my friend Timo and hang out in his town for a few days before I move into my place in Utrecht. Apparently, my pronounciation is terrible, so I need to really work on that. I will. Right now, I just want an advil and a fruit salad.

The day before tomorrow....

So, the past few days have been action packed- I finished work at Hydro last Friday, and had a customary 'all-you-can-eat' sushi buffet with the regular lunch crew, always good times. Later, that night I planned my bon voyage party. We went to the Lamp Lighter in Gastown, which actually turned out to be a wicked good time. I couldn't have asked for a better crew to enjoy that many tequilla shooters and dance the night away with. Saturday was a brutal tribute to the night before, I was a hurting unit on the bus ride to Whistler with Tanya... suffice to say there was bag usage on the bus. But, that cliche "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," proved very true in the moments after.... I made it alive and in one piece, and ended up having a great weekend. Thanks Nele~ "Saturday was actually a crazy night for me..."

I have been enjoying myself a lot hanging out with friends and family. I actually kind of wish my day could consist of 3 coffee trips to Starbucks and talking all day.... I covered a lot of ground these last few days!

Today was a brutal move day, I had to pack my mom's Toyota Matrix with all the stuff I had in my cramped little office/bedroom space. Picture this... two rubber maid totes, a suit case I can fit in, an 80L back pack, boxes, bags and everything in between (litterally) crammed into the car. We managed to get everything in there with my cunning packing and maneovering skills. The only victims were, a wicker basket and my IKEA desk tray. Unfortunately, we just didn't have anymore room. None. My 80L pack is crammed with clothes... just clothes... how I managed? The pack, un-pack, re-pack, un-pack and finally, re-pack. I am on the 4th re-pack, I should be good after this one. I better be. Hours later... I added an extra bag. Total bag count: 2 checked, 2 carry-on.

Tonight, I am with my mom and sister and finishing up the last minute packing and organizing. And, tomorrow, oh tomorrow is the big day. It's hard to believe that I have been planning this for a year. However, I am very excited to be going at last, and I finally get to embark on my European adventure.

Tomorrow will be interesting, my game plan to get a good seat is to freak out whoever sits by me with Sex and the City. Enough awkward sex scenes should send the person packing to a different seat leaving me more sprawling space. If that doesn't work, well then just muscle your way in, that's Air Transat for you.

My flight is at 5pm and I fly direct to Amsterdam, arriving at 1130 am Thursday.

I hope you all enjoy my blog, and I promise to keep you updated!

I will miss you all :)