Where in the World is Chelsea Gibbs?: On to Amsterdam

We made it to Amsterdam from Paris today. When we got here, it was raining for the first time in the almost 3 weeks we've been in Europe. It cleared up eventually though.

We really lucked out on the beautiful weather we had in Paris. I've heard it can be pretty nasty there. It was beautiful and pleasant while we were there, and still sunny when we left today. On our last day in Paris, yesterday Friday the 3rd, we went to Musee d'orsay and then later that night we took a boat tour down the Seine river. On one of the bridges that crosses the Seine and goes over to Musee d'orsay, there were probably thousands of locks, all with peoples names written on them. We figured out, through an advertisement that you were supposed to "lock away your love, and throw away the key forever." I thought it was sweet. It made the bridge glitter in the sun. I got in Musee d'orsay for free because the lady assumed I was under 18. I guess I'll take that as a compliment. I thought Musee d'orsay would be a little less overwhelming than the Louvre, but it was still overwhelming. Their collection of impressionist work is really extensive and impressive. There was room after room of Monet, Degas, Manet and Cezanne, etc. It was really awesome, and kind of unbelievable. I took a class on variations my last semester in college, and my professor always used Monet's variations on haystacks and cathedral's as examples, and there they were. It was really cool, and a lot to take in at once.

We kind of got lost trying to get to Musee d'orsay, so although I really wanted to see Notre Dame, we were exhausted, and you just can't do everything. We took a break at our room and then went back out a while later to do the boat tour. I got to see Notre Dame from that, just not up close and personal. The tour lasted an hour and was really scenic and a different way to see the city. So many people hang out along the Seine and eat, drink wine, make out, smoke, chat, whatever. It seemed to be a really popular place to come to in the evening or afternoon. There are also lots of boats tied up to the side that have little tables on them where people eat, or that are even restaurants. They were really cute. It was dark by the time we got something to eat afterwards, and I got to see the Eiffel tower all lit up. It was very pretty.

We just rode the train all day today. We didn't have any issues on the train, but one thing that was strange was that we got asked for our passports today on the train. They were packed away in mom's suitcase, so she said to come back, that she had to get them out. They never even came back. I thought when you traveled through Europe, you didn't need to show your passport when you switched countries, and we haven't had to yet. It was odd.

Amsterdam is very chilly, but it seems nice. Everyone speaks good English so far. The language barrier is really getting tough, but this is the last place we're going where the native language isn't English. Everyone here rides bikes, they even have a lane here that's as wide as a car lane for bikers. We probably saw more people on bikes than riding cars today. As long as it's not raining, we'll probably rent bikes and ride around tomorrow. Should be interesting!

Best things about today: Making it to Amsterdam without major complications. Having good dinner.
Worst things about today: Public transportation. Lack of warm clothes.

These are from the last day in Paris: