Go to sleep in Amsterdam wake up Paris...

Amsterdam to Paris on a night bus. It sounds like an indie movie. Tony got here on Thursday and did the Amsterdam thing till I got off work. After a nap, cause he was lagged, we went to a rooftop party at the

Tony, Hendrik, and I went to Amsterdam Friday morning. We went to the Rijksmuseum,where we popped bottles (a sick Belgian Triple) in line, which has the history of the Netherlands and famous Rembrandt's, and is free for Philips employees, but unfortunately we left our badges at home. After a day in Amsterdam, walking around the red light district and eating frites and mayo, we got on a bus at 10pm to Paris. Much more happened, but I am abbreviating because of time.

We arrived in Paris at 6am and went to see Jim Morrison's grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetary. Unfortunately, at 6am nothing is open so we went to our next destination: the Louvre. We were first in line obviously and when it opened at 9am we went straight to the Mona Lisa, then saw the Venus de Milo and what not. We spent 2.5 hours walking around, and we could've spent 2.5 days. Side note: when we got there a woman in a trench coat with an entourage of like 4 men walked right into the plaza. She took off her coat and low and behold she was naked! The guy with the scooter helmet took a bunch of pics until the Louvre security freaked out and started yelling. Good Omen.

After the Louvre we met some of my friends that live in Paris. They met us for lunch and were our guides for the entire trip. I can't thank them enough for their willingness to give up a weekend and show us around Paris. After lunch, we walked from the Louvre to the Arc de Triumphe, then took the metro to the Eiffel where we walked up the steps (1000?).

We had to go back to our hotel around 5pm so we could buy things for our picnic. I should say, we were invited to come with our friends to have a picnic and watch a french film in a park. We bought very french things, but of course they were all "too cheap" and incorrect (this is a common french thing and it takes getting used to, its hard not to get offended). We had our wine and food and went out in St. Michele. I got extremely drunk, but I think I was more tired than anything else. At 3:30am (the bars are open all night) and three 8 euro beers later (Paris is expensive!) we walked home...mistake. It took us 45 minutes to walk home and we weren't even lost. I think it was around around 3 miles. We went to bed around 4:30am.

Let me tell you about our hotel. Disgusting by US standards, but it was cheap, had a balcony, mold in the bathroom, crumbs in the bed, exactly what trip advisor said...Didn't accept my credit card, so I payed with cash...blah.

We met for breakfast and had great omelettes and coke, something about coke just reminds me of home. The omelettes were 5 euro and the cokes were 4 euro each...are you getting the picture? After breakfast we hiked up Montmarte, it has amazing views of the city and some of the best known artists resided here for some time. It reminded me of Italy, which I have not been to yet. After Montmarte we saw Le Chat Noir and Moulin Rouge and then hopped on the metro back to the city center to walk around on Rue de Rivoli the Marias. Rivoli is like Constitution Ave in DC and lots of the buildings look the same. After walking for sometime through the Marias (small street with lots of shopping) we sat in a park had cokes (cheaper thank god) and bread.

This is where our French guides left us and we went to the Pere Lachaise again alone to find Jim Morrison's grave. This is also the time where I almost died from exhaustion. Interestingly, Jim Morrison has a very small grave stone, and Oscar Wilde is buried here as well. Since none of us could name any of Oscar Wilde's books, we decided to skip his grave. The cemetery was a necropolis, literally a city of tombs.

After the cemetery, we walked aimlessly for a couple of hours, had some cheap food and waited for the bus. We left Paris at 7:30 and arrived half past midnight in Eindhoven. The trip is exhausting even to talk about, but luckily for me a picture says a thousand words.

Quick lets go to Utrecht, 'cause ze Germans are coming!

The pics are below the post. The Germans from Mannheim returned the favor and came and visited me. The pictures of the guy in his underwear: we were playing some night soccer at the lake and the ball went in so the dude stripped and retrieved it. Let me start by saying I got super drunk the night before the Germans arrived. There was a party and then we ended in Stratum and partied until 4 am. So in my drunken stupor Hendrik and myself decided to go to Utrecht early Saturday. Unfortunately for me he didn't drink because he drove, so came early to my house. Talk about hangover, awkward sleep while a friend drives. We got to Utrecht and walked around. This trip was actually really important to me because it is the only other dutch city I have seen besides Eindhoven and Amsterdam. I got a tight shirt and admired the women, let me reiterate: Holland has hot women. The city is like 60% women anyways because of the college. Mind blowing, but none can compare to the beautiful woman waiting for me in the States.
We arrived at 3pm and the Germans had arrived at 1pm, so naturally they were drunk and hungry. We went back to the Stratum and as you can see we found some famous people. I got a bad picture of the guys from Miami Ink. I guess they were here giving tats...wish I would've gotten one. After food we went to a park and had some food, then went back out to Stratum...ugh...
50 euros and 3 or 4 rounds of Jager later, yes Germans love Jager...Oliver got lost and Volker and I spent 10 euro calling him. Everytime he went to answer the phone he threw up. This continued for about an hour, hence the 10 euro phone bill.
It was good to see old friends and know that if I am ever in Western Europe I gots peeps.

Gay Pride in Amsterdam

Amsterdam. This word can bring a number of images to the mind. Nothing could prepare me for the debauchery and party atmosphere I felt that one Saturday in July.
I have never been to a gay pride parade, but I can assure you that the one in Amsterdam is definitive world wide. As you can see from the pictures, thousands of people crowd around one of the canals that circle around Amsterdam. Hundreds of boats filled with half naked people dancing, singing, drinking, touching...An excuse to get drunk in public. So when in Amsterdam during the gay pride parade, what does one do? Well, we walked on the canal where the party was taking our time, drinking beers and snacking on chips. Really as usual the whole trip was a blur, but I can tell you that there was A LOT of public same sex intimacy, not just guys either... Anywho if you want to know what really goes on in Amsterdam, you will just have to go!