:)

well howdy howdy, friends!
so, we got up at the crack of dawn Dublin time yesterday and partook of the free Irish breakfast (making sure to stay far away from the black pudding after learning a smelly lesson the day before) and then got on our way home. Dublin didn't have the dazzling gaudy buildings of Paris or the balmy outdoorsy-ness of Sorrento, but the folks there were lovely and earthy and it was all good. We finally got in here around 7:00 and then crashed, zombified but awake on the couch until a 'reasonable' bedtime, so hopefully now we'll be on some sort of North American schedule.
the trip was wonderful...wonderful wonderful wonderful! I hope everyone had as awesome and memorable a time as we did. It's amazing how much stuff got crammed into those 16 days...was it only a week ago that we were preparing to leave Paris? Oh, my brain is full! :)
Michael and Ann, although we didn't get to meet up with you, I hope you don't feel too bad about it. A theme that presented itself to us early on (when we abandoned thoughts of doing Venice and Florence in favor of running away south to Sorrento) was the idea of a perfect vacation being one where we do whatever we feel like doing, and to heck with previous plans and itineraries and research.
Scott 'n Amanda, it was good to meet up with you and find you as relaxed as you were; It sounds like you both had lots of fun on your first big adventurin'-type trip. Good work!
we'll get our pictures up sometime in the next little while...in the meantime, I'm still glowing from the memories of adventures and experiences that will last long after the last stroopwaffle has been eaten.

Hey, we're back too!

Hi all,
Well well well, what a wonderful last two weeks! We never expected to really have such a great time. The food, the people, the lodgings (even if they weren't deluxe) were all so unexpected!
But boy, were we ever tired rolling in to pearson yesterday! The ride on the subway home was a real head-bobber for us.
Anyway, now we get to relax for a few more days of a long weekend! yay! We'll try to post some pix later probably on imagestation.
Scott, you done your DVD yet? :)
ciao for now
Byron

HOLIDAY SNAPS! WINK-WINK! SAY. NO. MORE!

At Scott's request, here are 24 of our European Tour 2005 photos!

Back in Canada....What day is it?

Phew...wow, what a trip. Back to my keyboard, my kitty, my bed and Tim Horton's. Still not sure what day/time it is. Yesterday was completely exhausting - we left our hotel at 830am Amsterdam time and got to Scott's apt at the equivalent of 1130pm Amsterdam time - only it was only 5pm here with loads of daylight left. Thankfully, we took a cab to the airport and my mom came and picked us up at Pearson, so that decreased the amount of time lugging all of our crap (which was much heavier returning than on the way there). An annoying child with an even more annoying father kicked the back of my airplane seat for pretty much the entire trip and an even more annoying 20-yr old Quebecois "dude" elbowed me in the gut for the entire trip. Got sniffed out for some reason by a "fruit-smelling" dog at Pearson and had my bag searched. Cute little doggie too.

All in all, home in one piece, tired, confused of day/time/should I eat or sleep, etc. with so much to tell friends and family, I don't even know where to start.

The last day in Amsterdam was great. What a different place. We ended the day eating at the Pizzeria below our hotel - we'd been enjoying its wonderful smells for 2 days so thought we would endulge.

Not that I'm glad the trip is over, but I feel "OK" that it's over - if we'd stayed any longer, we would have had to devote an entire day to sleeping. I think we were both getting to the point where the days would have been less enjoyed because of our fatigue.

Will continue to check the blog for our friends who are still abroad!

Amanda

WITH GLOWING HEARTS

When I learned that my friends Scott and Amanda were sewing Canadian Flag patches on their backpacks for their trip through Europe, I guffawed.

I always thought the intent behind having one was to tell snooty French and Italians, "Look, I'm not American. Please don't ignore me/beat me up/rip me off." It felt like we were leaning on our flag in an embarassing fashion.

Besides, Americans allegedly sew Canadian flags on their gear as cultural camoflage.

Now, after traveling Europe over the past three years to cities including London, Paris, and Rome I've had a change of heart about the patch.

While neither of us were fluent, in Italy this May we did learn enough Italian to be polite. "Please" and "Thank you" along with elements of ordering meals, train tickets, and the like. Not one of the Americans we've met abroad over the years bothered. And they seemed confused by the lack of "response" they received as a result.

This recent trip, one particularly demanding woman squeeked "Excuse Me!" a half dozen times within ear-shot of an ignoring waiter, then proceeded to made culinary demands that were counter to the culture of the country. Hey, if you wanted a McDonald's hamburger, why did you leave the United States? And how tough is it to learn "Mi Scusi?"

The French and Italians have a reputation for being snooty for a reason: if you don't respect their language or customs, you're going to be treated poorly.

I now recognize that having a means of identifying oneself as Canadian sends a message: we're going to be respectful of your language and culture while a guest in your country.

And that's something that makes me proud to wear our flag.

Insert your own variation on "damn" + Amsterdam

...sorry we didn't hook up with you guys when you arrived in Amsterdam! Ann and I needed a romantic night to ourselves, so I hope you'll understand.

We've landed in Toronto and are now beginning the process of unpacking and returning to our former lives. One odd thing about the counter-culture shock? After spending two weeks in gaudy Italian and Dutch hotel rooms, our home looks odd with so little on the walls by comparison. Anyone know of a good place to buy tacky wallpaper?

Michael & Ann

Last whole day in Europe

Wow ... it's seemed like forever but it's hard to believe we're going back so soon.

Amsterdam has been cute. While we could only explore a district or two a day in Paris, this city is navigable entirely on foot. We haven't bought a transit ticket aside from the one that took us two metro stops to our hotel on arrival. Not quite the architectural variety here as in the other cities -- mostly a million variations on the Dutch gable canalhouse theme. They're all cute.

Had a great time with S&B last night at dinner and afterward. Feeling so very very tired today. Got a nice shot of the four of us at the canal bridge near our hotel square. There's a modern art market there today 'til 6!

We were the first ones at breakfast this morning, which was a first for us.

Anticipating utter exhaustion tomorrow morning after a planned excursion to the Van Gogh museum, the sex museum perhaps, Vondelpark, a check of the Anne Frank house and a tour to the red light district, we've prebooked a taxi to the airport. Dude says it's 37 euros, which sounds like a bargain compared to what the H's paid. We've been told and have read that taxis rates here are unregulated, so the hotelier's friend's flat rate sounds safe.

Back onto an airplane Monday morning to Heathrow, then bounce over the ocean to Toronto for about 20 hours of sleep.

Looking forward to some fantastic slideshows after we all sort out our pictures.

Happy flying, all! This has been a trip of a lifetime. Who knows where I'll wanna visit next time....

Hiya!

Okey dokey - all sounds great!
We arrived in amsterdam on time at 2 and are making our way around and reorienting ourselves :)
So we will see ya there at 7pm then.
by the way, we are thinking of getting a snack and eating when we meet up with ya...
ciao for now
s&b

Saturday meet-ups

Hey guys! Good luck with the trains today - I hope there isn't a repeat of yesterday (we were also delayed 3 hours by an unexpected train strike....stranded in Brussels and not sure if we had a way out. They said the strike might end at 2 (our train was at 1125am). It did end up leaving at 230 and we made it here!! A few tense moments thought).

So, for meet up today. It is now noon and we've had a bit of a late start of it. We are on our way to a few museums and interesting spots and not sure if we'll be done by 4pm. How about we meet at 7pm at our hotel? We haven't become acquainted enough with the city at this point to suggest another more suitable meeting spot.

Our hotel is Thornbeckeplein 9 (its a square, not a street). I'm not sure where exactly your hotel is, so I'm going to try to give you general directions. It's super easy to find. I hope you have a nice map (our map actually lists this square).

Subway stop - Waterlooplein; Tram stop Rembrantplein. If you can find Rembrantplein on your map, we are just south of that, before the Herengracht canal. More complicated instructions - find the cross of the Amstel and the Herengracht canals. We are west of that (or left of that on a map). The Thornbeckeplein square is between Utrechtse Straat and Vijzelstraat on the north side of the Herengracht canal (or on your right if you are walking from the Amster/Herengracht canal crossing).

Our hotel name is Hotel Imperial, its beside a pizzaria. We will be waiting for you on a bench in the square around 7!

In the meantime, if an adjustment of plans is required, you can email Scott's blackberry (as it magically started working yesterday at the most opportune moment) - his first name dot his last name at rogers dot blackberry dot com.

See you then!
Amanda

hi kids,
It sounds like everyone's trip has been full of adventure so far...we are relaxing right now at Alex's house, laundry is being done and batteries are recharging (batteries of both sorts), getting ready to move on to Am'dam tomorrow am by train, hopefully that goes ok for us. we should be rolling in to town around 2, so we are ready and willing to meet up for dinner or what-have-yous anytime after about 4. scott, since you are our advance envoy in town, maybe you kids could pick someplace to meet up and suggest a time (if you're up for meeting up on Saturday) after 4ish...we should be able to get to where ever without too much problem...
we're enjoying paris quite a bit, having an actual home to come back to at the end of the day helps a lot. yesterday we were out for what, 14 hours or something, walking most of that whole time. unfortunately, to my poor addled brain, everything starts to look the same after a while; after about the 20th gigantic ornate gilded building, I stop being able to appreciate them. oh well! there's been lots else to appreciate, including the delicious pastries :)
will check the blog and email tomorrow when we get in...looking forward to it!
s&b

FLIGHT CANCELLED, LATE ARRIVAL

Scott and Amanda, due to the strike in Italy, our KLM flight to Amsterdam has been rescheduled. We won't get in until 7PM at the airport. 8PM at the hotel likely. Please leave a note at our hotel telling us if you will meet us at 8PM at our hotel for the evening or at what cafe you'd like us to meet you.

You can call my cell, too, and you should have the number. If not, call my home phone number -- the cell is on the outgoing voxmail msg.

Also, you could try posting to the blog but I can't guarantee I'll be able to see it.

The Amazing Race continues,
Michael & Ann