Florence

Last weekend brought a trip to one of my favorite all-time cities: Florence, Italy. I went last year and had a great time so I was excited to go again. Brent's cousin, Danielle, was here from Florida visiting so we decided to make a weekend trip to Florence.
We had gorgeous weather, which was even better coming from Holland where it is really cold and rainy. It felt so good to have the warmth of the sun on my face again. Wandering through the markets is always fun with so much to buy and the male sellers trying to woo you into purchasing something. There is always the faint smell of good food in the air and when you walk into a cafe or restaurant you get a full-scale sniff and you want to faint from the goodness of it.
The food in Florence is amazing. I wish I had another stomach so I could fit more in! We went to the best place for lunch, Mario's, two days in a row. It is really cheap and fast and tastes sooo good. They speak hardly any English and they seat you with strangers. I love it. Dinner, also for two nights in a row, was at Gato e Volpe (the cat and the wolf) - a play off of Pinocchio. The food is also so good there and the staff are very nice too.


Florence is full of museums and old buildings, there is so much to see. Last year I saw the essentials so this time I just wandered around. We went up in the tower of the Duomo; last year they were doing some construction so it was closed. The view over the city was fantastic. We also trekked up to an overlook on a hill and watched the sunset. There, too, was an amazing view that was breathtaking and the pictures can't capture how beautiful it was. The most random thing by far was when walking through some streets there was suddenly a huge gumball machine in a yard! I have absolutely no idea what it is for, but I took a picture because, what the..?!

I had a great time and can't wait to go back again sometime. I ate as much Gelato as possible, I can't get enough of it there. I am salivating thinking about it right now!

Afternoon in Amsterdam

Though I live only a half hour from Amsterdam, I really don't make it there too often. I have a lot of museums to hit up so hopefully over time I'll make it to all of them. Brent's cousin Danielle is here visiting us for a week and a half and on a day that I got out of work early I was able to join them in a quick afternoon visit to Amsterdam.
First we went to the Van Gough museum which was pretty good. A little too pricey I think, but then again I don't believe in having to pay for museums, but I won't go into that! My favorite piece was a blossom painting he painted for his newborn nephew (pictured below as a print in the window). There was also a temporary gallery with work by John Millais; his famous work "Ophelia" is one of my all-time favorite paintings. I bought a print of it years ago at BYU, which I think most of my roommates did not like a crazy drowning girl on the wall :)


Next, we took some photos with the new slogan of the city "I AMsterdam." It is a relatively new approach to depicting the city; they are trying to move away from the view of just the drugs and prostitution to a city with a rich history and everyday people. Which it does have!

And to counteract that we of course took a walk through the red light district so Danielle could see what it is about. Its definitely another world. Its not as shocking as you would expect, but not my favorite place to be.

So it was a nice visit and I was able to visit my favorite frites (fries) stand. It is called Mannekin Pis (yes, like the highly disappointing statue in Brussels) and has the best frites, which I get with cheese sauce on them, mmm mmm they are good!

Bike Tales

I now feel truly inducted into Dutch culture: The Dutch ride their bikes everywhere and all the time, no matter what the weather is like. There are rarely any parking lots but the bike lots abound, and are always full. In SAT style, Bikes are to Holland like Asians are to Asia. Seriously, they are everywhere (even many are dumped in the canals).
A couple days ago the wind was extremely strong. I did my usual ride to the train station to head to work; about a 10 minute ride. The wind blew into me so strongly that it took me about 15 minutes to get there and my legs were like jello when I got off the bike. Also, a guy pulled up right behind me so he could use me as a wind-block. I was mad I hadn't thought of it first.
Yesterday when I got off the train on my way home from work I was greeted by very cold snow (with of course a lot of wind behind it). The Dutch weather is crazy at this time of year; you literally have all four seasons in one day. It only snowed for about 20 minutes, and of course that was the time I had to ride my bike home. It was so cold and I was freezing and soaked to the bone by the time I got home. Luckily I have the best housewife ever and Brent had turned up the heat and had a nice hot cup of tea ready for me when I walked in the door. I've survived the worst the Dutch bikerides have to offer!

February Update

I got a little behind and now have a month to catch up on, but don't worry, there really isn't too much.
1) I started an internship at Global Human Rights Defence (www.ghrd.org) as a Project Assistant. I am brainstorming/formulating projects and writing/researching grants to get the funding for the projects. GHRD mainly deals with under-represented victims of human rights abuses in South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, etc.) though it is hoping to expand into other geographical areas as the organization grows. It is very interesting and I am enjoying it a lot. It keeps me busy and also away from Brent all day but it is a great opportunity and the break I have been hoping for in order to eventually get a (paying) job. The office is located in The Hague (Den Haag) which is only a ten minute train ride from Leiden so it isn't too much of a commute at all.
2) Valentine's Day was very nice. I had to work but when I got home I was greeted by a beautiful sunset and an amazing dinner spread. We had decided no gifts, but that didn't really happen. I got Brent one of those small hand-held massagers and Brent bought me an awesome micro/grill/convection oven. It may sound like a degrading domestic gift but I LOVE it. Kimberly-I'm sure you understand what it means to be able to have an oven in the house! I am so glad I no longer have only two small burners to try and cook everything on. Now I can cook anything I want, hurray!
3) Brent's friend Trevor came and visited for the weekend. Trevor is in the army and is currently stationed in Germany so we took advantage of the close proximity. He was able to jump on a train and he and Brent were able to catch up and have a good weekend together. They have been buddies since high school and it was great for me to get to meet him as well. We will be making a trip out to Germany to visit him and his wife probably in a month or so.
4) My sister Bethany called not too long ago to tell me she is having a baby boy and I am very excited (I knew in December, but just found out the sex). I already have two gorgeous nieces and now I will have a nephew, yay! She is due in August and I already have some cute little Dutch baby clothes picked out to send back over the seas.
A Great Month!