Well, as the title says, I'm packing my bags to leave. Not for good though. Just a little weekend trip to visit Rome, Italy. Having never been to Rome, I have read countless blogs, fora, and travel guides for exactly how to pack a month's worth of sights into 3 nights and 4 days. I have come to the conclusion that I will not sleep. Rather, I will walk throughout the day, for 12 hours or so. Then, return home to rest until I venture forth again at night to stir up some trouble. I have all these grandiose plans, too. [View Full Entry]

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This week has flown by like a seagull with its ass on fire. I sent Julia off on an adventure by herself two nights ago. She finished her program in Amsterdam and came to stay with me in The Hague for two nights. Unfortunately, I had to work, but I did get off early one day to go to the beach with her. And guess what little Jules did at the beach? She trusted her life to a thin bungy rope and leaped from Schevenigen pier into the big blue sea. And just as her fate was to be sealed into [View Full Entry]

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On Sunday afternoon, I put on my walking shoes and packed my bags for Rotterdam (which is only a short train ride away). Having never been to Rotterdam, I knew only superficial details like the fact that it's the largest port in Europe and whose population is known for shunning deodorant. In Rotterdam's defense, however, I did notice a concerted advertising effort to post deodorant ads at bus stops. Way to go. On the way to Rotterdam, I enjoyed a nice little "kroket" at the Holland Spoor train station in The Hague. These tasty morsels can be found in automat vending [View Full Entry]

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Last weekend when Julia came to visit, we ventured north of the pier in Scheveningen in search of the beachclubs of yore. A coworker told me that Billabongs is a cool club, but I couldn't settle on the perfect music, so we kept walking until we landed at a nice little place with decent furniture on which to rest our weary butts. I can't recall the name of this place, but there was a large party going on inside and some kids were setting up a volleyball net nearby. The biggest draw of this place was the BBQ pit in the [View Full Entry]

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On Friday, Julia and I walked up the Scheveningen beach toward the pier and beach clubs. Scattered like brightly colored toys on the sunseted horizon, windsurfers and kitesurfers appeared in full force. Funny thing is that on Saturday at about the same time, there was but one windsurfer. I guess the Dutch prefer to get their water-work done on Fridays. We saw windsurfers in the tens (nearing 20 or so) and probably at least 10 kitesurfers. As we walked up the beach, I spotted a large crowd of people gathered around a gigantic gray object which appeared to be roped-off. At [View Full Entry]

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... I enjoy all of these things and therefore when all three came along in one day i was more than happy. Our destination of the day was The Hague, it's about 30 minutes north west of Rotterdam by train and so it was back to the station for us all (Except Erik, he had some work to do). We were going to meet the final piece of the puzzle you might say, Sarojini's Grandmother. The Hague is a very beautiful place, unlike most of the citys in Holland it somehow seems to have remained un-scathed from the bombings during the [View Full Entry]

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On Sunday, I walked northeasterly to Westbroekpark, where preparations were being made for the annual rose competition and De Parade was taking place. For the rose competition, many small gardens -- each with a different type of rose -- were on display. There were probably over 50 different types of roses on display, many of which I had never seen before. I posted some pictures, but the only eventful item of the that particular leg of the journey was the fact that I got stung by a bee on the forearm. I guess I smell like a f$%king flower. Well actually, [View Full Entry]

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Gday all, been a while since the last blog, just too busy enjoying myself! these are just some photos that ive taken over the last couple of weeks. and Billo ill add the scores of myself and shane so far. 1st game Deitz 24 Jolly 2* Jolly 0/19 off 7 overs 2nd Game Deitz 22 Jolly 3/28 off 6 3rd Game Deitz 69 Jolly 12* (including the biggest six in the world) Jolly 0/30 off 5 Deitz 1/11 of 8 4th Game Deitz 8 Jolly 4 Jolly 0/18 off 3 5th Game Deitz 30 Jolly 1/38 off 6 Deitz 5/43 off [View Full Entry]

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While I was walking from my apartment to the city center, I discovered one of the only pick-up trucks I've seen since I've been here. As you can see, it has an unusual company name stenciled onto the side. Golfsurfschool. Hmmmm...... Instead of doing any real research into this mysterious company, I recalled Top Secret and Val Kilmer's rendition of "Skeet-surfin," -- one of the all-time best extreme-sport ideas. [View Full Entry]

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Here in Holland, there are few ways to pay for public transportation. It's not as simple as walking up to the driver of the tram and buying a ticket or pouring some coins into a slot. There are too many people and that process would take too long (although it is possible on tram rides only). So, these wily and ingenious Dutch have come up with a way to pay for your tickets in advance by selling you what they call a "Strippenkaart." I purchased one with 45 strips for about 20 euro ($30). You use a strippenkaart by first estimating [View Full Entry]

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