Day two started bright and early, meeting for breakfast in the hotel at 8:30…we are
used to waking up around noon in Barcelona.
When I walked into the breakfast area I got so excited because it was a real continental breakfast, none of this just a piece of toast stuff.
It was really good, I had an egg sandwich, in between a sunny side up egg and a over hard egg.
Mmm.
The plan for the day was a walking tour around Rotterdam.
We started off with the bridge which is really cool looking.
Here we saw our first elephant.
It is the same thing here like in San Antonio with the cow parade and other cities with their animals, but here it is elephants.
Of course we had to stop and take a picture.
Then we headed over to this museum which was pretty much the coolest museum ever!
It was so much fun because the current display was all stuf
f that moved and you stepped on this big red button to make it go, so you could interact with the art!
First before we got to go in the museum, we got a walking tour of the whole complex by this really sweet dutch girl who knew a lot of information.
It was designed by Rem Koolhaus, which means nothing to any of you, but he’s really famous in modern architecture and its really cool to actually get to go in these buildings that we have been studying in class for 2 years.
It was a cool building because it is such a mix of materials, but it works well.
Behind the museum is a big garden/park and more museum buildings and stuff.
The different thing about the museum is it is basically a glass box, so when you walk up to it you can already see everything in ther
e, without paying to get in and see it, but you still want to go in.
This particular museum has different displays very often, it is not just the same pieces of art all the time, it is more like an exhibition hall.
Like I said earlier, it all moved, so after the tour we got to go play in it.
There was this one part that was like a net “room” like those ball pits at McDonalds, but it was filled with balloons and there was air blowing them around, and you got to go in there and play in the balloons.
Talk about a good time!
That kept us entertained for a while.
Then there was a room with a tv and all these bean bags so we chilled there for a while too.
There was also this display that was these huge wheels attached to three bikes, and when you ride them really f
ast, it makes these wheels turn.
Then we went out in the park and there we found this cool sculpture of a person from the waist down bending over sticking its butt out.
Of course we took a picture with it doing the same thing!
It is actually my computer background right now.
After that we saw a few more buildings that were really cool.
In the Netherlands there is just so much really cool architecture its not even funny.
Then we walked back to the river and bridge and went on a boat tour which I was pretty excited about until it started.
It would have been cool , except the city is really small, so after about 2 minutes we were in the industrial canals which is what
the boat tour was of…cranes and moving containers.
Then we were given an hour for lunch.
I ended up going to this little bar and had such a good meal.
We couldn’t read the menu at all but since everyone in the Netherlands speaks English it wasn’t a problem.
The waiter came to our table and translated the menu for us and told us we should get the meatballs because they are a traditional meal.
We all got it and it was so good.
It was just one big meatball the size of a softball with fries and potato salad.
Then we met back up and continued our tour.
First we went to the cube houses which are these apartment buildings that are squared literally turned on their side.
It is interesting looking.
We actually got to go inside of one and tour it too.
It was really
cool inside.
It would be fun to live in for maybe a year but that’s all.
Then we crossed the bridge to the other side of the river and saw more buildings and Noah’s Ark remade.
From there “class” for the day was done so we could do whatever we wanted.
A group of us decided to stay on the other side of the river and go to this old famous hotel to have a coffee.
It ended up that the restaurant was really upscale and to sit and
have coffee we would have to be on a waiting list so we opted against that plan.
We were just going to head back and try and find a different café, but outside the hotel was a lot of the elephant art so of course we had to go play on them and take pictures!
We slid down the back/butt of one of them.
There was also a little playground with a seesaw and these spinny things you stand on which led to half an hour of entertainment.
We reverted back to the age of about 6 for a couple of hours.
Next to that was this display/sculpture of sorts to represent what the hotel used to be used for, immigration or something, and it was
just shelves with luggage and stuff, so we climbed all over that and took more pictures.
Lastly, we saw this young girl climbing up this stone wedge and sliding back down so of course we had to go play too.
It was really fun, but steep and hard to climb.
Then sliding down was scary.
I had to have Preston stand at the bottom and grab my ankles to stop me.
It was actually pretty dangerous and dumb to do, but still fun.
On the walk back across the river to the hotel, we sang random songs, including nsync, Brittney spears, and many more.
Then we went and ate dinner with a big group of us at this place called Betty Beer.
It was in this big square that we just happened upon.
It was really strange because we walked in and th
ere were teddy bears everywhere.
There wasn’t enough room inside so most of us sat outside in the cold but it was nice.
I had onion soup and bread with their garlic butter.
It was really good.
For dessert I had dutch apple pie!
I had to try it since apple pie is my fav!
During dinner a really small bug crawled on the table and one of the girls started freaking out.
Another girl was like, “Calm down, its just a grasspopper!”
It was so funny because she accidentally called it a grasspopper.
Also, this is the place that three of the girls ordered pina coladas with their meals and they got the smallest glass you could imagine with two ice cubes and an inch of liquid in them for 3.50 euros.
After dinner we went out to some bar/clubs.
It was a lot of fun just sitting around a table relaxing and talking.
On the way home it was hilarious because two of the girls with us who are very high strung sometimes were freaking out because they thought the street we were on was dangerous.
Me and Bhavika were laug
hing and asked them if they knew where we lived right now, because Barcelona is a lot worse than where we were.
We were walking in the shopping district and everything was well lit and nice, there were just no people there.
So anyway they were like, don’t speak English, let’s just turn around, we don’t even know where the hotel is…just carrying on like that.
Me and B started making fun of them being like, Oh, I know where we are, I remember this brick, and this leaf, and…because we knew exactly where we were and how to get back.
When we got back, they were really pissed at us, but it was funny.
On the walk back, we also passed a store with the initials BS which is both mine and Bhavika’s initials, so we took a picture!
used to waking up around noon in Barcelona. When I walked into the breakfast area I got so excited because it was a real continental breakfast, none of this just a piece of toast stuff. It was really good, I had an egg sandwich, in between a sunny side up egg and a over hard egg. Mmm. The plan for the day was a walking tour around Rotterdam. We started off with the bridge which is really cool looking. Here we saw our first elephant. It is the same thing here like in San Antonio with the cow parade and other cities with their animals, but here it is elephants. Of course we had to stop and take a picture. Then we headed over to this museum which was pretty much the coolest museum ever! It was so much fun because the current display was all stuf
f that moved and you stepped on this big red button to make it go, so you could interact with the art! First before we got to go in the museum, we got a walking tour of the whole complex by this really sweet dutch girl who knew a lot of information. It was designed by Rem Koolhaus, which means nothing to any of you, but he’s really famous in modern architecture and its really cool to actually get to go in these buildings that we have been studying in class for 2 years. It was a cool building because it is such a mix of materials, but it works well. Behind the museum is a big garden/park and more museum buildings and stuff. The different thing about the museum is it is basically a glass box, so when you walk up to it you can already see everything in ther
e, without paying to get in and see it, but you still want to go in. This particular museum has different displays very often, it is not just the same pieces of art all the time, it is more like an exhibition hall. Like I said earlier, it all moved, so after the tour we got to go play in it. There was this one part that was like a net “room” like those ball pits at McDonalds, but it was filled with balloons and there was air blowing them around, and you got to go in there and play in the balloons. Talk about a good time! That kept us entertained for a while. Then there was a room with a tv and all these bean bags so we chilled there for a while too. There was also this display that was these huge wheels attached to three bikes, and when you ride them really f
ast, it makes these wheels turn. Then we went out in the park and there we found this cool sculpture of a person from the waist down bending over sticking its butt out. Of course we took a picture with it doing the same thing! It is actually my computer background right now. After that we saw a few more buildings that were really cool. In the Netherlands there is just so much really cool architecture its not even funny. Then we walked back to the river and bridge and went on a boat tour which I was pretty excited about until it started. It would have been cool , except the city is really small, so after about 2 minutes we were in the industrial canals which is what
the boat tour was of…cranes and moving containers. Then we were given an hour for lunch. I ended up going to this little bar and had such a good meal. We couldn’t read the menu at all but since everyone in the Netherlands speaks English it wasn’t a problem. The waiter came to our table and translated the menu for us and told us we should get the meatballs because they are a traditional meal. We all got it and it was so good. It was just one big meatball the size of a softball with fries and potato salad. Then we met back up and continued our tour. First we went to the cube houses which are these apartment buildings that are squared literally turned on their side. It is interesting looking. We actually got to go inside of one and tour it too. It was really
cool inside. It would be fun to live in for maybe a year but that’s all. Then we crossed the bridge to the other side of the river and saw more buildings and Noah’s Ark remade. From there “class” for the day was done so we could do whatever we wanted. A group of us decided to stay on the other side of the river and go to this old famous hotel to have a coffee. It ended up that the restaurant was really upscale and to sit and have coffee we would have to be on a waiting list so we opted against that plan. We were just going to head back and try and find a different café, but outside the hotel was a lot of the elephant art so of course we had to go play on them and take pictures!
We slid down the back/butt of one of them. There was also a little playground with a seesaw and these spinny things you stand on which led to half an hour of entertainment. We reverted back to the age of about 6 for a couple of hours. Next to that was this display/sculpture of sorts to represent what the hotel used to be used for, immigration or something, and it was
just shelves with luggage and stuff, so we climbed all over that and took more pictures. Lastly, we saw this young girl climbing up this stone wedge and sliding back down so of course we had to go play too. It was really fun, but steep and hard to climb. Then sliding down was scary. I had to have Preston stand at the bottom and grab my ankles to stop me. It was actually pretty dangerous and dumb to do, but still fun. On the walk back across the river to the hotel, we sang random songs, including nsync, Brittney spears, and many more. Then we went and ate dinner with a big group of us at this place called Betty Beer. It was in this big square that we just happened upon. It was really strange because we walked in and th
ere were teddy bears everywhere. There wasn’t enough room inside so most of us sat outside in the cold but it was nice. I had onion soup and bread with their garlic butter. It was really good. For dessert I had dutch apple pie! I had to try it since apple pie is my fav! During dinner a really small bug crawled on the table and one of the girls started freaking out. Another girl was like, “Calm down, its just a grasspopper!” It was so funny because she accidentally called it a grasspopper. Also, this is the place that three of the girls ordered pina coladas with their meals and they got the smallest glass you could imagine with two ice cubes and an inch of liquid in them for 3.50 euros. After dinner we went out to some bar/clubs. It was a lot of fun just sitting around a table relaxing and talking. On the way home it was hilarious because two of the girls with us who are very high strung sometimes were freaking out because they thought the street we were on was dangerous. Me and Bhavika were laug
hing and asked them if they knew where we lived right now, because Barcelona is a lot worse than where we were. We were walking in the shopping district and everything was well lit and nice, there were just no people there. So anyway they were like, don’t speak English, let’s just turn around, we don’t even know where the hotel is…just carrying on like that. Me and B started making fun of them being like, Oh, I know where we are, I remember this brick, and this leaf, and…because we knew exactly where we were and how to get back. When we got back, they were really pissed at us, but it was funny. On the walk back, we also passed a store with the initials BS which is both mine and Bhavika’s initials, so we took a picture!
No comments:
Post a Comment