Happy 21st Birthday Caitlyn Lowe!

Happy birthday Caitlyn :)

We tried to post a special video for you but we could not get it to upload! We will make it up to you when we get back.

Oh hallo! You have reached the blog of Jota Moon - please leave a comment at the post..POST.::Miss Sawn voice:: Have lots of fun, take lots of pictures and remember the PIFCAT. Love you Caitlyn RRRRowe ;) Enjoy the gifts...not too much though..whateeevvvvaaa.

Little Holland, witches, and cheese

After about 11 hours of sleeping, Lauren and I awoke to a nice breakfast and a little surprise from Aunt Gjiske and Uncle Joe. They bough us I AMsterdam passes! This allows us discounted items in the city and offers advice about tours and sites. We will be going there Saturday with Peter, Lauren’s cousin and their son.

We then went to Madurodam, which is in Den Haag, a mini version of Holland. It takes you through a wealth of sites throughout the Netherlands, and it’s a great way to see the land.  Pictures will follow – it is hard to describe. During our visit we saw a light show where we learned a ton about the history of Holland. The Netherlands relies a great deal on canals and locks because throughout history they have been plagued by floods from the North Sea. Dutch engineers have become masters of this – something Michael and Cam – could really appreciate. The architecture and environmental savvy here is amazing. Their reliability and concern for environmental sustainability is wonderful, and it makes me want to see this more in our gas-guzzling America.  We have yet to see pick-up trucks or any SUV’s, and there are TONS of bicycles. The land is extremely flat, but unlike North Carolina (Alex), it is just much prettier and not as commercialized.

Solar and wind power is mainstream, windmills cover the countryside and the canals run all over.  They’re not like streams or rivers, they are straight, free-flowing entities that really make the landscape unique. Farming is also a mainstay here the canals allow farmer the water they need for their crops and animals.

We then went to a town called Oudewater (Old water) – where we got weighed to see if we were witches!  Literally weighed with a pully system..i was 69 kg – so I’ve def. gained a few pounds already! Oh ya, and thankfully we weren’t witches, although the woman said I need a warning because I want to work with burn victims and nursing isn’t a greatly paid profession here, guess I won’t move here! We even have certificates to prove we aren’t witches ;) There was also a rope museum we toured a little but and we had “hemp beans” – really good – and no no no – no Mary Jane in them.

Next we went to a cheese shop in Montfoort – I was in heaven, I LOVE LOVE LOVE cheese. I got a slab of Gouda cheese from a cow farm…yes mom REAL GOUDA! Actually the town of Gouda isn’t far from here. I paid €8,90 Euros for a pretty heafty weight, sorry no coupons mom (Also, instead of periods for money, they use commas)...translate that to American $ if you please, and the currency exchange is terrible. Our dollar is so weak. But the cheese is so delicious – aged 9 months. The more they age, the better they taste – like wine.

Tonight we are visiting with Lauren’s cousin, Peter, wife, Yolanda, and 2^nd cousin, Laura – pronounced Laow-ra. She LOVES Justin Bieber..sad that kid is worldwide already.  Nicky – maybe she’s your soulmate, haha!  

So far we’ve picked up on dank u vel – which means thank you. That is about it, English is pretty common here. The children learn it in school fairly young…but the Dutch language is fun to be around.

Having lots of fun learning about the Netherlands and site-seeing!
Until our next post,
Julie and Lauren

Trip Top Fives

For this trip, we decided to make our top 5 from each city and our top 5 from the trip overall.  There are in no particular order, mostly because it was too difficult to decide which was best!  (All of it was amazing)

Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible:  our parents, Joe, Gijske, Pete, Yo, and Laura, and all the friendly people we met along the way!



Holland Top Five:

• Bike Riding in Park, free bikes, able to pick-up and drop-off bikes easily
• Madurodam
• Aged Cheese
• Utrecht Soccer game/Ajax fan day
• Pancake dinner with Lauren's family

Nice Top Five:

• Chateau
• Le Cafe Des Fleurs dinner
• Monacco - Monte Carlo
• Croissants on the street
• Wandering around/not having a plan

Paris Top Five:

• French Open
• Riding a clean subway/figuring out the city in a short amount of time/ease of getting around
• La Tour Eiffel at night
• Notre Dame
• Putting our Lock on the bridge

Trip Top Five:

• Chateau in Nice
• French Open/Utrecht Soccer Game/Ajax fan day
• La Tour Eiffel at night 
• Bike ride in National Park (Holland)
• Putting our Lock on the bridge (Paris)