brussels and amsterdam

maybe it was due to travelling on ground vs air... i was oddly aware of my geographical location the entire time on this trip. strange feeling, but interesting - in my head there was mini-me on a big globe, moving like a dot from place to place to place =P.

so this was a long journey. left thursday morning 8am from barcelona. via train to montpellier, france. crossing the border between Spain and France at Portbou, Spain. It was the coolest thing ever. Apparently, the width of the train tracks differ between France and Spain, French tracks are narrower than that of the Spanish. So the train, would actually adjust the width of the wheels as we were passing through the border. so cool =). and southern France and Spain is SOOOOOOOOOO pretty. totally looking forward to driving through it with parents. it's all these lil coves of the mediterraean, surrounded by red-orange roofs of small white buildings and blue blue blue sea. so pretty =) [btw. this feels like a month ago that this happend =T]

Then from Montpellier, I had a one hour layover before my train to Paris. The ride was much more.... boring... going thru central France. and as soon as we got to Paris, the weather just turned gray. ew. and I swear it's a different season up there. we were all going to the beach in Barcelona, and they were still in their winter jackets. lol. so from Paris Gare du Lyon, switched 3 Metro trains and RER to get to Gallieni, Eurolines station, one hour layover until boarded bus to Brussels. The drive between Paris and Brussels reminded me SO much of the drive from Toronto to Kingston. lol.... yes... i miss "Car rides with Mo & Tina". so anyway. by the time I arrived in Brussels it was 11pm... I was gonna try to get to the hostel... and maybe just sit in their lounge or something til morning... cuz all the hostels in Brussels were booked full that night.... -_-"... so I tried to follow direction... and failed miserably. Seriously. perfectly pretty and innocent streets during the day turn so scary at night =T. and it was raining. so I was sad. I wandered around for about 45 minutes near Gare du Nord in Brussels... finally ended up between two night clubs with SEX written all over them... and about the Nth guy that have come up and spoken some random thing at me... as another approached, I walked into "ChaoChow Palace" at the corner of the street, between the 2 sex clubs. So apparently this was a four-star hotel... lol. I asked the receptionist for directions, he looked Chinese and the place seemed Chinese so I spoke Chinese. I eventually managed to convince him to let me stay in the lobby for the night. he was SUPER nice. not ONLY did he let me stay. he found me a couch in another room and let me sleep there until like 5am. =D. and then around 6:30, when it was brighter outside, pointed me in the right direction =DDDDDDDDD. Apparently he was from Tibet. Man he was so cool. still soooooooo grateful. SOOO grateful.

Met up with Steph at the hostel at 11am, and went on to meet up with the other Canadians and explore Brussels. We eventually managed to lose the other Canadians after one day... by accident =T. and then... was terrorized by this CRAZY lady in our hostel room... (still shudder at the thought of her... MAN she was so scary.... *sniff) then went on to Amsterdam. =D

Amsterdam was AMAZING. i loved Amsterdam. lol. apparently the most multicultural city in the world, just before Toronto (40% Dutch, remaining 60% from 170 countries, vs 30% Canadian, remaining 70% from 150 countries). We did a bike tour of the countryside and saw old windmills and cheese farms and clog making... i LOVE LOVE LOVE bikes. and the Amsterdam bikes were just crazy archaic. LOL. loved them. and Amsterdam also had the BIGGEST Chinatown I have seen in Europe. Just weird that I swear the Buddhist temple we saw was only meters away from the red light district and the weed street o.O. anyway. 2nd day, we moved into an AMAZING hostel. omg that was an amazing hostel..... best yet. =). and then did a walking tour the second day of downtown Amsterdam. Had a WONDERFUL guide who told a really moving story about Amsterdam during the Holocaust. was just a fantastic tour. and then we went on the bus back to Brussels... at the station we bumped into this Chinese guy studying in Paris that we had met at our first Amsterdam hostel, he was about to get on the bus at Brussels to go back to Paris. lol. what are the chances. so yeahhhh. then flew from Brussels back to Barcelona. Completing my five day trip that somehow felt weeks long. lol.

Overall, this trip... started out super sketchy, but got really really lucky. FAITH in PEOPLE I tell you. There are some, that I'm sure, can attribute all my luckiness to God... but for now, I'm just going to say... faith in people and sheer will, has gotten me very very far =) and I am soooo grateful =D. so yes. saw a lot of old buildings. Mannekin pis. A lot of red light girls. A Stella, a Heineken, and a local brew. a lot of fries with mayo and a lot of waffles and even more chocolate =D. great trip =]

On the other hand, somewhere along the endless hours of transport... or precisely between the Hague and Antwerpe, I managed to figure out 09 Resolution #3. I think I'm determined =)

Additionally, riding bikes and getting 3 days of amazing weather of the only 65 days of sun that Amsterdam usually gets, got me thinking. lol. I just want to be in a city that rides bikes. a city that has sun. .... but most of all.... after all is said and done. I just want to be in Beijing. I miss Beijing more than I miss anything about Canada. Maybe exchange was just a whirlwind of absolute amazingness that cannot be extended to real life in China... but... after everything... I'd still want to be in Beijing. Beijing just makes me happy. Daisy's planned trip back to Beijing at end of August is making me seriously consider dropping another grand to go back to Beijing for a couple of weeks. So yes.... dear friends. if you hear of any job opportunities in Beijing, please send them this way. Along with all the complications and problems that Beijing would bring... it's still where I want to be. =).

in less than 72 hours, headed for Milan, Pisa, Cinque Terre, and Florence. Will be back after Easter =)

a walk down memory lane.

算初恋么？他说是。那就算呗。
那。。。这两天是他的生日。校内上看到他女朋友悄悄给他准备的生日会。
真的。两个人好幸福啊~。
初五小学同学聚会的时候，还是他开着他那辆奥拓来接我的。被同学们笑说就陈天悦老有专车接送。哈哈。。。 所以我一直对奥拓情有独钟。五年前他刚买这辆车的时候刚好赶上我回国，非得要送我回家。还算挺有记性，五年后居然还记得路送我回去。
嗯。在车上我问他，其实是想开玩笑的，是不是该结婚了？他说，嗯。差不多了。挣了钱，能养活他们俩就该结婚了。我下次回国的时候差不多了。
我记得我当时愣了一下。突然觉得这应该是电视剧里N年后的对话，怎么突然就发生了？
大概早走入社会让人们会早熟吧？
今天看到他们两个真得很幸福，真得很替他开心。
妈妈说我喜欢坏男生就是从他开始的。（我晕）。
喜欢北京男生也是因为他吧？喜欢他的北京调儿，喜欢他的吊儿郎当，更喜欢认真起来的样子。
他爸他妈一直很喜欢我，这次回国好像是唯一一次没去他家看他们的一次。说起来也有点不好意思。
一直很后悔自己的记忆需要的时候真得很烂。
只记得这辈子第一次，也是唯一一次，很无辜的被罚站的时候，他故意犯错，惹老师把他也给罚出来。 哈哈。。。
也那么多年了。哈哈。。。 在MSN上他是在“family"组里的。

那就祝这个十三年前第一个说喜欢我的男生生日快乐吧 =）
祝他们幸福。

happily anti-social.

也许是前一阵子真得把自己弄太累了。
maybe i did travel too much in the past 7 weeks.
开始很喜欢自己一个人。
really starting to love being by myself.
一杯红酒，康熙来了，自己做的饭。。。
a glass of wine, youtube and home cooked meals...
觉得自己真得很幸福。
i realize how happy i actually am. =).
发现我什么都有了，什么都不想要了。
i realize i've got it all. i don't want anything else.
一个人过自己的生活。
life on my own is happy. =)

i will follow you into the dark.

Grey's. Season 5. Episode 17.

someday. somewhere. someone.
i will tell you. that i will.
that i'll always. always. always.
without question. without a second thought.
i will.

until then.
distractions are all they are.
just distractions.

home sweet home. =)

i heart heart heart barcelonaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.
i'm back in the land of random palm trees and cherry blossoms =D. (the random palm trees were the first thing i saw when i came out of the airport and they made me smile. hehe =D)
so yes. i have realized that no, i'm not homesick (btw. i've pretty much never been homesick before which is why the previous bout of homesickness was extremely strange). so yes. i'm not homesick. i'm just... desperately in need to stay PUT for a while. lol. i'm SO glad i chose Barcelona. i'm SO glad I goto ESADE. hehe. it's mid march and it's MINISKIRT weather here in BCN. love love love. the plane ride from Munich to Barcelona was hilarious. I have no idea what happend but i swear we overshot Barcelona and went half way to Valencia. I think the pilot just decided it was amazing weather and everyone on the plane deserved a free tour of Barcelona and the south coast of Spain. for half an hour we just circled around the coastline. it was aweeeesome. i LOVE barcelona. I love passing by Gaudi's houses on my way home. I love walking past Chanel and Gucci and LV and Burberry as I rush to the bus that takes me straight home. I love the Spanish sun. and the blue blue skies and the beautiful beautiful colour of the ocean. sooooooo happy to be home. 7 days away was too long. and yes. I chose Barcelona so that I could be here for more than one weekend out of the seven that i've been in Europe for. LOL. looking forward to this week. Vienna was amazing. seeing Shirley was just fantaaaaaaastic =D. Budapest + Sternies was just love. felt sooooo like Beijing. lol. oh the memories. but now i'm back and i'm happier than ever that i'm back. SO looking forward to this weekend in the city. Totally up for a run to Park Guell and some sketching and just lying by the beach in the sun.

Barcelona isn't Beijing. it's not even Toronto. but it's where I am and I'm loving it all. =]

food!

... and the random series of events continue happening ><
none of it is a big deal. but added together it´s just outright disheartening.
alright. new requirement for future bf: must be able to FIX things.
where are all the engineers when you actually need them.
business ppl r USELESS! *sad.

on a brighter note.
photo blog - CHEF TEE =D


hehe. =D i have more but i´ll upload some other time =D

i´m telling u. i can COOK. ahhahaha new hidden talent =P

travel.

sometimes. i think that travelling, esp travelling on a budget, is seriously just a testament of sheer human willpower. LOL.
life experiences. it's good =)
i love our ghetto-nesses and occasional random splurges. haha. makes life interesting and most certainly, unforgettable.
there's nothing like being stranded in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country where u don't speak the language.
but it's starting to become a familiar feeling.
hahaha... =T. LOL. i'm good. i'm home and safe. until 3 days later anyway. =]

feel free to stalk =P

[x] 0206-9: Switzerland: Geneva, Bern, Interlaken, Grindelweld, Lucern
[x] 0213-5: Barcelona & Figueres (Cat)
[x] 0220-3: Madrid & Segovia (ESADE + Cat)
[x] 0226-0301: Madrid, Portugal: Porto, Sintra, Lisbon (CARI)
[x] 0302-4: Barcelona (CARI) + class
[x] 0305-7: Paris (CARI)
[ ] 0311-7: Vienna & Budapest (Shirley + Sternies!)
[ ] 0320-2: BREAK!!!!!! =] (Ruoyang visit?)
[ ] 0326-30: Brussels & Amsterdam (Steph)
[ ] 0403-13: Italy: Milan, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence, Rome (CARI+1)
[ ] 0417-9: Exam Prep weekend
[ ] 0420-3: Exams
[ ] 0426-0509: EUROTRIP with PARENTS =DDDDDDD~!
[ ] 0511: first day of work.

there is my 3 months in Europe. must write down or else i can't even keep track myself. LOL.
exciting and exhausting =P.

I am looking forward to being home home. miss you.

(btw. thk u for the sudden outpour of support after that last post. LOL. i will be more careful with posting random things now. was not aware so many ppl cared. =P. even the ones that went right back to ignoring me after realizing it wasn't actually anything important. haha. lol.
it means the world. =] )

OH. btw. I am HOUSED in Kingston for next year. =)
I sincerely look forward to an amazing final year.
217 Earl Street. 400m to Tiff, 400m to Stauffer, 600m to Goodes Hall.
o. em. gee. it's going to be sooo great =D

thank you. )

needing some hope.

... random series of events happening...
things are good. i'm good. i guess that's all it matters.

说实话, 我累了。我想回家了。
欧洲玩儿够了。世界也就如此而已。

i just... need something good to happen soon.
i've always believed that everything happens for a reason.
i just... need a reason as to why things r like this.
i think ... i try really hard. i try really hard to be good. to do good things.
is someone trying to tell me something? then just tell me. cuz this doesn't really help much.

终于快要被打败了。

i'm ready to come home.