National Lampoon's McPhail vacation begins..

Well.. the whole troop is here. Ross joined us on the 19th in Amsterdam- we just hung out there for 2 days, enjoying the beautiful sunshine. We discovered Vondel park a beautiful green space where people go to have picnics, and enjoy a few beers in the sunshine. It was wonderful. We also visited the Sex museum which was pretty cool- although not all that impressive i must say. On monday night we flew to stavanger, norway via copenhagen. It's pretty nice here- a little cold though. Today we went for a long walk around a local lake and walked around the old town and down near the docks and such. Tomorrow we will take a ferry (and by ferry I mean catamaran) through the fjords to Bergen.

Um, thats all i really have to say for nowww adios

Saying goodbye to the comforts of home..

Well... it is now time for me to say goodbye to the wonderful comforts of home that I have experienced here in Arnhem, and time to say goodbye to family I have not seen in years (or ever..). I have spent the last week eating way too much delicious cheese and bread and drinking lots of tea, and reading lots of books and enjoying living a relatively normal life again. But that is all about to stop as of tomorrow. Since i've been here, we've just been slowly exploring the city and visiting with family. We went to the Open Air Museum, which shows what life in Holland used to be like, with windmills and farmhouses and such. There was also an exhibit on weird collections people have.. such as glasses, piggy banks, and my personal favorite... barf bags. We also went to the zoo, which was amazing because I finally got to see a real live manatee! Check that off the life list of things to do! Then today we went to the Keukenhof, which is probably the largest flower exhibit in the world.. or at least it seemed like it. There were rows and rows of tulips and orchids and other beautiful flowers. My eyes actually hurt from the bright colors. Tomorrow, we are off to Amsterdam where i will say goodbye to my mom and grandma and hello to my brother, and then the McPhail children will conquer Scandinavia.... 

And so it begins...

Well.. it is time for my 3 month nomadic journey to begin... in Manchester. I am currently with my mom and Grandma and we are going to visit and old friend of my Grandma's tomorrow. I am soooo exhausted! Leaving the castle was much harder than I ever imagined so I am tired mentally, physically and emotionally. I am really excited for the months to come, although I am going to miss my castle friends SO much. I know I didn't really write much this semester, but I'll try to write more about my European adventures. Just a quick preview: My Mom, Grandma and myself are going to visit Family in Arnhem, Holland for a week, where my brother and sister are meeting us From there, Ross, Melissa and I are going to Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Then they are flying home, and I am meeting some school friends in London for a week and we will make a quick journey back to the castle. After, friends from home are meeting me in Amsterdam and the classic Eurotrip will begin. We are going to France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, and Switzerland ( I think thats all of them). 

THEN, i will be home on July 2nd... so you better all be waiting for me!!!!!!

Much Love...