Onward to the land of marijuana and hookers! Amsterdam bound!

Silvia and i woke up and headed to the bus station because today we made it to the land where drugs are as common as fish in water and being a hooker is as normal of a job as a bus driver!

okay but honestly i was very worried to come to Amsterdam alone, so im so happy Silvia and i are doing this together. why? you may ask, well drugs scare me and meth and cocaine, shrooms and heroine is just as common as marijuana here. Now the mary-jane doesn't freak me out cause that just a plant, who cares, but the other stuff, that had me worried. don't know why seeing as i would run the other way at even the mention of it. I think the fact that the main thing this place is known for is drugs and hookers and pick pockets, or at least thats all people talk about anyway had me quite worried. Even though this place had plenty of other things and sites to see doing it alone knowing that crazy stuff was here made me nervous.

safe to say that i made it, and i love it!! Right when we got here it was great. in the main entrance of the train station there was a piano, sitting on a slightly raised platform that read in a circular motion `Show your talent´ and a young guy was sitting there playing amazing music! as soon as he was done the crowd that accumulated around him clapped and he rushed back to his bags to catch his train. Then another guy got on the piano and started play ´mirrors´and singing too, he was amazing! it was such a low key but awesome experience!

after that we got to our hostile and just relaxed for the rest of the day, Ashley (from Australia, who is super amazing and i love her and can't wait until she comes to seattle to stay with me!) came over to hang out with us before she leaves tomorrow and caught us up on Amsterdam, because she's been here a couple days. We went out and got some food, came back and just hung out like typical friends do, chatting and giggling, listening to music. MISS YOU ALREADY ASHLEY! hopefully ill get to see her the night i get to Berlin before she leaves the next morning there.

Tomorrow will be chalk full of events for Silvia and I, so sleep is much needed!

We did a day trip aGHENT.

Silvia and I decided to take a day trip to Ghent because everyone we talked to raved about how beautiful and cute it was.

So off we went.
We arrived in Ghent and got off the train to gloomy, rainy, and a tad bit colder weather than expected. Not knowing where we were going we started walking. unimpressed by what we were seeing we figured we would eat lunch and head back to brussels. after 20 minutes of aimlessly walking around Ghent and not finding open places to chow down, we finally stopped a woman and her family and ask.. ´soo where is everyone? where are all the people' to which she told us to keep walking down this one road and you'll see them.

we finally got to the city center and were much more inclined to stay. Ghent was having a huge music festival. Food, drinks, music of every genre, venders and street performers! We ended up staying 4 hours more than we thought. enjoying food, ice cream and the beautiful scenery, it turned out to be a great day.

As nice and gorgeous as Ghent is, I will honestly say that if the festival wasn't going on, it would be a trip that would have only last maybe 3 hours at the very most. Such a cute little town, castles and shops, but you can only look at all that for so long before it all starts looking the same. I loved it and it was absolutely wonderful, especially when the sun came out and it got a bit warmer, but unless you place to unwind and want stay in a place where you don't have to worry about missing out on anything than Ghent is just a day trip for you.

After we got back from Ghent, Silvia and i went back to the hostile and relaxed. walking takes its toll on you after being on your feet on the cobblestone ground for several hours at a time. we relaxed, planned our trip to our next destination and then decided to head out for a bit to get some waffles (well mostly I decided i NEEDED waffles) grab some beers with some girls we met from canada (Robin and Francis), head to the Grand Place and sit in front of the gorgeous lights and socialize with everyone else there.

Silvia and the canadians decided it was time to head back to the hostile, and i followed remembering that i have to pre pack my bag and then shower for our traveling the next day. when i got to my room and got situated I hear my Friend Akshay outside the window with my other buddies Trevor and Taiana.... naturally i ran down stairs to catch them. It took a good convincing of about 5 minutes and a deal that if i went out with them Trevor would take the military jacket on display in the lounge and wear it to the Grand Place and pose with people. we ended up bumming around the town for another good hour, said our goodbyes and i finally headed up to take my shower and get snuggled into bed.



I would say that i had a wonderful time in Belgium. i loved it and did all the things i wanted to do. Brugge, Ghent, Delirium, Pipi and his girlfriend, waffles, and just loved every second of it. ill definitely be back!

The Battle of the Brain: the real struggles of traveling alone that no one tells you.

I get a lot of side thoughts traveling a lone. I have a constant battle in my brain on what to do, where to go, can I do it, everything. These are some that flutter through my brain often.


***here's the really real talk. Brace yourselves, its gonna be a bumpy ride***


-I'm exhausted. I just want a regular schedule and a regular day.. Or more, I would like a home base and take long weekend trips to different countries rather than take everything everywhere to every location.


-Do I want to just call it good? Head to Croatia, stay there until my little monkey arrives and call it good? But what about all the places I want to see, things I want to do... Ughh the debate goes on and my constant FOMO (fear of missing out) takes over. But I'm so tired and so ready to just get to a familiar place that I know ill love.. But isn't that the fun? Figuring out what countries you love? The struggle is real and eating me alive.


-Am I some sort of failure because I decide to stop with the exploration? Everyone else I've met is and can do it, why am I struggling so much?


-I dont want to regret NOT going to places and seeing the world, but I'm just so tired and run down. It makes it worse if I don't like a city. I didn't know I would like the city, but it definitely makes things a lot worse.


-I LOVE traveling a lone, but I almost wish I had someone too. At the same time I mostly dont... I think just the idea of going to other places that may have more trouble with English freaks me out and thus I wish I had someone to struggle with me.


- navigating countries with different languages on the sign is harder.. Especially when people are not very helpful.. Another stress factor.


-actually, I'm not worried about money... I just hate spending money no matter where I am. In the states or a different country.. Thats just being a Jovanovich.


-its not all butterflies and rainbows when traveling alone. Its more like ripping your hair out and hoping your not homeless with the beautiful breaks of enjoyment in between. So basically everyday life in any country..


- how the hell am I suppose to navigate more foreign countries on my own! Thats the worst! If I'm gonna get lost in another country I would so rather get lost with a partner!


-I think I'm gonna hate parts of Germany, but feel like I need to visit there.. Actually I feel like I HAVE to visit other countries even if I'm skeptical because people recommend them and again with the FOMO...


-traveling a lone is a struggle. Not easy. Some times I want to punch everyone, some times I want to cry, sometimes I just want to go home and lay on the couch, sometimes I want to never stop traveling.


-knowing I want to travel the world, knowing I've done a lot and there's places I've fallen in love with. Finding a place to stop and stay may not be so bad? Have I hit my limit? But I don't want to have a limit.. I want to go and be completely fine the whole time. Is there a point in every travelers journey where they realize their limit and accept it? Or am I just the only one? Probably not the only one, but I want to be as tough and courageous as the people who did this forever, just drifting from place to place, having amazing times and rarely, if ever get this feeling of 'okay I think I'm done and ready to be done for a while'


-I assumed I would get that 'this is my true passion' kind of feeling and I don't think I have that which actually just makes me really upset. I wanted so bad to have that feeling that this is what I need to do forever because I love it so much, and I just don't have that feeling. I LOVE this experience and I LOVE traveling, but it hasn't hit me like I feel a passion should. I will travel to cool places for the rest of my life, but I don't know that I will do it like I am now. Maybe that's where my limit comes in. I love traveling but maybe for two months at a time? Or if I live in a different country and have that home base?


-Do I want to go to Germany and Prague? Yes of course I do, but it also freaks me out. But I've already done the republic of Ireland, northern Ireland, Scotland, London, Belgium and headed to Amsterdam... Why do I think I can't do other places?


-why is this so hard! Why can't someone tell me what to do! I miss traveling with family when that stress didn't rely solely on me! And if I didn't like a place it was fine because at least I was with family and friends!


-everyone makes their travels sound like everything went smoothly and they had no doubt and break downs. Every place they went to they tell you all about the good, or the crazy stories that may be terrible but make it sounds so interesting. Maybe that's what makes me the most frustrated and upset is that, the idea that everyone has had amazing trips and I'm struggling. It seems like I can't do it right, but there is no 'right' way to travel.. I guess you just do it. No one will have the same travel experience but am I somehow doing it wrong?


*****THE STRUGGLE IS REAL*****

A day trip to Brugge

It was an uneventful day, but still enjoyable seeing as I'm in Europe.

I went and took a day trip to Brugge with Silvia and Ashley. Ashley actually was going to catch a bus to Amsterdam from Brugge so we all decided to get there together. We left at about 9:30ish to catch the train that runs every half hour. When we got to the train station and bought our tickets, we were told platform 4 for departure at 10:32. Great sounds good train man... Well in reality when we waited till 10:35, and started getting curious, I asked a man in a yellow vest of this was right and he so 'no no platform 9 and catch the train at 10:45'
Helpful tip: No one knows what they are talking about..  They just tell you things so you'll say thank you and leave them alone.

Well we caught the train, however if was the train that took the longest way. Aka: 2 hours instead of 1.
The bright side was we all got to chat and hang out foe an extra hour before Ashley had to sadly leave us, and the even brighter side that made our day was a bachelor party taking place.
Now Silvia looked out the window and noticed a man in a cowboy outfit. Okay, whatever, we've seen people dress up before. Well then we noticed his posse with a whip, and a wheel chair? Suddenly I heard a small sort of yelp from Silvia and turned to looks and gave an 'oh my gosh!! Ahh!' The tacky cowboy dressed man had turned around so his back was facing us and we saw a FULL moon.. Yes ladies and gents. Ass-less pants. Bright red welted butt cheeks with '1€' written in sharpie on each cheek! He was raising money in any way for his wedding and his friends said you can whip him in the ass for the amount on the cheeks! Giggling and cackling we watched as they moves down the isle of the train, people taking pictures and smirking as they walked passed.
5 minutes (if that) went by and the assless pants man came moseying down the isle towards us, stared and be and said, may I sing you a sing... Naturally I said ya and he chose the song single ladies, to which I told him if he sang that he had to do the dance moves. Singing and dancing I chimed in, helping him with lyrics and dance moves, giving him some money for his party (which was worth it, he worked hard for that money) we took a picture and we all left giggling and laughing at the long train ride which turned into a weird assless pants party.

After all the commotion, we helped Ashley find her destination, and Silvia and I went off to explore Brugge. Now I know everyone has said great thing and its true, Brugge is gorgeous and magnificent and beautiful... But it only takes a day to explore, maybe less. The meals were VERY expensive, so naturally I needed a waffle.to take my mind off of it.. Still amazing tasting. We walked around and took some great pictures, popped in and out of shops and just enjoyed ourselves casually before taking the train (the direct, fast train) home.

Belgium has earned its place

Yesterday was my first full day in Brussels, Belgium. I can safely say that I really love this country, city, atmosphere!
I woke up and headed down for breakfast in the kitchen before I went on my walking tour of this fantastic place. I met a tiny little Colombian girl named Sylvia and we planned on meeting downstairs of our hostile to take the tour together. I waited and while I waited for her I met a very nice couple from Peru, and then soon following a fantastic girl from Australia, Ashley. Sylvia came down and we went on a fantastic walking tour of the city, we learned history, we saw little Peepee and his sister, and learned the best place for fries, cheap beer (1€) and waffle street.

Belgium waffles: AMAZING!

We walked around and saw the Atomium, which was actually really cool. I was told not to see it cause its boring but it was really neat!


We all walked around and enjoyed the city, which was so lively! Its the kind of city that I love.. Cobblestone walkways, side streets of markets and shops, every way something new, I love it!

We got lunch at this shop where the tour guide said had the best fries and I got a Matriallete, which in English, doesn't translate to, but just is a baguette with meet, sauteed onions, sauce and loaded with fries... Way to much food for for person... So I finished it.. And then we got waffles.. Obviously..

After all the walking around in the amazing weather we were having (tan lines babyyy!) we were all pretty tired so we went back to the hostile and had some down time before meeting back up for some beers and hanging out in the nightlife. Which let me just say, is not at all like the nightlife at home. People littered the streets, they have a main street they painted with color and these wood structures to sit and lay on, some like trails and some like bleachers and forts. They have ping pong tables and bocce ball games as part of the street, bolted in the ground. People just sitting in the main grand place in little pods drinking, enjoying the lights of the city. It is definitely my kind of place!




We got back to our hostile, after of course I hunted down another waffle, at about 1:30? Not super late, but with the full day we had, it felt later than it was.
side note: I'm.in a mixed dorm, meaning both boys and girls and two of the girls left, so now its me with 6 boys.
not thinking it would be that bad, because the last nights were just fine, I fell asleep happy and content. 4:30am rolls around and these guys come.CRASHING and YELLING into the room.... Trying to be understanding, I ignore them, thinking okay their drunk, they will get it out and then crash and it will be another peaceful night... NOPE, how dare i think such fantasies!
these ass holes are screaming and yelling and cackling like its their last night on earth. Finally I say 'okay guys get your shit together and be quiet please I have to wake up early'.. Do they listen. No. Continuing what they were doing, only one was attempting to be quite. After everyone was finally in bed, and I now have a full plan in my head as to how I'm going permanently damage their man hood with a hard swift kick to the balls, one guy starts making very uncomfortable 'noises'. Purposefully to get some.laughs out of his buddies, I'm officially uncomfortable.. It was a terrible night, not to mention I woke up to the fatty (who was one of the main pricks) farting... And then a few other tools chime in with their butt symphony shortly after... I got the hell out of there this morning!




****

The wheels on the bus go round and round.....forever...

Got to my bus in Canterbury bright and early. I could have taken the bus to the station and slept in a bit longer, but after seeing some extra poundage I somehow acquired I decided to walk the 25 minutes with all my stuff. Also knowing I would be sitting the rest of the day, walking was a good choice.






The Many Faces of the Bus Station:




Balding man- the bus driver was headed off the bus for a quick second and signaled the man to get on and swipe his card. The man did so and it went read indicating he's out of money on his bus card. Baldilocks hesitated and stutter as if to get on the bus anyway and screw the system, but surprisingly turning out the door of the bus, letting another woman pass and dug out some money to pay in coins. Faith in humanity restored once again.




Dapper Gentleman- suits, ties, slacks and jackets. Clean cut and styled hair with the beautiful man scruff on almost all the men passing... My paradise of handsome men... Now if only they would whisk me off and feed me milkshakes under a palm tree.....




Curious Connie- this is the name I gave the woman sitting 5 people down from me on the bench. The woman, who out of boredom, becomes curious of anything that crosses her peripheral vision. Smelling the tiny bulbs that showed the ground in a gust of wind. Itsy bitsy pale greenish yellow bulbs that looked like tiny ballerina skirts. Why? Curiosity struck and told this lady 'hey smell that, lets see what thats all about.'




uniformed children- no more than 13 years of age, they walked or ran to catch the coach to learn something new that would one day flutter back into their minds to ignite a passion for a career. Each kid adding some.sort of their own personality slyly to their proper uniform. Messy hair, head bands, bangles. All very slight as not to disturb the clean, cookie cutter look of their blazers, skits, tights, trousers, and pale blue button up shirts. I suspect uniform enforcement is tight at their school.

YET ANOTHER ALL DAY DELAYED BUS RIDE!
well I though it was going to be a boring bus ride, but to keep this story short, a man and woman with the Rasta accent got to the check point in Dover where we had to get our passports punched. The woman, quite normal.looking I would say got denied. The man however, a man with dreads down to his mid calve, missing tooth and grubby clothes passed. The woman need a visa or something random and didn't have one. The man was NOT happy, huffing and puffing , yelling on the bus, saying things that sounded like he may have castes a spell on us... (Maybe that's why my bus was 2 and a half hours late..... That's for sure it... Damn him). He was getting a bit ridiculous, but considering his stature, I knew if I was called in to action I could definitely take him. Although now that I think of it, maybe not because his dreadlocks really grossed me out... That would have been my kryptonite in that fight for sure.




met a couple cool British dudes on the bus, helped them picked out some new shades on the ferry, and was brutally honest in telling them that the ones they chose were stupid, ugly, and WAYY too small for their head.. They bought a different pair after that. After we finally got to Brussels (thank god) I exchanged numbers with them because they invited me to a festival. We will see when and if I go, depending on where it is and what I already have planned.




so now its super dark out and I have to navigate my hostile check in zone, which the boys and their ride helped me with.. They didn't just give me a ride though which was dumb, obviously I was struggling, I appreciated the look up of directions on the phone but I mean seriously,.. You could have just drove me. Non the less I found it and checked in and met a wonderful Colombian girl named Sylvia who was on my bus and headed to the same hostile so we walked together. (were taking the walking tour of the city tomorrow together. Yay new friends!) as we walked to the hostile they had ping ping tables and bocce ball lanes bolted into the street! People were playing and having a great time.. Keep in mind that its 11pm..




well when I turned into the square it was MAGNIFICENT! So gorgeous I felt like I was surrounded by a castle! It was all lit up! I can't wait to see what Brussels has for me. I already like it and I've only seen it at night

The days of Canterbury past

Had a very relaxing morning. Woke up to pee at about 6ish and then decided to try and sleep some more, which I did (thumbs up, and a smirk) when I finally got up I went about my morning like a snail comes out of his shell.. Slow, lay in bed, get up and out again, go back, and finally perk up and start moving like I'm made of cement. Got to talk to momma bear, where she told me about her new hobby in essential oils.... Mom I love you and this is so great and interesting, but lets not go over board on buying things that are going to pile up and sit in a box in the corner of the room when you decide your now really into making your own recycled toilet paper, or something like that... I can see you now reading this ( 'oh whatever!' And then rolling your eyes and giving me a sassy, I'm gonna kick your ass look) LOVE YOUU and super excited about your oils! Can't wait to hear what your learning! (I promise that was not sarcasm, I am actually interested in what you find out..)




Had yogurt and granola for breakfast and watched some adventure time on my phone before finally heading into town..




PARENTAL ADVISORY: (I describe a man)
I got to the edge of town and a very attractive (from behind because I couldn't see his face) man started walking in front of me. Maroon shorts that were just short enough to really accentuate his nice lookin, muscular thighs. beautiful clean cut dark brown hair and my very favorite thing on a man.. Scruff. Not too much that he starts to look like a tweeker hippie, and not to short that it looks like he, one , just forgot to shave, or two looks like he can barely grow facial hair in the first place and is trying really hard to make it happen. I decided since I had no plans for the day to just see where he goes.. Call me a creep, yes I followed him a little longer than a normal person should... He stopped at the bank and I kept going.. So there, not THAT creepy, I mean its not like I stood there watching him from across the street till he left! I didn't really, I swear.

okay now that my creep moment of the day was done early, I basically just roamed around town, in and out of shops, stopped for coffee and then roamed some more, nothing to exciting. They had a market going on all day so I suppose that was pretty nice, the sun poked out to say hey for a little and then it left, the big ball of jerk! Oh and I bought the same exact coat I bought yesterday because I know when the one I have gets a hole I'm gonna be mad so I thought, meh ill just stock up and call it good. It was only 5£ anyway.






THEN! and old lady stopped me and asked if I wanted to take part in a sunscreen/lotion survey, I was hesitant until she told me I would get 10£ for doing it and then I said 'oh great lets go now!' Maybe a little to eager. It was fine and easy and I got my lunch money for the day so BOOOYAAHHH!

next i stopped for lunch and had the worst fish and chips ever. It was like the fish was mushy, I'm really hoping I don't become queen and sit on the porcelain throne all night... There's a 50/50 chance that will happen...
to boost my spirits, I went back to Burger Bro's and got me another milkshake, this time it was a delicately crafted salted caramel pretzel malt shake.. Again, heavenly! The girl from the day before remembered me and I sat and chatted with her and the owner for a bit before paying and leaving to the words of the owner 'see you later my sweet!' *melt*

To wrap up my day I went to the Westgate gardens, passed by the Canterbury castle (which was under construction), attempted to follow the signs to St. Augustine's abbey (never found because the signs in this town were clearly made by blind people... No offense if your blind... Although if you are I'm not sure you would be reading my blog in the first place? Maybe someone's reading it to you? Never mind)..
Walked home after getting a few more essentials for the rest of my trip (converter plug, waterproof phone case, etc) and am going to pack my stuff, leave some clothes behind here, and get ready to head to Belgium tomorrow!!!

Heads up: My next post is going to be a doozy... Spoilers... I sit on a bus for 10 hours 😆








Side note: Mingo found a flock of the same feather today at the store.. He said they were super judgey and that they were being dicks.. His words not mine...