Zwolle, Netherlands

 On the way to Zwolle, we stopped at Vimy Ridge, which was the sight of WW1 battle grounds, and is now a memorial for the Canadian soldiers. I thought we were going to be able to step onto Canadian ground, but its not pactually part of Canada.   

Danger: Undetonated explosives

In the cemented trenches.

Once we got into Zwolle, we met our Mennonite your way people, who were very kind as all of them are. The lady of the couple worked/volunteered at a horse riding center for disabled people, so she let us ride a bit. 

I really liked how the Dutch liked to bike pretty much everywhere. And they have really awesome bikes. Especially in Amsterdam, which was a lot nicer than I thought it would be. Everything is brick. The houses are brick and the streets and brick, and it was raining, so of course I gnawed on the street. On In Amsterdam, we visited Anne Frank's house. That was really interesting, I can't believe she spent two years inside her house without ever going outside.

Its like we're in Venice again, there are some canals in Amsterdam.

We also went to see Corrie Ten Boom's house in Harlem, if you know who that is. She is a lady who helped Jews with her sister and father, and got into a concentration camp. She survived and died recently. There are more details to that story obviously, but I won't mention all of them.

This is the place in Corrie Ten Boom's house where they hide Jews.

We were in the area where Menno Simons was born, and where some of the first Mennonite churches were built. We went to a dude that was supposed to give us info on Menno, and he was really nice but he just talked about stuff that made no sense, so that was too bad. But it was still very interesting to hear about Menno's life, and how all that stuff started.

Morocco: Surfing & Ziplining

After the desert tour in the Sahara, we went to Marrakech to meet Chris and Carolyn, which is who we traveled with from then on. We stayed at a really nice riad with an awesome pool. So, we spent a lot of our time swimming, and exploring the area. We also went to a really beautiful waterfall, which is a rare sight in dry and hot Morocco.

In the riad.

After hanging out in Marrakech, we traveled to a beach town called Oualidia. Along the way, we stopped at a zip line and ropes course place.

We then got to Oualidia. We explored the rocky cliffs by the ocean, as well as the town. It was really interesting to go to the little markets and stores. At the butcher's, there were whole carcasses hanging there.

 

The big highlight of this stay was surfing. There was a lot of falling involved, but I have discovered how much fun surfing is! The waves were really small, but that was probably best since it was our first time.

That guy in the back-round helped me and Aria a lot.

After all of that, we went back to Casablacna, which is where we landed at the very beginning of our Morocco trip. Here we stayed at Chris and Carolyn's apartment. Traveling with Chris and Carolyn has been really fun! Those guys are so kind and awesome, Morocco would never have been so awesome without them. Morocco is a world apart from Europe, even though they are pretty close together, and it has been really interesting to see a small window into Moroccan life. Now, we go back to Europe.

Morocco: the Desert Tour

There is such a contrast between Morocco and Europe. It has been very eye opening seeing this whole new way of living, and this different world that is so normal for the people that live here. I have discovered that just looking at pictures and videos, and listening to people’s stories of what its like in Africa is obviously very different than being amidst it, and experiencing it for your-self.

We have done some really fun stuff here, stuff that is hands-on, not just looking with your eyes. We went on a desert tour, and it took forever to get there. We drove for two days to get to the Sahara, only to spend a very short day and one night in the actual desert. But that day in the desert was spent very well, and it was definitely worth it. On the journey, we stopped a lot to look at little villages, or other things.

One of the villages we stopped at.

 It was interesting, how when we stopped at these villages, there were girls my age who were working really hard, way harder than I ever have to. Their lives are so different from mine, and I almost felt ashamed or guilty for wearing nice clothes, when all they had were tattered ones. I felt guilty for having this awesome life of mine, full of opportunities that some of the people living here might not have. Also, just like in pretty much every post of mine, I have to mention the suffering animals. Its so hard to see the skinny cats and dogs who beg for food. Most of the dogs are really nice and friendly, which makes it sadder. A normal sight is a herd of cows on the road with their shepherd, and there are donkeys pulling carts everywhere.

So, we finally got to the camp in the desert. That is when we rode the camels, and as you could have probably guessed, I felt sorry for them too. But it was still fun.

They are so hilarious

After that, we went sand boarding, which was awesome. I think it is easier than snowboarding, though. The sand board itself looks pretty much exactly like a snowboard, and all you do is stand on it and slide down.

Me and the camp dog.

The camp amidst the dunes.

We got up early enough to see the sunrise, which in my opinion was prettier than the sunset. And then, we went on the long trek back.

This is a mini tagine, which is a Moroccan food.

Chateaux Guibert, France

Most of the time, we have been seeing more sights than people, but here, I felt like we got to know the people better than the sights. We are staying at a Mennonite your way place, which is run by a couple. We are also staying with a traveler from South Africa. It was really interesting to hear their stories, and their experiences. Those people are so kind. We spent most of our time chilling, and walking around the French village, or the lake. There was also a keyboard! It wasn't exactly the piano I have at home, but it was way better than the keyboard I made out of paper. I spent a lot of my time relearning the songs that I haven't played in two months, it was highly entertaining. However, we did not look at screens all day like it says in Aria's blog.

The house we were staying in was ancient, as are most of the things in Europe. It used to be a school house for girls in the 1800s (I think) run by two nuns. It's an awesome house made out of stone, and complete with shutters and an attic filled with cobwebs.

The house we stayed at.

Here we are eating outside with the people we stayed with.

The paper keyboard I made.

Paris

Before we came here, I prepared myself for the fact that Paris isn’t always cute and beautiful, which was true. Don't get me wrong, there are some really pretty areas to Paris, but it is also just another big city. We did the things that people are “supposed” to do in Paris, such as climbing the Eiffel tower, which was fun, and seeing the Arch de Triumph, which was covered in scaffolding. Although, we didn’t go inside the Louvre because we're not big into art, and there are an extreme amount of paintings in the Louvre. I'm sure it would be cool to see, but I'm fine to miss it. The river Seine was really pretty, and the accordion music that was being played added a French atmosphere.

We stayed in a tiny apartment, for only three nights. Cities aren’t exactly where we like to stay for long times. So, besides the Eiffel tower and the one museum we went to, we spent our time wandering in the streets of Paris, and eating baguettes. I also got the experience of taking the subway, which was cool. There were lots of opportunities for people watching, and there is a really diverse crowd in Paris, which was interesting to see. Pretty much everywhere is crammed with people, or at least that is how it felt through my eyes. I'm so glad I don't live in the city. Also, just like I've mentioned before, there is a high population of stray animals, and beggars, which isn't a very uplifting sight. It's sad to see no efforts at all trying to help, well, none that I know of.

I'm very glad that we got to see Paris, but I'm also looking forward to the next place we're going to. I have to apologize for not keeping up with the blog very faithfully, because I'm actually in Morocco at the moment, not in France.

Waiting for the subway.

Blogging!

Sitting outside the Louvre.