Well, it's my last day in Europe. Ecuador is overtaking the Europeans right now - I am soooo excited for my work placement, and I am so proud that they are excited to have me. It's nice to be wanted.

In my desire to see something of Amsterdam, we went to the New Church's Nature in Art exhibit.

Very cool.

John and I travelled seven hours by train to settle in for a demure landing in Amsterdam. We decided to cut back on the touristy stuff for a few reasons; including dealing with FTC and McGill stuff, prep for Ecuador and to reenergise before the challenges of work in the developing world.

John and I were leaving Bayeux at lunchtime, but that left enough time to check out the awesome Bayuex tapestry. Bayeux is an epicentre of Norman culture, and the Bayeux tapestry depicts the 1066 invasion of England by William the Bastard, who got himself renamed in history as William the Conqueror.

Bayeux is the model of an Norman town, with a magnificent cathedral, winding streets, pretty canals and massive tour buses. It serves as an excellent base to head down to the coastline to view the D-Day landing beaches, especially Omaha, Gold and Juno.

John and I drove to the town of Consuelles-sur-Mer, where the Juno Beach Centre is located.

John and I zipped to France on the ultraluxurious Thalys (hot Frenchmen in suits, ladies) where John and I managed to get on the wrong train. However, the conductor and attendant seemed unconcerned. The train was going to Paris.

John was disgusted to find out that mussels and frites are the national dish of Belgium. He is of the opinion that you should not eat anything that carries its house around all day.

Aachen is a sleepy town today. However, it once was the epicentre of Europe, under the mighty Frankish emperor Charlemagne.

John and I had a hankering to see some prewar Germany. However, due to the extent of war damage following the Second World War, original German buildings are hard to find. The city centres of the old towns are actually not old at all, but were carefully rebuilt following the fall of the Nazi regime.

YAY! If I post this entry today, I will be up to date! (It´s big.)

On our third day in Berlin, John and I got up rather reluctantly (bed soft, legs tired, etc.) and then departed on the U-Bahn to try and visit the Gemaldegallerie (since I haven´t been to an art gallery in a while).