in dutch, 'van gogh' is pronounced 'van *hock a loogie*'

hey all! it's been awhile. i've had my hands full with an art history paper--which i turned in a couple days ago--and getting ready for london!!! e. and i have been planning our british excursion for a couple weeks now. we found a cheap flight, we're staying at a hostel, and since we don't have class again until wednesday, we're leaving tomorrow morning and coming back tuesday night. as it turns out, tomorrow is the queen's birthday parade. should be a smashing good time!

in the meantime, here's what's been going on since my last update.

last friday, my art history class went to the mauritshuis in the hague:


(no pics allowed inside, but believe me when i tell you that vermeer's 'girl with a pearl earring' is this museum's claim to fame. it's like she threw up all over the gift shop. they sell 'girl with a pearl earring'-themed playing cards, mouse pads, you name it. they even sell pearl earrings.)

afterwards, e. and i walked around the hague a little bit.




(cool fountain with a king on top.)


(outdoor urinal.)

saturday, back in leiden, we were browsing through market and came across something i've never seen before: a band on a boat. so, we stopped to have a listen. they drew quite an audience.


things were pretty low key until today, when my class met up at the van gogh museum in amsterdam. the museum really was amazing--especially since we spent all of wednesday's class talking about him. all i knew about the guy before wednesday was that he chopped off his ear. i had no idea he had such a sucky life--bad relationship with his father, no recognition as an artist, no luck with the ladies, physical and mental health problems, etc. it really made me see his art differently.



what is the deal with all these museums not allowing people to take pictures inside? as long as you keep your flash turned off, how could it possibly harm the art? seriously, i'd like to know.


(especially if you're going to allow bootleg merchandise to be sold outside the museum.)

amusing tidbit: some guy tried to pay with american money, then argued with the woman who worked at the museum when she wouldn't accept it. no wonder europeans think americans are idiots. but alas, my friday the 13th did not go off without a hitch--on the tram ride back from the museum to centraal station, the tram driver hit the brake suddenly, resulting in my being sandwiched between the wall and an old man for the rest of the ride.

well, i'm off to pack for my journey to the land where elevators are lifts, fries are chips, and chips are crisps!

pip pip cheerio,
b.