Amsterdam and Auxerre

Bonjour Y'all!!!

Soo...I'm back in Paris...after 2 weeks of "vacation" and I'm not gonna lie, I really want to continue to travel and be on vacation! haha I have had a blast the last 2 weeks and I can't wait to have more times like that. Why did I have 2 weeks off you ask? Well, the kids in France get 2 weeks off of school every 6 weeks, don't go to school on Wednesdays, have 3 3-day weekends in May AND 2 months off during the summer. Not too shabby I have to say!
The first week, 5 girls(all au pairs) and I went to Amsterdam for 3 days and had an amazing time!! The city is very charming; there are canals and small little streets everywhere. The people in The Netherlands are very friendly...and most of them speak English which is wonderful!!! My friend Awna and I, in order to save money, took a bus to and from Amsterdam. We thought we might lose our minds after an 8 hour drive there and an 8 hour drive back but it really wasn't bad at all. And plus we saved about 60 euros by taking the bus and that is always a great thing!!! We explored the city the best we could in 3 days. We went for a bike ride early one morning and that was a lot of fun. We saw so much of the city that way, and got a good workout in the process!! Everyone, I mean EVERYONE in Amsterdam has a bike. There are special bike lanes, bike traffic signals, bike crossings. It was amazing!!! We also went to a few museums: The Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank Museum, The Dutch Resistance Museum, and the Jewish Memorial. We also walked through the Red Light District...and it actually has red lights that show you were the district begins and ends. I honestly thought it was going to be a lot trashier and dirtier but it was more sad and disturbing than anything else. The women stand behind glass doors facing the street, not leaving much to the imagination, enticing men to pick them. Since prostitution is legal there, these women rent out these rooms, pay taxes, and the government protects them. You can't take pictures while you're in the Red Light District....they'll throw your camera into the canal, and they don't like you standing and staring....just keep on walking. But the city of Amsterdam, as a whole, is great. On Saturday we made our way to Keukenhof Garden, about an hour outside of the city. This garden used to be the royal herb garden. Now, it's only open 2 months out of the year, March to May, and it has over 7 million flowers...mostly tulips(my favorite!!!). It was absolutely gorgeous!! Definitely worth making the trip to see it. I should have pictures up very soon...if you have Facebook, I've already posted them there.
When I got back from Amsterdam I had one day in Paris, then I was off to the city of Auxerre, France, about 2 hours outside of Paris. Ahhh...it was so refreshing to be out of the big city and in the country. I LOVED it there. I was there to "work" but also explore another part of France. I stayed at one of the grandmother's houses and spent time with her and the girls, Capucine and Rose. We had a great time. We walked around the city centre(not very big at all) and also drove to an old church in a village called Vezelay that was part of the Crusades. The church is on a hill and the church, as well as the view from the hill is breathtaking. Unfortunately, when I got out of the car at the church, I dropped my camera and it broke:( I took some pictures with my phone so we'll see how they turn out. Let's pray I can get my camera fixed soon...and cheap!! The girls and I also took walks and rode bikes around our village and the weather couldn't have been better. I really had a nice time.
So...there you have it. My last 2 weeks all rolled into 1 nice blog!! I'm happy with my life right now. I'm definitely not a big city girl but I'm happy being where I am. I've been here for 4 months now and I'm hitting the point where I'm starting to find out, more and more, who I am and what I want. God has been so good to me and has blessed me more than I could ever imagine. I have found a peace and strength in that. I came to the realization about 2 weeks ago that there is no need for me to worry or stress about the future. Whatever God has for me is and will be so much better than anything I could every have thought of myself and I find hope and peace in that. No matter where I go, who I'm with or what I'm doing, I know that if it's from God, it WILL BE AMAZING!!!
Thanks for taking the time to read this!!! Have a AMAZING and BLESSED day!!!

A Bientot!!

Jessi