I'm Back

12 days in Europe and I am back, countless metros, trains, planes and buses got both Ed and I where we needed to go.  I am back on my CA time, with getting up in the middle of the night, my homage to Europe I suppose.  Stewie is sleeping on our bed.  He is happy, he had a few adventures while we were gone.  We had a snowglobe casualty last nt. my mini Amsterdam globe burst in the luggage and the Paris city globe is nowhere to be found.  Survived is the London and Disneyland Paris snowglobes for Elise, with various other knicknacks, a t-shirt and candy for her.  Ryan made out with a Disneyland Paris Alarm Clock, windmill pencil sharpener, big pencil from disneyland Paris, T-shirt from fat tire bike tours and a money holder from London.  Paris will be missed, I love the fact you can get fresh bread everyday at a store that only serves bread.  Some of the parisian food I can do without, but overall the atmosphere, the culture and speed of their lives entices me to go back someday.  What I will not miss are the prices. I just got my AMEX bill with a chicken caesar salad and a bottle of water. This cost me $26.  Which is about 16 Euros.  I know that in some cases Ed and I spent $60 for a basic chinese dinner meal.  Something that would cost about $20 here.  Amsterdam is very calming.  I would stick to the parts of the city away from Central Station.  The canals are quiet for the most part and there are more bikes than people on the streets.  Yes, there were the coffee shops but it wasn't a big deal at all. The stuff isn't off the wall strong and  we avoided the obnoxious establishments.  The beauty of each home along the canal is just astonishing.  Every single building there has a history and the architecture in that city is a good mix of modern with the old. I am taking a few days to soak in what I saw and recuperate before I return to normal life.   It has been a amazing experience and grateful I have something to look back on with good memories.