Keukenhof Gardens, Holland

Of course, it wasn't the display that it ought to have been. Nevertheless, the Keukenhof Gardens were indeed still very beautiful:) Holland on the other hand was not so pretty, mainly because the areas I saw were heavily industrial.

Tuesday I spent five hours on buses getting to the sea port Hull. In the evening, the Pride of Hull left for Holland. I was very sea sick that night. I did not enjoy it very much. Then, in the morning. I had quite a bit of trouble getting past the border agency. All immigration officers are convinced I am a foreign alien trying to sneak into the county. I had to get the bus driver to vouch for me. Spent five hours exploring the grounds of Keukenhof. At least there were indoor flowers which were blooming. The next morning, I had trouble getting back into the UK despite my visa. Apparently, it was extremely odd for me to be going alone to Holland to see the tulip gardens. For heaven's sake, its spring time and they are world famous. Crossing borders is such a hassle and the persistent questioning gets a little unnerving. I am seriously getting a headache just from thinking about it. Then, I spent many hours on buses getting back to Alnwick. Its good to be home. Overall, Holland was alright. Hopefully, my trip to Bruges, Belgium next week will be better.

Last night, I met a former Alnwick student who was traveling England with her two young boys. I gave her a tour around the castle and we hung out and talked about travel. During her stay at the castle, she actually went to Tunisia on her break with some friends. She had some interesting stories about her experience there. I also learned that in their culture women have very few rights. So, all these American girls coming in on their own with no males is quite foreign to them. She said that she could see how easy it would be to get lost in their marketplaces and towns, due to the network of small alleys and dark corners. She even went on a two day Sahara tour, camping out in the middle of the dessert and visiting ancient Roman ruins. Overall, she said she enjoyed the trip to North Africa, but Italy was way better.

Right now, most of the other students are away in various parts of Europe. I am looking forward to sharing our travel experiences when everybody returns for the start of classes on April 8th.