Before you read this blog post I must warn you that this is a heavy ‘PHOTO’ blog entry. Last week we returned from our trip to The Netherlands and I am just now getting around to cropping and editing my photos. You often hear people say that it takes a few days to get over the Jet Lag from an International Flight and although I would say it is exhausting I don’t think it really slowed me down; we were able to get a flight back to the US that landed right around our own “bed time” so we were able to go right to sleep and wake up the next day without feeling like we lost 8 hours.
Truike and her team at Paper & Pictures were the most wonderful event hosts. The Castle in Doorn was amazing and all of the attendees were so sweet to us! Here is a quick photo of one of our classrooms and our fabulous students inside the castle! You can tell from this photo how elegant and amazing this location really was. One thing is for sure it didn’t really feel like we were working because everyone was having so much FUN!
I don’t have a lot of “people” pictures but I do want to share a little bit of the highlights from Paris and Amsterdam below:
1ST STOP: PARIS
I mean you can’t really go to Paris without walking by the Eiffel Tower. We only had 6 hours in Paris so we did not go up the Tower but we did walk directly under it and stare at all of it’s beauty. I will say it is MUCH BIGGER in real life than I imagined it would be.
I am including this photo because we rode the Metropolitan Subway Trains ALOT! It was our main method for transportation during our 6 hours and it was like a completely “different” city under the open streets. I was amazed how quickly people were moving about underground. New York is probably the same way but I have never been there either. We even stopped to listen to bands and musicians play down there. Amazing.
Here is Barry in front of a busy intersection; and really every building is this beautiful. Every sidewalk and every intersection is gorgeous and there are people (probably all tourists..) everywhere with lots of activity going on.
There are cafe’s like this one on just about every block. I never did eat a “crepe” but we did stop at a cafe similar to this one for lunch. It was so fun and relaxing. Perfect weather too…not hot and not cold.
Everyone rides bikes in Paris and Amsterdam. It is common to see bikes on every corner or sidewalk.
I think this is the Hotel DeVille. We were a little lost at this point trying to find a famous street in Paris (which we did eventually find…)
Don’t laugh and please don’t judge….but I think this is The Louvre. We are probably the only people who would go to Paris without a plan and I guess we like it that way. We wandered the streets and walked off the beaten path on several occasions so that we wouldn’t feel like total tourists. We walked a LOT but we didn’t really have a destination in mind. Turns out we missed the Champs De Lysse that Trisha (From Prima) and Samantha (From Authentique) explored the day before so I was bummed about that.
2ND STOP: AMSTERDAM
Row Houses and Buildings are everywhere in Amsterdam. I don’t think I ever saw a single free standing building while I was there (except for Amsterdam Centraal Train Station.)
The buildings really do lean here. The entire city is built over water and the buildings themselves are built on wooden posts. You can’t see them of course but you can see the canals running beside all the houses here.
Some of the houses are literally right next to the water. This is one of my photos from our Canal Tour by boat.
We stopped for cold beverages while touring the Red Light District and although we can’t show you photos of the Red Light District (photos are forbidden there) everything you have ever heard about this area is true. Coffee shops don’t really sell coffee 
and there are little rooms where certain working girls are waiting for visitors!
The Three Stooges We also got to hang out with our friends from Echo Park! (Madison on the left and Jody on the right.)
There were 11 of us walking the streets of Amsterdam (see group at left in this photo) At times it was hard to keep track of everyone. Graphic 45, Echo Park, Prima, Authentique, Pink Paislee and Paper & Pictures were all on hand to represent.
I think you probably get it by now…the architecture in Paris and Amsterdam is so amazing. Such history everywhere you look.
Here is Truike Bron (owner of Paper & Pictures) and Barry walking the side streets of Amsterdam! Truike sure knows how to show Americans a good time!
We also got 2 hours of “free time” to shop this busy shopping district in Amsterdam and I did splurge on a cute new bracelet and ring; costing me about 22 EURO’s total…which is about $30 US dollars.
In Amsterdam this store is like our Macy’s or any other High End Department store. 4 levels of very expensive goods: Channel, Gucci, Prada, Etc.
And lastly…..I think everyone knows I am dying to get a Tattoo! This almost had me tempted….almost. The back alley shop was keeping me from totally going for it though!
And finally….this is totally blurry but I couldn’t agree more! It’s not a job it’s a lifestyle! This couldn’t be more true for anyone who works in a field like ours. We truly love what we do and love that we get to travel to share our products and our passion with others!
Thanks to everyone who made our trip such a wonderful experience for us! We loved every second of it!
Rebecca
