den haag

Well, this morning I woke up early, got some Wasa crackers for breakfast, then took the train to Den Haag to meet up with Penny, Scott, and Eleanor. I hadn't been able to access my email this morning (damn Groupwise), so I had no idea where to meet Penny or anything. So i was like, Great, I really hope we'll be able to meet up. I got off the train, and just sort of wandered out the front entrance, not really sure what I was looking for. Then she honked, and everything was good. It was so good to see her! And then Eleanor, when we went to their house. Penny had to get to work, so she dropped of Eleanor and I at Madurodam, a fun, but kind of corny, place that has all these different buildings, etc. in Holland in miniature. It was fun, because it was sunny and nice out, but had lots of kids mobbing about. After that, we walked up to the beach, and although it had gotten cloudy and somewhat windy, it was nice. I have missed the beach, and they had all these shops and such set up on the sand because it is summer. We had a nice Dutch pancake, I got kiwi, which was amazing. So that was fun, just catching up with her. I haven't seen her for around 4 years! Went back to the house, and it was so good just being in an actual HOUSE, with dogs and cats and running water and a living room and pictures. Made me miss home. Picked up Scott from work, and later went out to a great Thai dinner with good wine and good company. It was nice, and I was sad to leave. I miss my family! And friends! And Jeff!
I forgot to post yesterday (I think. I'm really losing track of time here....) We went to Delft, which was fun, but somewhat boring. Saw the Church with a memorial to William of Orange, and all the porcelein shops that they're famous for. Also, we were going into a bakery and some streets were roped off with police tape, the yellow a garish contrast to the warm bricks of the Dutch houses lined up. There were even police milling about in bullet proof vests. We asked a woman in the bakery what was going on and she shrugged, saying nonchalantly that there "Was probably a shootout or something." In Delft. Great. Who's even Heard of Delft?? I thought London was bad.. Chris says that Delft has the highest concentration of Muslims in Holland, and thinks that has something to do with it. I hate religion, honestly. We're all reaching for the same thing, why does it matter how we get there? If we're all fighting for the same thing, there can be no winners or losers. I just don't understand.
Cheers