europa!!

back in the homeland for the holidays. i'm doing an apartment swap with a nice woman from paris, and i have to say so far so good! the fridge is full of champers, different types of duck, an assortment of cheese. i left an equally abundant spread, tho more americanified: screwtop wine, cheddar, xmas colored cupcakes. i hope she finds it just as welcoming. the neighborhood is fantastic, the steps to montmartre are at the end of my street. yeah, a parisian version of kalorama!
stopped over in amsterdam on my way here. it was super cold, but super nice. i walked a lot, took pictures, saw the van gogh museum; drank a lot of coffee. lattes are the standard, yum. along with other stuff at "coffeeshops" which i don't really know how to roll up that well and i sorta just spilled it everywhere and people were staring at me (or was i just paranoid?). i ate a really good falafel. all my clothes stink. but now i'm in paris!! the train drivers are on strike, naturally. i stepped in dog poo. feels like home.