October 27, 2008

weekend! halloween! europe!

so this halloween will be the first time in my entire life that i'm not dressing up and participating in Halloween Activities... because i will be IN FRANCE! my fantastic friend christina lives in paris, and it's been three years since the last time i went to visit her so it is clearly hiiiiiigh time for a visit. so i'm going! on wednesday! i can't wait! but it means i'll be missing halloween, which is partly a relief (don't have to think of a costume!) and parly a bummer (i like costumes!). (they don't really do halloween there. last year christina brought her hubs and his brother over for halloween, and they got to dress up for the first time in their lives, and it was hilarious.)

anyway, to make up for missing Actual Halloween, my friends and i went to the most fantastically awesome haunted forest this weekend. anyone local: it's called Markoff's Haunted Forest, and it's about 30 minutes outside of DC in the middle of nowhere, MD, and it is SO FREAKING WORTH IT I AM SO SERIOUS. i'm not really one to get overly scared by contrived scary situations... but omfg they do such a good job here. they have you walk through these remote, dark woods for about 20 minutes, with the path lit only by candles, and every few feet there's another clearing full of creepy things, including tons of live zombie-people, who lurch out at you terrifyingly / chase you down the path / lock you in sheds full of hanging bodies. there were chainsaws involved. it was amazing. i wish i had pictures, but i was busy screaming and getting locked in sheds while my friends yelled for me from the outside, which meant the creepy zombie-people inside the shed heard my name, which means they could back me into corners moaning "AAAALLIIIIIIICE. ALLLLIIIIIIIIICE. AAAAAAAAAAALLLLLICE" which makes it Not The Ideal Time to frame up a nice photo, if you know what i mean.

if you are within an hour of this place, you need to go this weekend. seriously.

so hey, back to europe! i'm going there this week, have i mentioned that? :-) i land on thursday morning, then christina & her boy & i are headed to amsterdam on friday. amsterdam! i've never been there! this is going to be so great! the weather currently claims it will be in the 40s and potentially rainy every day, unfortunately. i plan to not care. oh, and to bring a coat this year, as opposed to my brilliant layering plan in germany last year, where i was all "psh, coats are so annoying and bulky! and will totally ruin my plan to use a carry-on for 10 days in europe! i'll layer and bring a sweater or 2" and HAHAHA FAIL. lesson learned. i'm bringing a coat AND a hat AND gloves this time. thanks, stupid alice-of-2007!

i'm headed out to get an amsterdam guide book after work tonight, but for anyone who's been there: any must-sees i need to check out while i'm there?

18 comments:

  1. As much as I love Halloween, I would give it up for one year in order to go to Europe!

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  2. Oh you lucky girl!! Paris and Amsterdam will be so much fun! I think the food will super good too. And alcohol. I think about that a lot whilst traveling.

    I'm going to go ahead and avoid the scary place you mentioned only because I don't like Blair Witch kinda stuff.

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  3. OMFG - SO JEALOUS!!! That sounds like THE BEST trip! Have a blast and take lots of pictures.

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  4. This trip had better be AWESOME to make up for the fact that it's causing you to miss my wedding. Just saying.

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  5. Paris! Amsterdam! You are so lucky. I would skip Hallowe'en in a heartbeat if it meant I got to go to Europe.
    Have a fabulous time!

    Two of the ladies over at

    http://www.seehearspeaknoevil.com/

    just went to Amsterdam - check them out.

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  6. I could technically get to that haunted forest but I'm thinkin' there's just no way in hell.

    I do NOT like being scared outta my mind. LoL

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  7. Color me green with envy. I love Halloween more than the next person, but I'd give it up in a heartbeat to be in France. Think of us poor schmucks still here, okay? Bon Voyage!

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  8. I haven't been to a haunted house in years, but the scariest one EVER was one in Indiana that involved chainsaws. That was almost too scary. Glad you had fun!

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  9. Have a wonderful trip!

    I think it is so fun to do things like haunted forests, especially with friends! Sometimes we just need to let a little scream out ;)

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  10. OMG, you got lockeed in a shed with zombies?! I would have freaked the hell out...

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  11. I am such a freaking baby about scary shit. I will probably be paranoid all day on Friday because I am an idiot. Which is way less cool than being in France.

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  12. OMG, if zombies chased me in a forest and locked me in a shed, even if I TOTALLY knew it was all actors, I would still (1) pee my pants, (2) scream so hard I'd sprain something, (3) probably accidentally genuinely injure one or more of the actors in my terrified flailing, and (4) need therapy immediately afterward.

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  13. OMG. That sounds way too scary for me. WAY.

    have a fun trip!

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  14. So jealous! Have a fantastic time.

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  15. If we liked to be frightened, we would go to this haunted forest. But I think I value my sleep for the next 20 years (and no one wants to see a grown woman mess her pants) so I will stay home.
    With my son who eats soup and ravioli straight from the can. Room temperature. (Actually, the ravioli isn't bad...it's the clam chowder and chicken noodle soups that gross me out.)
    Enjoy Europe!!! Yes, bring a coat and a hat and gloves. ;)

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  16. Have a great trip...though I don't see why Halloween and Paris should be mutually exclusive. Feel free to dress up whilst there.

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  17. Yeah, that whole France thing really makes dressing up and getting piss drunk sound not so fun anymore.

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  18. Oh man. That scary place would finish me!

    Have an ace time in Europe!

    Cxx

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