Amsterdam

Amsterdam was....nicer than expected. No doubt about that. Sometimes the smell of weed was overpowering, but mostly it was a very practical city. Our tour guide kept stressing that the Dutch are extremely practical people. Like the way they move into their homes, for example. It's hard to see in the picture, but the houses are all tilted forward a bit, and have metal bars attached right outside the window of every floor that allow a pulley-system to get furniture to the upper stories of the house. That would be because the stairs are too narrow.

Like a parking garage for bikes!! Everybody rides a bike. Sometimes it was funny, cuz you would see a woman in stilletoes and a nice dress-suit riding a bike! I don't really understand the system though - i feel like the accident rate could get very high! They should have more of those convex mirrors at intersections so bikers [like me] aren't constnatly stressed about running into zooming cars. I think I'm the only the one that was really concerned about it though.

One of the many coffeeshops in Amsterdam. But THIS ONE was in Ocean's Eleven: the scene with Matt Damon and George Clooney where he makes the best 'lift' Clooney has ever seen. i think. As a tribute, they have Ocean's Eleven playing on loop!

hello!

hannah CHA.

Hannah and I kept thinking about how we wanted Thai food very very badly, and we got the perfect substitute: Coconut Curry Stir Fry from Wok to Walk. It was deeeeliiicious.

I had meant to go to the Van Gogh Museum, and instead landed up at the Dutch History Museum. I still don't know how that happened. hahaha, I was very confused on the first floor, and just kept thinking "isn't anyone else wondering where the Van Gogh is??" The garden was very pretty though.

Plus: hostel breakfast! [three pieces of bread, butter, jam, and 2 hard-boiled eggs], sunday morning church at a slightly more conservative group than normal - it was still amazing.
Minus: Just the Van Gogh museum mix-up. I was really looking forward to it, but after going into a different museum, I didn't have time. I did get to see some Rembrandt though.

It was the first of many many European cities.