Amsterdam

DAY 1

We arrived in Amsterdam in the early afternoon. Our Airbnb host picked us up from the airport and drove us to his Airbnb. It was a little outside of the city center, but there were many tram and bus stops near it. Once we got settled in, we went to this Turkish restaurant. I wasn’t a huge fan of it because we only got 4 choices of what to eat, because it was between lunch and dinner. I think I would have liked it if I got more choices of food. We then went and bought a GVB public transportation card for 4 days. This allowed us to take the tram and bus as many times as we wanted in four days. We hopped on the 14 tram to go into the city center. We wandered to the Flower market and then to the Royal palace . We had a late dinner at an Argentinean restaurant, which was ok.

DAY 2

We started our day by going on a one hour canal tour. It was very relaxing and informative and a good way to see different sites. It was so relaxing that I started dozing off . Afterwards, we decided we wanted crepes/pancakes. We found a place that is voted one of the top 5 pancake restaurants in Amsterdam, The Pancake Bakery. When we got there, there was a bit of a line, but it moved fast. This place has a lot of interesting and unique combinations of crepes, but very yummy. I got a banana, bacon and whip cream crepe and it was delicious and huge. My friend, said he could go back to this place again, which is very unlike him to say. We then continued wandering around, we went back to the flower market and bought a couple of souvenirs. We went to the Jordaan district and took lots of pictures there

. We then headed back to our Airbnb to rest. Our host had recommended an Indonesian restaurant not too far away from us, called Betawi. It was delicious. We then went back to the Airbnb, but I had decided I wanted to go back to the city center to take photos. Sunset here was very late, like 10pm. I took the tram into the center and found a canal and bridge setting I liked as well as some houses on the canal. I freaked out my friends when I didn’t come home after 2 hours of being out. I made it home safely and all was well.

DAY 3

We first had tickets to the Anne Frank house, which was very sad but interesting. I remember seeing parts of it in the movie “Fault in Our Stars” and I read her diary back in middle school. Afterwards, we decided we wanted to take a tour to the windmills, outside of Amsterdam.

We found a tour company that did everything we wanted to do. We booked our ticket for the next day. The lady thought I was 13, which qualifies as a child ticket. I guess I keep getting younger and younger. Afterwards, we decided we wanted more crepes and went to a place called Pancakes, which is right next to the Anne Frank House. It was good, but not as good as The Pancake Bakery. We then ventured out and decided to take a ferry to the other side of Amsterdam. By the ferry port, there was a bike parking “lot” that housed thousands bikes. There were lots of these lots around the city, it was quiet amazing.  The other side of town was much more industrial then in the city center. We walked around an old boat factory that housed different art studios.

We then took the ferry back to the center and went in search of some dessert. We came upon this bakery where we rested for a bit. We then went back home and stopped at a grocery store to pick up some dinner.

DAY 4

It is my last full day in Europe, which is insane. We got a late start to the morning and started off the day with our 7 hour tour. We started out going to the windmills about 20 minutes away from Amsterdam. We got to tour a working windmill that helped produce lumber for construction businesses.

Afterwards, we headed off towards Volendam, where we got to see how cheese was made.

We then stopped for a quick fish and chips lunch break. The restaurant was ready for us (the tour) and got our food out in under five minutes. After lunch we learned how a stroopwafel is made. We learned that the best way to eat it is with some tea or coffee, but put the stroopwafel on top of your coffee cup and let the steam heat it up. We then boarded a boat, which took us to our last stop, Marken. We wandered around the cute little quaint town and headed towards our clog making tour. We learned how to make a pair of clogs. After a long day, the tour headed back to Amsterdam. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the rooftop of our Airbnb and packed up to head back to America.

THAT’S A WRAP

18,987 Miles. 9,839 Pictures. 125 Days. 23 Cities. 10 Countries. It has taken me a while to upload this last blog, partly because I have been very busy but also because part of me didn’t want to close this chapter of my life. It has been the most rewarding and best experience of my life. I have been to places I never thought I would go, done things I never thought I would do, and met the most amazing people abroad. I’ve learned how to plan a trip and pay for a trip from start to finish, but of course, not without some big whoopises on the way. I learned very little Italian, but enough to buy a cup of coffee, talk about what I eat for breakfast (if anyone asks me) or buy a movie ticket from a man who doesn’t speak any English. I will be forever grateful for this experience and I 1000000% recommend study abroad to anyone and everyone.