Amsterdam

Canals in Amsterdam- I forgot to mention the weather was gorgeous!
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I got sick of writing about Prague so now I'm going to work on Amsterdam for a bit.

The week I got back from Prague, I spent studying for an art history exam and exploring Paris a bit more. One of my favorite new places are the gardens outside the Cluny museum (Museum of the middle ages) in Paris.

After my last class on Friday, I headed to the bus station in Paris and caught a bus to Amsterdam!! A high school friend (Steve) is studying there, and other high school friends (Briana and Ryan) were going to be in town. Eight hours later, full of my favorite french rest stop waffles (ok ok i'll explain. there are these chocolate-dipped waffles they sell in a certain type of French rest stop that I LOVE), I arrive in Amsterdam, and tried to call Steve's cell phone.

Dinner with the boys!
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After trying every combination of country codes and area codes and numbers I could imagine on my cell phone (and even talking to a guy from Amsterdam named Steve!), I started using all the pay phones I could find to call. NOTHING worked, and about an hour later (now past one in the morning) I gave up and decided to try and find a hostel where I could get in touch with Steve by e-mail. A nice cab driver let me use HIS cell phone, but I still couldn't reach Steve. I couldn't even get a room at the hostel he took me to, but I managed to make them let me use the internet in the hostel and I checked my e-mail, where I found that Steve had sent me a message telling me his cell phone had been stolen!! He gave me his roommate's phone number (worked on the first try) and another taxi ride later, I finally met up with my friends!!

There really are a great big bunch of windmills in the Netherlands.
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I was pretty traumatized by that point, and ended crashing almost as soon as I got to Steve's apartment. The next morning (or rather afternoon, because we got a rather slow start) Ryan, Steve and I went out to lunch (Dutch pancakes!) with Steve's roommate and another friend of his. Then Ryan, Steve, and I headed off to the Heineken brewery, where we spent the afternoon touring and tasting free beer. We also walked around the canals a lot, wandering and getting lost. Amsterdam is interesting because it's layed out in concentric circles, so you really do get the feeling you're walking in circles (and rightly so) a lot. I'm glad I didn't really have to worry about finding my way around.

High-tech windmills too!
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After a yummy dinner cooked by Steve's roommate, we checked out the Red Light District (you have to see it to believe it) and then went out bar-hopping with some of Steve's friends.

Sunday morning we woke up and met up with Briana, who was in town from Dublin. We took her to get food, took HER to see the red light district, and finished the afternoon in Museumplan with the Van Gogh museum. We spent the early evening in a cafe, catching up, eating grilled cheese, and drinking the ever-present Heineken. We finished the night with movies with some of Steve's friends in his room.

Beautiful Amsterdam canals at sunset.
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Monday morning I woke up early and caught my bus alllll the way back to Paris. Though my visit wasn't full of sightseeing, it was definitely worth going. I got to see some of my dear friends, and I have the great opportunity of going back to Amsterdam this summer with Jenna to see everything that I missed! By the end of the second bus ride I was WELL ready to be back in Paris and not sitting still. But all in all the bus was a cheap and largely pleasant way to travel. I even got to see a lot of Belgium on the way!