Hallo! (As the Dutch would say)
Just a fair warning that this post is going to be pretty long...
So, Chelsea, Lindsay, and I get on a taxi to the Brighton train station at 6am Sunday morning. We had to get a taxi because there weren't any trains from Falmer (my campus) to Brighton that early in the morning. We get to the train station, buy our tickets to Gatwick airport, and literally miss the train by one minute. The next one is 25 minutes later. So, we get on the next train and get to the airport with little time to spare before the gate closes for our flight at 8:10am. I had already printed off my boarding pass a week or so earlier but Chelsea and Lindsay hadn't yet, so we had to check in. We get into this huge line for easy jet and we hear this guy at the front calling for people flying to Amsterdam. We try to get his attention to say that we are, but he really isn't even paying attention to anyone and we are really far back so he probably didn't hear us. A minute later, we get closer to where he was at and tell him we need to check in for Amsterdam. He says that it is closed and he called for the last call to check in. We try to explain the situation to him, but he is really mean and it is too late. Since I had already printed my boarding pass, he said I could go but I would have to run to get on the plane in time. So I left Chelsea and Lindsay to change their flights (and pay 50 pounds to do so!) and I run through security and get to my gate and everyone is lined up to get on the flight. I was running there for really no reason (again that guy was a jerk). I call Lindsay and they have a flight at 4 something so I decided to just wait for them when I got to the airport.
I get to the airport in Amsterdam and take my time doing everything because I have to wait 8 hours for them to get to the airport. In the 8 hours I was there, I read 250 pages of a book, half a magazine, took a nap, and had lunch. It was a long day and I was sick of airports, and so where Chels and Linds because they stayed at the Gatwick airport for the whole time. As soon as I saw them we just hugged and shared our stories of the long awful day.
We get on the train to go into the city and to our hostel. We get there and they upgraded us to a suite so it was just the 3 of us in a room with our own bathroom!! We were so excited we told the guy that it was like finally! something good is happening to us! After we check in, we walk around the city for a little bit, get some food, and hang out at a coffee shop for the rest of the night, but were really tired and went home early. We were in bed by midnight! Haha, that is what traveling does to you!
Monday, we woke up at a decent time and headed over to the Anne Frank house. We waited in line for about 45 minutes and it was taking forever so we decided to go to the neighborhood Jordaan and walk around since it was close by. We walked through Jordaan but I am not sure if we were on the main streets or not. It was really pretty with a lot of canals everywhere- which I loved!! Next, we walked to the flower market on the canal. That was pretty and I was wishing I could have sent some flowers home to my mom that she could plant- she would have loved it!
After we saw all of the flower market, and went in to some shops along the way, we went to a cafe where they had really good smoothies and hung out there for awhile. Then we decided to go back to our hostel and take a nap. We slept for awhile then went to meet up with Lindsay's cousin, Courtney, and her two friends. We ended up at a bar waiting for them to arrive. There was karaoke and Chelsea and I sang "I Love Rock N Roll"! It was so much fun! At midnight, we all took a shot of tequila for Lindsay's 21st birthday! Then we walked around a little bit and went into a few bars then went home.
Tuesday, we got up early and met Courtney and her friends to go to Anne Frank's house. We waited in line for about an hour but it was worth it. They gave us pamphlets before we walked in that told the history of the house and everything which was nice because I couldn't remember much from learning about her like 8 years ago. The house in Amsterdam is the one that she and her family hid in from the Germans. We walked through the whole thing, but there isn't any furniture because that is the way Otto Frank, Anne's dad, wanted it. It was kind of eerie being there. The most emotional part was at the end. There was a video playing of Otto talking about Anne and it just hit me. I couldn't watch it anymore and left. It is so sad to think about!
After we left Anne Frank, we thought we would do something on a more happy note so we all went and got food then Chelsea, Lindsay, and I went to the Ice Bar. It is pretty self-explanatory- everything is made of ice! Before we get into the ice bar (which is at -10 degrees) they give us these bug puffy coats and gloves to wear while we are in there. We got two mixed drinks in glasses (of course made of ice) and watch a 4D short movie. It was a lot of fun and a good experience but it was sooo cold in there! When we got out, the bartender gave us free shots for Lindsay's birthday! We had been talking to him before we went into the ice part of the bar and told him about her birthday.
After the ice bar, we decided to go to this Sex Museum. We didn't really know what we were getting into, but it was only 4 Euros and since we were in Amsterdam, we figured, why not? Well it was interesting, to say the least.... It was pretty much like a porn museum. There was sexual pictures and such from way back in the Roman times- which I hadn't realized before. There was some interesting things in there and some very graphic things in there...
Anyway, moving on. Next we went back to our hostel to take a nap (yet again). We got up early and walked all over and decided before we went out big for Lindsay's birthday that we would try to get a little sleep. We got up and went to dinner at this Mexican restaurant before we went on our pub crawl. It was pretty good but definitely not as good as back home! Then we headed over to the meeting spot for our pub crawl. We were supposed to go to 5 pubs and one huge club at the end of the night. We got free t-shirts to go along with the deal- which I am ALWAYS down for!! By the time we got to the fifth place, it was already after 1am and we were all super tired, so we decided to just head back to the hostel. All of our feet hurt from walking around so much, so we decided to take a bike taxi home. It was actually really fun and totally worth it! I am sure the biker got a work out from pulling the 3 of us back...
Wednesday, we had to check out of our hostel by 10am. I wanted to go to Keukenhof really badly so we headed to the airport to see how long the bus from the airport would be to Keukenhof to see if we had enough time. Chelsea and Lindsay decided they wanted to save money (because they were out of Euros) and not go. But, I was determined to see the gorgeous gardens so I went by myself. It was sooo worth it!! It was a little lonely walking around by myself, but it was so peaceful and it was nice to just walk around. The place is huge- I was there for 2 and a half hours and didn't see all of it. I walked around and took pictures the entire time I was there. It was GORGEOUS. I took TONS of pictures and it was even more beautiful than the pictures show... It gets time for me to start heading back to the parking lot to wait for the bus to take me to the airport so I retrace my steps thinking I will be able to figure out how to get back. That didn't work so well... I realized I was going in a big circle and decided to find a map. I got to one and figured out which way I needed to head towards and walked all the way to the entrance/exit, or so I thought. I get there and realize I am at the car parking lot, not the bus parking lot where I need to be. I find another map and see that I am at the opposite end of the park that I need to be at. It takes awhile to walk all the way to the right entrance/exit that I need. I finally get there and probably miss the bus to the airport by 5 minutes or less (of course). I get in the very long line to wait for the bus to the airport. They come every 15 minutes. The next one comes, and of course I don't get on because it is too full. By this time, I am freaking out that I am going to miss my flight. I wait another 15 minutes. I finally get on a bus and we leave around 3:50pm. My flight is at 5:05, the gate closes at 4:35, and the bus ride is 20 minutes. I get on the bus and try not to keep freaking out.
We get to the airport and I sprint off the bus to the airport (it is 4:15 at this point) and look at the board to see what gate my flight is at. I see that my flight has been delayed by 15 minutes. I take a deep breath of relief and stop freaking out- as much.... I meet Lindsay and Chelsea and say my quick goodbyes as I head to my gate. They were getting on a flight to Rome, and I was going back to Brighton. I get to my gate and everything is fine. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have my flight delayed!
On the flight back, I met someone from St. Louis!! It was so weird! He is from North County. Such a small world! He is studying abroad in Amsterdam and decided to go to London for the weekend.
I get back to Brighton completely exhausted and relax for the rest of the night. I have been relaxing pretty much since I got back. I cleaned my room today and caught up on all of my TV shows! I was so excited that gossip girl and 90210 are back on that I couldn't wait to watch them!
Well I am in Brighton until Tuesday without Lindsay and Chelsea and all of our British friends. So, my goal is to get a lot of school work done. I have 5 papers due in the middle-end of May and want to get ahead start on them now while I have the chance. Hasn't worked so far, but I will get there!
I go to Oxford and Stratford next Saturday, so I am pretty excited for that! I can't believe that will be our last trip with our program. I come home in 53 days so everyone get ready!! Alright, enough for tonight- I told you it would be long!! Hope you all are having great spring weather in the States like we are having here.
Love and miss you all!! xx
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