AMSTER-DAYUM!

We've finally gotten back on our regular school schedule with four day weeks and three day weekends! It was so nice. Classes are going well, but a little overwhelming. I've missed my friends from home a lot this week. This past weekend I went to Amsterdam! Which was just amazing! I loved the city so much. I went with my friend Bailey. We left really early on Friday morning and was in A'dam by lunch. A'dam has the most amazing public transportation system. It was so easy to get around. We got a 48hour pass for all the public transportation and used it as much as we needed. Once we checked into our hotel we went back to the city center and went to the VanGogh Museum. I am a HUGE VanGogh fan. And this museum had a good majority of his works. We got to see the Irises, Sunflowers and a few of his self portraits to name a few. After the museum, we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Which was so delicious. I had potato skins and a coke. You can't really get that stuff in Italy. Then we walked around the city and looked in a few shops. That night we turned in early. I had been up since 3am.

Saturday morning we got an early start. That morning we got breakfast at this place called Pancake Corner. Bailey got a banana pancake and I got a grilled cheese. I had been craving a grilled cheese since I left the states. After breakfast we went to the Anne Frank House. It was so sad and depressing. The space that her, her family and another family shared was so tiny and dark. I had never realized how devastating her story was. After the Anne Frank house we made a trip to the Heineken Brewery! Which was actually really neat. I've never been the biggest beer fan. But I really liked seeing how it was made and it didn't taste half bad. After the beer, we found a bagel place with free WiFi. So that's where we spent the rest of our afternoon. It was delicious. I love Bagels. After out bagel stop we went to the infamous Red Light District. That was the weirdest thing I have encountered. Prostitution is such a nonchalant thing in A'Dam. The girls were just hanging there. It was weird seeing their blinds shut because everyone knows what's going down behind the curtain. After the detour in the redlight district, Bailey and I went gambling. I love to gamble and she never had. So it was a fun thing to do. I came out of the casino even so I was a happy camper. For dinner that night we had cocktails and brownie sundaes. Best decision ever. SO yummy. The next morning we woke up and went to the airport and flew back to Florence. Amsterdam has been one of my favorite places I've traveled. I truly enjoyed my time there.