Amsterdam.
Well I guess it really doesn't begin in Amsterdam, but in England, because I had to meet Maria in London, so I packed up, grabbed a bus to the train station and got on a train heading to London. There I found her at the British Museum. After wandering around there for a while we headed to the Spitifield Market, next to the Liverpool St Station where we needed to catch our train to the FERRY(!) we were going to take across the channel. The Market was really neat and is destined to be visited again.
But back to the good stuff...after waiting a good long time we boarded a nice little (bumpy) train to the ferry. After about a half an hour train we were at the ferry. Now I don't think I have seen two adults act so much like little kids as Maria and I were acting. ( I mean I know some adults who are basically big kids...but we were sooo excited!) It was soo cool!!! I mean it felt and looked like a HUGE cruise boat, but it was just a ferry. Our room was sooo nice! There was a full bathroom and enough room in the whole thing for both of us comfortably to move around, and it was nicely lighted and decorated and the beds were SOOO COMFORTABLE!!!! If I could have I would have taken that duvet with me. But I did not have any room.
We had decided to travel at night, hence saving us a day, and the pain of trying to find a hostel in London, or book another night in Amsterdam. So, Maria and I enjoyed our stay on the boat and went to bed. Of course we forgot about the fact that when you go to Europe...you lose another hour, so even though we set our alarms for 6:00...we really didn't wake up until the captain called over the loudspeaker that it was 7:00 and that we would be landing shortly. Ooops.
To get to Amsterdam we had to take a train via Rotterdam. Once in Amsterdam we had to figure out where we lived. Of course I forgot to look up where our Hostel was, and so did Maria, so after much searching on maps and on the internet at the information center we asked someone. Of course it ended up that I had picked a hostel outside of the true center of Amsterdam and so we had a half hour tram ride. On the plus side...free breakfast and internet. Another odd plus was we got towels two of the three nights we were there. Also our roommates were all some really nice people.
Now Amsterdam itself is a very interesting city known for the things that are legal there and not everywhere (for the most part) else. If you do not know what these things are...well ok.
We of course went there not for those things, but for the history and the buildings. Amsterdam as a city is a very interesting place. Full of canals and trams and dams and kerks and bikes. LOTS and LOTS of Bikes. To get around we decided to purchase hop on hop off canal boat tour passes. These lasted for two days and were really nice, but sadly we didn't really use them to their full potential. We went to the Rijksmuseum on one day...and after going through it went to get lunch at a nice outdoor cafe. After sitting down...it rained on us...then the rain got a little stronger, and all of a sudden it wasn't rain anymore...but hail...which grew in size until it was the size of a raspberry. We of course could go nowhere...so we stayed put. Me sheltering my camera, purse, and in a way Maria while Katherine hid under her umbrella. We were told later that that is the usual weather pattern...sun, rain, hail, sun, hail, rain...etc etc...crazy.
The next day we were in Amsterdam it was just Maria and I, Katherine had moved on to meet her family in London. We were set to meet up with a friend from York though Maartin. In the morning we decided to use our boat bus tickets for one more final lap around the canals and then set out to meet Maartin at the Dam (center of town). Once he caught up with us we all went to lunch and had a pleasant conversation about something Maria had eaten (ended up possibly being horse.....still not quite sure) and just life in general. Afterward we got coffee and headed back toward the Dam. Once there we decided to take a tour of the Royal Palace...which Maartin told us had not been open to the public in a while and which was one of the coolest places I have ever been. I recommend looking at my pictures of that place. My favorite room was the main entry hall...because on the floor were three maps...one was of Europe and Asia and Africa...one was of the stars, and the third was the "new world" meaning north and south america. That night was our last night in Amsterdam. The next morning I woke up really early and hopped the 600 tram back into the city to catch the train out to the airport to fly to Madrid where my parents were arriving the next day.
This should catch everything up to the post before this. I will write more later about my trip from Spain to the beautiful country of Italy.
No comments:
Post a Comment