I AMsterdam

I haven't done a whole lot since Penzance - read, study, go to class, read, etc., but this past weekend I went to Amsterdam on a trip organized by the University. We left on Thursday night and drove across Britain to Dover, where we took a ferry to Calais and then drove up to Amsterdam and arrived around 9 on Friday morning. it was about six hours from Swansea to Dover, the ferry took about an hour and a half, and from Calais to Amsterdam it was around five hours, so it was a lot of travelling time.

the first day I wandered around with a couple friends. we got tickets for the Canal Bus, which gave us unlimited travel for a day, and took that up to Rembrandt's house and then to the middle of Amsterdam, where we walked around the Red Light District, then we took the Canal Bus back down and went to the Van Gogh museum, which was really interesting. we went to dinner at an Argentinian/Italian place, which was really good, and then I went to bed early because I was super tired.

there are elephant statues all over the city. it's pretty rad.

there are also bikes all over the city, and they will run you over if you're not careful.

the second day (Halloween) we headed up to the Anne Frank house but there was an enormous line so we didn't actually go in. I would have liked to but maybe I'll go back. we also got lost looking for the flower market (which we never found) but it was really fun just to wander around the city and see the sights. we went back to the hostel to hang out for a while, and then a group got together and we all went to dinner at an Italian place. After dinner we wandered over to a coffeeshop and then up to the Red Light District at night. it was interesting, if nothing else. I'm glad I was in a group because I would have been uncomfortable by myself or even in a small group. on the way back we stopped at a souvenir store and I bought a shirt, and then we chilled at the hostel for the rest of the night.

I don't actually know those people, but I thought it was a cool picture.

we left Amsterdam around 10 on Sunday morning, and got into Swansea after midnight. the ferry ride back was pretty rough because it was windy, and by the time we got into town I was pretty happy to be back. today is Guy Fawkes Day and I'm really excited to be in the country that actually celebrates it. I'm going out tonight with my friend Louise, so we'll see how that goes, and then this weekend I have to write a paper and study for a test in my Welsh class. next weekend I'm going to Hay-On-Wye (the town of bookstores) and Birmingham to tour the Cadbury Chocolate factory, and then on the 19th a friend and I are heading to Prague for the weekend. I'm really excited for both of those, and I'll update again when I have some time.