On Saturday afternoon, Peter and Esmee (pronounced EZ-mey) met me at Centraal Station when I arrived around 3:00 p.m. They are some of the best hosts I've ever stayed with! Their clean and straight-from-Ikea 1-bedroom apartment is in the center of the city in an area called Leidsepslein (always made me think of Led Zeppelin). Even though it's only about 25 meters from loads of shops and restaurants along the canal, their side street is very peaceful. Here's a view from their balcony toward the hustle of the neighborhood:
Esmee and Peter showed me the cozy bed they'd made for me and left to go grocery shopping.
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Alright, yet again I've let several days go by without finishing a post. I want to go into so much more detail and let you relive my journey, but my thumbs get awfully bored typing away on this little phone. so here's another quick overview:
-out to dinner with Esmee and 4 of her sorority sisters for one of their birthdays
-got offered to join some handsome Dutch guys ;) on their boat in the canals, but had other plans
-birthday party at the birthday girl's new apartment that's right in the city center and overlooks 2 intersecting canals
-to me, Dutch sounds like British English played backwards! everyone spoke English really well and always included me in their convos. so nice!
-sun didn't go down until 11:30
-out to a club called "Bubbels" to dance to Dutch house music
-Esmee and I met with Peter and his friends to get a late-night döner kebap and then home
-saw the beginning of the sunrise around 4:00 a.m.!
-Sunday: brunch with Esmee and her sister, Imke
-explored a bit (Red Light district, the "9 streets")
-I had no idea that Amsterdam (A'dam) was built on pillars and is mostly below sea level. Thank you to my friend Jake for educating me. here's a view of a canal:
-A'dam is bursting at the seams
with bicycles. I heard that there are more bikes there than Dutch people.
-lots of solo city walking in the afternoon, then Esmee made us a delicious veggie stir fry for dinner and we watched the Tour de France
-Monday: Van Gogh museum. saw "Sunflowers" and a model of his famous room:
-canal tour with lots of other tourists.
-tried to get lost in the city, but basically ended up walking in circles
-out for Italian food with Esmee and Peter for my last night there
-bought myself a piece of cake for dessert from The Bulldog (Virginia told me to take advantage of my time in A'dam, so I followed her advice) ;)
-Tuesday: caught the 7 a.m. train out of town to head to München (Munich)
-great advice that I got from a poster in A'dam on how to have a fantastic day (which I think I follow very well): "smile, slow down, dress up, keep it beautiful, join in, you are the party, discover. yesterday is history, today is a gift, tomorrow is a mystery."
~peace, love, and adventure~
Ubicación:Amsterdam, Netherlands
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