I am thankful for this Easter holiday because that meant no school today, an extra day on my weekend trip, and a chance to go to bed early tonight!
So where was this weekends trip? AMSTERDAM! Many of you are probably thinking "Amsterdam?" sussy_can_I went there?? (referring to myself as my twitter name is always so much fun) Well I'll explain...
My best friend from home (Carly) spent the first week of her spring break from Tel Aviv with me in Europe! After meeting me in Paris last weekend, she came to Rome during the week. She made a quick excursion to Florence and then spent two days in Rome before we left for Amsterdam. When she came here, we had to eat carefully (#glutenfreegirlproblems), so we spent one night in the Jewish ghetto. Carly got to speak Hebrew, and we all got to eat a great meal right in the Jewish square. After that we went out for a typical night with all my friends!
The next day I sent Carly to explore the coliseum, before we went to an early dinner & packed for Amsterdam. Carly originally really wanted to go to Amsterdam while visiting Europe, and although not at the top of my list, when else was I going to go there?? There is a lot to do there besides the legality of weed, so I was in!! Our other friend Jess from high school was joining us and we were so excited to have her on this trip! It was a true Port Washington party!!
We had a 630AM flight and arrived pretty early. We checked into the Marriott (first real hotel I've stayed at abroad) and passed out in the ultra comfortable beds with duvets! (unheard of in my past travel experiences) The weather was pretty cold but we went out and explored the "nine streets" which has really cool jewellery stores and shopping. The city was much more beautiful then I had pictured in my head. The canals and buildings all looked like a toy town. Something we learned about Amsterdam instantly was that there are ALOT of bikes. There are separate lanes that look like side walks but are ACTUALLY bike lanes..(rookie mistake). After getting cursed at and escaping the non-pedestrian lane we explored, we ate dinner and went back early. There might have been a coffee shop for others somewhere in between there but we all know I was not involved in that ;)
The next day we woke up late, and it felt nice to not rush. We went to Starbucks for breakfast (it was 1PM) and headed towards the Van Gogh museum. On the way, we got so cold that we had to buy Amsterdam hats. They were too warm and fuzzy to give up once we put them on our heads, and worth all of my seven Euros. Now I have the perfect souvenir and my ears were nice and toasty! We stopped for sushi for lunch, and then the "I am Amsterdam" sign. It was smaller then I thought but still so cool and an AWESOME photo op. (especially because I have an A in my name!!) Next store to the sign was the museum, and it was huge. I loved walking through and seeing all of Van Gogh's work.
From here, we went back and then had dinner. After dinner we went to an interesting comedy show. The humour in it was definitely interesting and the actors were equally as intriguing. Some parts were very comical, but others were just plain weird. It was all Improv. and they played a lot of games with the audience.
We woke up Sunday and it was exciting to not have to head back to Rome yet because of our Easter day off from school. We headed straight towards the Anne frank house. This was my absolute favourite part of the trip. The history is so incredible and the house was unbelievable. I couldn't believe that eight people hid out during world war two in this annex with covered windows and tiny rooms for so long. The fact that we could see the actual rooms, walls, and learn about it after in the extra museum was amazing. I really enjoyed it. Conveniently right near the Anne Frank house, is a famous pancake house. We rushed there after, eating terrific pancakes and omelettes. The pancakes were almost a crepe consistency and you could put whatever you wanted on it. From here, we went to dam square and the red light district. I have zero words to describe the red light district, besides the fact that it is almost scary it exists. We could barely stay ten minutes and then we were out!! We walked all the way back towards Rembrandt square and then took naps and did an early dinner.
It was so great to be in Amsterdam w Jess and Carly because we all grew up together and now we were exploring a crazy city. Although it was so relaxing, we had so many laughs and a lot of fun. It feels good to be back from a trip and not feel like I need to sleep for days!
Over all, I am so glad I got to see the city. It is some place that I will never get to again, and perfect to experience at this age. We saw families running around the hotel, and just did not understand it. The food is munchies central, and I can feel my diet starting instantly!! They make it too easy to access junk food in that place!
I have one month and one week till I board that plane back to the US! I am starting to get excited about summer, New York & interning as much as I love it here. I know it will be equally as nice to reunite with my friends and have a detox consisting of sleep, no carbohydrates and exercise in my life!!
XOXO,
Ali
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