My life as a European!!

I just got back from Amsterdam on Sunday and it was definitely a great weekend! I know I say this a lot, but the city was SOOO different than any other I've ever been to. It was pretty cold, about 45-50 all weekend, very little sun, and a little rain here and there. I can't say that I could picture the weather being much different there--it was suited to the red brick roads, the narrow and colorless buildings, and the horse and carriages that would pass by once and while. Amsterdam is also nick-named "Venice of the North" because canals run through the whole entire city. Cute little house boats line the canal (which you can see in the pictures). The streets there are very confusing; at each bridge the name changes, even if you're going straight...so navigating our way through town was nearly impossible.

Thursday night we arrived pretty late, so we walked around and went to the Red Light District! This was a HUGE eye-opener for me. Everyone hears of prostitution, but this was beyond my wildest dreams! I'm not going to get into details, but I can say that I'm happy those kinds of places aren't all over the world!

Friday, we went to the Anne Frank house and the Van Gogh museum. The Anne Frank house was pretty sad. They had videos throughout telling the story. The only catch was that the diary wasn't actually the real one--I guess they were having climate control issues in the house and they didn't want to risk it getting ruined. I'd say it was kind of hard to relate to in general, just because the attic wasn't furnished and it didn't really "feel" like I was where I actually was. Regardless, I'm glad that I went. The Van Gogh musuem was pretty cool though! I don't know that much about Van Gogh, so I can't really recall much of what I saw, but I did enjoy it! Oh in the middle of the day, my friend got her ears double pierced. She'd been wanting to get them for a long time, but it has always been frowned upon by her parents. Well, she decided to be a rebel and just do it! Hmmm...is there anything rebelious I should do now??!?! Just kidding...I'll just stick to being an angel...

Saturday, our plan was to go to a Hemp Museum, take a Canal Tour, and go to another musuem...well we only ended up going on the canal tour which was a complete bust in itself. We spent most of the afternoon in this little British pub making friends and "getting cultured." We were surprised at the time when we finally decided we should leave--4pm. HaHa. We weren't at all worried, it was an afternoon well-spent! Saturday night, we bar-hopped a little bit and walked around the Red Light District.

SOO, I guess you could say my weekend in Amsterdam was a success! I loved everything about the city and I would definitely consider going back! As for now, I need to get some sleep...tomorrow I'm leaving for the Canary Islands and then Italy!! Yay for Spring Break!!

Happy Easter!!

P.S. This Sunday, there are two 17 year-old German girls moving in my flat. They're going to be here until the end of the month! Things are going to be kind of different around here!!

Valencia is province south of Barcelona (outside of Catalunya) on the coast of the Meditteranean. The weather is warmer, and on the Saturday that my program went, it was about 70 degrees and sunny! So amazing!

We left about 7am, got there around 10am, and took a 3 hour walking tour of the city. I saw a bull fighting ring from the outside (which I believe was the largest in Europe..don´t quote me on that!), walked around the largest market in Europe, went to the Cathedral of Valencia, and toured a few other sites. At the Cathedral, we were shocked to find out that it had the Holy Grail! Of course, there is speculation as to whether or not it´s the real one, but there is a legitimate story that one can only believe! The Cathedral also had some paintings by Goya, my favorite Spanish artist, so that pretty cool as well!

After our tour we went to a huge aquarium! The architecture was absolutely amazing! (check out webshots!) In addition to the usual sea creatures, we went to a dolphin show!!

In total, we were only able to spend about 7 hours in the city, but it was definitely well-spent! I really enjoyed my time there!