Adventures in Amsterdam

I spent the weekend in Amsterdam. This was my first time traveling to continental Europe. I had a great time! =)

It was really quite a frustrating travel to the city. I booked my trip through the travel agency on campus. Instead of flying to the Netherlands, like most people would do, the travel agency organized a coach bus to take us. We drove about twelve hours to Dover, took the ferry from Dover to Calais (France), and then continued on our journey via bus. All in all, it took 18 hours to get to Amsterdam.

We arrived at 6:00 AM, and thankfully, our rooms were ready. After a few hours of sleep, my friends and I set off to see the city! European architecture is phenomenal. I feel like whenever I travel to another area of Europe, I am in constant awe of the aesthetics. I have never seen anything quite as beautiful in the United States.

One of the most recognizable features of Amsterdam is the canal system. As silly as this may sound, I never realized just how many canals Amsterdam had. I felt like we were constantly walking by them. I didn't mind at all; they are truly a site to see!

For our first day in Amsterdam, my friends and I visited the Anne Frank house. This was the place I was most excited to see. It was quite possibly one of the most wonderful, humbling experiences I have ever had. The house is filled with illustrations, quotes and facts about her situation.

Even though I was standing in the house in which she hid, and I was reading everything that happened to her, it was still so difficult to imagine so much terror. Despite her circumstances, Anne tried to keep a positive outlook. One of her quotes displayed in the house was, "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart." It was a very inspirational place to visit, and I feel lucky to have been able to see it.

The next day, my friends and I went to the Medieval Torture Museum. It was rather fascinating! It was amusing to see what acts they deemed "soft punishment". The offenses were also interesting. One of the non violent punishments was to wear a shame mask. This was used as a form of penance. If men were caught drunk in public, they would be forced to wear a swine mask because their behavior was piggish. Crazy!

My time in Amsterdam ended too quickly! I had a really great time. It was a very interesting, eye opening experience to say the least.

On the ride back to Lancaster, we made stops in Belgium and France. We visited a Belgian chocolate factory, where I tried a delicious chocolate roll. I bought one, and I had to go back and get another. Fresh out the oven. So good! My friend ate five of them. Haha.

I loved traveling by ferry! I didn't know what to expect when I heard we were traveling by ferry. I imagined the tiny ferry boats that you can ride in Disney World. I was pleasantly surprised when I entered the ship. Everything was so nice! There were cafes, bars, shopping, etc. The view was lovely!

Although I wished I could have had more time in Amsterdam, I was really happy to be back at Lancaster. The travel back was brutal. We didn't get back until 2:30 AM! I was exhausted. However, I definitely think the long travel was worth it. Amsterdam was great, and I'm glad I went. :)

P.S.: I got two more stamps in my passport. Yay!

Reuniting with Family!

Hello, everyone! Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Nothing exciting has really happened. I've been going to class and hanging out with friends. I will probably do another entry on the joys of adjusting to British culture. :)

This weekend I was able to reunite with some family that I haven't seen in a very long time. I had an absolutely incredible time! :) I spent time in Warrington, my Nana's hometown.

On Saturday, I spent the day visiting some areas of the city. I saw the Golden Gates, which were a gift from Queen Victoria. They were beautiful!

Later on, we had a nice family gathering. I met my cousins' daughters, and they were adorable! We had dinner and watched rugby (go, Wolves!). I was confused the entire time. I would just start clapping whenever my family appeared to be pleased with the progress of the game.

The next day, I was shown some parts of town that had a bit more personal significance. I saw the house which my Nana grew up in and the church where she was married. When I was looking at these places, I kept thinking, "She stood here, and now I'm here." It was surreal and humbling.

This was my Nana's childhood home. I kept trying to imagine what it would have looked like at the time she lived there.

After seeing these places, we then headed to a nearby town called Chester. It's an old, Roman city that was used as a fortress. There are still walls from that time that surround the city. These walls were built by the Romans and used as a defense tactic. It was very strange to think that I could be walking in the footsteps of past Romans.

The city has so much history to it. It is full of beautiful architecture and cobblestone streets. Many of the buildings displayed the year they were built. If there were two dates, that meant it had been rebuilt. One of them was from 1274!

One of the stores in Chester really gave me a laugh. It's a store that imports American food and sells it for ridiculous prices. A box of cereal cost £8.95! That's about $14!!! I love cereal, but I would not pay $14 for it. Especially since back home it's about $3 to $4. This store had so many types of food, such as: pop-tarts, fluff, teddy grahams, cereal, and a lot of candy.

All in all, it was a great weekend. I'm so glad I have wonderful family! Everyone was incredibly kind and helpful. A big thank you to my family for their hospitality!