The last of my trip journal - Amsterdam.
The conclusion of my adventures…
Day 11 - Sunday. I cried that it was time to leave Venice. I would love to live there. Alas, it was time for me to move on, and I was starting to miss home. I had a 12:20pm flight, so I caught the boat to the airport at 10am. I was very glad that I had paid a little extra to leave at that time instead of 6am. The gelateria at the airport was surprisingly good, where I got a scoop of Panna Cotta and a scoop of ACE (which is an orange, carrot, and lemon blend.)
My flight was uneventful. I had to check my suitcase in Venice all the way through to Atlanta, since they were only allowing 1 carry-on per person due to a full flight. Luckily, I had anticipated this happening and put a change of clothes in my personal bag. When I arrived in Amsterdam, I took the train to town and purchased a city map. It was less than useless, and I pondered how I was going to find my hotel - The Bellevue, which was supposedly located near the train station. I decided to wander around to see if I could find it on my own - and, as luck would have it - it is right across the block from one of the exits to the train station.
Amsterdam was overcast and dreary, with dark-colored buildings and a lot of modern architecture. After leaving cheery and low-key Venice, it felt like a slap in the face. I felt that I had made a bad decision in deciding to go with a 20-hour layover. After pouting in my room for about an hour, I said to myself, “Holly, what the heck are you doing pouting in your room? You’re in Amsterdam! Any other day, you’d be thrilled to be here!” So I put on my jacket and headed out. I was surprised that it was warmer here than in Venice.
Anyway, I gained a better appreciation of the city as I explored. There is some interesting architecture here, even though it is angular and somewhat stark. Even the train station is beautiful, with a lot of gold gilding. French fries seemed very popular - there were stands everywhere! It seemed almost stereotypical - food place, food place, coffee shop, mushroom shop, food place, food place, etc. A lot of vegetarian options, which was nice; in Venice I hadn’t found much to eat other than pizza and sandwiches.
The air seemed very stale here, filled with cigarette and marijuana smoke. It really set off my allergies and asthma, despite my taking my medication. I ended up back at my hotel, where I took a shower to open up my sinuses again. I ate at the restaurant at the hotel, which was delicious. The waiter could see that I was suffering, and offered to find me an aspirin, which I thought was very sweet. That was what I did like most about the city - the people were very friendly and helpful.
Starting to feel better, I headed out again. I visited a Sex Museum, which was quite comical with its posed mannequins and photo commentaries. I then headed over to the Red Light District - which was underwhelming, as expected. Most of the girls looked extremely bored, sitting on stools in their windows. I saw very few trying to entice customers, despite the large number of people milling about. I was glad to see a variety of women, not just skinny blondes. They really need male booths though, IMO! I’m glad I got a glimpse of the city, so that I know I have no desire to go back again.
So ended my adventures.