(no subject)
YAY!!!! We're in Amsterdam!!! So, it's about 6:48pm CA time (or, my body time) and about 4am local time. Good times! After being up for 30 hours straight (3 plane rides, one 5 hour layover, a train ride, and a long ass walk later) I just woke up from my first 7 consecutive hours of sleep in the last 3 days. The couple nights before we left proved to be pretty sleepless as well. Despite being a little delusional, worn, and freaky looking, I did enjoy every moment of travel as best I could. I don't feel back to 100% yet, but maybe one more nap before breakfast will help. :)
Amsterdam rocks so far. I'm a little overwhelmed and look over to Matt and see I am not alone. The vibe, while laid back and liberal, is quite new. It's also very high energy at times, especially with people riding bikes *everywhere.* It's very funny because you have the ppl totally chill in the coffeehouses (aka pot bars) or eating on patios which is very low energy, and then people flying by on the streets or playing drums or talking loud and fast which is totally the opposite. Anything goes here. Really. And we haven't even been to the Red Light District yet.
My list of "must do's" include the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank house, and Keukenhof Gardens. I would love to make it to Haarlem or another nearby city as well. We're hoping to take a trip to Belgium too. To get around locally, we're thinking of renting bikes. Fun!
Our hotel is so cute, and, well, SMALL. You walk up three flights of the steepest, smallest steps ever to get to a room that when my bags on the floor, I have no room to step out of bed or open the "closet." I LOVE IT. The shower is in a tiny room with the toilet which makes me happy too. For some reason, this tininess is attractive to me. Well, here's the site if you're interested: http://www.hotelnewamsterdam.nl/en/index.htm
Food is everywhere. Anything you can think of. YUM. We're going to load up on fruit and snacks to travel around with, but with the abundance of restaurants and cafes one would never starve. The canals intrigue me and I cannot wait to ride a little boat through them.
Oh! Some bummer news. I had a friend in the Netherlands who was an exchange student at our high school. Despite being very close, we lost touch over the years. Well, I tried to find her (admittedly not as hard as I could have, but I felt little hope). Without an address it was hard. Well, the night before we left, my mom looked once more through some old papers and found her last known address. Some Googling and other searches left me with a possible phone number. I called it and it was her!!! Well, her parents house. She happened to be visiting them that day and was leaving the next for Sweden!! So, the great news is we exchanged e-mails. The sad news is she left for Sweden to study the day we arrived and I won't get to see her. How cool she was there, though, because her dad did not speak english. I just kept repeating her name until her got it and got her. Phew.
Is it breakfast time yet? Nope. And I only brought one box of jenny-safe cereal which I have plowed through half of already. I need a snack. Maybe I will venture downstairs and see what the machines have.
So on that note, I am going to begin a food mission. The great debate is do I wake my sleeping and oh-so-adorable husband to join me, or am I strong enough to brave it alone? I think I can fly this one solo.
I'll be online every few days or so, and my cell is off. Hopefully we'll have some pics up in a few days, and I'll post the link. Til then, take care, and I am off to further enjoy my honeymoon....
Amsterdam rocks so far. I'm a little overwhelmed and look over to Matt and see I am not alone. The vibe, while laid back and liberal, is quite new. It's also very high energy at times, especially with people riding bikes *everywhere.* It's very funny because you have the ppl totally chill in the coffeehouses (aka pot bars) or eating on patios which is very low energy, and then people flying by on the streets or playing drums or talking loud and fast which is totally the opposite. Anything goes here. Really. And we haven't even been to the Red Light District yet.
My list of "must do's" include the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank house, and Keukenhof Gardens. I would love to make it to Haarlem or another nearby city as well. We're hoping to take a trip to Belgium too. To get around locally, we're thinking of renting bikes. Fun!
Our hotel is so cute, and, well, SMALL. You walk up three flights of the steepest, smallest steps ever to get to a room that when my bags on the floor, I have no room to step out of bed or open the "closet." I LOVE IT. The shower is in a tiny room with the toilet which makes me happy too. For some reason, this tininess is attractive to me. Well, here's the site if you're interested: http://www.hotelnewamsterdam.nl/en/index.htm
Food is everywhere. Anything you can think of. YUM. We're going to load up on fruit and snacks to travel around with, but with the abundance of restaurants and cafes one would never starve. The canals intrigue me and I cannot wait to ride a little boat through them.
Oh! Some bummer news. I had a friend in the Netherlands who was an exchange student at our high school. Despite being very close, we lost touch over the years. Well, I tried to find her (admittedly not as hard as I could have, but I felt little hope). Without an address it was hard. Well, the night before we left, my mom looked once more through some old papers and found her last known address. Some Googling and other searches left me with a possible phone number. I called it and it was her!!! Well, her parents house. She happened to be visiting them that day and was leaving the next for Sweden!! So, the great news is we exchanged e-mails. The sad news is she left for Sweden to study the day we arrived and I won't get to see her. How cool she was there, though, because her dad did not speak english. I just kept repeating her name until her got it and got her. Phew.
Is it breakfast time yet? Nope. And I only brought one box of jenny-safe cereal which I have plowed through half of already. I need a snack. Maybe I will venture downstairs and see what the machines have.
So on that note, I am going to begin a food mission. The great debate is do I wake my sleeping and oh-so-adorable husband to join me, or am I strong enough to brave it alone? I think I can fly this one solo.
I'll be online every few days or so, and my cell is off. Hopefully we'll have some pics up in a few days, and I'll post the link. Til then, take care, and I am off to further enjoy my honeymoon....