Final days in London

A post to come soon describing my final days and the overtime in London.  Stay tuned!

Final Holiday from Vacation - Amsterdam

So....I've procrastinated this blog entry a lot.  Lo siento to the people who read this.

I'd like to state I turned in all 3 papers ON TIME and they were pretty decent.  No idea what the teachers thought...but I somehow got a decent paper.  Especially the Lady Audley's Secret and madness paper that was pulled out of thin air.  Until 3 am.  Let's just say on Wednesday, I was dragging all day.  But then I rewarded myself by enjoying a Student night.

Friday

This trip beginnings at 2 am.  Seriously.  For future travelers, plan ahead how to get an airport without tube.  Ugh...it would have been worth 20 extra quid to sleep more.

Whatever.  Kori and I got up.  I had about 3 hours of sleep....she got about 4.  So, we were essentially slap happy during the bus journey to King's Cross.  Quote to start our journey "Team on three.....one....two...three....team!"  (how we motivate ourselves to get up) and then the word of the weekend "Money!"

So, we walked to South Kensington Station with our huge ass backpacks.  Got on the proper bus and enjoyed being sober while the girls on the bus were so not.  So not.  So, then we went to switch buses, and decided to "hoof it" to King's Cross.  Not that bad of walk...essentially 15 minutes or so, and we never saw the bus we were gonna catch.  Money right there.

We go to get our tickets and realize we need the credit card for it.  Kori borrowed Allie's card so thus....we didn't have the card.  Luckily, the really nice British guys at the ticket help counter got it all sorted it out.  Nice chat with him...at 3 am.

We then find our train and I have flashbacks to my epic trip to St. Pancras during internship.  We get on the train and enjoy the magazines we found in the family room of our dorm.  Then we go to catch the bus connection and didn't realize you had to pay.  Fail.  Whatever, cause we got on the next one and paid the 1.50 to go like 5 minutes away. Yeahhhhh....

We got to the airport way early.  We checked in to our flight and shoved our purse bags into the bag bags since we were allowed only one bag.  Fun times Easyjet.  So we go through security and head to get some breakfast since it's about 5 am now.  Woo.  We got expensive Pret breakfast that was really crunchy and awkward to eat.....yeah.  Then our flight finally got called.  Apparently, last boarding time on Easyjet tickets is when boarding time begins.  Thanks....that's like 1 hour of sleep lost.

So we get in line between these annoying American girls and really funny British guys.  The girls are obviously thinking they are too good for the guys while Kori and I are having a blast listening to them talk.  They point out that Kori brought a SPOON with her.  "They let you through security with that?!  What kind of security is that?"

We get on our really long flight of 45 minutes and I zonk out immediately.  That proves how tired I am since it was a noisy flight and the guys behind us sounded like he was yelling into my ear.  Ah.  The best part was the old lady hen party in the front.  They cheered as we landed in Amsterdam.  So funny.  It was also the smoothest landing EVER.  So weird.  I also really enjoy just walking straight off a plane onto the ground.  Oh cheap flights.

So, we wander around the airport trying to get train tickets.  The immigration guy was mean and confused me at 9 am....thanks for that.  But he left me through...yeah.  We finally got our train tickets and headed into Amsterdam city.  We were surrounded by Italians and one was wearing all purple and had a bright orange bag.  Too much color for that time of day.

We get to the train station and, it's here I'm glad Kori has been to Amsterdam before.  She knew the city well enough to guide us around decent enough so yay for that.  So, we wander to our hostel which is the classiest place I've ever stayed.

Oh yeah

So we check in and resist collapsing into bed and sleeping the day away.  We start off wandering to find Euros and a place to eat.  I tried Falafels and they weren't too shabby.

Then we went to the place I was really looking forward to seeing.  Anne Frank Annex House.

It's so weird seeing it.  It really brought her diary to life and made Kori and I even more...I guess...in awe of her.  I mean...she's this 13 year old girl who writes better than we probably will in our lives. (sidenote: her handwriting is perfect.)  Makes you wonder if you would be as hopeful in her situation.  It's also heartbreaking cause after her sister died in a concentration camp, she basically gave up on the will to live cause she had nobody left.  The concentration camp was freed about a month after she died.

If you ever go to Amsterdam, go to this place.  I really can't describe how much I enjoyed visiting it.  I remember reading her diary multiple times growing up, and I have to reread it over break.  It's literally, as I walked out of there, I was telling Kori how I wanted to read her diary again at that moment.  Try to go at a not busy time so you can read everything and see everything.  This was Kori's 3rd visit and she saw more of the house this time than ever before since it wasn't packed.  So much stuff I didn't know and I considered myself decently versed in her life.

So, obviously, we were feeling a bit down after that.  A lot down actually.  We then started our trek to the Van Gogh museum.  It was seriously a trek but Amsterdam is a really pretty city and not like any city I'd been to before.  Tons of canals and bicycles!  Bikes ride on the street with the cars and there are so many!

We stopped in a pub for an emergency coffee break.  Break from the cold and a caffeine indulgence.  So strong, but so good.

So, we finally made it to the Van Gogh museum.  My main memory of Van Gogh is my awesome attempt at Starry night from art class in elementary class.  Sadly, Starry Night is housed at another museum.  But, I got to appreciate other works of his and other artists of the time.  We had fun deciding who the real art people were and the fakers.  There were a lot of fakers.

So then....our feet wanted to fall off.  So we grabbed the trolley back into town and rested a bit at the hostel again.  Met one of the German/Russian (??) girls that stayed in our room as well.  They were an interesting duos of girls who wouldn't shut up in Russian.  But they were from Germany....or traveled from there.  Whatever.

So, we went back to the mexican restaurant that we saw earlier and split some fajitas.  Delicious.  Too bad the menu made it seem like it was 15 for two....not 15 euro each.  Fail.  So, we purposely finished our plates.  And our drinks.  And loitered out of the cold.  Good times.

So then we wandered around Amsterdam and took in the sights.  The Red Light district is an interesting place to visit.  It's just one of those things that you kind of have to see in Amsterdam as well.  I'm pretty sure a couple people from Monticello would die from shock seeing some things there.  Yup.

It also started snowing.  Like..hardcore snow, not the flurry stuff that shut down London.  Seriously, about an inch of snow shut down an airport.  Wtf.

Snow in Chinatown.

Saturday

So, this was going to be our day of shopping.  Good times expected.  Wrong, kind of.

We got up and walked down the road to this pub that served breakfast.  I got a delicious omlette, fyi.  But while we sit in there with the TV playing ESPN (NBA game, wtf), the snow is not letting up.  At all.  So we are convinced that our flight is gonna be cancelled or delayed.  I was already imagining the awkward email to my bosses "Soooo...I'm stuck in Amsterdam....I'll see you Tuesday."

So we did what normal girls do when it snows in Amsterdam....we went shopping.  We tried to find these markets and failed....so we just walked around popping into random stores and stuff.  We both got suckered into buying really cute dresses from Zara and I then found some shoes to replace cheapo ones from H&M that I literally walked a hole in.  Fun times.

We didn't exactly do much besides wander and just hang out. It was fun seeing all the sights of Amsterdam and enjoying the snow as much as we could.

For dinner we went to a Chinese restaurant.  Delicious.  It was located in Chinatown so I figured it would be good.  We had trouble picking out which restaurant to go into though.  It was a nice break from walking around.

So....then we wanted something sweet.  Like a crepe.  A nutella crepe.  We refound a Christmas festival thing and scooped out the dessert situation.  The crepes looked the best so we each got one and watched the people skating on the ice rink.  We also wandered through a closing down flower market.  I almost bought some Tulip bulbs to take home to Dad, but I wasn't sure how customs would feel about that.  So to play it safe, I didn't buy them.  Sad times though.

We then headed in what we thought was the proper direction to the hostel.  Wrong.  We got so lost.  We ended up by a motorway and were like "Wtf where are we?!"  Luckily I had a map on me and remembered seeing where the NEMO was cause NEMO was a weird name for a museum.  We were solidly outside central Amsterdam where our hostel was.  So we laughed at ourselves and started off in the real proper direction.  We then chilled at the hostel and called it a day.

We did find this treasure while lost.

Tun fun...cause Amsterdam is a tun fun

Sunday

Miraculous, our flight was fine.  No delays.  No cancellations.  It was perfect.  So we got up and got ready in the dark since our roommates got in an hour or two before we left.  Some Italian guys harassed Kori and I.  Good times.

We booked it to the train station, bought our tickets and then decided Burger King sounded amazing.  Cinniminis to be precise.  So...we had 15 minutes before the train left and we decided to search for a BK.  We walk off the platform and I spot one right away.  I turn to Kori and say "it's a sign.  God wants us to have Burger King"

Psych.  The place opened at 9, I guess, but the doors were already unlocked.  We watched them get the kitchen ready and shit.  Most disappointing BK trip EVER!  Bright side - They didn't have cinniminis so I didn't miss out on that.  Only bright side.

So we get on our train and get to the airport.  We check in and then see we have enough time to eat.  Score cause I'm starving at this point.  We settle for McDonalds and pay too much for it.  Best. Breakfast. EVER.  That coke had to have crack in it, it was that good.  So worth the outrageous amount.  Egg Muffin, croissant, and coke.  Yessss.

We then head towards our gate and encounter the longest security line ever.  They have 1 line open and like 30 people in line waiting.  Outrageous!  We finally get the front and our flight is already boarding.  Shit.  I then get selected for a random security search.  Let me just say...those are thorough.  I felt a little violated afterwards as well cause of how thorough it was. 

We then get to our gate with perfect timing.  We swipe our boarding passes and then walk onto the plane.  I then get my window seat and it's perfecto.  There were even extra spaces so Kori and I spread out a little.

We get back to London after a quick flight (45 minutes) and then are in the predicament of choosing a method of transportation.  We were looking for cheap since time didn't matter to us.  So...we found a bus that dropped us off at Victoria Station (1 tube stop away from Sloane.  Perfect) and it was only 8 pounds.   Amazing.  We went and got some magazines and enjoyed our pretty bus ride back into London.

We both had the same reaction reentering the city.  I had this little smile creep on my face and a warm feeling.  The feeling you get when you've been away from home and return to it.  London felt home to us by this point in the semester.  We see the Gherkin and St. Paul.  Then Parliament and Westminster and just felt at ease.  We were back to our home.

Overall, Amsterdam was a good trip.  I wouldn't want to go with any other person though.  Kori and I are chill people and it's a chill city.  The feelings were perfect and we had some stupid adventures together.  I saw more prostitutes in one alley than I had in my entire life.  I smelled more weed on a road than in a dorm on 4/20.  It's a very unusual city and fun to visit.  So open and friendly, until you step in the bike lane and stand there.  Whoops.