Proast to Amsterdam

The first weekend in November, Leslie, Jackie, Allison, Jen and I decided to go to Amsterdam for the weekend.  We stayed in the Red Light District, and that was an experience to say the least.  But the city was so much more than the drugs and prostitution. It was absolutely beautiful, and I didn't get to see nearly as much as I had wanted to.








We arrived to Amsterdam and noticed that everything was in English.  Our hotel was in between a coffee shop and a Red Light room.  The coffee shops weren't normal coffee shops, but rather, they permitted the sale and consumption of marijuana.  Conveniently located outside of every coffee shop was a bakery with endless amounts of pastries, hot dogs, pizzas and treats.

We went to the Heineken factory the first day we were there.  We learned the history of Heineken beer and how it is made.  Little did we expect was to have one too many Heinekens at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.  There was a beer tasting, a beer survey and 2 beers included with the entrance of the factory.  Sure enough, what we thought would be an hour or so at the factory turned into an all day ordeal.


The next day we went to the Anne Frank House.  The Diary of Anne Frank was one of my favorite books when I was little so seeing where she was in hiding was a moving experience. While walking through the house we got to see pages of her actual diary and videos of her family and the Holocaust.  I was amazed by the amount of people who came to the museum from all over the world.  We waited in line for about 30 minutes just to get in.







That night, we found one of the most famous coffee shops in Amsterdam, The Bulldog.  Of course we had to take a picture by it and buy a shirt because the Bulldog looks exactly like Spike. Go Zags.



On Sunday, we were exhausted and ready to head back. Jen was on a different flight and left for Florence before the rest of us.  Leslie, Jackie, Allison and I get to the Amsterdam airport to find that our flight is cancelled.  There is no other information for us to find out just what to do.  We wander around the airport asking everyone possible about who we should talk to.  Finally, we get to a service desk and they inform us that we will be on the next flight the following day at 10 am.  Well, so much for getting back for class on Monday! They did provide us with an overnight bag, a 5 star hotel for the night, and included a free dinner and breakfast.  It was incredible, and by far the most comfy bed I have slept in since I have been in Europe. What was even better was that we returned to Florence, just in time for lunch.

Since that weekend I have spent alot of time in Florence.  I have finally been able to see more of the city that I have been studying in the past few months! More updates to come!

We did as the Spaniards..

Since my last post, I have been to Barcelona, Rome and Amsterdam. Im not quite sure how much I can cover in this one post but I will try to get through Barcelona at the very least. 

Meredeth and I booked a really cheap flight to Barcelona this summer for this Halloween weekend.  We thought it was a good idea to fly out of Rome, and that it wasn't that far away.  We didnt realize that the fast train to Rome from Florence was 40 euro, each way.  So we took the 4 hour train that only cost 17 euro each way.  Between the train, the bus to the airport, our flight and another bus, we arrive in at the Kabul hostel in Barcelona at around 3 or 4 in the morning.

So when in Spain, do as the Spainards. This consists of sleeping in, taking a siesta and staying up all night.  We did just that.  Except the siestas were a failed attempt.  All my friends and I booked a twenty person room in our hostel.  Needless to say, it was impossible to sleep there if we wanted to.  About half of the people in the Gonzaga In Florence program decided to go to Barcelona this weekend too, so before we went out at night, our hostel room turned from a 20 person room to a 40 person.  I met one of my best friends from home, Britt DeLine, in Barcelona.  She is studying abroad in Salamanca, Spain and I was so glad to have someone who knew Spanish with us!

The first day, we went to Parque Guell.  We walked to the top and saw a view of the entire city.  We also saw some of Gaudi's work and the mosaic lizard. We then saw the Sangrada Familia, which was by far the coolest church I have ever seen.  The construction of this church should be completed in 25 years, so we vowed to come back to Barcelona when it is completed.  We were able to see the beach that day too. It definitely wasnt beach weather, but we ate lunch and drank Sangria by the ocean.  That night, we went to a club on the beach.

The next day, we went to the beach again and saw the awesome Halloween sand castles!  That night we went to Razzmatazz, the largest club in Barcelona. 

In my final day in Barcelona, Elle, Will, Britt and I decide to rent Go Karts and tour the city.  Driving in Europe is just about the scariest drive I have ever had to do.  It felt like I was in Mario Kart but if I ran into a bus (which I was very close to doing so), the consequences would be more severe. My Go Kart also broke down twice, so all the cars behind me got really angry.  But that definitely was one of the best experience I have had this semester.

We decided to stay up all night, since our flight was at 6:20 am.  So Britt and I say good-bye (I miss her already!) and Mer and I head to Rome. 

Ahh, Roma.  We decide to see Rome in one day, and let me tell you, we saw alot for that one day we were in Rome. In the four hours we were there, we saw the Colessuem, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, and St. Peter's Square.  Of course we threw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, because we both have plans to return to Rome later this semester.  I wish you could have seen us walk around Rome though.  We looked like zombies, due to the lack of sleep we had.  But we did it, and made it home safe and sound!


I will update this again soon about my trip to Amsterdam and my adventures in Florence. (And more Barca pics!)

My dad and his girlfriend are here with me for Thanksgiving this week and I am excited to show them around Florence!

Happy Thanksgiving!