I have waited too long and now there is far too much to tell you all! The adventures never stop on this trip (I joke quite often Adventure is Out There was the right name!) So let’s begin in Amsterdam…
We were in Amsterdam from Monday night until Friday morning. We hadn’t planned on staying so long (originally not planning to go at all) but we LOVED it (and you may be thinking, as I did when people said they loved it, that it was because drugs are legal there… but it’s not!). It was so beautfiul. To start, walking around on canals over water everywhere and seeing boats at every turn is lovely. The houses are all so skinny and tall it’s fun to fantasize owning one. The streets are cobblestone. Everyone rides bikes (which have the right of way and rule the roads). There is an outdoor flower market (as well as several other clothing/good markets). The red light district is fun and awkward to walk through (prostitution is legal in Amsterdam). There are several worthwhile museums (Rijk…, Van Gogh, and Anne Frank). Catherine went to the Anne Frank and loved it, it was so moving.
Basically, we highly recommend traveling to Amsterdam. You get a great sense of the city and will enjoy it!
On Friday we made the mistake of traveling (We were going from Amsterdam to Atwerp for the day and then on to Paris). We didn’t realize that Veteran’s Day is also celebrated throughout Europe but is known as different things. Ultimately, though, it is still celebrating and honoring war veterans. The mistake was not only were our trains longer and more packed, but upon arriving in Antwerpen, Belgium all the stores were closed!
No matter, we had decided to come to see the print museum and buy chocolate. Both were amazing (and eating frites with mayonaise was delicious!!). We didn’t get a great sense of this city but what really brought me down about it was that it had so much popular department store shopping. A theme in this trip seems to be seeing department stores everywhere.
That night we arrived in Paris after many more trains and exhaustedly fell asleep. We are now staying with Gary and Peggy (Catherine’s friends from the Peace Corps) in the near-Paris home! So excited and will let you know how it all goes in the next message!
xoxo.