Amsterdam!

had the most intense week of all nighters and finals, essays on parliament, lectures on insurance @ lloyd's, etc. i really needed a break sooo... i booked a trip to amsterdam last minute. crazy, right?

Anyhoo... Amsterdam is a stunningly beautiful city in the Netherlands. the center of the city is cut by canals, kind of forming a spiderweb of the city.

i arrived with 3 other friends at 9 AM we descended on the local outdoor marketsflower market! no tulips yet
the highlight for me- two hour bike tour of Amsterdam! it was an absolute thrill, Amsterdam has bike lanes pretty much for every major and minor street. it was so fun to breeze through most of the city by bike. the bumps and curbs were a pain though.. really painful!
i look like a pro! the bike was really heavy and difficult to maneuver on
but i managed to steer with my left hand and snap away with my right hand. almost smacked into a tree or two
nightlife at amsterdam. a ton to do, this is amsterdam after all... (but couldnt get photos of the red light district- its not allowed, and anyway something you should see in person. a picture would not do it justice!)
aha- dinner was at an indonesia restaurant (indonesia was a former colony of the Dutch) Its called Rijstaffel- a ten course sampler of indonesian cuisine. delicious

the city at night- absolutely glowing

playing in modern art piece "i amsterdam"
penelope cruz signed a deal with Mango clothing, her billboards were ALL OVER Amsterdam. you could see at least 3 from every street corner. and she was gorgeous!!
another nightscape shot. really tranquil city

some other things i did- Van Gogh museum- starry night is in amsterdam!!

diamond museum- it was free, and the stones were all super sparkly

and the house Anne Frank hid in during her stay in Amsterdam. it was really quite sad- we see and hear about war all the time today, but its relayed to us in numbers- $x billion budget, X number of casualties, X number refugees- thats terrible enough, but to actually get a personal story on what war does to a teen goes much deeper than numbers do.