Our journey begins -- AMSTERDAM

Hello from Europa!!!

I haven't blogged much since I was in Greece two summers ago, so I'm trying to get back in the swing of things during my seven weeks in Europe.

A little introduction...

Drew and I are traveling around Europe for 7 weeks spending anywhere from two to eight days in each city. We are staying in a mixture of hostels, hotels, apartments and Bed & Breakfasts. We are going to 15 different cities starting in Amsterdam and doing a 'loop' down through Switzerland, Italy, Spain and France. General map of our loop is below (subject to change).

(route may vary when we feel spontaneous)

We graduated from the University of Georgia on May 10 and in only three days time we were on our fight to Amsterdam. It was a hectic couple days getting ready and a long day/night of travel, but well worth it. Upon landing in Amsterdam we stumbled onto a bus hoping it would take us where we needed to go, found our hostel (which was more like a hotel), and quickly settled in. 

One major hurdle has been due to the fact that I didn't look up the weather before venturing to this side of the pond. All I could think about was my dream summer in Europe so I quickly packed my cut-off shorts, flowy tank-tops, sundresses and sandals. The cold was something I was unprepared for and I quickly had to adjust to the colder temperatures... as well as the rain. I bought some Keds, which actually helped me to fit in better here.

We spent our first day exploring our new neighborhood and figuring out the tram system. On our second day we explored more of Amsterdam and went more into the central part of the city. Drew would like to add that we strolled through the must-see Red Light District. We met up with Dean and Lindsey (friends from home) and walked along the canals, stopped into coffeeshops, had some amazing crepes and had dinner at a small restaurant near our place. 

On our third day we did some traditional Amsterdam sight-seeing. We visited the Anne Frank House, which was a somber experience. We also went to the Van Gogh museum (100 yards from where we were staying) which was four floors of Van Gogh originals - really cool!

I'll put more pictures on Facebook, but here are some highlights for now!

                                                      (Van Gogh's Almond Blossom -- yes, this picture was allowed)

Next post - Brugge, Belgium!

Cheers,

Emily & Drew