Rome Sisters Take on Amsterdam

Chloe and Kermit landed in Barcelona Friday morning around 9 am. They had plenty of time to come back to my apartment drop and drop off their belongings before our flight to Amsterdam. That would have been the ideal situation. Of course, the airline screwed up and put their bags on the flight after theirs. They didn't get their bags until 12 and got to my apartment at 12:45. We planned to leave around 1. It was a very stressful start to the weekend, but it all worked out and all 5 of us (myself, Chloe, Hannah, Kermit & Shannon) made it to the airport on time. We landed in Amsterdam around 4pm that afternoon. Cold and exhausted, all we wanted to do was find our hostel. We stayed at the Flying Pig Hostel Uptown, which is a very popular youth hostel in Amsterdam and one I would definitely recommend! My only complaint: the excessive amounts of stairs. Our room was on the top floor and they don't have any elevators. I wish I had pictures because these stairs were so steep. Other than that, the hostel was fun. It had a great atmosphere and really cool vibe.

The group in Amsterdam!

After we climbed what felt like Mt. Everest we decided to head back down, grab a beer and figure out dinner plans. We headed out to Barney's, a restaurant and coffee shop Kermit & Chloe's friend recommended. We grabbed a cab, showed him the address and were on our way. Everything was going well until after we paid and didn't see the restaurant anywhere. Long story short: The street the taxi took us to was the wrong one. He took us to Hammerstraat and we needed to go to Haarlemmerstraat. This instantly became an on-going joke all weekend. Since we never found Barney's, we instead grabbed dinner around our hostel and visited the coffeeshop, The Dolphins. In case you don't know, going to a coffeeshop in the Netherlands doesn't mean grabbing a cup of coffee. Instead, coffeeshops are known for their cannabis (i.e. weed) because it is legal to sell here. Visiting a coffeeshop was a strange experience, but really fun at the same time. We bought a few things and then headed back to the hostel because Chloe (of course) was "randomly" carded. She didn't have her ID, so the woman working made Chloe, the oldest person in our group, wait outside. Don't worry though, Kermit and Shannon went with her so she wasn't alone.

From Andersen to Amsterdam!

Saturday was a jam packed day. We started our day by visiting the Anne Frank Museum. Since I hadn't read  The Diary of Anne Frank since elementary school I really didn't know how much I remembered or what to expect. Once we began to walk through, it all came right back. In her diary, Anne describes everything spot on: the bookcase, the secret annex, her family, everything. I think this experience touches so many people because after reading her diary you feel connected to this young girl. As if you have some personal connection to her. I'm really glad we had the opportunity to visit this museum. It represents such an important part of history and seems like a small way we were able to pay tribute to the victims of the Holocaust.

Sisterly love in front of IAMSTERDAM

After the museum, we needed a little pick-me-up. We grabbed beer & pancakes, which are really more like crepes. We then headed to Amensia, a coffeeshop Hannah's friend recommend to us. I liked this one much more. It had a cool interior and the guy working was extremely helpful and very patient with us. We left Amnesia and headed to see the I AMSTERDAM sign.

Wandered for a little bit, but we managed to find it. Many pictures later, we walked over to Heineken. Here we did the Heineken Experience, which basically is a tour of the Heineken brewery, showing you everything you need to know about Heineken. It was really cheesy, but the two beers included at the end were a nice touch. By the end of the day we were all exhausted. We got a fast dinner and all passed out. We headed back to Barcelona that next morning to meet up with Alison who visited for her spring break!

Ciao.