Today's my last day here!?

Time really flies when you're in Amsterdam! I feel like I've done a lot, and yet I'm just starting to feel like I know my way around.

Saturday morning, before Ilana got in, my walking tour friends (Fi, Ian, and Katie) and I went and wandered up to the Jordaan, to this fabulous open-air market, and then rented a paddleboat to explore the canals for an hour. Then I went back to the hostel, met up with Ilana, and we went to the Anne Frank House. This was something I had really wanted to do - it's crazy to imagine 8 people sharing that small space for so long. It also made me want to reread the diary.

We then met up with Katie for dinner and walking around the Red Light District. It's definitely a part of the Amsterdam experience! I feel sorry for the women, but my walking tour guide from the other day insisted that they enjoyed it. I'm a little skeptical, but went down to gawk anyway.

Yesterday morning Ilana and I went for a walk and a coffee in Vondelpark (really close to where we're staying and very nice). We then checked out the Van Gogh museum, which was great but waaay too crowded for my tastes. Especially in front of the really famous paintings, there would be an enormous crowd and you almost felt pushed out of the way before you could actually get a look. In hindsight, maybe we should have done this one on a weekday.

Then we met up with Katie at the Heineken Experience and took their tour, which includes 3 free beers and is a lot of fun. I never noticed that the all of the es in their logo were "smiling"(tilted), but now it seems obvious. After the Experience, we went and took a boat tour of the canals (this time not paddling ourselves and we got to see more of the city).

I can't believe I'm actually going to Tanzania tomorrow! It seems like this trip has flown by. I woke up this morning feeling a little sniffly, and I don't know if it was mostly because the room I slept in was a little stuffy, but I know I need to take care of myself today.

My next post will be from Arusha!