amsterdam

i guess i should write about my amsterdam weekend before i forget! well we got up super early friday to walk, bus, train, shuttle, fly, and train again into amsterdam. we got there and wandered the city for a while, noticing the billions of bikes everywhere. i swear there were SO many it was great, i totally would've rented one to get around if there weren't 9 of us there together. the first day we found dam square, which ended up being our meeting place for the weekend and pretty much central to everywhere we went. coffee shops, bars, souvenir stores, some restaurants, and women in windows lined the streets all packed together. the town was laid out like a checkerboard with old crammed buildings and canals running through every other street. one woman on the metro told us to look up while we walk. it made such a difference, the gray city was actually really pretty.
saturday we went to the I AMsterdam sign and spent a good hour or so climbing on the letters, taking pictures. a few people went to the van gogh museum but the rest of us didn't feel like spending the money so we found the shopping and art districts. we watched a giant chess game outside the hard rock hotel for a while and then met up with everyone again. saturday night there was a squatters protest at dam square with hundreds of people in the rain. half the group stayed and got great pictures of this guy spinning fire, and alex even showed off his fire twirling skills. i was in the tired group that got fries at chipsy king - the best place in the world - and headed back to the hostel.
sunday we all got up at different times to find our last coffee shops and souvenirs before we got to walk, metro, train, fly, shuttle, bus, and walk back home to york street. it's weird calling this home, but hey, it is! for awhile at least.