Amsterdam and Belgium

---

Finally-- an Internet cafe! I'm sure you have all been checking your email in regular intervals for updates from the CSP girls. We're currently in Bruges, Belgium, after 2 days in Amsterdam. A brief summary of our last few days:

Amsterdam
-Possibly one of the most confusing cities EVER, however much prettier then we expected it to be. It's filled with canals, great architecture, and wonderful food (you will probably soon notice that great food is going to be a theme of this blog). We enjoyed large amounts of falafels, pancakes, and the local delicacy of fries with mayo (not recommended).
-So many of you heard about the very small amount of planing that went into this trip. After two years of organizing and planning our way through grad school we want to go through Europe as free spirits, with few reservations or real plans. Great in theory, not so great on a Saturday in Amsterdam when all the hostels are booked. After wondering around the (confusing and rainy) city, checking on a few hostels, we finally got the last 3 beds at a place that prided itself on being "accidentally ecofriendly", meaning they cleaned things as seldom as possible, light bulbs may or may not work, and the showers were probably cold. (parents- don't cringe). Since we got the last 3 beds we all had to split up into different rooms- me with 3 french guys (again, parents stop cringing), Susan with 3 guys from Brazil and 2 others we never even saw, and Carolyn with 3 women from somewhere in Europe. We survived, managed to get some sleep, and can not call it an adventure. Night 2 was spent in a MUCH better hostel, where we met a bunch of girls from Miami U, guys from IU, and various people from various countries who we befriended.
-The rest of our time in Amsterdam was spent taking in the local sites, including floating flower gardens, a sex museum, the Anne Frank house, a tulip museum, and of course- the Red Light District. The city was crazy, however in general not quite as seedy as we expected it to be. Definitely an experience though, and worth checking out.
-Two disappointments in the Netherlands: The Heineken factory tour was closed, and we arrived a few days too late to see the tulip festivals. We knew we were going to be too late for this, but figured they would still be in bloom and worth going to see ("unless they just mow them all down afterwards" we joked. ha). Well, apparently they DO cut them all down, and so they were literally no tulips to see. Who knew?

Belgium
-After 2 days in Amsterdam we left on a train for Bruges, Belgium, arriving yesterday. Bruges is a beautiful, mid-evil town, filled with tiny cobblestone streets and the first "stock exchange" from the early 1300's. The city pretty much closes down at dusk, so our first night was spent getting some much needed sleep. We did eat dinner at a great pasta restaurant, where we're pretty sure we ate in the owners' living room and walked past their bedroom to get to the bathroom. Nice little local dining experience.
-This morning we went on a 2.5 hour bike ride around the city and out into the country side, where we rode along the canals and windmills. A couple on the trip went to school at IU (gave me some great tips on where to live and eat!), now live in Richmond, IN. They make weekly trips into Oxford for Phan Shin cravings. What a small world. (for all you non-Miamians, that means that they live about 20 minutes from us, so we were able to talk all about Miami and oxford). The biking was a lot of fun and a great way to see the city and surrounding areas, but I think our sore backsides are helping us remember how long it had actually been since we had been on bikes.
-This afternoon we went on a tour of the oldest brewery in Bruges, and spent most of the day enjoying some sunshine (finally) and window shopping.

Tomorrow we're off to Paris for a few days, and head down to Barcelona on Saturday night. We hope to update more regularly-- thanks for all the messages and comments! Hope everyone is doing well back home! Ciao 😊 -Carly

---

Photos

Amsterdam
Amsterdam actually is a canal city, much like Venice.

Red Light District
Relatively tame at this hour.

THE BACKPACKS
Day 2 and we still liked them.

Cute little village
We got lost and ended up here

Comments

[Dad S]

I didn't cringe much
I didn't cringe at all at the cold showers - wish your sister took colder/shorter showers. But I did cringe a little on the roommates.

[Aunt Ann]

thoroughly enjoying this
I'm so glad I'm the aunt and not the parent-----i get to laugh at all of the goings on and not worry about the filthy hostels filled with foreign men (worried about those things when I WAS the parent of a student traveling in Australia)---glad you girls are having so much fun!

[momd]

no news IS good news
It was great to hear from you.. Susan, and the csp blog. Well, it's still raining here in NJ. Cold too. I really appreciate the way Carly blends the travelogue with the eye popping details of your personnal accommodations. Nice touch. Hope Paris is fantastic.

[Mom Stamey]

[e-mail]
Loved the updates-cringed anyway about the sleeping arrangements. Just happy I got the video from the Anne Frank museum and not the sex museum. Bon Chance en Paris! xoxo

[Leah]

Sounds like fun!
I'm so glad you girls are surviving and having fun in Europe -- I love reading the entries, very entertaining. I can't wait to see pics on facebook!

[carolyn's mom]

recovering
I am recovering well from the removal of my GALLBLADDER! In case you were wondering? The family and friends have been great! I don't want to say it too loudly but this wasn't so bad as far as surgeries go. I am happy to hear you are having a great adventure and can't wait to here what's next. The weather is slowly improving around here and summer is in sight. The finale for Grey's is tonight and then there won't be anymore TV to look forward too, time to go out to the pool! Well keep having fun. love, Mom (Celeste )