Amsterdam

So I know its been a week or two since I've posted, but that's because I've been busy, and day-to-day life in London isn't that exciting if you neglect the fact that you're in London.  But fortunately, there was plenty of excitement this weekend as I made my first visit out of the country to Amsterdam.

So after a near-miss with my train tickets I made it to the bus station where I took an overnight bus from London to Amsterdam.  I think it took roughly 11 hours and included an hour and a half ferry across the English Channel.  Fortunately I was able to nod in and out of consciousness for most of the trip so it didn't feel as long as it actually was, but it certainly wasn't my most comfortable voyage ever.

I arrived in Amsterdam and called my awesome friend Allison with whom I stayed.  I hopped on their version of the Metro and she rode her bike to meet me at the station.  We walked a few blocks to the student apartment she was sharing and introduced me to her roommate and the two friends staying with her.  It was pretty crowded, but as we were out and about most of the day it didn't really matter.

We had a delicious breakfast and then went for my first bike ride in a few years.  Happy to say I only hit one car, one bike, and one pole.  In addition to the bike, Allison had also gotten me a museum pass from one of her friends so we had free entry to most of the city's museums, which made the trip much more affordable.  We took advantage of this and went to the National Museum, the van Gogh Museum, the Royal Palace, and Anne Frank's House.  We also explored the Red Light District, which was a little underwhelming.

We ended the night at a very nice Indonesian restaurant where they filled the table with plates of meats, vegetables, and rice and we somehow managed to roll out the door in the end.  I was just able to make it back to the apartment before falling asleep on a mattress that was actually long enough for me.

Sunday was my day to travel back and I thought about stopping the Hague for a few hours before going to Brussels, but after a late breakfast I decided it would be safer to just go straight to Brussels and not worry about catching my train back to London.  I got into Brussels several hours before my train, but because it gets dark and Europe so early I couldn't go out to see the city.  I did however enjoy a delicious Belgian waffle with ice cream.

So yeah, that about sums up my trip to Amsterdam.  Shout out again to my wonderful host Allison Belfield who made it all possible.  No pictures from inside the museums (except for the royal palace), so  you'll just have to use your imagination.

Oxford and all that Jazz

So another week, and another blog post as a result.  The weekdays are getting pretty standard at this point, so let's skip to the fun part.  This Saturday I went on a day trip to Oxford and the Cotswolds.  I had to get up far too early to catch the coach we took, but I slept a fair amount on the bus to make up for it.  The Cotswolds are a pretty sleepy region west of London where lots of rich people have homes to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city.  Post-industrialization it seems to thrive largely off tourism and light industry.

The second stop was none other than Oxford University, home of 39 different colleges that come together to make the oldest university in England.  I got to see the dining room that Hogwarts' is based on, where Lewis Carroll took Alice, and one of the most impressive libraries on Earth. And fudge.

And to wrap it all up I went to a free jazz concert at the equivalent of the Lincoln Center on Sunday for free, because London is awesome like that.

Because I've been neglecting this bit for a while, here they are, from more than a month back: pictures.