Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Trip Post 3/3: AMSTERDAM

hey!


Long time, no update. D:


Truth is my lovely purple SONY VAIO laptop that I bought in June 2009 (and has been nothing but a complete pain in the ass since December 2009 due to a shitty hard drive, a shitty fan, and an craptastic video card) is simply too annoying for me to use any more. So for the past two months I've been using my mother's hp desktop. Luckily, the SONY guy is coming over this week to fix my baby all brand new again. The thing is, that has meant no blogging.

Also, in July I got hired by the cafe at Barnes & Noble, and getting back into having a routine has more or less worn me out. That also led to a lack of blogging. XD

However, in light of me needing to back up all my files before my system is reset by the SONY man, I decided to put up with my crackling fan, screen failure, system lagging, and fatigue and finish my last damn trip post. :D

So, on to Amsterdam, my favorite destination of our trip!


From the train outside of Brussels.



Most delicious pancake of my life, with churizo sausage, green peppers, tomatoes and cheese!



Loved this place. Just down to road from the Anne Frank Huis, if anyone reading this ever
travels here, I definitely recommend this place!



Wine shop run by a really funny guy. XD



Fellow shopper in the used book store. <3



Mannequin legs in the window!



So many trams. We got free rides because they kept running out of day passes, and none of the
drivers cared. I freaking loved Amsterdam. 



I liked the focus on the glass rather than the view, haha.



Famous bridge! And a swan family!



Part of our sight-seeing tour on our second day there was the Gassan Diamonds Co. We
saw how they were made, their quality classifications. I know now how to accurately judge
the quality of my future engagement ring. ;)



Now THERE is a rock! A brilliant cut 57 facet top wessleton with perfect clarity. Behold, ladies.
It's the size of my finger nail, I kid you not.



Forgot to take photos of the Van Gogh museum, so I took photos of the tickets, haha. The
museum was very nicely put together as far as his life line and the evolution of his work, but it
was sad they didn't have some of his more famous pieces.



Lady on a bike almost got hit by a tram here. She wasn't paying any attention!



The building here on the way to Dam look like they're drawn in a Disney film.



I love the countryside. And the gloominess here is so lovely. This was taken on the way to
Zaanse Schans to see the windmills after my  very unhappy, hangovery morning.



Windmills in the Zaanse Schans! And the wind was actually blowing and stuff, so they were
actually working. :D I freaking love windmills, you have no idea!




Whirling windmills and goats. Not for the faint of heart. D:




New shoes, lol



Swan family! Swan mum was there too, but didn't make it into the photo.



Our awesome room at the Rembrandt Classic Hotel. We loved our huge room and lovely view.



















People are hilarious. <3



This is from the workshop Rembrandt used for his etchings. Very inspiring and incredibly complicated looking.



The chandelier make a nice crown, no?



This burger was a monster. And came with not one but TWO types of potato. D:



Cool tower.



4 days in Amsterdam and we were back to the airport.


So many pictures! I hope it wasn't overwhelming. XD