The Netherlands

After another stressed filled week full of a paper and two exams the term was officially over. It was hard to believe that this term in Ireland was therefore coming to an end. At this stage it was bitter sweet as I knew my time abroad was coming to an end yet was very excited to both go on my trip and then eventually come home. With the term ending also brought to a close junior year meaning I am now a senior in college, how fast time flies!

For the last week before returning to the states Megan, Sarah, and I decided to go to Amsterdam. Before our 6 AM flight out of Cork on Thursday morning we decided to stay with a friend in Cork that night. It was very exciting to see yet another city in Ireland. I found Cork to be great craic! The city reminded me a lot of a smaller Dublin. After a night full of laughs it was then time to wake at about 4 AM run for a taxi (literally) and then catch a short flight to Amsterdam.

Since Amsterdam is in central Europe they were an hour ahead of Ireland meaning that we lost yet another hour in our travels :( by this point we wanted every hour we could possibly savor. The moment we got to the city we were greeted by a mammoth IAMSTERDAM sign that reminded us we were in fact in the right place. After a short airport shuttle we arrived at our hotel. Yes, we were staying at a Ramada Inn Hotel right outside of Rembrandt Park. The hotel was brand new and beautiful! After quite the long nap we finally got out and adventured around Amsterdam.

The first thing that we noticed was how easy the public transportation in the city was! We then could not help but notice how beautiful the city was as there were canals everywhere! Moreover, there were more people on bicycles than I have ever seen before! Part of our exploration took us to our first of many markets. This outdoor market was the hub of tulips!

After a long, yet nice walk back to the hotel we were greeted by Sarah's friend who joined us for our trip from Norway. It was great to meet her because not only was she a great girl but she also was able to read and understand Dutch. However, I was pleasantly surprised that everyone in the city spoke English!!

The next day we awoke and tackled the city. By tackling the city I mean that we went to the beach for several hours! It was so warm and relaxing. I felt as if I was on some island rather than in Holland! That evening we decided to have a very relaxing picnic in the park. For as quickly as the day came, it came to an end. Until tomorrow Amsterdam!