Amsterdam to Italy

     First on the list is my adventure to Amsterdam, and adventure it was. I've never seen a city quite like it and it also took me off guard with its natural beauty and canals. As a twenty year old, most everything you hear is about the parties and the red light district, but you never hear how absolutely gorgeous every street running through Amsterdam is. We were extremely lucky with the weather, as it was raining up until we arrived, and had a very successful trip filled with a lot of walking. My friend Audrey and I traveled at 5 in the morning so that we could have the day to walk around and sight see all the main attractions. We stayed with a Dutch friend of hers in Utrecht, which ended up being really nice since the city was so crowded due to the infamous Queensday. Monday, we walked more and met up with our friend Jonas at the Anne Frank house. Let me  tell you, it was really something spectacular after learning so much in history lessons and reading her diary to actually see it in person and walk the same ladder and floorboards as such an influential symbol as her. Seeing the diary was incredible too, no pictures were allowed so that was sort of a bummer. I also learned a lot that I didn't know already. On Tuesday, we saw the palace and experienced the transition from Queensday to Kingsday with extremely crowded streets all filled with orange. That is something I will never forget. The pride of celebrating the royal family, the orange everywhere, and the flags of the new kings hung in every street and bridge really left an impact on my young mind.
    I also got to try some traditional cheese and mustards from the cheese stores in the side canals, so that's always a plus... free food! Also, back tracking a bit, we went to the red light district on Monday night where I could stare with the curiosity of a young American girl trying to wrap her head around an extremely different culture of legal prostitution. It was crazy walking the street and seeing women in behind windows in boxes with curtains, knocking on windows and signaling guys to come in. It was really strange for me since some of them even looked my age. The only thing I could think about was what they could possibly be thinking about... like I said, Amsterdam was certainly an adventure.

    Next, after getting back Wednesday, attending class Thursday, and leaving Thursday night, Simon, Matt, Nicola and I headed to Nicola's hometown in Varese, Italy. It was an amazing trip and I really didn't want to leave. None of us did. It was really a luxurious step up from our containers and our slowly but surely improving cooking skills. His house is gorgeous and surrounded by green trees and bushes, flowers and a nice patio where we enjoyed a homemade cheesecake when we arrived, specially prepared by his 13 year old sister for us from her "American cook book". After spending the night in Varese, we headed to Milan for the day to see the Duomo and climb to the top of the terrace. The Duomo was built by the people of Milan and all of the money came from every single person in the city. It's also the third largest church in the world I believe. The architecture was very impressive and intricate. After seeing the Duomo we headed to his little beach apartment in Varigotti. I fell in love with the little Italian seaside town. It was the first time we got to put our bathing suits on for getting a tan instead of swimming in the Arctic Ocean. It was a very important moment for all of us. I even got a slight sun burn.. totally fine with me because at least it proves I was at the beach in the sun for a day! We walked around the little town, got lunch at a nice little restaurant, and then got some gelato for the walk back to the beach. It was really sad leaving, but we headed to Varese where all of Nicola's friends were waiting in the city center at their "usual bar". We sat outside and the Italians all got to practice their English and teach us some Italian before heading to dinner. The next day Nicola's mom prepared a wonderful lunch for us on their patio consisting of asparagus lasagna, rabbit, and gelato with strawberries. It was perfect. We spent the day relaxing and enjoying the day, and also ventured out to see the church you see right above on the lake. To top off our trip, one of Nicola's friends works at the best pizzeria in Varese and managed to get us on the list for dinner (it takes 2 weeks to get in). The owners are from Naples and make their pizza just like they do in Naples, it was the best pizza I've ever had. The next morning we got up around 5 am and headed back to Copenhagen. Luckily when we got back the sun was out and the trees were showing signs of leaves so we weren't toooo upset to be back. Now it's time to study study study!