The World is Exploding into Fairy Dust

It’s starting to reach that point where we are all thinking such similar, frightening thoughts. I have one week left here in this incredible city and I honestly can’t fathom leaving, hence I am choosing to ignore writing much about it and let phoebes easily relatable sentiments speak for me until I can formulate words to express my thoughts on the matter. 

free-bee:

Much of my critical thinking and self-analysis for the past four months have been while on a bike. It’s made it so my physical movements - leg circling, light hand squeezing, shifting of my body weight, occasionally moving-backward of my seat - have become reflexial. I am navigating through a city…

OOHHHMAHGOOODNESS ITS SUMMMAAAA

Counting down..early may!

So since arriving back from Croatia, I’ve been attempting to make the most of every day I have left here in A’dam. There aren’t many left - 19 from today - so every moment counts here. Although I love my apartment and the people I live with, I’ve been trying to make a greater effort to not spend the day sitting around here. Below is a list of some of my favorite days or things I have done over the past two weeks!

Tues 5/8: My Law and Legal Practice class took a trip to the Hague, where we got to sit in on a trial at the International Criminal Court! They were trying Bemba, a former party leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He was being tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity. It was a very interesting experience especially because we only heard the defendant speak and question the witness. 

Thursday 5/10: We went to Studio 80 in Remrandtplein on this night - a club I have yet to visit in Amsterdam. It was filled with dutch locals dancing like all dutch do, in an indescribable way. Each person, men and women, are into the music and not into each other - a characteristic unlike what we are used to in the states. Everyone just finds a place on the dance floor and lets go completely. After a beer, we were able to do the same, and ended up having a great night. They listen to minimal electronic/house music at most local clubs, but as I’ve learned more recently, there are some unique and fascinating genres of music that the dutch are all about!

Friday 5/11:This morning we went to a small town outside of Amsterdam called Alkamaar. Every Friday, Alkamaar opens its doors to cheese lovers across the country to attend their weekly cheese market. Based off of hundreds of years of tradition, the old-fashioned display and show is entertaining for sure. We were given a tour of the cheese museum and the city, had a delicious meal at La Place, and then took a boat tour on the canals. Cynthia and I went in a double kayak. We were given a bent oar so every stroke we managed to scoop a bucket of dirty canal water into our lap. Despite the unpleasant feeling on the cold windy day, I really enjoyed seeing the city from the water, and I even got a good arm workout in!

Saturday 5/12: After a delicious trip to get Dutch Pancakes with Cynthia, It gave in and sacrificed my hair to dutch stylist, Romi from Bubblekid salon in De Pijp. It was such a unique experience. I arrived at the salon to find no mirrors anywhere. The clients sat around a large stone table with an assortment of teas and cookies to comfort our nervous souls. Before even washing or brushing my hair, Romi started cutting away at various pieces of hair, watching how each strand fell naturally around my face. The rest of the process continued to amaze me, and I was shortly at ease with whatever was being transformed on my head. I was very satisfied upon glaring into the first mirror, and left the salon with a new sense of dutch localness. That afternoon, I met Emily and her friend Paula who were in town at the Windmill Brewery, Brewery i’J, for a beer. It happened to be international windmill day so the windmill was functioning and turning throughout the weekend. That night, I went with my friend Ben to his Dutch friends’ birthday at a cafe/bar in De Pijp. We bought her a shot of Southern Comfort, an obvious choice from two people who truly enjoy this American classic. It was wonderful socializing with some of her friends and other locals at the bar. Everything at this point really feels so normal. I am aware that I belong, that I fit into the culture here, and I no longer feel out of place here.

Monday 5/14: Finally, finally, I went to the Anne Frank House. I met Emily and her friends at the house after my class and spent an hour wandering through the well kept house of where this young girl and her family were in hiding during WW2. The museum was greater than I ever expected. The images and words throughout the house made me feel a strong connection to Anne, her family, and  the many others in similar situations. Although it was not a museum that made me sad, as many holocaust museums do, it made me feel a strong appreciation for her diary and story. After the museum, I grabbed lunch at my favorite cafe/bakery in the city, De Laatste Kruimel, or The Last Crumble, before heading home. That evening, I attended one of IES’ biggest field trips. After a fancy indonesian buffet, we went to the Concertgebouw to see the orchestra! What a spectacular event! I’ve never been so physically and emotionally connected to a performance before. The music brought me back to my Opa and Oma’s house on Ash Grove in Melbourne, for classical music was seemingly playing 24/7 over there. It was a wonderful evening!

Tues 5/15: Today my law and legal practice seminar went to the Dutch Criminal Courts, where we sat in on a few trials. I was actually really surprised by how much I enjoyed the experience. I’ve recently started to reconsider my decision to rule of a future in law, and have been exploring different areas/practices that interest me, and criminal law is actually one of them. I’m just keeping my doors open…

Wed 5/16: Today was my studio art course’s final show! We spent the past couple of weeks preparing for the event, so it was wonderful to be able to display the collection we had all been working on. After a brief presentation by each student, the guests wandered around with wine and cookies asking us all questions about our work. I never imagined to be in such a position, but it was so rewarding to have people comment and approve of some of the pieces I spent a while working on. I will upload pictures of everyone’s work on facebook later this week! After the presentation, the class went out with our professor to the windmill for a beer, celebrating the incredible semester we had together.

Thurs 5/17: Our roadtrip to Berlin this weekend fell through. So, I decided to make the most of the time I had here in Amsterdam this weekend. To my advantage, there have been a lot of exciting things going on here! This morning, Nicky and I went to the Rijksmuseum, surprisingly neither of us had been yet, so we were thrilled to find a nice replacement of our 6 hour drive we were meant to be taking to Germany. We spent plenty of time wandering around the museum and exploring what defined the Dutch Golden Age. Later that afternoon we stopped at a Moroccan teahouse before heading to Westerpark. Rolling Kitchens, an outdoor mobile food festival. We were sooo incredibly happy to be surrounded by unique displays by favorite local restaurants throughout the region, and definitely ate a bigger dinner than we needed. I had a chicken tandoor and mango chutney naan wrap and a slice of date pie. It was truly delicious and I have been trying to find a way to get to back there before the event ends tomorrow night!

Friday 5/18: And yet another day taking advantage of the city of Amsterdam before it’s too late! I spent the morning and early afternoon at the Jewish historical museum. I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly didn’t expect to be as impressed as I was by some of the exhibits there. Firstly, they had a collection of paintings my Else Berg and Mommie Scwartz, a jewish couple that were killed in Auschwitz. I absolutely loved their style and some of the oil paintings were truly incredible. I also so a photo exhibit by Emmy Andriesse, who depicts the horrors of the hunger years in Amsterdam, especially in the Jewish Quarter, during WW2. I then went to the famous old Portuguese synagoge next door, a seventeenth century shule that survived the war, leaving amsterdam with a beautiful site for all passerbyers. I was befriended by an employee and was told to come back for a service or concert before I leave - I think I will definitely try to do so! After the museum, I met Nicky to see the Exchange students art show at the Rietveld Acadamie. My roommate, Hannah, had a piece displayed and I really wanted to go support her and the other IES students in the show. I was really impressed by what these students were doing, the innovation was obvious and impressive. Afterwards, we stopped for a coffee at the quant cafe Brecht before heading home. Last night was one of the most entertaining nights I have had in Amsterdam so far - and so unexpected! I went with Charlie, Peter, Zach, and Nicky to the north of amserdam (we had to take a ferry to get there!) to attend a show by a Japanese pop band called Trippple Nippple. They were playing at squatters bar, and the house was packed with sweaty dutch students dancing maniacs. We arrived just in time for the start of the show. Through the crowd I caught a glimpse of the performers - they were almost all naked and painted like animals. It was the most insane show I’ve ever seen. We managed to make our way up the middle, and we were soon just as sweaty as the rest, dancing like fools to the happy, fast-paced, trippy music. The crowd formed into a happy-go-lucky mosh pit and we all just moved together to music, joined occasionally by various naked bad members who came through sharing beers and pizza with the crowd. What a fantastic evening!!

Today the weather is beautiful. As I am once again sitting in Bagels and Beans drinking my coffee verkeerd (latte), I am debating how I am going to spend my last two weeks. I know for sure the past two have been incredible here - I am really taking advantage of the city before I leave - I just want to make sure I don’t waste a single moment anymore. Time is moving so quickly and sooner or later I will be in my house in Atlanta with all of my family. Don’t get me wrong, I am incredible excited to see them after so long, but I am frightened to leave this city. I have never been so in love with a place before. Everything in Amsterdam just feel so right, it all makes sense to me, and I feel like I completely belong. Yes, the boys are incredibly attractive, the girls are undeniably friendly, but that is not why I love this city. The culture is so welcoming to anyone who comes through, but I find myself finally comfortable enough to be apart of this community, to call myself a local, to call this place home. After I went on a run around Oosterpark this morning, I sat on the bench starting out at the beautiful lake and greenery knowing that I will be back in this park one day, that I will be back in Amsterdam for sure. 

Croatia

Fun facts I learned about Zadar, Croatia

1. The city of Zadar is three thousand years old

2. According the UNESCO, Plitvice Lakes National Park is the most beautiful park in Europe and third in the world.

3. The biggest mountain range in Croaria is called the Velebit range and it connects coastal and contiental Croatia

4. Hvala is thank you in Croatia.. we think its pronounced like Koala

May 3-7, 2012 (from journal)

I am just on the train home from Charleroi Airport in southern Brussels. Although we still have quite a ways to go in our journey home, we will be happily back in Amsterdam this evening after a very memorable trip to Zadar, Croatia. Cynthia and I left for Zadar on THursday. After a whole day o traveling throughout the Netherlands and Belgium to get to our flight, we were excited to arrive in Zadar (with a box of chocolate from our favorite chocolate shop in Amsterdam as mentioned in previous posts). After checking into our hostel called the Drunken Monkey, we walked into the old city center. It was a city I had never seen anything like before - a large wall surrounding the car-free, 3,000 year old center. We grabbed dinner at an Italian restaurant called Canzona.  Croatia is heavily influenced by Italian cuisine and so this pizzeria was quite unique. The most interesting was ham, cheese, banana peppers, and sour cream - a surprisingly tasty addition to any pizza! We then ran into some people in our hostel/flight grabbing a beer outside, and joined them for a taste of Karlovacko beer, a Croatian fave.  After getting to know each other, we decided to venture to Q-Bar, a popular bar/night club on the coast. We danced the night away to terrible music, tried their house apple cider, and won special “inCider” fedoras for doing so.  

The next morning, Cynthia and I were picked up by our apartment owner, Mirah, where we were staying for the next few nights with two of Cynthia’s school friends and two others one their program in France. We settled into our cozy apartment in Bibinje and headed straight to shore to soak up the luscious blue waters and shining rays. We made cocktails and spent the afternoon getting to know each other. When we were tired from the unusual heat, we headed into the city where we grabbed another dinner at a local restaurant, Bruscetta. It was a lovely dinner but I started feeling very sick and ended up catching a taxi home for the night. I realized after passing out for the night that I left my wallet in the taxi!

My wallet hunt began immediately the next morning. While waiting for any news from the taxi company/police, I decided to join the girls on beach. We headed into the city once again that night to get our tickets and prepare ourselves for the true reason of our visit to Zadar - Plitvice Lakes National Park! We then watched the sunset from the shore. We sat next to a famous landmark in Zadar, the Sun Salutation, a beautiful lights show on the ground powered by solar energy, along with the largest wind organ in the world. The circular panal began lighting up as the sun set, the colors were beautiful and the sounds created by the wind organ were peaceful and calming. 

Yesterday was our big exciting trip to Plitvice National Park. We were picked up by our tour guide early in the morning. We had a two hour bus ride ahead of us. Before arriving at the park, we stopped at a restaurant with live animals out back - including two bears, which took our attention for the entirety of the 20 minute bathroom break. We arrived at the park shortly after and were immediately amazed by the surrealness of the lanscape. We bega with a 1.5 hour walk around one of the higher lakes. The colors were incredible - clear waters, endless waterfalls, and a unique aqua/turquoise water bodies surrounded the trails we walked on. We surrendered to the nature and became mesmerized with every view. I took hundreds of pictures, of course. I thought I was in a paradise of some sort - everything just seemed so beautiful/ We took a boat ride on the largest lake to a different part of the park - the lower lakes, where the waterfalls were even greater! We walked around more and had the opportunity to climb up through one of the caves to see the most spectacular view of the entire park. I’ve honestly never seen anything prettier in my life. It even beat the 12 apostles in Australia and the amazing view from the mountains in Granada. We finally made it to the grand finale of our tour - the largest waterfall in the park. All of us stook there in shock as the water came down before us into a pool of azure blue water and luscious green vegetation. I could not believe how incredible the world is to have such special places. I wish my family could have seen this place, I know for sure that mum would have absolutely been head over heels in love with this place. We were all sad to leave but left knowing the Plitvice had a very permanent place in our hearts. We spent the night in the apartment cooking dinner and playing card games until exhaustion got the best of us. I managed to make a trip to the police office to get a report for my missing wallet, and left Croatia this morning knowing I did what I could. I went to sleep last night dreaming of the wonderland we saw yesterday and left this morning with the biggest smile on my face. This was definitely a trip I will never forget. It just makes me so grateful for having the ability to see such different parts of the world like this. I’ve just go one more left in Europe - I gotta keep exploring before time is gone! I Europe, I love you so. 

and it keeps getting better and better

So I’m at the one month mark - one month left in this beautiful city, that is. Last week, I made a list of everything I need to do before leaving. The list is long, but definitely manageable, and I got started straight away. Obviously it has been weeks since I wrote last, and what I have done is no longer trackable by days, but I have some notes jotted in my journal and memories in my head - enough worthy of making a post about. 

I’ll start with this INCREDIBLE weekend and work my way back from there. This weekend marked the public holiday that the Dutch live for - Queens Day. Queens Day is on the 30th of April every year and celebrates the birthday of former Queen Juliana. The entire city goes crazy for 24+ hours of partying. Everyone dresses head to toe in orange, to show their loyalty to the royal family - the House of Orange. For us, the party started Sunday afternoon. We went to Amsterdam Roest, a “creative sanctuary” near our apartment. The bar/cafe opens only in the summer and has a large outdoor green area and even a sandy beach by the canal. They opened this weekend and started off with a day of festivities. There were markets, hulahoopers, frisbee-throwers, beach loungers, beer drinkers, artists, and even a teepee for shade-seekers. We spent a few hours wandering around and enjoying the activities - it was a very appropriate start to Queens Day weekend. That night, we attempted to go to a “pool party” at another outdoor bar in Amsterdam. After arriving, we were informed that the venue was packed to the brim and they were no longer letting anyone else in for the rest of the evening - I guess everyone else in Amsterdam had the same idea as us. We ended up venturing to Rembrandt Plein where and outdoor DJ kept us entertained for a few hours. We made it home early to rest up for the next day, the actual Queens Birthday. 

Queens day - oh what a day. We woke up at 10 am and made ourselves a big breakfast to get us through the day. After a momentary photo-opp in our bright orange on the roof of Funen, we headed out into the city. Our first stop, Java Island, was hosting a massive music festival throughout the day. Once again, we were disappointed to learn that the island was already full, and that nobody else would be let in all day. Turned out that this worked out for the better, because we decided to change plans and spend the day wandering around the city instead, and that couldn’t have been more perfect. We headed towards dam square where streets were lined with markets with children and families selling whatever their heart desired. Street performers and live DJs marked our route towards Vondelpark, where we sat and enjoyed the shining sun and beautiful crowds of orange for a few hours. We then followed the sound of music for another live show outdoors. Our adventure continued through the late afternoon as we ended up watching canals full of orange boats and more DJs at various intersections. After a necessary and delicious dinner, we finally walked our way home - getting back around 11pm. The 12 hour adventure was truly remarkable and memorable. I’ve never seen an entire city celebrating together, regardless of age, race, or ethnicity. Nothing else in the world seemed to matter besides the beer in your hand and the fellows patriots dancing around you. I couldn’t have enjoyed myself more!

Alright, here goes some of the other experiences and adventures I have had these past few weeks:

The weekend after arriving home from Spain, IES planned a program excursion to Maastricht, a city in Southern Netherlands bordering Belgium. We spent the morning wandering around the quaint but lively town, one with a heavy Belgian influence. We tasted the delicious and infamous pies from the region and took a walking tour throughout different neighborhoods. During some free time later that afternoon, we explored different churches - one that had even been transitioned into a book store. The natural history museum offered an interesting addition to our exploration and a nice hideout from the rain. The rest of the group met up once again for a tasty five course meal. After letting our stomachs rest from the deliciousness of the meal, we all headed out to a street of bars downtown, where we took over one for hours and danced our hearts out. It was really nice to be able to all be together that night - something that doesn’t happen to often in Amsterdam. The next day, we headed to Belgium to see some caves (mines). The weather was miserable and we all dreaded hearing that we would be walking back to Maastricht from the caves, but we ended up loving the hike through beautiful forests, vineyards, and farms. We then took our exhausted selves back to Amsterdam where Meghan, Cynthia, and I had a fantastic burrito night.  

The past two weeks have been great here. Although I did so much, it would be silly to write about each day as specific as I have been. In general, I’ve been exploring Amsterdam more and more - checking out new museums (like the Tropen and the Nemo), wandering around new neighborhoods (like the Jordaan) and checking out new bars (Bluemanbar, Air, Studio K, and more). Kelsey and Jacy visited from Granada and London and I had a crazy adventure throughout the city with Cynthia, Jake, and Ben, on April 20th - the day which a huge carnival opened in Dam Square to prepare the city for Queens Day. 

Something else fun I just remembered! I went to my first Dutch House Party! It was at Craig’s place, a British exchange student that Cynthia and Rachel befriended in class. We were invited over last weekend and we were completely overjoyed to see a house full of dutch people. Although we couldn’t really communicate with them as easily as we would have liked, it was definitely a memorable experience to be able to have social interactions where international students were the minority. 

On Friday, we had another field trip with IES. This time, we went to the Keukenhof Gardens, the beautiful and famous tulip gardens of the Netherlands. We couldn’t have been luckier with the weather either - and I certainly took plenty of pictures of the beautiful gardens. 

The next night was another wonderful evening, this time with Tom and two of his friends. We went to see Pretty Lights and Skrillex playing an after party show at the Melkweg. The music was incredible, and I danced so much that my body hurt the next day. 

So this is all I can remember right now, as I am sitting in Bagels and Beans while everyone else is doing HW (something I don’t really seem to have here). Once I am home and have my moleskin to flip through, I’ll surely add some more to this entry. It has been such an enjoyable few weeks here, and I cannot wait for the rest. We were all just talking about how lucky we are to be in Amsterdam, and that so many other study abroad students are ready to go home. We’ve really got it good here.

the dutch love these cookies! (so do i, obvs.)

seriously?!?

spain adventures +

My sincerest apologies for the length of this next post, but things were quite busy after Spain and I never got around to writing everything down. Considering my poor memory has already lost half of the details of the trip, I probably should get working on this now.

I wrote some journal entries in my beloved moleskin whilst there, so I will be including those periodically throughout the post in italics.

April 3, 2012

I am about to embark on a journey that I can easily compare to the shoes I will be wearing throughout - my Chacos. These sandals stay comfortably attached to my feet with a few thick straps. They have some structure, as we have some idea of where we are going, but there is also so much freedom and “wiggle room” ahead of us. 

We arrived in Madrid early afternoon. The sun was shining but a cool breeze kept us in our jackets. We wandered around the Plaza del Sol, a vibrant square in the heart of the city, before checking into our hostel. We spent the afternoon walking around various parts of the city, shopping on the Gran Via, and finding Tapas bars. We were told to find the backalley El Tigre tapas bar, a standing-room-only hole in the wall bar where you order a beer and it comes with a massive plate of tapas. I consciously tried pork for the first time on one of these tapas, and it was most definitely worth it. This was definitely enough to count as dinner for the night, but we obviously hit up a few more tapas bars before heading home. One in particular, Fatigas del Querer, had vermouth on tap - a delicious drink whose contents I still have no clue of. We also stopped at a small stand in the middle of the street where they served 1 euro tequilla shots (with lime and salt) to passerbyers. 

El Tigre, Madrid

The next morning we attempted to head to Sevilla. Open realizing that all the buses were sold out until that night, we opted for the more expensive but (much) more convenient train. The train left at 12, giving us all morning to wander around the Royal gardens and grab a coffee and churos. The gardens were beautiful (and deserted in the misty morning) and definitely a bonus to our transportation upgrade.

Royal Gardens, Madrid

April 4, 2012

This train ride is beautiful. Between my schluffs, I catch a glimpse of ruins on the mountains, cities on hills, and the unique tree-spotted plateaus spreading into the distance. We are now sipping 1 euro wine from my Nalgene and listening to Spanish music on the headsets - what a trip!

Well we most definitely arrived in Sevilla the right day. This week marked the week leading up to Easter called Semana Santa. This week of celebration and rituals defines the southern cities on our tour, especially Sevilla. Throughout the week, locals dress up on ritual costumes and parade the streets. Although frightening and eery at first (strong resemblance of KKK outfits), I was thoroughly entertained by the events. It seemed that the entire city shut down for the week - and here we were in the middle of it all. After checking into our awesome hostel and running into a friend from my program there, David and I wandered around the city, as “getting lost” in the streets is highly recommended. We saw the second largest cathedral in the world and walked around Barrio Santa Cruz, Sevilla’s old Jewish quarter. Finally, we were lucky enough to see some of the processions taking place. 

Semana Santa, Sevilla

Sevilla

After a difficult journey through processions back to the hostel, David and I befriended a few of the other travelers and made dinner and sangria together. The night was beautiful so we sat on the terrace for a few hours before the off-duty bartender took us out into the lively streets for the evening. We indulged in a bucket-size mojito and had a great time with our new hostel friends. 

Dave + hostel friend making dinner, Sevilla

The next morning, David and I went back to the cathedral to walk around inside. We saw the insanely lavish interior and sat in the courtyard for a while before heading along the river to the bus station. We were finally onto our next destination. And what a lovely time Sevilla was.

March 5, 2012

David and I finally made it Marbella today. After a long journey by bus, we are not sitting on the beach in San Pedro. Although its breezy, the sounds of the waves continuously pounding gently against the rocky sand is prohibiting us from seeking warmer ground. This city is remarkably quaint and not touristy at all. We have finally gotten our escape from the crazy backpackers life. This trip is making it harder for me to consider leaving Europe. Spain is absolutely stunning and every city has its own wonders that I desperately deire to see more and stay longer. Sevilla was one of my most enjoyable days and nights in a whie and I can’t help but feel comfortable knowing that one say I shall return to this Spanish wonderland. Travelling with David is also great. We balance each other out well and seem to have an incredible ability at navigating and getting everything we want done. He also seems to have such a solid view on life. He is constantly smiling, always friendly, and always positive about every situation. I hope my time spent with him will allow me to learn a little bit from him.

San Pedro, Spain

After a relaxing evening and sunset at the beach, we had delicious Sri Lankan food and watched some of Marbella’s processions before heading to bed for an early night. We woke up early for a run on the beach - which ended up being 6+ miles of wonderfulness. After cleaning off and grabbing lunch at the grocery store, we spent the day slowly walking to the main city of Marbella. We wandered through Puerto Banus, one of the wealthiest areas I have seen in my life. This yacht town was filled with designer stores, expensive restaurants, and well-dressed people. We felt out of place in our backpacking gear but we made it to Marbella just in time for the evening’s event. We ended up having a passover seder with the chabad in Marbella. It was such a unique experience - travelers and families from throughout the world came together in this hotel rented out by the rabbi to host a short and sweet seder for those wandering through the area. David and I really enjoyed this evening and were so happy to have included it in our travel plans.

Puerto Banus, Spain

Passover Seder, Marbella

The next morning, we made our way to Granada. After checking into our hostel, we spent the day once again “getting lost” in the city. We wandered through the different plaza’s and the Moroccan-influenced markets. We wanted to visit Alhambra, a huge palace/fortress in the city; however, reservations needed to be made to enter. We instead decided to see the fortress from above, and hiked a nearby mountain to see the whole city. After climbing up to the top of a wall from a ruin on the mountain, we peered over to see this incredible view. This made the trip to Granada completely worth it - what an indescribable moment. We spent the rest of the evening wandering around, having a delicious schwarma dinner, and seeing the city prepare for more processions. This was our last night in Spain - what an incredible end. I couldn’t be happer to have made the trip with David and I will never forget the experience.

Granada from above (Alhambra to the left)

Now I had a pretty rotten experience heading home the next morning. It has been recorded in my moleskine and I will certainly not forget that story, but I will refrain from  mentioning it in this post. My trip to Spain was unbelievable and an experience I want to look at fondly. Ending on that note would be useless and silly, since in the end, none of it mattered. I must say, getting back to Amsterdam and into my bed was such a relief and I couldn’t have felt more relieved to be back in the city I now call home. A post will come shortly of what’s been going on since I’ve been back, but Spain is all for now! Bye bye!