Amsterdam

Home sweet home for the next couple days.

We're staying on a house boat!

Complete with lawn chairs on the left side of the roof there for relaxin.

It's red. And cozy and rocks like a beast when boats go by. That's my bed. Cousin and her bf have the backroom next to the bathroom

This beats a hostel or hotel any day.

It has everything you would need too. Gas stove, microwave, shower, washing machine, tv, internet, kitchen this and thats. The bathroom ("room" is a generous term as it is between the living room and bedroom and has but a shower curtain to separate) is small, but the shower was actually good pressure and super warm. The toilet is a normal boat toilet so the experience is...intimate.

View of the back yard:

The entrance is a little tricky after a few:

Steady now:
We're on a side canal about ten minutes out from Centre City. The city is filled with bicyclists and boats

And of course, markets:
And cheese:
And fruit:
Red currants are everywhere, but I'm still on a hunt for fresh black currants. Raisins are sold in the states and labeled as black currants, but they're not. And I'm determined to find the real thing. In the flesh. The red currants are pretty little things tho:
Yesterday we went shopping for food for the week. I spent 16Euro on the following:

Shopping was an adventure when everything is in Dutch. It was a complete guessing game.
16 Euro is not bad for breakfast, lunch and snacks for 3.5 days (we eat dinners out) That brick of oatmeal was 35cents!
I made oatmeal for breakfast with this strawberry drink thing. I tried to buy things with the least amount of ingredients since I had nothing else to go on. Cut up some pear to put in with the oatmeal and strawberry juice for some sweetness.
And got obsessed with the shape of this pretty pear. Look at this beauty. (I told you this blog was going to get weird). LOOK at it!
Lunch is a huge salad with strawberry juice and then hummus and crackers and carrots on the side
Today I took a midterm from 9-2 and then headed out to walk around. Cousin and bf took a boat tour a bunch of other things while I was working away. We met up later, but I ventured out on my own for a few hours. The downside about being alone is you have no one to take a picture of you on things like this when you stumble upon them. No one will ever know the smile on my face as I slid down a dinosaurs tail; arms in the air, wind in my face, feelin', as Dave would say, as if "I don't have a JOB in the world!" I have more pictures on my other camera, but that is on the other side of the room and not under the covers with me so--dead to me right now. And I am sleep to the world. Last night we ate at a place called Harlem and drank at a place called Blarney Stone. A little bit of NY and Ireland. Tonight we ate at an Italian place and then back to Harlem for a night cap, but early to bed (2:25AM is early?) for a big day tomorrow.

ugh. last night we were just sitting here and the heater turned itself on. ghosts. ok, but maybe it's temperature sensitive and turns on when it gets too cold! totally!

but as I was typing this and about to roll over and go to sleep the tv shut itself off. gulp. maybe it's sleep sensitive? bc now I don't even have to get out of bed! tooooootally!

...

Ok, sleeps, ahoy, cap'n!