Amsterdam

Ok there are a lot of things to do today. First stop is a bike ride through a town called Edam.

It was kind of rainy but we had a good time anyways and learned some history. Most of the history involved dikes. It was OK to laugh because dikes is a funny word.

Next we went to “Cheese & Clogs” where they make cheese and clogs. We got a good lesson on making Gouda which is actually pronounced Chhkkkowda. Think of a Boston native saying chowder but with something stuck in his throat. Try it for yourself!

This is Jamie. We called her the Cheese Maiden because she taught us about cheese. Gabriel was supposed to take a pic of the cheese room with us in front of it, but we look so good that he forgot about the cheese room – it happens.

Then we went into the clog-making section. This was really cool to watch and the guy was pretty entertaining.

Sweet shoes bro.

Then I bought a bunch of cheese and now we are heading back into Amsterdam for a free day. Suggested sights are the Ann Frank house and the Heineken brewery. Suggested fare are Dutch pancakes and Stroopwafels. Guess what I am most excited about.

Free day concluded. Stroopwafels and Dutch pancakes vanquished. Ann Frank house was super depressing but I’m glad I saw it. Now back to the hotel to shower and then back into Amsterdam for the two optional excursions: Floating Chinese dinner (sure why not) and canal cruise.

Floating restaurant:

Canal cruise:

This is Ashlee and I on the canal cruise. She is one of the many Australians on our tour. Another Australian is Greg, our Tour Manager. Greg is pictured in the background sporting his “European Handbag” which he uses to carry his makeup and tampons. Just kidding, Greg’s a nice guy. And guys can wear purses in Europe for some reason.

This is Tracy, one of the Canadians on our tour. She has the same camera as me and we used it to take all of these pics. As you can see, she’s really good at the whole hold-out-your-camera-and-take-a-pic-of-yourself-with-other-people thing. Good work Tracy.

This is Tracy and her sister Lisa eating lollipops that they got from the sex show. Good work Tracy & Lisa.

Then we went to some clubs but they were pretty standard so I’m only going to post this one pic because I think it looks cool.

After the clubs Pip and I went looking for ice cream and stumbled upon this great shop. It was closed but I don’t think they sold ice cream anyways so we kept moving.

We finally found some ice cream and then got a cab home. We either got a shifty driver or an expensive car or both. Everyone else paid between 30 and 50 Euro but we paid 90. He had a meter so we don’t understand the price difference. Maybe he drove around to mess with us. Anyways we got home safe and ended Day 2.