So I just looked at the calendar and apparently it’s November. I’m not really sure where the rest of October went, but I guess it flew by somewhere between my visitors + AMF + exam week + London + Halloween!
It all started with Natalie coming to visit …
I never thought that when Natalie asked me to sit with her at lunch during the first week of Freshman year of high school, that we’d still be best friends. Or that we’d be taking on Europe together.
Most would say having your best friend visit you while abroad is a great opportunity and amazing experience, but when word got out about me and Natalie spending a week together in Amsterdam …
Thankfully we successfully made it through the weekend with only a few blurry memories.
After a short plane ride from Birmingham International Airport (England) to Amsterdam Schipol and a getting on a wrong train trying to make it to Centraal Station (typical…), Natalie and her friend Lea arrived in the evening on Thursday, Oct. 16.
After what seemed like a 5 minute hug at the train station, our time together seemed to have flown by. They were only here for about a day and a half, but between showing them what nightlife is like in Amsterdam and trying to cover all the touristy spots, I think it was a pretty successful weekend.
We saw the famous Iamsterdam sign (w/ Rijksmuseum in the background).
We enjoyed poffertjes, mini pancakes covered in butter and powdered sugar, a traditional Dutch sweet.
We experienced the Heineken Experience.
And, of course, we went out.
Before I knew it, it was Saturday night and Natalie and Lea’s visit was coming to and end. After spending most of the day in the Red Light District, the girls had to catch a cab at 3:00 am to start their journey to the airport so they could travel to their next destination, BARCELONA! (Ugh, lucky them..)
While they were packing and setting alarms for the early morning, I was getting ready for a much anticipated night at Amsterdam Music Festival.
Amsterdam Music Festival (AMF) was held in Amsterdam ArenA and was the biggest show of Amsterdam Dance Event. This show was a true representation of the EDM music scene that Amsterdam is widely known for.
From 9:00 pm – 6:00 am the world’s top DJs played for a crowd of over 40,000 people. The place was packed, the atmosphere was insane, and the music was incomparable.
Katie and I at AMF’14.
After getting home around 6:30 am, Sunday was dedicated to sleep.
When Monday morning showed up, the last thing I wanted to do was get back into school mode, but I had to. Still exhausted from my busy weekend of visitors and late nights, I had to pull it together and prepare for my first final exam.
Thanks to my procrastination and half-ass study habits, the exam was just as hard as I expected. Thankfully I passed the class and that part of this experience is behind me. Only having a short, take-home midterm for my other class, I had the rest of the week off to complete it and prepare for my weekend getaway to Wroxton College to visit Natalie! Because clearly our weekend in Amsterdam wasn’t enough …
Wroxton College is part of Fairleigh Dickinson University, and serves as the study abroad destination for FDU students. Located in rural England, I had to take a plane, train, and automobile (like, actually though), to reach the beautiful Wroxton campus.
It’s basically Hogwarts.
After enjoying a drink at a small, local bar called The White Horse, Natalie and I decided to head to bed early so we could spend a full day in London on Sunday.
I was able to experience morning tea time at the college. Before Natalie and I left for the train station, I ate a delicious cinnamon roll while enjoying a cup of English breakfast tea.
I’m pretty much a local.
After dealing with several over-crowded trains due to a NFL game in London, our one hour trip into the city turned into a two hour trip, but we eventually made it. Since we were only going to be in London for the day, we did our best to see and experience as much as possible.
Buckingham Palace + grounds
The London Eye
Westminster Abbey
But first, let me take a #selfie.
Big Ben + Houses of Parliament
A pretty cool background if I do say so myself.
Yumm, local fish and chips dish!
View from the top of the London Eye.
Seeing everything on my list, I had an awesome day exploring and experiencing life in a different kind of European city.
My trip was over before I knew it, flying back to Amsterdam on Monday afternoon.
That brings us to last week, which is when the second “block” of classes started. So far so good, but we’ll see how these classes compare to the ones from last block …
As usual, my October ended with Halloween. My friends and I dressed up in costumes thrown together at the last minute and struggled to find a club throwing a Halloween party. It just isn’t a holiday here, at all.
A cheetah, a vampire, a beer maiden, minnie mouse/a present?, and another cheetah. I meant it when I said we just threw some costumes together.
We ended up at Paradiso, which wasn’t even having a Halloween party. Whatever, we still had a good time.
Phew. So I think that about sums up October.
Having A'Dam Good Time 