amster-DAM!: Our first venture into Amsterdam.

Today we attempted to get over our jet lag and get up early. We ended up sleeping in until 10am...which for those of you keeping track at home is 1:00 PST, hopefully we get this all sorted out prior to Nick's first day of work on Monday.

After a slow wake up and even slower attempt at getting organized, we took the bus from our little village of Aalsmeer, back to the airport, in order to catch the train to Amsterdam. At the airport we bought re-loadable passes (for the buses, trains, and trams) just like true locals and were on our way. We spent the afternoon wandering the city with no particular destination or agenda in mind. We saw many of the canals, narrow houses, and house boats that Amsterdam is famous for. We also accidentally came across the Red Light District, which was a shock to both of us. After a Heineken along a canal we met up with Tracy's friend Erica, who happens to be visiting a friend in Amsterdam on her way to Normandy. Erica's friend has been teaching at the University of Amsterdam for the past two years and proved to be a great resource. He provided some ideas on locations for living as well as some websites to check out. He also introduced us to the fine Dutch delicacy known as Bitterballen, which go great with a pint. After some early evening drinks, with sore feet, we headed back to catch the train to Aalsmeer. We were both impressed with our first trip into the city, the people are friendly and the city appears to be well kept. We're looking forward to exploring further and really focusing one or two areas at a time on our next trips back.