Friday Flashback: Amsterdam

Friday Flashbacks are usually not my thing on this blog, but I realized this morning that a 10 year milestone was here, so it seems appropriate to post a few pictures over the next few weeks. Ten years ago at this I was a just turned 21 year old college student who had just arrived in Europe for a whirlwind of an experience with three of my hometown friends: Gail, Sara and Michelle. We had an amazing time meandering through old cobblestone streets, seeing cultural sites, dancing through meadows, meeting drop dead gorgeous men in random Austrian bars, getting into trouble with bus drivers… so many stories and such an amazing experience, that I still remember vivid details of it ten years later.

So where was I ten year ago today? May 18, 2002- I was crossing the English Channel from Dover to Calais, driving through Belgium on our way to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. That evening we took a boat tour through the canals of Amsterdam… red light district and all. A few photos are below…

I am pretty sure we all still get a little nauseous remembering that ferry ride…. while pretty in all it’s chaos and power, it so made us sick to our stomachs. But the crossing over to the Continent still wasn’t as bad as the one coming back… I think because everyone was hungover from the last night in Paris the night before, but that came later.

Note the date… ten years. Crazy. Look at how skinny we all were (ok, you can’t tell because of some of the jackets, but we were). And how light are mine and Gail’s jeans? Such a great time, but wow how quickly time goes by!