Happy Easter All! I spent easter in Amsterdam & I would have to say that it was the most beautiful city i have ever seen. I would highly recommend going there! Its so beautiful and has a great vibe and so much to do. The people are lovely, the men gorgeous, the weather mild, the atmosphere fantastic. What more could you want! We did a contiki trip for the 4 days which was good (except for the long bus trip there & back)!. We left London very early Friday morning. We headed to Dover where we caught a Ferry to Calais, France. So exciting I can now say i have been to France! Our trip to Amsterdam actually took in four countries (England, France, Belgium and The Netherlands). Our friend Chris was meant to come but his bag was in the boot of a car that was stolen thursday afternoon with his passport in it & wasn\'t able to get to embassy in time. I went to the embassy for him when he found out but it was too late. So it was just us 3 girls, we also made friends with 2 other girls on the bus. Took ages to get to Amsterdam as we had a few delays, but arrived and checked into our hostel at about 7pm, before heading off on a walk around the \"Red Light\" district. It certainly was an eye opener! The girls stand in little windows, not swaying suggestively as you might suspect, but chatting away on their mobile phones looking rather bored. If the curtain is closed you know that they are \"working\". Some of them were actually quite stunning - we walked down one street where all the curtains were closed. I figure that they were all either really stunning and popular with the boys, or not so attractive and offering two for one offers. Hahahaha! Next we headed to a \"live show\" - wow, what an experience. I cant really go into too much detail, as it would not be appropriate for the wide audience this email goes out to, but lets just say that it was very \"full on\". We gasped and laughed through most of it - if you want details about what one clever lady did with a cigar feel free to email me! Saturday morning we jumped on the bus and headed to a place called Kokenhoff Gardens. It is this place where they have hundreds of tulips growing in beautiful gardens. There really aren\'t words to describe the beauty of what we saw, it was just so breathtaking. There were field upon field of tulips, all planted in rows in the most amazingly vivid colours you can imagine. It was so lovely to just walk around the gardens looking at all the flowers. I am hoping that my photos do it justice, though I suspect I went a bit overboard. Also saw a real Dutch windmill, and lots of beautiful indoor displays. Next on the agenda was a trip to Anne Frank House, which was fabulous. (A quick history for those of you who don\'t know - Anne Frank was a 13 year old Jewish girl who spent 2 years hiding from the Nazis with her family during WW2. The Germans had occupied The Netherlands and were taking all the Jews to concentration camps, so Anne\'s father hid the entire family in a secret attic room accessed by a secret doorway behind a bookcase in the main house. They were eventually betrayed by someone and taken away to concentration camps. The father was the only one to survive.) Okay ! So anyway, we went to the house where they lived, and up into the secret rooms that they survived in for so long. It really was a very moving, amazing experience. Anne kept a diary which was published into a book, so there was plenty of information available about how they survived for so long. Spent the rest of the afternoon wandering down the main shopping street and people watching. Back to the hostel to get ready for our next night out, which consisted of dinner and a canal cruise. The Canals were really beautiful, especially when they are all lit up at night. The cruise was okay, but a little cramped. Luckily there was free booze and music to get the party started. Headed out afterwards to a few bars afterwards. It was fantastic there was this huge square that full of bars. But being the good little travellers we are headed back to the hostel at a reasonable hour ( 2am - reasonable compared to some others who didn\'t get back till 6am!) so that we could function the next day. Sunday we were up early again to head to a cheese and clog making demonstration. The stinky smell of the cheese proved a bit too much for some people who were still drunk from the night before, and the demonstration was a little boring. But the girl who was presenting had a good sense of humour and made jokes about the Dutch being cheap. The clog making demo wasn\'t much more interesting, but we were amused by the guy who was doing it as he was wearing clogs - not very sexy! Next was one of the highlights of the trip - a bike ride through Edam (where the cheese is from...). It was just so much fun that we all declared we were going to get bikes and ride to work back in London (seemed like a good idea at the time!). The village was so picturesque, really cute little cottages, lovely green parks, quaint little shops. Was invigorating to be out in the fresh air, the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, hahaha. My bike was really cool too, but unfortunately no bell - they have all been taken off as the locals complained about the Contiki tour groups making too much noise with their bike bells! Next stop was a little fishing village called Volderdam. The guide talked up the seafood, but it tasted like cardboard but the little bite size dutch pancakes with chocolate sauce & ice-cream we had for desert definately made up for it! I could have had 2 but had to restrain myself. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Headed back to Amsterdam to visit a diamond cutting factory. I could not believe the lack of security! The lady let us all try on the rings, and also gave us diamonds to hold that were worth 12000 euro (about $25000 aus). Wanted to swipe one, but suspect there were secret cameras watching my every move. In the afternoon we paid a visit to the Heineken Factory. Was a bit of a bargain at 10 euro, which included 3 beers and a free glass. Made a bit of a friend this moustached creepy Dutch dude who kept putting his arm around me. Had to drown the remaining beers quickly to escape! Sunday night Kristy(a friend I made on the bus) and I headed into the main part of the city to visit the Sex Museum. Is something that has to be done in Amsterdam. Was really an eye opener, quite an experience. But it just goes to prove that people have been into some really weird stuff since time began, as the photographic and hand drawn proof showed! Was a giant 7 foot penis which you could sit on and get your photo taken, but I declined. Was amused to see the Asian tourists all lining up to get their photos taken with it......There was a guy who was really checking out a selection of photographs, standing literally inches away. I turned to him & said \"Are you close enough there mate?\", but he obviously didn\'t speak English, cause just looked at us strangely! Grabbed some dinner and headed to a \"coffee shop\" to check out the vibe. Was very laidback, and that is all I am going to say about that! Monday morning it was time to head home. So wanted to stay longer. It really is a great city, and I will definitely be going back again. Was a long bus ride home again, but caught up on some sleep and passed the time eating junk food (also sandwiches we stole at breaky!) Am back at work now and just booked a trip to Hamburg (Germany) for the end of May with Jeanette & Kristy (my new friend). I really am a very lucky girl getting to see all these amazing places!!! Also thinking of Brugge (Belgium) in august which i am quite excited about we are going to take the eurostar! Better get moving, I am still flat hunting which i have to say is my most hated this at the moment. Jeanette & I have somehow adopted this irish girl who is also going to move in with us. Haven\'t meet her yet hoping she is nice. So hard to find apartments over here the agents are terrible & the flats are usually filthy. Looking forward to a quiet weekend got another cold think its due to the lack of sleep over the weekend. Take care all & hope to hear from you soon. Amy xoxoxo