So my last morning in Dublin, I went and walked around the town some more. I remembered that I had walked down this street off of O'Connell Street with Marek and there was a lot of shopping there. So I went back and spent some time there. Then I left Dublin and flew to Amsterdam. It only toook 1hr 10min to get there. I got to the Amsterdam train station from the airport ok, but then I had a hard time figuring out which tram to take to my hostel. I did not have a good impression of Amsterdam so far. So far it was stressing me out. And I was also on this feeling that Dublin is the best city ever and nothing will ever compare to it. But, I got to my hostel with mild difficulty and the hostel was actually pretty nice. 20 beds in a room this time instead of 12. I wasn't too excited about Amsterdam, but I decided that I was here and had to make the most of my time. So I said to myself, "Ok, let's go fall in love with Amsterdam." So I went out walking around. Holland was playing in the World Cup last night, and you know how serious Europeans are about their soccer. So it was pretty crazy in Amsterdam last night. Lots of people around, crowded in bars watching the game. I've got pictures of this. The bars were all decorated for the event. There were people in the street yelling and playing music. I walked through the Red Light District. I walked down what I thought was just a normal alleyway. They are all over here. But then I saw girls in skimpy outfits on both sides of me in windows. Pretty interesting. A lot of them were down alleys like that, but there were many on the main street that runs down the area. And there were sex shps and drug shops all over. So my first impression of Amsterdam was that this city is all about drugs and sex. But this morning, I walked out of that area into the rest of Amsterdam. I discovered that the rest of the town isn't like that. Their sex and drug shops are more sporadic. So, I wandered down there this morning and then I walked very fast back to my hostel to grab my bag and go to the train station to go to Haarlem and meet up with my tour. My feet hurt so much and I was so tired. I'd been walking on uneven cobblestone all day. So it was a struggle to get there. I went up and used their bathroom, because many places charge for that and my hostel wouldn't. I came back down, got my bag, and started walking that long walk to the train station. I got about halfway there and realized I was missing something....my map! I had this really great map Rick Steves gave me that was a real help to me in Amsterdam. I dug in my bag to see if I had put it back there, but it wasn't there. So then I realized that I must have left it in the bathroom at the hostel, so I walked all the way back there to get it and then all the way back to the train station. And I almost forgot! When I went out sightseeing this morning one of my flip flops broke. I was a long way from the hostel too. I did have another pair in my bag. So I had to take my shoes off and walk all the way back to the hostel barefoot. A guy saw me carrying my shoes and he walked me back to where I needed to go. Then I went to the Flower Market. Mom, you would have loved it there. There were these tents set up all along the canal that were selling mainly flowers, and sometimes produce or souvenirs. Ok, so I finally got to Haarlem and found my hotel with no problems. I was in awe when I walked in. It was a huge step up from hostels. I went up to my room and found a mint on my pillow. I've never had a mint on my pillow before. The room is very very nice. About 15 min later, my roommate came in. We have gotten along great so far. She's probably in her 30's. She reminds me a lot of Robin in a way. We talked for awhile and then went down to the meeting at 5:00. Ragen, the guide talked to us a lot about the tour and what it's like and so forth. Then we had to find a buddy to keep track of whenever we need the whole group together. Mine is Vineeta. She is here with her boyfriend, Deepak. We hung out together at a coffeeshop along with Anathea, my roommate. They are great people too. Young couple, probably in their late 20's. I have talked to almost everyone so far. There is another young couple, probably slightly older than me. The wife said that she was so excited to come to Europe and try the beer and the wine, and then a few weeks ago she found out she was pregnant. She was so disappointed. There is a girl, Melissa, who reminds me a lot of Jennifer next door. She is here with her husband too. There are a few families. There is one couple here with their two daughters. They are about 13 and 15. There are 2 boys who just graduated high school and two girls who are probably 16. There's a couple from Nashville that I've talked to quite a bit. And there is a couple from Oregon. That couple is probably the oldest on the tour. They are probably in their 50's. Ragen said he's never seen such a young group. The group has gotten along very well. After the meeting, we went on a walking tour of Haarlem. Then we went to dinner at a nearby Indonesian restaurant. Amsterdam is very diverse. They have a lot of different foods from different cultures. Everytime you turn a corner, there is a different smell. All the food at this restaurant was so good. They had burners lined up in the middle that they put all the food on. Then they gave you plates and you pass the dishes around to everyone. It was pretty cool. Then we went and walked around some more. Haarlem is a neat place. A lot of the buildings are the same ones that were around in the 1700's. This one local we met said the street looks exactly as it did in that time period. So that's about it! Have to get to bed now. It's after 11:00. Have to get up about 6:30 tomorrow. Monica