Handstands: Amsterdam, Leiden, and Volendam (picture overload!)

It was that time of the year again... Fall Break! I had been waiting for this, well, since school had started. Paul was going to be at a conference for the week, so I decided to join him. As he would be working all day for the week, I booked myself into a few side trips. I've already posted about Leiden, but I have some additional pictures from my camera I wanted to share.

This is definitely not my first visit to Amsterdam. A beautiful city with canals, tilting houses, historical significance, friendly people, and a very open culture, I have always loved coming back and exploring it even deeper. Unfortunately, on this trip it rained... a LOT. The first day (Sunday) we had planned to shop. But due to the rain, we hid inside a bar, drank tea, hot chocolate, and finally beer. It wasn't just raining, it was raining sideways! And my rain jacket was pretty useless, and the umbrellas kept being blown inside out. So, we hid. It was nice just spending time with Paul all day, people watching and thanking our lucky stars we were inside.

Amsterdam, where umbrellas go to die...

My first full day in Amsterdam with Paul working, I decided to have a lie in, then meet Paul for lunch. As it was too late to really travel anywhere, I wanted to find something to do. Visiting the science center Nemo was recommended to me, so I went on a little hike to find it. It was described as a "sea wreck brought back up to the surface". A pretty apt description if you ask me:

The museum was very interesting, with everything in Dutch and English. It was a perfect activity for a rainy day.

The next day I decided to get out of town and travel to a town called Leiden. It had been recommended to me by some friends in Switzerland, so I hopped on the train. Guess what? It was raining there too (go figure), so I hid in a coffee shop for the first part of the day. Finally, the rain cleared up, and I got to explore. It was absolutely gorgeous!

I found a fort on top of a hill. Apparently it had been built as a place for people to go when it flooded, but then had been taken over by the government. Now, anyone can visit.

A view from the top of the fort over Leiden.

I went on a tour of the museum of a windmill. I didn't know anyone could write so much about a windmill! I had to climb up these really steep stairs (ladders?) to get to each level. The worst part was climbing down! But I did get to stand by the steering wheel, used to move the sails depending on the wind. Overall, it was an entertaining and educational day for me.

Wednesday Paul had a half day of work, so we decided to take a canal tour. It was given in 4 languages, so it meant everything was said 4 times. It was my first time taking the tour, and we really enjoyed it!

A no parking sign? Is this for boats?

Oops, we wore the same color jacket and both North Face. We are turning into the same person!

On the Thursday, I took my next trip out to Volendam. I choose this town because this summer I went on a cruise on a ship called The Volendam, and one of my Dutch friends asked me if I had ever been to the town. I hadn't even know it was a town! If I had planned better, I could have biked there, but I didn't get my lazy bottom out of bed until the afternoon, so the biking was out. One short-ish bus ride later, I arrived. There wasn't much to do in the town, but have a bit of a walk and shop.

There were statues of people in traditional dress, and the big thing to do there is actually get changed into traditional clothes and have your picture taken. If Paul had been there, I would have made him take the pictures, but all alone? Non, merci.

A waffle, chocolate, strawberry dessert. Yum!

View from the bus on the way home - everything is just so beautiful!

That last evening was a cruise/dinner provided by the conference (but we paid extra for me to come). The food was so-so, and we had such little windows we couldn't see anything unless we went to the top deck. Mostly, it was just nice to spend time with Paul.