Amsterdam: The Land of...well, you know... =)

Brian and I thought Amsterdam would be a fun city to visit, so when we saw cheap airfares, we booked our tickets quickly and headed over for a 3-day weekend. Some people may be hesitant to visit the city, but that would be a big mistake. It's a beautiful city with gorgeous canal homes, friendly people, and a lot of history.

We started off our trip by visiting the Anne Frank House, somewhere I have always wanted to go. It was very surreal waking through the actual house where the family lived for those years during World War II. It was extremely well-done and maintained a respect and integrity that I feared it would lack due to the vast numbers of tourists who visit the house every year. It's a definite must-see for anyone visiting Amsterdam.

Despite the not-so-great weather that day, we ventured onto the canals for a boat tour through the city. The houses along the canals are so beautiful and deceptively small. We actually visited a few of the historical ones, and once you get inside, you discover they are actually skinny mansions!

That night, we went somewhere I thought I would never go: the Red Light District. We went on a tour that was highly rated by Trip Advisor, and it was actually strangely fascinating to see this part of the city. Brian was 1 of only 2 men in our group of 10 which we all thought was quite funny. If you're in the city, I think it's something you definitely have to see. And before anyone asks, no, we don't have any pictures from this part of our trip. =)

Our final night in Amsterdam, we took part in the annual Museum Night, where you purchase one ticket that gets you into museums around the city from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. It was a blast! We started off with a secret Catholic church that had been built in a canal house attic, then went to a few more historic canal houses, and finally ended up at the Olympic Stadium from 1928. The Olympic Stadium was by far the highlight of the night for Brian - we even got to hold the official Olympic Torch!

On our trip, we also visited the Heineken Brewery, the BOLS Cocktail Museum, and one of the largest food markets in the city. Here are the pictures from our adventures. Hope you enjoy!

Friends in England =)

Since moving to England, we have tried to explain to our friends and family what it is like, but we really want everyone to come out and visit us to see it for themselves. One of our best friends Chris took us up on the offer and came out for a visit a few weeks ago. We had the best time showing him around our little town and then visiting Cambridge and London!

Chris started out here in Bury St. Edmunds where we took him to the local sites and of course our favorite local pubs. (He would never survive in England though because he got tired of pub food pretty quickly!) =) A unique adventure he and Brian did was to visit Go Ape! in a local forest where you could zipline and do ropes courses through the woods. Brian has been wanting to do it for a while, so I was glad one of his friends came over to go with him.

We also visited the Duxford Air Museum and Cambridge, which is still one of our favorite towns because of the college feel, great architecture, and yummy food we can't seem to find anywhere else close to us! We had a great Turkish dinner the night we were there with Chris.

After a few days in the more rural part of England, we caught up with Chris' friend Trisha who lives in London and Brian's friend from work to venture into London. The five of us ended up being in a car together for several hours in addition to 2 days of sightseeing so it's a good thing we got along so well from the beginning! =)

We started off by seeing Windsor Castle (the Queen was actually in residence there when we visited!) and Hampton Court Palace, one of the main homes of Henry VIII. Anyone coming to London should definitely visit these two places! On Sunday, (after the guys finished watching the Gator game early that morning), we did the hot spots in the center of London, including the Tower of London where we saw the Crown Jewels. It was definitely a fast-paced weekend full of a lot of history and walking, but I think I can safely say everyone had a good time. =)

Check out our photos from our weekend. Remember that you too can visit us here in England and be taken on a great adventure! Chris, please feel free to add your endorsements about what great hosts we were. (hint hint) Hope to see more friends soon!