Well I know this was a few weeks ago now, but I’ve been so freaking busy with finishing my project for the end of the term that I haven’t been able to post anything. So I decided that I would celebrate thanksgiving with my flat mates since they had never partook in this great American Holiday, and to do so I prepared a whole Thanksgiving dinner by myself (for the most part). The dinner consisted of a stuffed chicken and duck over roasted veggies (turkeys were quite expensive), stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, bacon gravy, and pavlova for pudding (aka dessert). It was quite the spread and of course being the American fatty that I am I consumed two plates full of food and two helpings of pavlova. This would soon become a disastrous combination.
So my University was offering a trip to Amsterdam for around £100, which was a pretty good deal considering it paid for travel and room and board for a 4-day trip. So a couple of friends and I signed up together, of course I didn’t really take note of the departure date, I would late find out it was on Thanksgiving at 10pm, I though that would be fine we can still have dinner and then leaving. I forgot to taken in account digestion time, and how ill I feel after thanksgiving dinner from over eating. In true Marcus style I consumed way too much and had to leave right after we finished dinner, bad idea! I felt soooooo sick and then we had to get on the bus for a 12-hour journey to Amsterdam, oh god that was a very miserable time in my life!
After the agonizing journey we finally arrived in beautiful Amsterdam, only to find out that it was cold, windy, and a bit rainy... needless to say I packed to weather closer to that of London, which was milder at the time. Our first venture after checking into the hostel was to go and find some warm clothing such as more socks, beanies, gloves, etc. We walked around the main shopping area for a while and then sat down for some tea and coffee to warm us up. We later went out to eat dinner at Thai place, ended the night at a club called Dansen bij Jansen, it was an interesting experience to say the least. Our second day consisted of walking around Amsterdam and checking out all the cool design shops and trying to see all the touristy places. We walked all the way across the city to see Anne Franks house, but by the time we got there the line was way too long so we just turned around and headed for the Van Gough museum. It was pretty cool, it showcased an evolution of his work from classic style to his very expressionist style that we all associated with his work. We further went on to check out the red light district, which was saturated with groups of men (wonder what they are there for?). We ate a Dutch restaurant where I had traditional pea soup called “erwtensoep” and weinerschnitzel, which is not at all what we associated it with. It was more of a battered and baked pork chop rather than anything to do with sausage. It was really good and satisfying, reminded me of my sister’s oma’s (grandmother in German) cooking. We topped off the night with a visit to and Amsterdam Coffee shop; let’s just say it was very interesting. The next day we got up early before we had to leave and went out for pancakes. They were bigger than my head!!! I got a chicken and cheese one it was soooo good! Over all my Amsterdam trip was fun, but I think it would be much better in the spring when all the flowers are in bloom and what not.
Alisa told me you had posted again. Your Thanksgiving dinner sounds wonderful! It's a shame you had to pay for it on your trip to Amsterdam. (Were the tulips imported or hot house?)
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