Amsterdam
Amsterdam wasn’t really what I expected. All the stories I’d heard of the place were based around the infamous Red
Light District, and my impression was basically that the entire city was a seedy Kings Cross style area. In reality the
city is nothing like that. Sure the Red Light District isn’t the most family-friendly of all areas, but that is only a small
area of the city. All the canals and unique architecture makes for a really cool city, and its similarly unique drug laws
make it seem like a really chilled out place (can’t think why). We really only had two nights here on our tour, though
about half the tour was choosing to stay on to continue their European adventures from the Netherlands instead of
going back to London. So our first night was more or less just a celebratory final farewell, with our tour manager and
coach driver taking us out to a variety of places. We started at a local bar, then a shots bar (they served something
like 200 different types of shots, it was insane), then on for a walk through the Red Light District to see what all the
fuss was about, and then on to a coffee shop near our hostel. Needless to say it was a pretty big night for most, and
our daily walk around the city didn’t start until the late afternoon the following day. Knowing that we had a fair bit
more time in the city, Chris and I weren’t too fussed about seeing sights, more on spending time with our friends
who wouldn’t be staying on with us. That night was a bit quieter, with a nice final group dinner and a boat ride down
the canals, before having a few drinks at a local pub and then heading home to get prepared for a 7am wake up to
say our final goodbyes.
The next morning came easily the most depressing part of the trip, having to say goodbye to everyone. Whereas on
our last tour it felt like we were really only saying goodbye to the six we were closest with, this was like that but
times six, with everyone being someone we wanted to see again. With watery eyes we all made rough plans to meet
up again in the future, with promises of trips across Australia and New Zealand, and even to Canada being made by
all. Then it was time to wave farewell to the bus as they embarked on the final trip back to England, which was by no
means a short one. After saying goodbye we all went back to bed for a few hours before meeting in our hostel’s
lobby to work out plans for the rest of our time in Amsterdam with the remaining members of our tour. The impact
that saying goodbye to so many of our close friends had had on those left became apparent immediately – everyone
was visibly depressed and it seemed almost hollow. We agreed to meet for dinner that night after we all got our
accommodation sorted, and once me and Chris had met up with Ellie, the girl from our Greek Islands tour. We
brought her along with us to our semi-Contiki dinner and we all spent the next few days together in our group of
around twenty. The numbers became progressively smaller and smaller though as people left to go on their own
adventures around the continent, until it was just the three of us left.
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