Sunday, 22nd September

As we progressed from Germany into the Netherlands the countryside got flatter and flatter until you could see for miles around. There was a bike ride around the village of Edam scheduled but because of the weather, torrential rain, it was cancelled so instead we visited Coster Diamonds this afternoon to free up some time on Monday to give us longer to explore Amsterdam ourselves. I'm a bit of a tomboy and have never really been into diamonds and jewellery, nevertheless I found the explanation of how they cut the stones quite interesting. They then showed us some rings that we could try on and buy, most of them were pretty ordinary and I just glanced over them but one ring took my eye and I tried it on, it was a perfect fit and I fell in love with it there and then. It's the only ring I've ever really liked but unfortunately it was €1000 and none of the guys on the trip would buy it for me ;-)

This evening was the optional extra everyone had been looking forward to, a night of "enlightenment and personal growth", or in other words a tour of the red light district ending with a sex show. It really was a unique experience walking around the red light district seeing all the little rooms and theatres and sex shops with an atmosphere that felt completely natural. After the show most had a joint in the nearby pub, I tried one but never having even had a cigarette in my life it burnt my lungs so I didn't have anymore. "I've never seen such an attack of the munchies" was the comment from our tour manager as we all boarded the coach eating. We weren't even put off by walking past Shane being sick at the side of the pavement in his crisp white outfit, which miraculously managed to stay white! So back we went to the Contiki hotel bar where we stayed until it shut. Most went off to bed then but I wasn't tired so a few of us stayed up and talked to the night staff that were on. Two of them took us on a walk to see the local Rijksmuseum floodlit, a very beautiful sight at 4:00 in the morning.

Monday, 23rd September

Monday was a free day in Amsterdam, which meant just one thing for the four of us who were sharing a room - SLEEP IN!!!! We finally got up at 9:00am, which for me meant another night with only 4½ hours sleep. We headed off to find the tram and made our was back to the red-light district to find the Thomas Cook and do a little bit of souvenir shopping (no, no-one bought a dildo or anything, it was more cannabis souvenirs) Lunch was had in a Teasers, a kind of hooters where the waitresses only wore hot pants and a tight top with big breasts, but the food was quite nice and it was all part of the Amsterdam experience. After lunch we set off to find Anne Franks house. I can think of just two words to describe it: very moving. It's horrifying to think that is was only fifty years ago that people in Western countries were being treated so savagely, that even young children were being killed on mass just because of their religious beliefs. Anne was just 16 when she was killed after spending over two years living in the hideout and seven months in a concentration camp. We wandered into town and spent the rest of the afternoon shopping.

That evening was our final optional extra, a meal followed by a show at Boom Chicago. Things were slightly more subdued as we all knew it was our last night together and the end of our holiday was drawing close but we still had a great time, the actors were very funny (Boom Chicago is a improvisational show), we were laughing most of the way through. As usual it was back to the hotel for the last time, this time with my camera.

Tuesday, 24th September

This morning’s schedule: 7:15 - Bags on van to be taken to coach; 7:30 - Breakfast; 8:00 - Depart for England. Or in my case, 7:30 wake up, check my sister's watch, double check, triple check and then "GUYS, WAKE UP IT'S 7:30" I swear you have never seen three women open their eyes, sit up and get out of bed so quickly. Within 15 minutes we were dressed, washed and packed (our bags were pretty much empty to start with) and downstairs in time for a quick breakfast, we were very proud of ourselves even if we did have to carry our bags to the coach ourselves. We said our goodbyes to Sam and Chris who were staying in Amsterdam and departed to 'Bohemian Like You' for the last time. It wasn't long before the whole coach was fast asleep, except the two of us who realised the perfect photo opportunity. A short stop in Belgium just so we could add it to the list of countries we went to and on to Calais. On the way we overtook another Contiki coach so Brad got us all to take off the headrest covers, put them on our heads, turn round and pretend to row past the other coach. You probably had to be there but at the time we were all laughing so much. We knew the other coach would then overtake us and do something so we all pretended to look at something out of the right window as they went past, mooning us, (there were some hairy asses).

I looked back over to Europe from the boat and said goodbye to a wonderful place that had given me such a great couple of weeks, I saw nothing but blue skies until I then looked forward to England and saw a line of clouds start just over the English coastline - typical! The British weather had been the subject of several conversations and this just proved it, it's always cloudy in England!

Not only was this a fantastic holiday it has also changed my outlook on life. It opened my eyes to the beauty of different cultures and given me a live for the moment attitude. For most people on the tour this was literally a trip of a lifetime and so the atmosphere throughout the two weeks was very much 'try everything, do everything and if you like it, buy it, because you will never get the chance to do it again' which is an attitude I've kept since getting back home. The Contiki saying is 'It's not wrong, it's just different' which can apply to anything, not just different cultures.