Saturday, July 25, 2015

Day Thirteen Last Day in Amsterdam

The storm of the century!

The day started off leisurely, showering from the night before and doing laundry. The laundry station was fairly easy to use: I paid 7.50 euros to the receptionist and was handed two tokens in return. While the laundry was still being washed I had a late breakfast at the hostel with my friend since we had both slept in. The meal was literally called “Late Breakfast”. How convenient! The sustenance included scrambled eggs, tomatoes, toast and jam, orange juice, espresso, and BACON. My first plate of bacon in I can’t remember when. After eating I had planned to meet my friend who is local to the area for the very first time once the laundry was finished.
When the time finally came to meet her I was ecstatic! Everything went so well except for one thing: The weather. It was raining, freezing, and blustery. Nonetheless, we both went on with our scheduled plans for the day. We started our adventure by first going into a store that sells video game merchandise. It was comparable to the American store Hot Topic, so I found that to be quite interesting. Afterwards, we headed to a store where I purchased some Stroopwafels for my family and friends. Subsequently, we went to a gorgeous store filled with nature, plants and all! There were so many gorgeous dresses and pieces of jewelry that I’m not sure where to even begin! On the second floor there was a water fountain that loudly babbled as my friend purchased fortune cookies for herself and me.
We visited another store that sold mainly Anime and Japanese inspired items. Once I explored that shop, my friend and I stopped to get some bubble tea. I ordered the lemon flavor with pineapple jelly inside. I also purchased some hilarious gum packages for my sister. After a long chat and several pictures with my friend, we headed to the next store. By this point, the wind was pushing umbrellas inside-out, and we eventually had to throw the umbrella we had been using away. Trash cans were stuffed full of umbrellas along the way as people attempted to find shelter. We began to stop at as many places as we could just so that we could take a break from the intense wind and rain. Thank goodness I wore my rain jacket!
Several video game shops later, my friend and I walked into a gorgeous pinup style dress shop. There were models smiling and dancing in the windows to catchy old tunes.When the fun-filled day was over, we both headed to the hostel. Without an umbrella, both my friend and I quickly became soaked. We passed by stopped trams, roadblocks, ambulances, and even several fallen trees. One of the trees fell from its place in a cobblestone pathway and created a very prominent elevated area in the ground. Once my friend went home and I had dinner, I went to bed.