Day 8: Welcome to Amsterdam

Today was our first full day in Amsterdam!! When I first decided that I was going to Europe, most of my excitement came with knowing I was spending a week in Paris. But it wasn't quite the same for Amsterdam, simply because I wasn't as familiar with Amsterdam as I was about Paris. Paris is known for so much, food, fashion, wine, and the endless monuments and museums. But, Amsterdam is not as well known as a city like Paris. Well, maybe well known for other things, things that I might not mention. Nevertheless, Amsterdam was a city is was very much looking forward to exploring.
As our first day usually goes, we had a walking tour. Now, one of the differences between Paris and Amsterdam is that there was no way we could walk around in Paris to get from place to place, so the Metro was something we got to know very well!!! But not Amsterdam. Amsterdam was a "walking city", meaning that anywhere we needed to get to was in walking distance. I'm not really sure how true this was but it really didn't matter. There were no metro passes for us!!!
Our tour guide met us promptly at 10:25AM and we walked to Dam Square, which is almost like the city center. From there, we met our tour guide Rocco, and began our journey through the lovely city of Amsterdam!! We walked and walked and walked, but saw so many things and learned so much about the history of the city!!! I fell in love with the Amsterdam almost immediately. From everything to its history, to the architecture, to the little secrets hidden in the alleyways and everything in between!! Amsterdam honestly felt like home! It was better than I expected and I felt like it was Christmas morning because Amsterdam was a present that was waiting for me to open it!! Even though the walking tour was long, it was great!!
After some delicious food and some well-needed rest, my first day in Amsterdam is something I will never forget!