Submitted by Jessy Buckter on the 2014 spring semester study abroad program in London, England…
I am really enjoying my time in London. I cannot believe I have been here for four weeks already. I do really like all my classes, but Tuesday is my favorite day of the week because I have no class; it is my day to explore. This Tuesday, I went to the East End. I have been hearing a lot about the Shoreditch area and how cool it was, so I decided to go there. I went to a place called Look Mum No Hands for lunch. This was a bicycle themed café and the food was so lovely. I got scotch eggs, salad and a cappuccino; it was perfect. Next, I went up to Shoreditch High Street, where there are a bunch of cool shops. The East End is also really known for their street art, which I find really cool. I saw lots of awesome artwork. The East End is definitely a place I will go back to a lot.
This weekend, I traveled to Amsterdam. I was really excited to learn more about the Dutch culture because it is so different. I arrived in Amsterdam late Friday night and just walked around the city getting to know it a little better. I was amazed by how beautiful it was. The whole city is based around the canal, and the water looks so pretty with all the lights around that are put on during the night. On Saturday, we traveled to two little villages in the Netherlands, Edam and Volendam. These were two little picture perfect towns. Edam is known for their cheese, so I got to sample some amazing cheese at local cheese shops. Volendam is a city around the sea, which during the warmer weather is probably beautiful. Unfortunately for us, the weather was quite miserable on the day we visited. The town was still pretty though.
After these short excursions, we headed back to Amsterdam. The weather was much better there. We went to the tulip market, because Holland is known for their tulips. We then headed to the Heineken brewery, where we got to walk through the history of the beer and how it is made. We got dinner at a local falafel shop, which was quite amazing. We also got fries with mayonnaise on them, which is traditional there. I am hoping one day this becomes a thing in America.