~Whirl Wind Tour~

Most of you that are reading this will know that I recently moved from my beloved home in Brasil to a new home in Word of Life Hungary. Of course getting here was no small task. My dad and I said a very tearful, on my part, goodbye to Belem and friends and family on August 30th and set off on a trip that most people only dream of taking. I will say that leaving is never easy for anyone, and I am no exception to that rule. Even though that day was one of the hardest days of my life it was also one of the most exciting.
After landing in Sao Paulo my dad and I entertained ourselves in the airport for 6 hours before taking off on the longest flight of my life. Here’s a little tip for all you dreaming of one day coming to Europe, reserve your plane seats way ahead of time. You do not want to be stuck with the middle seats in the middle row. After 12 greuling hours of flying at last life long dream came true, and we touched down in Europe.

~Amsterdam~
Of all the cities I visited with my Dad Amsterdam was by far the most picturesque. The canals, quaint homes, and cobble stone streets make it a very nice city to walk around. Although if we had been able to figure out the tram system I’m sure our feet would have been very grateful. Amsterdam is jam packed with museums and history, so we were never at a loss for something to do.

Typical street/canal in Amsterdam
All around Amsterdam there were these painted elephants from the 2009 elephant parade. This was dad's favorite one. =)

I had to try on some wooden shoes in Holland! I don't think the shop keeper appreciated me taking pictures very much though...oops.

The flower market, it goes all along a street with lots of tourist shops.

This is a statuette of Anne Frank just before the house that she hid out in for around two years during the holocaust, which now serves as the Anne Frank Museum.

The Hiding Place in Corrie Ten Boom's room. The Ten Boom house in in a small town called Haarlem just outside of Amsterdam. It was beautiful, definitely the highlight of our Amsterdam excursion.

This is The Great Church, formerly a catholic church, it became protestant during the reformation. It was also the church where Corrie Ten Boom attended. The organ in this church was played by both Handel and Mozart!

Dad and I were very impressed with the bike traffic in and around Amsterdam...lots and lots of bikes, everywhere! they had their own roads and traffic lights even!

Yay for Holland!!! Other than jet lag and sore feet I have great memories of Amsterdam and Haarlem. The history is simply astounding. We were there for two and a half wonderful days, before heading off to our next destination: good 'ole England =)