Amsterdam!

Hello! I told you I would be better about posting, and I'm already making good on my word! I got into Amsterdam yesterday morning with John, Joe, Conor, Brian, and Mairea. Our hostel is called The Flying Pig, and lets just say that its bumpin'.
Amsterdam is pretty awesome, (and not just because of all the legal substances, dad). Its actually a gorgeous city, a lot like Bruges except much bigger. There are canals everywhere, and a separate lane on every road just for cyclists. Let me tell you, crossing roads was especially difficult, given that we had to avoid cars, trams, and bikes all at the same time.
Of course, we had to see the red light district. It was definitely not what I anticipated. I guess I expected the girls in the windows to look like gussied up eastern european penthouse bunnies. Instead, they looked like girls I could have gone to school with (minus the glow in the dark bikinis). What was even stranger was actually watching men walk up to the doors and bargain with the women. To us it was a huge spectacle, but it was obvious that, to the women, it was just business as usual.
Today was incredibly productive as ar as sight seeing goes, and I've already seen the Sex Museum (which was a mixture of porn, creepy manekins, and plastic butts that fart at you as you walk by), the Anne Frank House, and the FOAM, which is a photography museum. This last place was awesome, as it was featuring a Richard Avedon exhibition. I knew that I liked his work before I went in, but I definitely gained a huge appreciation for someone who can master portrait photography like he has.
So that is the summation of my travels thus far. The weather has been gorgeous, and today I was in constant sunshine ecstasy. We leave for Brussels sometime tomorrow, so you should hear an update soon!

p.s.- I won't be able to upload any pictures, since I'll usually be updating this in hostels. However, I'll try to edit the posts later on with pictures, for the full effect.