Day 5- Back in Amsterdam

Today we were given a free day...in Amsterdam! As a group we met in the lobby after breakfast at 1030. We were pretty tired from late night hangouts getting to know one another and of course our bodies are getting tired and a little worn out playing so much. I can definitely say that I'm feeling really Good though! A little tight but really feels good to be back in the swing of things as well as seeing the level of competition.

As a group of young Americans (without our tour guides and coaches) we left the Amsterdam Centraal train station to navigate our way around the large city. Luckily, there was a large corner street map to point us in the right direction to the center where we really wanted to be. And not too far from that I found a travel office that had free maps of the city. Thankfully! I grabbed a few to handout to the groups because moving around in a group of 17 would've been a little overwhelming. 

So Emmaleigh, Rachelle, and I decided to take on the big city out own. That tiny map was all we needed! And with it I was able to recognize where we Were in the city and help Rachelle and Emmaleigh see important parts of the city that they otherwise might not have seen. It was fun to play tour guide again as I have a good amount this semester. We didn't have a plan at all (except for shop) but it ended up working out perfectly that way. We walked to the center of the city along streets crowded with tourist-y shops covered in orange and restaurants and shops. We saw and visited:

Dan Square, the heart of the city with a national monument, the royal palace, and a súper market nearby. We shopped all of the great deals looking at the fashion and buying gifts. We made our way to the red light district, to where I had previously stayed, and got a little taste of what all of the hype is about Amsterdam, with the literal red lights, canal rides, and Orange-covered city corners, and other Major attractions.  We didn't have to wear jackets because we were blessed again with nice weather. We had to meet back at 430 PM inside of the Utrecht Centraal station, meaning we had to find our way back to the Huge station; in Amsterdam; we navigated the streets of the district with ease. We Were told by the staff that the 408 Train would get us there in time to meet with the rest of the group. Dinner was good; we had italian food, pizza and pasta.

Tired from so much walking it was nice to have a good full meal to reenergize ourselves and rest up a little bit. Our Vans picked us up to go to the match site for our Third and final friendly. The play definitely felt better and we really started to compete. The competition has progressively gotten better in terms of different aspects of the game. The serving is a lot more aggressive. We've been playing with women who have played for the international teams before and have some serious skill. And many of them are very tall, but that was expected:) I've seen a lot of talented lefties too! (besides just Rachelle;) )

Best. day. ever.-Genevieve