I am currently flying, only an hour from home. I know I need to write this now, or I’ll never actually do it and this story will be left without an ending, so here goes. Amsterdam is a cool city, and rather shockingly similar to how it is in movies and tv. Walking through the red light district, the women are actually in the windows, clad in all the various skimpy lingerie, opening their doors and open for service. It’s one of those things you hear about, but when you see it in reality it’s like “whoa serious?, this is actually how it is?” we strolled the alleyways, awkwardly peeking at the almost-nude girls, in search of the blue lights for he-she’s, and taking it all in. And soon, we were at the famous sex show, where you enter and there are actually naked people just… Doing it on stage. Hahaha. We watched a few different acts, some where they involved various chosen contiki members to help with strip teases or banana eating. It was a show of mostly just jokes and constant laughter, and definitely made for an interesting evening. After the show, we head to one of the bars/coffee shops for drinking and some of the members, other cultural delights. Also, one of the best taxi rides I’ve had while a random guy did a strip tease dance for our taxi from the side of the road, while our driver pumped tunes and told us not to pay him, cause he was a shit dancer. Hahaha Our final day, we got stuck in traffic for a while, and it rained. We did a canal bike cruise (paddle boats!), and had a few free hours. I would’ve liked to have gone into Anne Frank house, but by the time we got there the line seemed to be something that we’d spend a good hour or two in, and with only 3.5 free hours, we made the decision to see more than the line and potentially rushed through later. We wandered the main shopping streets and visited a sex museum, full of animated mannequins and photos and chastity belts and sculptures. We had lunch and explored a little before being picked up to get ready for our final evening out. We had a river cruise of the canals, and dinner at a floating sea palace Indonesian restaurant, before going on a pub crawl to celebrate both the end of tour and a birthday. Super fun night for sure, and a positive end to the party that was contiki. (Harry potter shots!) Today we said goodbye. We left a couple behind in Amsterdam, who were leaving later, and the rest were off on the transfer back to London. Goodbyes are not easy at all, especially when the vast majority of your new family lives in a different hemisphere. I was the only one being dropped at the airport, and then the bus was off to London while I awaited my flight due 6 hours later. And now I’m here, almost back on Canadian soil after the trip of a lifetime. It’s bittersweet, but I have real reasons to hurry up and make my Australian trip a reality. I’ve met amazing people and shared incredible experiences, and had the trip of a lifetime. Its taught me piles about other countries and cultures, yet showing me why I’m proud to call Canada home. However, I enjoy my honorary Aussie title as well. ;)