Wow.. All I can say is the past 18 hours have been crazy! We left home at 12:00 Noon on Tuesday afternoon via airport shuttle bus. The driver was absolutely crazy! Weaving in and out of traffic at close quarters.. slamming on the brakes at the last minute.. it's amazing we made it okay (there were many times that we closed our eyes *hoping* we wouldn't crash..... and to think, I'm the bad driver??).. Then it was the traffic jams... Those of you familiar with Northern Virginia should know about the illustrious Route 28 and Route 29 traffic jams.... 28 was backed up well before 66, and so was 29..... The driver took a *short* cut and brought us around who knows which way.. Regardless, we made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

The beauty of Dulles International is the FREE WiFi in the Main Terminal.... Unfortunately, our 'International Flight' was no where close to the main terminal.. In fact, the international terminal? .. Wasn't much of anything. *sigh* .. We wandered the small scraps and spaces of our flight terminal and wound up eating at a place called 'Moe's' where we casually had a drink before take-off.

Once aboard the airplane, it was a quite interesting feat... The guy beside us must have been extremely nervous, because he constantly shook his leg THE ENTIRE SEVEN HOURS. This became quite distracting, especially when dealing with the lack of room for .. erm .. larger people!

The flight in itself wasn't much of an issue. United kept us pleasantly maintained through the trip. Dinner came around 3AM Local (8PM EST), and we had an option of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, or ravioli. The meal wasn't the best in the world, but it suited everyone fine with the addition of a side salad, bread, crackers, brie (cheese), fruit, and a chunk of carrot cake... No one went hungry.

To top it off, there was also a 'Continental Breakfast' given to us also (which consisted of a *hot* bread, and some more fruit).

*sigh*

We landed in Amsterdam right on time. Getting in was a breeze. They checked our passports, and sent us to baggage claim. The 'customs' was the best part. Not only was no one working customs, but they just had an open door for everyone to walk through... Hmm, guess they're not too worried about duty items here, huh?

Next, it was off to find a taxi.... The kicker? EVERY TAXI was a Mercedes Benz. Nothing like living it up in luxury, huh?

The drive from the airport was a long one, nearly 40km away. That was a quick and easy way of blowing 50 euros off the bat! Once we checked in at the hotel, they offered us a free breakfast and showed us to our.. err.. small room. This room was 'barely' large enough for our luggage. The bell hop was great, and suggested a slightly larger room (which ultimately cost an additional 26 euros per night). When he brought us to the other room, it was nearly 3 times larger in size, had 3 beds, a desk, safe, closet, etc.. I immediately took them up on the offer to 'expand' our sleeping area. .. .. .. Of course, that's what is known as a 'tourist trap' option too. HA! At least the room is comfortable. After finally getting into the room, it was time for a short nap so we could be out on the street....

It is now slightly after 12:00 noon local time (6:00AM EST), and we're 'refreshed' with a quick nap and ready to roll out!! Pictures should be up later tonight........ If I can get my system online (thank goodness for a backup laptop .. the whole 10 euro per day charge for Internet sucks!)