After some hair getting stepped on by Chad in the black hole of our room and assisting some drunkards into our room, we headed to Victoria Station to catch the Gatwick Express to the airport. Took a small nap on the train to the airport and then wandered around the airport till we could board our flight. We grabbed some breakfast at a small cafe, I got a scone with cotted cream aka my new favorite. Once we were on the plane, we discovered that there was actually a time difference and our flight was 30 minutes and not two hours. Once we had collected our bags at the airport after landing we got on a double decker train to the Centraal station in Amsterdam and had to awkwardly stand between the aisles while trying our best to avoid whacking the other passengers in the face with our huge bags. It was quite the challenge. We then walked to our hostel, The Bulldog, for once not getting lost on the way. Since we got to the hostel at like 10am and couldn't check in yet, we walked over to a bar and got some beers called Amstel and were able to sit down by the canal and drink. Once we could check in, we dropped our bags off in our room and I discovered I had an Asian bunkmate below me. Fun. Ashton and I grabbed a hot dog from a hot dog stand and we walked over to a bike rental place. We rented them for 3 hours and got directions to the "I Amsterdam" sign and headed out. There are bikers everywhereeee in Amsterdam, it's like the main mode of transportation and is a bit intimidating at first. Ashton crashed into some steps while trying to avoid a pole...way too funny. We stopped at a marketplace and did some shopping, I found some fake Ray Bans that look real! At one point we stopped by a canal for a picture and asked one lady...she straight up said no. Then the next lady was super nice and saw our Aggie rings, apparently her and her husband went to Rice University! Ashton and I made Chad stop at an H&M - they are everywhere - and we got some new outfits. We turned our bikes in and stopped back at our hostel and then met up with Chad's cousin, Kyle, and his friend Garrett in Dam Square. We wandered around looking for a place to eat and eventually found a little Italian restaurant that we could sit outside and eat at. Got my pasta fill in! We wandered around for a little bit around the Red Light District and then found a bench to hang out for a bit. Chad and Ashton used a portapotty that was disgusting. I opted out on that one. Not to mention the huge rat crawling by it. Once we got kicked out of the picnic bench, we started to wander around the Red Light District again. It was so weird yet very interesting. Ashton and I had SO many questions and were so curious about how it all works. The weirdest part was actually seeing guys walk in there and the curtains closing...definitely something you can't imagine until you actually see it. We then made our way back to the hostel. The boys in our room were so disgusting and smelled and were farting all the time...not the best hostel experience.