Closing the First Chapter

Tomorrow will mark the end of my first tour. This has been a wonderful learning experience so far, and I can't wait to see what the next few weeks have in store for me. Today, I visited the Anne Frank House. All I can say is wow. It is incredibly powerful. They did such a good job preserving the annex she and her family hid in (right down to the magazine clippings of celebrities Anne pasted around her attic room). Seeing the way she and her family hid for so long is shocking. It was also incredible to learn more about Anne. She was truly wise beyond her years. They had videos and quotes (along with artifacts) throughout the museum and the total effect is heart-wrenching. I'm so glad I went. Then, I spent time wandering the various markets before our group farewell dinner.

Now, I'm about to go repack my bags and hope they make weight tomorrow. My luggage needs to go on a diet. It doesn't help that the airline I use tomorrow has lower weight maximums for checked baggage - NO wiggle room for me. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Assuming my bags and I make it on the plane, tomorrow I will be flying from Amsterdam to Dublin. Upon arrival in Dublin, I'll hop on the first bus heading to Galway, Ireland. I have heard nothing but amazing things about Galway (and Ireland as a whole), so I really can't wait. I'll be totally on my own for this leg of my trip, but I'm feeling excited and ready. I've booked a small bed and breakfast that sounds nice. I'm a two minute walk from the coast and a ten minute walk from the city center. While there, I'm going to try to tour the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher (weather permitting). So, around this time tomorrow, I should be basking in the sight of the Irish coastline. Someone really needs to pinch me.