Outside My Box....My First Trip To Europe (Amsterdam)

I've never ventured beyond US borders much except to go to Tijuana, Mexico. The process of getting my passport and planning for my travel was exhilarating and tiring. I was well prepared for anything they might throw at me. Not bad for a gal who is 53 and has wanted to see something other than Texas Stadium.

I was bumped up to First Class for my flight to London which thrilled me. There is nothing quite like having long legs and not knowing what to do with them. Fortunately United offers 5 extra inches in coach for some of its seats. I call it "Legs Plus". As I am not flying daily anymore it's always a treat to be bumped up.

Heathrow was a bit of a nightmare, the moving walkways did not move, the smoking section might have well not existed because smoke was everywhere. Getting from the arrival gate to my connecting flight was frustrating at best. Heathrow is huge, I thought O'Hare was huge, but Heathrow is much bigger. The one thing that I did love were the hats the flight attendants wore on British Midland.

When I arrived at Schipol airport it was somewhat confusing for me trying to figure out how to meet up with my friend. I just kept walking and hoping I was going in the right direction. I eventually saw the passport booths they have and handed them my virgin passport. They didn't stamp it, I was heart broken. Going home though the young man who had looked at my passport when I arrived smiled at me, stamped my passport so I was no longer a virigin. He saw how happy that made me and I did my happy dance.

I had a wonderful time in Amsterdam. The women I met there are all survivors of breast cancer and I had a very productive week. I won't bore you with all the details, but I will say that I would love to go back. Once I learned what coffee houses really were for, why I was called "klootzak" by an angry woman, and got lost in the Red Light District I thought I'd found paradise.

And when I landed at Dulles and had to go through customs the drug dog peed on one of my bags. Ah, there is no place like home!