I’m still exhausted from the flight, but the trip was excellent, and I think the presentation went really well!
Amsterdam is definitely a very cool and unique city! I’m extremely glad we were able to find Jess a last minute flight, and that the hotel didn’t mind her staying in my room (which was booked as a single). We had lots of fun exploring Amsterdam, taking in as much of its culture as we could (and were willing to). Amsterdam is definitely a place where whatever you want, is pretty much what you get, and we quickly learned that there’s lots of things Amsterdam has to offer that we weren’t that interested in 
.
That being said, those elements are part of what makes Amsterdam such a cool place, and I for one applaud them for their forward thinking on many subjects. I’ve personally never felt so safe amongst so many people, at all times of the day / night.
We checked out nearly every major area of the city, and although the hotel was right next to the insane touristy areas we quickly gravitated toward the quieter more local areas of Amsterdam. We tried to find as many local places to eat as we could, and mostly just soak in the atmosphere. It was neat to see some of the [in]famous parts of the city like all the coffee shops, and the red-light district, but I found once we left those areas I got a much greater sense for the city, and I began to understand why people would live there.
I didn’t take many photos, since Jess was along, and hopefully she’ll post some of hers soon, but for now you can check out some of the photos I snapped with my phone if you’d like:
As for the conference — I really enjoyed presenting, and got some good questions from people afterward which was great. My paper is now published in Computer Animation and Virtual Worlds Volume 20 Issue 2-3 (June 2009) by Wiley InterScience.
I enjoyed the research, and the whole process of grad school, but I’m also glad it’s all finally over and done with! The trip and conference was a perfect way to say good-bye to that part of life.
