The cast of The Real Housewives of Orange County is gearing up for an exciting trip together. They’ve chosen Amsterdam as their destination, and the reasons are plenty: the legal highs, picturesque canal tours, and a personal moment for Heather to spread her father’s ashes. Add Emily’s knack for stirring up drama, and it’s set to be a memorable adventure.

In anticipation of her upcoming wedding to Ryan, Jenn is the guest of honor at a spontaneous garden luncheon hosted by Shannon. Jenn, however, prefers to not label the event a “bridal shower,” as she’s not fond of traditional bridal customs.

Gretchen is the first to arrive and engages in a conversation with Shannon about recent conflicts, particularly involving Tamra. Shannon advises Gretchen to rise above Tamra’s provocations to avoid becoming her mirror image. Gretchen, with a list of reasons she differs from Tamra in hand, assures Shannon she’s not like her. Shannon hopes the two can maintain a peaceful demeanor in honor of Jenn’s celebration.

As Jenn arrives at the luncheon, Shannon encourages the group to share marital advice, despite most of them being divorced—except Heather. Tamra advises caution with words spoken in anger, while Shannon emphasizes the importance of communication. Emily believes everyone has a soulmate, Gina warns Jenn to maintain her individuality, and Gretchen underscores the role of faith in relationships. Heather adds a light-hearted touch with her “let them” philosophy and a humorous reminder not to pass gas in front of your spouse.

Jenn arrives at her unofficial bridal shower and Shannon asks the ladies to give some marriage advice…except they have all been divorced…minus Heather. Tamra reminds Jenn when you get mad and say mean things, you can’t take it back. Shannon lets Jenn know communication is key and Emily states that everyone has a person.  Gina reminds Jenn not to lose herself and Gretchen stresses faith in relationships.  Heather’s “let them” attitude is the most important bit of advice, oh, that and don’t fart in front of your husband…

Emily suggests that because everyone is getting along, they should go somewhere and celebrate their friendship. Shannon talks about Amsterdam, a favorite city of her daughter’s, and we learn that Heather’s parents lived there for 15 years. They decide, right then and there, that Amsterdam is the next group destination.

Over at Heather’s LA penthouse, the sale of their house is slow moving, but it’s better than being stuck in a house that’s a construction site for the next three years.  Speaking of houses, Heather talks about her parents’ living in Amsterdam and how her dad worked for an international company.  She recently received her father’s ashes and so she figures she can dump his ashes in Amsterdam, one of his favorite places. Despite not having a close relationship with her father, she feels this is a great way to honor him.

Travis and Gina head out for a date night. She is thrilled that things are moving in the right direction with his children and now that the stress is off Travis, things are looking up. Travis thanks Gina for being his partner as he navigates this messy chapter with his ex and Gina’s sole focus now is to create a loving, stable environment for the kids. 

As Jenn packs for Amsterdam, she talks to Ryan about Shannon’s thoughtfulness for throwing her a (bridal shower) lunch.  This sparks the whole wedding conversation, something that Jenn is nervous about.  She worries that once they tie the knot, her relationship with Ryan may break.  Deep down, Jenn knows that the only thing that would ruin their relationship is her ex, despite him getting better at co-parenting.

While at their date night, Tamra voices her concerns about her daughter’s new boyfriend.  She is fearful that Sophia may not want to move away for college now that she is seeing someone.  Eddie hopes that when Sophia does go away, they can move out of state, but first they need to work on communication as a couple.  Eddie states that Tamra should never drink for relationship purposes, as the booze makes her mean. This is not news…

Later, the ladies get onto the plane, spend thirteen hours in the air, and land in Amsterdam, the city of canals…and bad outfits.  The leather, lace, and everything in between is not quite matching the canal tour vibe, but it is nice to get a peek at Heather’s parents’ old place.

Because everything is going so nicely, Emily decides NOW would be the perfect time to ask Shannon if she thought Tamra was making a dig at her when she brought up Shannon’s dad’s drinking.  Give Emily a few glasses of champagne and off she goes, stirring that pot! Tamra claims that Shannon can never move on and asks Shannon repeatedly if she is a “c*nt.”  Maybe they can blame their behavior on jet lag?

They “stick a pin in it” and split up into groups.  Heather, Shannon, Gina, and Gretchen head off to get stoned and Tamra, Jenn, and Emily go “d*ckorate” a penis.  Jenn opens up about her vagina surgery and how she got a save the date for Alexis’s wedding.  

Speaking of Alexis, Heather can’t seem to understand why Shannon is so good with Jenn, considering Jenn is tight with Alexis.  According to Jenn, she told Shannon that she will NOT be attending the wedding, since she knows that move would set back their friendship big time.  Emily wonders why Jenn would cut Alexis off for Shannon, which is rich considering Emily lost her marbles when Tamra met up with Katie.

Emily goes on to wonder if Shannon merely did the luncheon for Jenn to make herself look good and to be sure she had someone in her corner.  Currently though, Shannon does not even know where she is, as she has ingested some space cake and is now high as a kite. 

Gretchen, the only sober one, wonders if there is any moving forward with Tamra and she gets an earful about how she should have never brought Slade along for the confrontation.  Gina feels like Gretchen should stop reducing herself to Tamra’s level.  Clearly fighting fire with fire is not working out.

The groups gather at a restaurant and Shannon can barely keep it together.  Tamra actually assists Shannon find her hair clip in a rare moment of dos amigas and it seems like all is right in the world.  Post dinner, they head to the red light district, a freeing and sexy experience, according to Jenn.  Now that everyone is getting along, things are fun…but we all know that all good things come to an end…

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