Amster-damn

Let's be honest, the pun potential with Amsterdam was readily apparent.  My trip up to the Netherlands started out a bit bumpy: I was late, the entrance to the highway was closed with no detour route to be found, I couldn't print my boarding pass, I waited in the wrong line twice.  Regardless, I got on my plane, drenched in sweat, still holding my belt from when I walked through security, looking like a crazed, rabid animal.  I wish I could figure out why they didn't treat me better in Milan....

When I finally got to Amsterdam, Tom met me at the train station, fearing my late morning and near rabid state would give a poor impression of America to the rest of the EU.  Once outside the train station, we ooo'ed and ahhhh'ed at the beautiful architecture and the lovely canals as we wandered towards our hotel.  "Oh!  There's a woman clad only in fish net."  Sometimes, I feel like my transition from the awkward 10th grade version of myself to the awkward 27 year old version of myself never really happened.  I still blush at nudity, I still say "That smells like pot, right??" and I still get wildly uncomfortable with sex toys in public (not like they are all that common, but we saw a lot more in Germany and the Netherlands).  All three of these things were very popular around our hotel.  We stayed at the ever swanky Sofitel on the very edge of the Red Light District and wandering towards this Thai restaurant I swore I saw, we got more than our fair share of the Red Light District experience.  Heck, we even saw a group of guys price checking hookers, deciding that 46 Euro was too much.  For what, I don't know, nor do I want to know.  But being one of the few people in our little group of friends here in Napoli who hasn't been to Thailand, I feel like I got a small taste of that lifestyle during our stay in Amsterdam.



But I loved Amsterdam.  And just to show there are no hard feelings about the hookers and drug use, here is my list of what I loved about Amsterdam:

1. Everyone spoke English.  Oh heavenly, easy to understand and converse!  It was a dream!
2. Everything was delicious.   Eggs, brunch, French toast, hutspot (mashed potatoes with onions, beef and cabbage), sushimi, Thai food.  Mmmmmm they had so much food and we ate so much food!!!  It was all fantastic and renewed my love affair with brunch.  Why oh heavens why do Italians hate brunch???  Warm food and alcohol before 10 AM is just good day planning!
3. Shopping: I went to Amsterdam and ended up buying a pair of Italian boots.  Who knew?  I also forced Tom into getting "European dude shoes" (read: pointy shoes) and a "European dude scarf" (read: scarf).  He balked and protested about both but during a sudden snow storm realized that the dude scarf is pretty clutch.

We wandered the streets and along the canals, taking breaks for coffee (but making sure that we weren't inadvertently wandering into a hash house which are also called coffee shops) and snacks, snickered at the public urinals and those using them with shame and tried to not get killed by bikers with seemingly cheerful bells who would definitely break a rib if they caught you with their handlebars. 

I can't wait to go back whenever Tom has business up that way again.  It was lovely and different and helped the 16 year old me grow up a bit to become 27.