Sights: the coffeeshops

Sights: the coffeeshops

And, a quick overview.

-Suzanne

Going gaga for waffles

Yes. Finally. A pastry.

Let's try a belgian waffle dipped in chocolate lightly warmed. Heavenly.

Pastry= 1. Suzanne's Diet= 0.

--Suzanne

Love Lady Gaga? So does this accordian player

Love Lady Gaga? So does this accordian player.... Really?

--Suzanne

Modesto residents vacationing in Amsterdam sound off

You know it's a small world when the people getting off the plane, standing right in front of you in the custom's security checkpoint are from your own area.

So, we bumped into Mr. and Mrs. Oudegeest. They were lovely to share a few quick thoughts with us about: their Amsterdam vacation plans and their take on whether legalizing marijuana use in California is important.




--Suzanne

Viva World Cup

All around Amsterdam are signs of World Cup fever. Bars are shrouded in orange flags and paraphanelia. Souvenir shops tout orange boas to go along with the orange wooden shoes and orange boxer shorts or sports bras that say "Go Holland!" Oversized soccer balls adorn restaurant windows. They're ready. --Suzanne





-Suzanne

Landed in Amsterdam

So after a nine hour flight, we have finally landed in Amsterdam at 11 in morning. Our room wasn't ready, so Suz and I had a chance to walk around the city to soak in a bit of the city. First of all, it is a beautiful city, lots of bikes and canals, perfect for walking, narrow cobblestone streets, the vibe is quite mellow. Speaking of mellow, it took 45 minutes before we can smell the scent of cannabis in the air, frankly I thought that was a long time considering how many "coffee shops" we passed by. Quick note: if you want coffee you go to a cafe, if you want cannabis you go to a coffee shop

So far, the first thing in amsterdam that we ate was fries with mayonnaise. Sounds disgusting (fried food and dipped in fat), but surprisingly it tasted pretty good. We also chugged a few beers while hanging out at a "cafe" not "coffee shop".

Oh yeah... lots of orange around town. Holland will face Spain for the World Cup Championships on Sunday. Still can't figure out the orange thing, because the Netherlands flag is red white and blue.

Once we got into our rooms, both of crashed for a few hours (jet lagged). We are ready to begin exploring some more tonight.

-- Ryan