Sunday, July 11, 2004

Amsterdam Trip

Annie, Armen and I went to Amsterdam while Brian went off to Paris. I'm not allowed to mention what Annie and Armen did or didn't do in Amsterdam so I'm going to treat this post as if they weren't there and it was just me.

I had left my BritRail pass at Fitzwilliam's but the guy checking for tickets told me it was alright as I feigned searching for it. Just another thing I can get away with I suppose. The departing flight out of Stansted to Amsterdam was late, which was fine by me since it gave me a chance to do some of the 60 page reading for the next Sports Law class. It was a quick flight, less than an hour spent on the plane.

After taking the wrong hotel shuttle - Dorint Sofitel and Dorint Novotel are different - and then dropping off my bags at the right hotel I went to another hotel to have dinner since it was the only thing in the area that was open. The place was a recreated 50's American Diner. Luckily, there was a USA Today paper to keep me company.

I woke up refreshed the next day but didn't get out of the hotel until a few hours later because of people who didn't do anything in Amsterdam, didn't wake up until much later. After I took the train into the center of Amsterdam, I had lunch and then bought myself a Canal Bus pass to tour Amsterdam. It was a good idea since it hit all of the major tourist destinations and it gave you a tour of the canals as well. I got off at the museums stop and visited the Rijksmuseum where, inter alia, I saw this. Next up was the Van Gogh Museum where this was displayed alongside this with this in the next room and this on the same floor. Annie, who wasn't there but if she was, picked up an Almond Blossoms umbrella and some magnets to stick on the fridge. That was it for the museums.

I ended up walking around trying to find the Red Light District but Armen, who wasn't there but if he were, couldn't lead the way even after having asked for directions a few times. Who knew it was so hard to get answered the question, "Where are the prostitutes?" So I walked the city of Amsterdam stumbling upon the sights by chance. Finally, we I made it to the Red Light District.

So basically, the women are behind windows or glass doors and those without the curtain shut closed are available for their services. After asking one of the ladies - asked and only asked, not charged - I found out that 50 euros gets you 15 minutes. And what do those 15 mintues get you? "A fuck and a suck" I was told and everything else too, which includes snuggling I suppose, Brian. By the way, a word of caution, if you go down certain alleyways, though they appear otherwise, they're not women. At the urging of people who were not there I took in a peep show for 2 euros. It was lame. The women behind the glass doors were putting on much better shows to attract customers. Also, it might interest a reader or two or three of mine to know that I found a Thai Massage place there.

After semi-experiencing the Red Light District, we... I mean I... decided to seek out a place that Andrea had suggested, The Grasshpper. So yeah, this being my first time trying to get high I was told by a certain somebody who wasn't there that I wasn't doing it right if I wasn't coughing it back up. Being so advised, I took a long drag on it and tried to swallow the smoke. Much coughing ensued. Now I'm pretty certain it was trying to swallow the smoke rather than the cough I already had from whatever illness struck me last week and has decided to stay with me. I just smoked a single joint - the cheap stuff of course, I mean being a neophyte, how was I to tell the difference between the good stuff and the cheap stuff? - and unlike that Clinton fellow I inhaled, but I'm pretty sure I didn't get high. How do I know this? I still found Armen and Annie to be more annoying than amusing afterwards. On our way back to the hotel we picked up for ourselves a few space cakes. I decided to save mine for the train ride to Brussels.

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