Ahhh Amsterdam. I've dreamed about you for years. The image in my mind has been a sweet affair. Canals, bridges, ringing bike bells and coffee shops. It has been like that perfect crush where the imagined relationship is perfect, there are no flaws no warts. No promising you will call and then never do....umm...ok, that was another crush.
Well, so far you are meeting my expectations, plus giving just enough discomfort to want more. Call it a slap and tickle from a country. It's been a long time getting here, like years, so when we finally landed this morning, it almost seemed surreal.
Well, we had a wee bit of trouble with the train ticket machines not accepting our cards so after not having a smoke for over 13 hours, we decided to step outside, have a smoke and re-group. So sweet Jebus it was flippin' cold and windy. I mean, made my face feel like it was going to fall off cold. As luck would have it, we were able to hook up with a cab and let me tell you it was worth it. I had read a lot about the cab drivers being dishonest and stuff but that was not our experience. We caught a cab/van to our hotel, Eden Rembrandt for 35 euro, not a bad deal as it was split b/w 4 people. We actually overtipped, but hey, it's better to be generous than not. Plus I'll call it my good karma tip. Let's pass that shit around.
The hotel is nice, small, but nice and very modern, plus we were able to check in early which is nice after sitting in an itty bitty plane seat with coughing people around you. If you know me, you know what I wanted to do....visit the coffeeshops. Luckily there are a bunch around our hotel and ended up checking out a small place by our hotel called Sevilla. Now I'm sure there are better places with more selection and we even had pre-rolled, but it was perfect to get us settled.
The budkeep was a very cool chick and she made a great cappacinno. There is a super smokey back room where you can smoke both week and tobacco with a nice foosball table. Since there are different tolerance levels in the group, we went for a no mix pre-rolled Jamacain, nice. It was mellow enough, but I was still able to leave after and walk around. I really liked the vibe there, the other customers were cool and laid back and of all ages.
After dragging ourselves out of there we decided to cruise somewhere else, how is that for vague? I still don't have my bearings. Well we walked around for awhile, saw some stores where I can do some serious damage and then decided a little beer and food would be just what the Dr ordered. So we popped into a nice bar/restaurant called Cafe Kale. The bartenders were nice, the place was cozy, and the food was great basic fare. We shared some lovely tomato soup and a plate of ham, eggs, and cheese. Yummy!! The best part of the visit was that it started some crazy ass hailing outside and this Dutch fella came in with his dog. Guess the dog's name, come on, guess....ok, it was OTIS!!! Well Otis was a hit with all and we had a nice chat with his owner as well. The coolest thing is that Otis does the same sit up on his but trick as our Otis. Dutch Otis and SD Otis are kindred souls across the ocean. Who knows, maybe they will meet some day.
I could really love this city, weather aside, that kinda blows, but the atmosphere is wonderfully full of dark and light. Leaning black painted homes with white trim over canals, friendly locals willing to stop and chat, quick smiles, smoking out in public while having a coffee and everyone recognizing that it's no big thing and just makes life a little nicer. We walked by a hair salon and I glanced up and in off the street. Oh those lovely hairdressers, two men with cafe au lait skin and long spiraling curls. Turning those beautiful women in their chairs, all of it looking like it could be part of a Vogue editorial.
Let's see if my crush turns into real love......
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