The time had come…. Long overdue… over six years since the last trip to AMS. My sweetheart companion, Red, a hard core dog lover like myself, as well as an old hippy like moi also, and a sixty something, like moi. But she has wonderful red hair vs. my white hair. Always had a thing about redheads. At my age, Red’s hair (which is Red) is the hottest. The only thing close is a woman with silver hair. It is her very first trip to the Netherlands.
A long good bye to my faithful four legged friend… a severly abused small pit bull who adopted me three years ago. She has me wrapped around her little paw…. We depart the Green Mountains of Vermont for Boston. We stop to visit Red’s mother, a lively vivacious 87 year old, and install her winter storm windows… she is worried about the big hurricane hitting the US east coast. We drop off Red’s four pound dog… who I refer to as the smallest dog in the world.
Then we drive to Red’s college buddy’s house (Red’s buddy and hubby are in Paris). Red’s college buddy did well; marrying into Landed Gentry… the house is in Belmont, Massachusetts, Mitt Romney’s hood. We park the car, take a cab to Logan Airport, then off we are on Iceland air for Rajkavec. Thanks to modern pharmaceuticals, we are asleep before we reach cruising altitude.
We land in Rajkavec. My, what a busy airport for 2:30 am. Duhhh, it’s actually 6:30 am here, GMT. Off again, more sleep. We wake over the UK, and soon are on the glide path to Schiphol. My heart quickens a beat in excitement.
We depart and head towards baggage. I hear those wondrous words, “Mind your stepâ€. We collect our luggage, and I realize we have not gone thru passport control. Red asks the female customs agent, who asks where we come from. “The USâ€. Agent says, “How can that be?†Then we mention via Iceland. More confusion and agent says we do not need passport check and we can leave customs thru that door right over there.
A pleasant surprise… the weather is moderate and sunny! Red puts her sunglasses on. I tell her she won’t need them much… this is Holland, after all. A taxi to the Movenpick Hotel, arriving at 1:30 PM. Receptionist says “I am soddy, but vee have no rooms ready until 3 pm, the official check in time. But I can get you in an executive suite right now for 65 eudoâ€. We politely decline, check our bags with concierge, and hoof it for central station. But I am thrilled to have paid only US &80. a night, a result of my very first time using Priceline name your price. My success is due to Docski, (aka “Docâ€) a Channelite, who is expert and really knows how to game the system.
We walk down Kalverstraat. Red is totally mesmerized. And I mean totally. We wander aimlessly some more, then I take her to De Kuil, aka 420 Café. We order coffees. We are energized again. After a bit, I take her to the weed counter. She is amazed that you can just go into a shop and buy weed. “Yes, Red, it really is true…. Just check out this menu.†I buy a g of Neville’s Haze, a classic Sativa, 13. Euro. We burn some. Instant attitude adjustment. Once again, that magic feeling, stoned again in Amsterdam. Life doesn’t get any better.
We amble aimlessly. I take her to de Dam. She remains in awe of this great city. We go back to hotel for a much needed two hour nap to start our jet lag recovery.
Drat. The hotel directory says soft drug use is prohibited, and violators will be asked to leave. Just like in the US, eh? But I know better, because the very first thing I always do upon entering a hotel room is check exhaust with a Kleenex. Very strong air flow, so we are good.
It is night, so we take the tram to central, then to Warmeasstraat, and eat high off the food chain at Burger Bar. Satiated, we wander into the red light district. Red is awed. “Look at her, she’s a hot one, look at that rack!†Or “She’s cuteâ€. And, “She looks so youngâ€! Of course, having sixty orbits under our belts, damn near everyone looks young to us.
A stop in the Greenhouse coffee shop. We buy a g of Hawaiian Snow (13 euro). Stoned again, especially Red. We hangout… Greenhouse has the same vibe it has always had since it first opened. Good weed selection, bud tenders who are somewhat grumpy with little patience, and bar server women who look like they wish all the customers to depart. Some things never change.
We wander back towards the RLD, and stop into a sex shop. Red is captured by the leather goods, with a naughty look in her eye. We then check out female “toolsâ€. There we saw one device we could not figure out. A 30 something sales clerk comes over, and gives us the full bore sales pitch. And I mean full bore. We politely listen, ask a few questions… more impressed with the sales presentation then the product. After we depart, Red, a professional sales rep herself, gave the clerk a thumbs up.
“We haven’t seen any dogs yetâ€, Red exclaims. I tell her we’ll see plenty once we get into residential areas like the Jordan. We see a few RLD cats lurking in the shadows. That somewhat pleases Red, but she, like me, tolerates cats, but we both know dogs are really where it’s at.
A tram back to the hotel. Exhausted, we collapse. We wake at 9:30 am the next morning… we really slept in… I am usually up and about by 4 am. But hey, this is vacation! And now we see the view from 18 stories high of central Amsterdam and all the maritime traffic.
Once again, in Amsterdam.
Life is good.
28 October 2012
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