WC 2014. #14 & 15

[worldcitizen1723]

Day 14

Rain
All day rain
90% chance of rain and thunderstorms

Cold and rainy
Definitely Not inspired to grab a boat.
Wind and rain and a boat are not an inviting combo
There haven't been any hot sunny days
Those days when you can only think about being around water are not here
It is neit summer here.

The next week looks to be continued cool and rainy weather. So I doubt I will commandeer a vessel this time around. Also doubt very much that we will do wetland safari, due to the dubious weather conditions.

Hammer, I believe recommended the swimming tour bus....but I am too jaded for this experience. Perhaps if the bus was filled with channelites, it would be a different story.

Today is the day we go to DeKas. Again This may be the first time ever we will not ride our bikes out due to rain.

The rain is hard. But the sun pops out Tak wasn't certain if he would do the market
We check the app for rain think it looks okay

Obviously I did not read it correctly. We get to where Tak should be to say hi..
He is wisely not there
And the skies burst open right at that moment
Since his booth is empty
It is the Perfect place to wait out the deluge
Wtf
I do not really feel like traisping thru rain
So I say, I want to go back to the boat
The mate decides we need food and goes off

Message from mrs shaman
Meeting friends from NZ at amnesia
Join us if u can

Well, that is definitely a better scenario for the afternoon than anything I could imagine.

We have a Great afternoon at amnesia
We Met wild bill an Amsterdam fixture
Plus digby and his gal pal. He had been a bud tender at Barney's back in the day.

Came back with enough time
To play around
Take a quick nap
Shower
And then Off to De kas
In a cab
The cab comes quickly
But then he takes us on a convoluted trip.
I tell him he is going a very strange route
He says he is using GPS. After about as much time as it would have taken to bike out there, I say look, I know how to get here, I ride my bike here, you are taking us the wrong way! He shuts his meter off apologizes and does not charge us the metered price. Geez, guess they know how to treat tourists.

Actually, come to think of it, the same thing happened on our trip into the city from the airport. The driver was twisting us in all directions but the right one. I spoke up and off the meter went. Geez, even when we took the dog to the animal hospital -The guy was going in the wrong direction. Thankfully I looked on a map before going and KNEW he was headed in the wrong direction. We actually argued - and then he apologized and admitted he was wrong.
Gawd help the tourist.

As we ride out in the cab, the sun is shining
I curse myself for being worried about the rain.
But somewhere on the trip out it begins to drop buckets of water from the sky
The cab Guilt is being rapidly washed away

Who wants to eat a pricey meal when you are soaked and wet.


It was a Great meal. Definitely worth the effort
The Place is packed
It's a big place by Amsterdam standards
It s Monday
Don't think I have ever sen it this full

OMG
There are kids!
First time I have ever seen kids at DeKas!
In all these years, it was always an adult experience.

Really? Who brings kids to a place like this
Luckily none are near me
But they are everywhere
Mostly I observe kids not liking their food
This is not food for kids, what are these people doing?

However, They did not spoil or impact my dining experience
Taxi home - actually he did the ridiculous trip too - he was called on it and the meter went off... 4 times on this trip so far- that's a record!

We expect to take our bikes and ride thru the city once we get home
Certainly we need to pick up more weed

We get back, take the dog for a stroll, get inside and we are done
No bike
No more new smoke
Just sleep



Day 15

Promises to be a horrible rainy day yet again. when you read the weather reports
90% rain, wind, thunderstorms..sounds like you want to just bury your head under the covers
But there's another reality
This is Amsterdam
It rains
The sun shines
It rains and the sun shins at the same time

So there is this app that is all the rage
I mentioned it early on and I think Tak had posted it a number of months ago
It is so cool! It let's you know when the rain is coming with an alarm. You can time your travels in between the downpours - buienradar
It worked perfectly all day until I touched something on the screen.
You know it's all in Dutch... So there's some guess work involved
And clearly like the choice between sneltram and sprinter I choose the wrong option

Somehow It got frozen in time and I could no longer get the current rain info.
But up to then it was great. I have since mysteriously resolved the problem
This is a really a must have for Amsterdam. Having the power to time your travels - knowing when to stop and when to leave. It's like having a magic genie in your pocket. We bounced around town collecting weed and playing pinball inbetween the raindrops.
We did have one hysterically horrible game at doors -

Rain

More rain

rain

Rainy night simple dinner at home
We decide it's okay not to go out and actually get to sleep before 1am!

We have plans for tomorrow
Big plans

[27guldens]

OMG
There are kids!

It is a plague... :-))

[MileHighDenver]

Nice trip.

A suggestion. Introduce yourself to Marc Jacobs at the Rookies Coffeeshop. Marc is a very nice and friendly guy and he got a new boat a while back. He has been soliciting people to go boating with him for weeks on the FB. I bet you could get a great free boat ride. He would know the best spots as a local and would show you guys an excellent time. Don't hesitate to tell him Bret and Jackie sent you. Just ask him where he keeps his boat and I bet you get an invitation.

Enjoy the rest of your stay.

[boneymaroni]

Rookies still up and running?

[worldcitizen1723]

Thanks MH.

the issue is the rain! There is so damn much rain and it has been on the cold side -- in the 50's. Just not inviting boating weather (at least for me)


i did like this though
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5vm0bl6S04

[MikeFromTx]

Hi WC. What is the name of the app?

[worldcitizen1723]

Hi WC. What is the name of the app?

buienradar

[winnie]

Buienalarm is good too

[worldcitizen1723]

Buienalarm is good too

lol

THAT's why yours looks different then mine! : >

[chigusa]

I knew women did that, I fucking knew it.
I can't blame you, it's a wonder women get anything done at all; if I had one i'd spend all my time interfering with it and looking at it in the mirror.