Got back this evening from a weekend in Amsterdam with Steve. Most of you should know he's the fella I met in Ireland over xmas, from Australia. So this makes three countries we have now had "dates" in, and five separate occasions so far we have spent time together;) Fantastic weekend, and a great city with a wonderful atmosphere.
Tired, so more laterz...
10 hours of sleep later, let's hope I can speak more coherently:) Amsterdam really is a wonderful city. The people are vibrant and friendly, many riding around on bicycles (they actually have bike parking lots that hold up to 2,000 cycles!). On our first night in, while trying to locate our hostel, we got directions from a nice older man and his grandaughter (?). He even took out his newly bought reading glasses and ripped off the tag so he could read the address I had and walked us over a bridge saying "follow me and then i'll tell you more." Everyone seems to speak English there, even if it is not fluently.
The weather was the most chilly I've encountered since being away from home, but that didn't stop us from enjoying some Haagen Daaz ice cream on Sunday. They had a fantastic posh shop (Aunt Liz, you would have loved it...will attach a pic soon!). Got some excellent food every day, really, from Mexican (finally...been missing that), Greek (seriously orgasmically good lamb in tangy yogurt sauce), to Irish pub grub, and even a great sandwich on the flight home. KLM is the bomb. Hmmm, I think the only Dutch food we tried, if I am remembering correctly, was baked goods:) Well, actually, we went to a local-ish pub the first night and had some nice meat and potato dishes.
As far as sightseeing goes, we did a lovely canal cruise and saw the Anne Frank house, and just generally did a lot of walking around. Good stuff and highly recommended...
Edited to add:
Ladies, the things we whine about but often take for granted... Fully enjoyed the fact that I could rely on someone else to figure out directions for how to get around the city while in Amsterdam. And had loads of help in planning the trip. Again, good stuff :)
And a funny...to point out more linguistic differences. Here, and in Australia I guess lol, jelly means jello. Imagine what some peeps must think when imagining a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. That was a great laugh!!
13 comments:
the hostel was, erm somewhere;) it was on a street called fokke simonstraazt:) nope, no nightclub---sounds interesting; assume you stayed at a hostel that had one.
didn't see the sex museum i don't think. if i did, i missed the big penis chair...which would be unlikely.
now, my thoughts on the red light district (and keep in mind i just downed a pint very quickly with classmates before coming to the library). digusting. i have no problem with the idea of prostitution being legal in theory, as if this helps sex workers to have a better quality of employment...well, not sure if it would, but if it does, than ok. but in practice, it is a sad, degrading, pathetic thing and no woman should ever be subjected to the kind of men who would pay for the opportunity to have power over a woman in that way. these were no nigh class, power over themselves prostitutes...they were tired out old looking, heavily made up women and i felt disrespectful even chancing a glance at them. what a sad state of things...and pathetic for a city to offer that up as a tourist attraction to visitors.
So glad to see you had a good time =)
thanks erren:) have yet to register on your blog, but will do and be posting soon;)
tried to look on expats for the thread you mention got locked but couldn't find it:(
hahahahahaha:) well boo, i think it's one of the reasons you luuuuurve me;)
i totally understand what you're saying...and in many situations, the power element is...well, not an element. but think about it, who do you suppose is willing to pay for sex? and doesn't that payment imply an element of power? remember, the customer is always right;) would you pay for sex with a stranger? i wouldn't...unless i was the type who wanted someone to be my bitch (and i don't mean that in a nice way ok). and boo, maybe this should be taken off-line, but have you never been in a situation where someone disrespected you sexually? i just can't imagine respectful, pleasure seeking men paying to have sex with prostitutes. does that make sense?
hey....there are things you hate about me:(
Suzer,
I know it's locked. I'll refrain from saying why I think that is. Some people are just small and feel better when they can make others feel that way too... Funny, that's exactly what I told my friend's daughter when she wanted advise on being teased at school... The bottom line is - Girls are mean! lol
Anyway, I think it only got to me because I was upset about something else that happened before it all started. Hell, I started my day with the cat puking on me! =) not a good way to start the day. No worries, though. Today is a different day... I do enjoy your blog.
Erren
new orleans...yeah i was actually thinking about that today, although you have never said anything about a disrespectful aspect of that, if we are thinking about the same thing. would like to chat more about that offline sometime. we need a phone convo soon anyway.
i am tempted to say...black (you know what i mean), but i honestly think this might merit further discussion. i just can't see people paying for sex because they can't get it elsewhere. how hard it is to get sex really? maybe i do have a limited idea of the sex customer. no gender bias...i wouldn't think much of women who paid to have sex either. i completely disagree with you that physical gratification is the goal in paying for sex, and i'm sure there have been studies done on this.
at the end of the day, you know you and i disagree about this type of thing, and no offense intended at all, but my intial reaction to your last post (well, the one before the last one i guess) was to think maybe you were looking at things with rose coloured glasses. i know you think i am a prude sometimes, but i think of msself as someone who has a healthy attitude towards and respect for sex, as long as all involved are being treated with respect.
i will completely agree with you though that the power trip aspect can be subconcious. been there, done that myself, as you well know i am sure. i don't think it is healthy, but it does happen.
remember...i say black, you say white, or vice versa, when we are butting heads about something we know we have to agree to disagree on? cuz you know although we don't disagree just to disagree with each other, there can be some element of that in our debates at times;)
i'm not posing dear...just trying to keep in form for writing papers over here;)
keep in mind i was not calling anyone pathetic, etc but making that judgement about the industry. i do have strong feelings about not allowing or accepting the disrespectful treatment of women by men...or vice versa, i guess, but i see it more the other way around, naturally.
Trespass away, and feel free to share your own opinions;)
hey, if we didn't agree a lot of the time, we wouldn't be such good friends.
and erren, yes, girls can be mean. it's too bad that happened, as the board has many good peeps on it as well. but, when you get a huge grouping of women together, you're bound to have some controversy, clique-ishnes, cattiness, etc...it's inevitable, right;) didn't sound like you felt you were getting much out of the board previously, but hopefully you've made some helpful contacts during your time there.
it's striking me that the comments on this post have all been about negative aspects of amsterdam. don't want to lose sight of what a great city it is and what a fantastic time i had;) can't wait for my next couple of trips. for now, it is on to more schoolwork...bletch:(
Suzer,
Our other conversations in the past are a good example of why I saw something like this coming. It's good to know that that someone else shares my opinion of what happens when you put a large group of women in one place... It never works out for me.
I have to say that I too find it difficult to comment more on some things on your blog feeling like I'm intruding on someone else's conversation =) but I do enjoy reading it all.
please don't feel as if you're intruding. it's not a private conversation, and i welcome anyone's opinion, even if it is in challenge to my own;) well, particularly so, i guess, as it makes things more interesting. boosie and i only represent two voices on a topic that could be a really interesting debate, so i'd encourage you to voice your opinion.
yes, women can be difficult. i have in the past found that i'm better with women one on one than in a group, although there are exceptions to that rule.
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