December 3, 2011
I had just made it to Amsterdam and it was pouring raining! Although it was dark, I could tell that the city was beautiful. Before going to our hotel, Diamond and myself took a tram to eat. We saw so many things along the way including lots of marijuana shops. I was shocked! We went inside of one and to my surprise they gave us a menu. I started thinking–a menu? Are there that many things to choose from–It’s weed!! I wasn’t interested, not even the slightest bit but I couldn’t get over the fact that marijuana was treated like a meal.
Shortly after we left, we walked the streets to sight see and then got back on the tram headed to our hostel. Once I got off I realized I left my umbrella. Nooooo! I was so upset. I didn’t know how much more it would rain while I was there and on top of that, it was my favorite umbrella.
We went to bed and the next morning we went to breakfast. I had a pancake with bacon cooked inside of it. Diamond had a egg sandwich. It was delicious! We wandered about the streets and took a galore of photos of the homes. The city is built along a river/canal and the residences were town houses. I loved it! I also noticed that lots of people ride their bicycles here which makes sense because there aren’t roads to drive cars on. I even noticed the stop lights just for bicycle riders. It was pretty cool! We decided to go to the Van Gogh Museum and then later we ran into the I AMSTERDAM sign. I always saw these types of pictures on social media and finally I got to take one.
After we left the sign, we strolled through a park. It was very green and pretty tranquil. In one of the ponds I saw a beautiful white duck. 🙂
Later on, we decided to take a boat ride on the canal. Our tour guide was awesome. He explained to us the history of the city and how today it has become a major tourist attraction.
The Boat Ride:
After listening to him tell us about the history and also part of the Anne Frank story, we decided to go to that museum as well. I have to say, that was the highlight of my trip. Being inside of the actual Anne Frank house was a dream come true–who would have ever imagined? We weren’t allowed to take pictures once we got inside, but uh, I kind of disobeyed that rule. I had too! I’m inside the Anne Frank house! Once we got to the revolving door, I took a picture…fast! It’s not the clearest photo, but hey, I got one! As I walked through the museum my heart broke reading all of the quotes on the wall. This was such a sad and awful time in history and I could feel that vibe walking through the house.
The Anne Frank Museum:
By nightfall, we decided to go to the The Red Light District…oh boy! I don’t know if you’ve heard but it was interesting, I mean it was really something. The area really has red lights, and it is a strip of doors with red lights inside of the rooms. Every now and then, I would see a female look through the curtain on the window of the doors.
Again, we weren’t supposed to take pictures in this area, but I needed my family to see this when I got back. So I did. As we walked on, we came across some theaters that show movies! …and no, not regular movies. These are live sex shows.
I don’t know what me and Diamond were getting ourselves into. I was so uncomfortable during the show that I just kept giggling. Like what is this! Am I really seeing what I’m seeing? You are watching porn basically, right before your eyes. I will not forget that lady who came on stage and put a smoking cigar in her vagina and made it blow out smoke. INSANE! …soon we left, I had enough.
The next day, we did more walking and we went to a number of other museums…again one was a sex museum. I kept thinking to myself, Amsterdam, what’s going on? Weed, sex, money…lol. I couldn’t be mad though because I hadn’t been anywhere else like Amsterdam!
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