Two Days in Amsterdam

I wish I had more time to tell you all the things I took mental notes on concerning our two-day trip to Amsterdam. But I really do not.  Instead, I will share my general impressions and photos that speak to my musings. Have to hurry, so have to keep it simple, keep it light.


Point the first: Amsterdam has the best fries in teh worldz.

Well, maybe it's the sauce--you can get a cone full of them anywhere--but the homemade stuff we got at Vlaamse Friteshuis was the finest in the city. (Trust and believe we came to this conclusion through rigorous experimentation)The sauces you see are Dutch Mayonaise and Joppiesaus. Granted, to my most of me,  mayo sounded gross, but you need to try it yourself--it doesn't taste like what we have back in the US. Swearzies.

#2
Amsterdam is a bike snob's wet dream

Totally getting out of your way, please keep ringing your bell. No seriously, keep ringing it. This world is your bike lane which I have mistakenly crossed through--pretending I didn't know you've got places to go and that your destination is more important than my own. We're clear. Moving on.

My relationship with law enforcement is much less oppositional when doing what I want to do isn't illegal.

For I have been to Mecca, the cheese is dope there. The dope is also dope there. (YUP) But that cheese, though, we went to a tasting of six different kinds of Gouda. If you're in town, check them out.

Fun Fact: My best friend and I travel well together.

Even if Eurobus had us going nuts.

I didn't take pictures in the Van Gogh museum because no one else was doing it and I hate being chided. However, I remember seeing these paintings:

Sometimes I want to lick the color right off the canvas. 

These were all done during his French period. Dutch paintings are too dark for my taste.
Pictured below is from his time in Holland. 

This was not cherry-picked.

Ever since I read The Botany of Desire  nearly a million years ago, I've been interested in seeing this flower market.

We got there at day break and had the Bloemenmarkt all to ourselves.

It was my first time eating Indonesian food too.
We were wicked stoked to get there just before the early supper special ended.  (I'm a very exciting person, I know...) The coconut milk drink (not pictured) tasted like flavors making love in my mouth....if such a thing was possible and also not disgusting to describe to readers as imaginative as yourselves.
Mmmmmmmmm, delish.

We also came across a lot of great street art.

Though I admit some of those are accidentally cheeses.

New rule: Trust what I know. From now on, we'll always use the application Guide Pal and Guides Gallimard map/travel guide--they've given us great ideas,  easy to follow directions and plenty to try out and explore on a reasonable budget--in London, Budapest and Amsterdam.
I recommend them highly.

Verdict: Amsterdam is the Vegas of Europe. It's a great place to go with a few friends and a lot of money. Book wayyyyy in advance and don't expect the prices to be reasonable on the weekend. We went midweek and would go midweek next time. Yes, we want to go again--durring a different season when we have more money and don't have to take that horrible bus. Eurolines, you're proof that I can't be a diplomat. Thank you. I hate you very much.

Well, that's about it--be checking into the Chipster Diaries if you want to hear more about the foods we tried in the Netherlands. (Linked above is his post about Joppiesaus flavored chips. Check it out!)

And so I'm off--wish me luck. I've got more traveling to get done--we leave for the States today!

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Jam for Jerry

Ay ay ay, Rangers. Raise your hand if you love to camp. Good. Now keep those hands up high if you're desperate enough to settle for sleeping outside. To the lame layperson, there really is no difference. But to the few the proud, the sportif, camping is not something you do for one night in someone's garden. Mais non! It takes weeks of preparation  planning and a good amount of traveling before the hike-in and camp-out  can even happen. Oh yes, it takes true grit my friends, true grit and a lot of trail mix--no chocolate in the mix either, because it friken melts.

Well, with a build up like that, you must already know that we didn't have weeks, or trail mix or frankly even a sleeping bag for each person. It was raining and we were in someone's garden. But Sebastien and I also showed a french chick and a german guy how to get down on some smores. I know the picture makes it look a little gross since there was meat cooking at the same time...and this from a people who refuse to mix fruits and cheeses at breakfast! Nevertheless our "camping trip" was win.
I absolutely adore snuggling up when it's raining and there is just something about small spaces that make me feel safe. Thus, tents equal so much love. We all crowded in to hear Sebastien read from one of our favorite steam-punk settings and eventually headed peaceably off to sleep. Well, not before we got a visit from an ambitious little kitten whom, when he deigned to sleep, preferred to lay directly between the faces of Sebastien and myself. It was oddly calming... Mostly though, he indulged in exactly NONE sleep.  He preferred to be chased in and out of the tent, attack the walls, bite my feet and bat at Sebastien's nose. That was, predictably, not so calming.
We went for a hike the next day in a national forest ripe with amazing climbing and bouldering outcroppings. Sebastien is basically half-scout, half-monkey, so he took to it right away. I'm still more of a 'lay in the sun and wait for everyone to feel like walking again,' kind of climber, but I had fun too.
We've had our hands in all kinds of different tricks lately. We celebrated Sebastien's birthday with a party here at our flat that migrated to a friend's house warming party.

Guess who got potato chips to review for his birthday? The Chipster, Aka Mr. Universe 

The whole gang got down

And many a new  friend was made

 We partied like it was 19-99 (on sale)

It was a great night. The second party was even more wild than ours. Seba and I were some of the first only to leave and we didn't even feel like heading home until 4 am. (Though I hear the 1pm breakfast was quite a thing to miss.)
It was also the 14th of July recently. That's the french revolution holiday where they celebrate the jail break of non-political prisoners, for political reasons. One of the traditional events is attending a firemen's fundraising ball where you get to dance around with cute, drunk recruits for less than bar prices on drinks.

I was  en forme that night, let me tell you. They also have fireworks and all of that typical patriotic stuff, like guns and parades. We skipped all of that--the crowds, lack of bathrooms, lack of trash cans, lack of picnic space, all of it--and instead availed ourselves of a great Vietnamese restaurant where I finally got some good Pho. Everyone has heard of Vietnamese soup, but a good Pho Bac come with the meat still raw--Not the meatballs version, of course--but when you've got the thin beef strips, the soup broth is actually there to cook it. So many times in the States they've waited until it was rubbery and grey to serve it to me. Yuck.
Hmm, what else?
Harry Potter's last movie came out on the 13th here but I waited until Bastille Day to see it in 3D. Just one day early, no big deal #mlib.

Are you a fan?
It's a series of both books and movies that have had a lasting and powerful impact on my life and my relationships. You can laugh at the power of love and it's ability to deflect evil in our hour of need. But I am going to remind myself of the boy who lived...

I may do a whole post just on the Rowling universe. I also plan to post the Tunisian Sfax wedding event very soon. I even have a video blog in the works for you from our observance of Dork Day!
Well, I'm out like a queer kid at the pride parade, but I just wanted to mention briefly that you should check out Fucking Bad Ass Recipe Box. Among other tasteables, drinkables and amusing prose, he's got a great idea for goat cheese meatballs up that I plan to make this week.
Moreover, if your looking for a new read and tired of the same old life/fashion/sports blogs, check out Mounting and Counting. It's a very intimate look at the life of a professional escort. Also, I wasn't able to participate in the KROD this month but click the link for the full list over at Sara Swears A Lot.
Well that's just about all I have time for.
Our flat looks like a bomb went off. I'll be cleaning for awhile. What kind of music do you like to clean to? I'll be listening to a lot of Holy Ghost! while I work. Check out Jam for Jerry, Wait and See, Say My Name and I Will Come Back if you want a good little emo-disco bop as the backdrop to your life for a bit. Oh, you read "emo" and were turned off, wellzers, it's kind of like Depeche Mode, Air and a Yamaha Scratch pad all spun around in one amazing musical buffet. Tapes may get older but It's Not Over, Eat up!

You have read this article Air / Bastille Day / Camping / Chipster Dairies / Escort service / Fucking Bad Ass Recipe Box / Harry Potter / Holy Ghost / j.k. rowling / KROD / Mounting and Counting with the title Chipster Dairies. You can bookmark this page URL https://trendcelebrity2014.blogspot.com/2011/07/jam-for-jerry.html. Thanks!