sterdam. Initially he also thought Emily was a true gypsy as well. And in
some ways she is... As we drive to Amsterdam we realize the magnitude
of bicycles in the lifestyle of the Dutch. We pass a standard size multi level
car garage filled with ONLY bikes. By 7am we check into our hotel but
can’t get into our rooms yet so Emily and I embark out to find a “coffee”
shop (cannabis) and to watch the sun rise over Amsterdam.
Our hotel is right next to Rembrandt Square which is in the center of Am-
sterdam and has this awesome sculpture of Rembrandt van Rij along with
20+ life size statues representing images from Rembrandt’s painting The
Night Watch. Quite a site to stumble upon when you are completely jet
lagged and slightly stoned at 8am. We continue our walk while the people
of Amsterdam are waking up and making their way to work from the gor-
geous train station. (why are train stations in Europe always these amaz-
ing, historic, architectural monuments?) We zig zag our walk around the
canals and find ourselves at a bar around 9am (The Bulldog) that is open
in the Red Light District to sit for some breakfast and beer. Smoking joints
in the bar, some eggs and wine for me now it’s almost noon and we make
our way back to the hotel to chill before heading back out at night. Night
comes and we fight our jet lag by trekking around in the rain through the
small alleyways that barely fit people coming and going and bridges over
canals while bar hopping through the Red Light District. Lots of ladies
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