Amsterdam Vacation, 10/10/04-10/16/04

I left DC (National Airport) on Sunday afternoon, 10/10. Thank you to James for picking me up (and being early because he knows me so well).

I started a new book (freebie chic-lit from work called Fashionistas, light and entertaining) in DCA while waiting. I exchanged currency at the airport, trading in my dollars for Euros and I was all ready to go. I transferred at JFK and had a couple hours there. Bought a salad and read almost ¾ of the book at the airport.

Finally out of JFK (I have spent enough time there in October alone to be thoroughly sick of that airport)… Unfortunately because I slept most of the DCA-> JFK flight, I was wide-awake for the JFK-> AMS flight. I sat next to a girl approximately my age. She was from Amsterdam and was very nice. She told me the area our apartment was in was great. The movie was Dodgeball. It takes a certain kind of sense of humor to enjoy this movie. Fortunately I have that sense of humor. I didn't really sleep on the flight.

When I got to AMS, I found out my luggage was still at JFK. It wasn't lost; they actually had my name on a list of bags that were held up by TSA in NY (I guess the two hour layover wasn’t enough time for them to screen my bags). Regardless, so many people warned me about the potential of this happening that I packed my carry on well. They said my luggage would come in the same flight the next day and they would deliver it to the apartment. The positive side, I didn't have to lug that big bag around plus it gave me a good reason to go shopping that first afternoon in Amsterdam.

I met up with Laurie after Customs and we met up with Jenna at the airport hotel lobby. After our first of many GOOD cups of Amsterdam coffee, we got a cab and headed out to the city. It was now approximately 10:30 am on Monday 10/11.

We arrived at Prinsengracht 604 (our apartment) and were greeted by a pleasant Dutch girl who spoke English (as did mostly everyone we would encounter). She showed us around the apartment with its narrow stairs, so narrow we had to leave the suitcases down at the entry hall because they wouldn’t fit up the stairs (apparently in the old days, people in Amsterdam were taxed based on the width of the homes, but height had no restrictions, so you would find row houses about 18 feet wide but very tall, hence the narrow stairs). The apartment was adorable. It had a cute living room, dining room, kitchen on main floor and two bedrooms and full bath on top floor.

Jenna and I shared the slightly larger room with the two single (and I mean single as in tiny, narrow) beds. Laurie took the other bedroom (which had the washer/dryer).

Once settled, we took off to go shopping. Approximately 2 blocks away down was the Leidseplein (ei pronounced like eye). This area near the Leidsegracht Canal had many shops, cafes, restaurants and bars. We didn't know it at the time, but we would come to visit this area, the Leidseplein, often. I bought a cute hat and blouse. Jenna bought sneakers. The weather was approximately 16 degrees C. We then went to a grocery store and worked to translate what we needed, a few basic staples, from English to Dutch. We went back to the apartment, made lunch and rested.

The plan was to meet up with a couple friends who were in town for the Newspaper Convention. Allistair and Jürgen came by around 8/9p and we all went for Thai food (and much wine) at a place called Thai corner (note: one guide book said "Traditional Dutch food is fairly unremarkable. Luckily for us, Amsterdam has a lot of good restaurants featuring other cuisines"). Monday wound down.

Tuesday morning I had to hang around a bit waiting for my luggage (and nursing a hangover). It showed up around 12:30p.

We then took off down (or up?) the Prinsengracht Canal heading to the Anne Frankhuis (at 267 Prinsengracht). We walked through the house and museum. It was really amazing sneaking through the secret passage behind the bookcase and into the Annex where Anne Frank and 7 others hid for 2+ years. After the museum (and a bite at the café) we walked homewards.

We had dinner at a Greek restaurant called Zorba the Griek in the Leidsplein (yummy).

Wednesday we headed out to the IfraExpo (The International Newspaper Convention). This was our first and only experience with the tram (or scary tram as I had named it immediately upon seeing it our first day). Scary Tram 4 took us to the RAI Convention Center. We browsed the convention for a couple hours and met up with a couple people we knew.

After leaving Ifra (again on scary tram 4), we got back to Prinsengracht and headed to the famous Rijksmuseum (only a few blocks from our apartment). There we saw paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer and many others.

After the museum we browsed the stores on Leidsegracht (again) and went home. Allistair met us for dinner and we went to a yummy restaurant called De Balie. After dinner, we parted ways with him and headed back to Leidseplein. We had a few drinks at a piano bar and after 11:30ish headed to the Bourbon Street Blues bar where there was a live band. Jenna recognized some vendors there and we hung out with a group of guys from Denmark. Eventually we walked home.

Laurie and I got up early and ventured out to the Amsterdam Cat Museum (Kattenkabinet). Amsterdam is well known to be a very cat-friendly city.

Initially we were all going to go out to the country this day, Thursday, to visit one of USA WEEKEND's paper mills, Norske Skog. Jenna and I decided we would rather investigate more of Amsterdam instead. So we were off to get lost in the city and Laurie was off to the country.

Jenna and I started at the Van Gogh Museum. I enjoyed this one the most. Saw many of Van Gogh’s famous paintings. Saw many Gaugin's, Rodin's, a couple Monet’s and Pissaro, Toluesse LeTrec and others, bought postcards of my favorite paintings at the museum shop.

Then we started walking, first ending up in a very upscale shopping area we later found out is called P.C. Hooft-straat. Stores included Gucci and Armani. We only window-shopped there :).

Then we had lunch at a little Van Gogh themed Brasserie and more yummy coffee. We continued walking.

We peaked in at Vondelpark.

We entered another shopping area off Huidenstraat (off the Herengracht Canal). More affordable quaint thrift stores and antique shops here. We continued walking. We ended up on a street called Rokin, which took us right into the city center, passing the landmark national monument. We were in Dam Square now. There was an amusement park there (looked like the traveling temporary kind) and Jenna wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. But we all know people die on traveling amusement park rides in foreign countries, right?

We continued north and headed towards Central Station. This area was very different from the other cute and quaint neighborhoods we spent most of the trip in. This area reminded me of Times Square. Lots of lights, lots of stores, lots of narrow streets with brown cafes. This was also near the Red Light District.

We both felt this wasn't entirely a place we wanted to be in when it got dark (and it was getting dark). Don't get me wrong, there were a ton of people around, a very active area, but I was holding my purse tighter here.

We walked back down to our area, walking down Nieuwezijds area (called the New Side of Amsterdam). As we returned to the Canal area near our apartment, it started to drizzle. This was our first sign of rain since arriving in this supposedly rainy city. We had been very lucky with the weather. The drizzles stopped and Laurie called that she was just about back to the apartment. Great timing as we just turned down Prinsengracht. It was probably around 6/7p.

We all met up and rested for about an hour or so, then headed back out for dinner, Leidseplein again, this time super yummy Indian food. After dinner we walked around the canals as it started to drizzle again. We called it a night.

Friday we got up and decided to do a canal boat tour. These were long covered boats with windows on all sides that ride around the canals stopping at various locations. While waiting for our boat, we had some yummy coffee and sat at an outside café people watching the locals and tourists and crazy scary bikers. If you don't know this already, everyone bikes in Amsterdam. That is the main mode of transportation. Old looking bikes with businessmen in their suits, women in skirts and heels, on cell phones, all biking everywhere. And they own the road so you really have to look out.

Anyway, back to the canal boat. We picked one up near Rijksmuseum and took it to City Hall, Waterloo area. This area had a large flea market known as Waterlooplein which we perused for an hour or so. This was also near the Joods Historical Museum. We toured the Jewish Museum and were lucky enough to catch a traveling photography exhibit called Diaspora by Frederic Brenner. It was amazing. We wandered around the permanent exhibit and had lunch at the Jewish/Kosher café (yum).

We took the canal boat further up to Central Station and came back around toward home. It was actually dinner time by now and we walked around the neighborhood, headed home and had leftover yummy Indian food from the night before.

Jenna was antsy to go out since it was our last night in Amsterdam (and our first weekend night since we arrived on a Monday). I felt a cold coming on and Laurie was enjoying a glass of wine and people watching from our window view of the canal. Jenna ventured out briefly and came back to report the Leidseplein was jam packed with people (many drunk/high). Obviously weekend nights are a lot crazier in the Leidseplein. If I was 10 years younger and not feeling under the weather, I may have gone back out, but I was content to sit in our living room, face the large windows looking out at the Prinsengracht and enjoy our last evening in this adorable city. As we people watched, it began to pour.

Saturday am, one last walk down Prinsengracht to the Leidseplein and Leidsegracht and then our cab came to take us back to Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport.

My flight was latest of the three of us so after Laurie took off for Verona, Italy and Jenna and I had one last meal and yummy Amsterdam coffee, I was on my own and had a chance to start documenting this trip (although many details are already lost to the moment).

On the plane for my first leg (AMS->MEM- Memphis) I sat with a gentleman from Belgium. We discussed South Africa, New Zealand, Europe, and U.S.A. That passed about an hour of this 8 hour leg. They were showing 2 movies during the flight, but because of my bad airplane luck, it was an old plane and there was only one screen in the front center about 25 rows up from me so I saw nothing.

I did read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom, review to come.

My first leg flew into Memphis. Am I boring you with details? Too bad. This how I write in my paper journal so that's what you're gonna get.

Customs/Immigration took far too long in Memphis and I barely made my flight (7 minutes to spare). Sorry Michael, no Memphis/Elvis shot glass, no time…

Little puddle jumper back to DC (this time Dulles/IAD). The plane was half empty (seated 50 and had about 23) so I moved to an empty row. I sought out the exit row. I do this usually for 2 reasons. 1- more leg room usually in the exit row, and 2- part of me feels if an emergency were to occur, I would be this total take charge gal, in control, flipping up and opening the 40 lb door and guiding all the passengers to safety.

The 1st air pocket we hit though, with it’s loud thud (these little planes have loud thuds) I thought maybe my whole emergency exit plan needed some re-thinking. In any case, that would not be the day for me to show my bravery, strength, balls if you will.

Back in DC, thanks to James for picking me up! Pictures posted here and many linked through out this entry.

I really thought the city was adorable. They were very American friendly and all the neighborhoods and canals were so cute. I would like to go back again, maybe next year :).

All pictures (100+) posted here.