Amsterdam Cont.

Yesterday started with way too many cappuccinos. By mid day I was reminded that my central nervous system short circuits when I indulge in too much caffeine. Note to self; jet lag is preferable to a tour of Amsterdam's public restrooms.

We took a boat ride through a few of the city's 100+ canals. There are waterways and bridges everywhere. The canals are like streets and traveling by boat was an amazing way to see a number of the neighborhoods. The city is a wonder. We floated by hundreds of houseboats and centuries old row homes. Amsterdam "claims more historic buildings sites than any other city in the world".

Amsterdam has a population of 1.36 million people (including suburbs) and it's obvious when you try to cross the street. If you've every wondered why most Europeans don't have to worry about buying two seats on an airplane when they fly...its because they get off their big fat fannies and walk or ride their bikes EVERYWHERE. In the city there is a car lane and a designated bike lane. You really have to watch yourself when walking in the city...you could easily be maimed or killed by a fleet of well dressed Dutch people commuting to work on bikes. Evidently there are about 600,000 bicycles traversing 400 kilometers of bike paths and they have a much bigger problem with bike theft than car theft. The people are disgustingly fit and quite tall. I was beginning to get a complex, so I looked it up on Google. The average height for men is 6'2" and 5'8"- 5'9" for women...so I'm not nuts,they are a race of giants. Actually, I feel sorry for them. Being vertically challenged, like myself, has it's pluses. After a long night of indulgence, I hardly have to bend over to take my socks and shoes off. I'm also not tempted to spend tremendous amounts of money on new fads like "skinny jeans" or those boots you wear over skinny jeans if your legs are the same width as your arms.

I've noticed that the weather is very similar to the Pacific Northwest...Bi-Polar. Yesterday we had fog, rain, wind and a few sun breaks.

Last night we met up with two good friends from Dublin, Richie Evans & Maire Scully. Tony stayed at the hotel with Lucca while I gave my liver a work out. Thankfully, I'm was none the worse for wear, even after topping off the evening with some questionable falafel at around 2:00 am.

Today we took a train to Alkmaar, a wonderful small city just a short train ride from Amsterdam. Justine, a PAUNDY member, is from the town and wanted to book a show at a local club for friends and family. PAUNDY has had an amazing tour, sometimes playing to sold out shows and Alkmaar is their 2nd to last gig.

I've heard that Amsterdam is an anomoly when it comes to the rest of Holland (imagine the rest of the world thinking that Vegas is a classic all American city). Alkmaar is well worth visiting. The older historical center is very well maintained and they are known for their cheese market. I was really looking forward to chowing down on some of Hollands finest, but the cheese market isn't open this time of year. Instead...we ate at a Greek restaurant. You may be asking yourself, "Why did they choose a Greek restaurant in Holland?" Well...my stomach is asking the same question now at 1:20 am. Between the cappuccinos and the Greek food, I should be fitting into those juniors sized "skinny" jeans by the time we get to Sicily.

Coffee shop vs. cafe

Lucca and I arrived at 7:30 am Amsterdam time (11:30 Northwest time) after a 9 hour direct flight from Seattle. Who needs mind altering drugs when you can hop on a plane and "skip the night" as Lucca put it. We are completely delirious but I know that if we go to bed now...we are just prolonging the jet lag.

We flew with some friends (Amy McCabe and her daughters Ava and Kate). Drew McCabe is in PAUNDY with Tony and the band has been doing a whirlwind tour for the last 10 days. Tony looks like he's lost a few pounds...must be that new European Dunhill /Vodka diet. I'm pretty sure Keith Richards invented it.

A funny thing happened while we were waiting to get through customs. There was a line for members of the European Union and a line for non EU members. Our line was pretty long and the official at the European Union line didn't have many customers. She looked directly at us and shouted "Americans!" while waiving us over to her booth. What makes us so easy to spot? I'm pretty sure that the Hawaiian shirts, fanny packs and large bags of Ruffles potato chips didn't give us away.

The last time I was in Amsterdam I was pregnant with Lucca...now that was fun. It was New Years Eve, in one of the most permissive cities in the world and yours truly got to watch everyone else getting plastered. As I walked around today I marveled at all of the canals, cool old row homes and the abundance of sex toy shops. Everyone is riding bikes, and there are a surprising number of stores selling Obama merchandise. Seems that while we are railing against the president for not fixing our country overnight...the rest of the world is still elated that George and Cheney are past tense.

Tony has another concert tonight. He warned me as he was leaving the hotel not to take Lucca into any "coffee shops". Seems that if a store calls itself a coffee shop, in addition to coffee it carries a wide assortment of marijuana products. One of the more interesting items is referred to as "space cake". Hmmm....might be a good thing to serve at Open Houses if you want prospective buyers to linger for a while.

Getting Ready

Getting ready to head out for a 6 week trip to Sicily. Hoping to find some Sicilian buyers agents who specialize in fitting difficult clients with those special cement shoes. Spent a lot of time getting Lucca's passport. Note to self...if you need to get a passport fast...bring a coleman stove and a sleeping bag. Took about 2 days. MC'd for the Habitat for Humanity's annual fundraising breakfast at the Bremerton Convention Center. Wonderful experience. Great organization.

Three bottles of vino later at my sister's house and I'm watching the olympics. I'm pretty sure that I was built for the bobsled race. Have you seen those girls legs?!

My husband is living his garage band fantasy while doing a European tour. Seems the band is a huge hit in Poland.

My 5 yo son will be attending an Italian pre-school in Italy. We might need to teach him a few words of Italian first.

Off to Amsterdam tomorrow.

I will attend cooking school.

And I'll blog about it!

Follow me on my adventure!