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Amsterdam has been a mixed experience for us. On day 1, we took a canal tour that was -eeh, at best. The canals are pretty, but they all look the same and the water looks more like sludge. Amsterdam is a HUGE City, and difficult to navigate because the roads are circular, and each block has a different name, even if it is technically the same street!
Outside of the frustration, Amsterdam is an interesting place. The legalization of Marijuana means confusion for tourists, because there are 'coffee shops' on every block which only sell marijuana, paraphanlia and overpriced drinks. If you want a coffee shop that actually sells coffee and pastries, you need to go to a cafe. Confusing at first, but once you know the difference, it is much easier to find what you want or to stay away from what you don't want. Amsterdam is the Homosexual capital of the world, and as such, people were much more open about their sexual orientation. Flaming, I believe, is the most appropriate word. We are talking flourescent hot pink hot shorts and rainbow colored boas, hats, clothing, etc.
Queens day was by FAR the biggest, wildest street party either of us has ever experienced. The number of people was ridiculous, and each and every block had at least one live band or DJ, so you couldn't get away from the dance party! There were food stand and drink vendors everywhere, and there were so many people in the streets, at one point, we literally couldn't move for 20 minutes. Everyone was elbowing, but where could you go? We were packed in so tight it was hard to breathe! Orange is the color of queens day because the king's last name translates to 'orange'. So, everyone in the city was decked out in some sort of orange, and well, we of course had to follow suit, so Deidre got a feathered orange boa, and Will got a Orange Soccer Plush hat. Yup, we look gaudy, but nothing compared to the other attendees. Queen's day is the only day no one needs a permit to sell things on the street, so the parks turn into a gargantuan yard sale. I suppose one man's trash is another man's treasure.
They shut down the city to any public transportation due to the number of people, so we walked from one end to the other (a 3 and a half hour trip one-way) and the party didn't stop ANYWHERE. In fact, it kept going in ALL directions. Needless to say within 7 hours we had enough, and were thankful we couldn't get lodgings IN the city for the night. We took the 45 minute bus ride back to our quiet Best Western in a nearby town, and slept like we've never slept before.
We felt Amsterdam's Queens day was fun, but more of a once-in-a-lifetime sort of experience. There were WAY too many people, and you can only party for so long. Other than that, Amsterdam was kind of boring, since we're not into museums. We did run into one Anti-American at the party, while we were trying to enjoy our belgium frites (fries- which are amazing, by the way, definitely give their fries and mayonnaise thing a shot- it is awesome!), but he seemed as though he had enjoyed quite a bit of the 'space cake' they sell in coffee shops and on street corners that day, and when we walked away he disappeared. Amsterdam is big, confusing, exhausting, exciting, and boring, all at the same time.
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