The Final Dutch Day: Amsterdam December 29,2008

The boys of the Glover family needed to go to Amsterdam in order to talk with the embassy about updating their passports and so we took a day trip to Amsterdam. While the family went inside and since I'd forgotten to bring my own passport with me I walked around a large park area for a little while on my own where I saw several neat buildings and the street (literally) of nothing but museums. Afterwards we went to lunch and continued exploring. I experienced Amsterdam's many sides, shopping, food, and even a bit of the "red light" district where I saw several cafes not meant for drinking coffee. I'd already known to expect the cafe culture as a little different from what I'd been used to and I knew that weed was legal as well but it still came as a shock just how common it had become. I saw many other interesting and amusing things including the grand central train station, the mall that appeared to more of a castle then a mall, and even the bicycle parking garage filled with bycicles. As well I experienced new flavors of puff pastry like things with powdered sugar on top, a Dutch version of the Croquet at McDonalds, and hot chocolate. A sweet ending to a sweet day. The next morning I was off for the airport to head to Italy with sweet Dutch memories to bring along with me.