Boats, bikes, boobs and blunt

It's good to find a comfort zone.  It's something we've been lacking for the first few days of our trip sleeping from place to place without really knowing who will be sleeping next to us, where (or what) we'll eat for our next meal and what kind of bed we'll be sleeping in.  With that being said, finding this boat was a saving grace for us and made us feel settled and grounded.  It's a little houseboat owned by a very chilled, yet eccentric guy named Jonas and his ducks.  Being a little ways away from the Amsterdam hustle bustle it was quiet, quiant and a "homeboat" as we like to call it.

 Chris and I on the houseboat. There's whole neighbourhoods of these on canals.

 These are a few of our neighbours.  The sky was pink last night.

 The ducks that greeted us in the morning. We named them Duckus the Quack and Winston.

Duckus looking into the kitchen : "Yeah you! Give me that toast you're eating!"

 Cooking in our small (yet highly efficient) kitchen.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city with amazing architecture. And bikes.  Lots of bikes.  Everyone rides them.  Actually, anything that goes from A-B can be driven on the sidewalks (except for cars).  We've seen bikes, scooters, quads and even asian Tuk-Tuks on the sidewalk.  We rented a couple of bikes so that we could get around like the locals.  Nonetheless, bíking in packs takes practice, especially with only one bike rule: don't stop.  On the first day I almost hit three pedestrians, two fellow bikers and I got my tire stuck in the tram track.  Despite my mode of transportation, I did NOT look like a local.  Chris was a much better rider than me but we were both a little intimidated by the packs of cyclists.

This is my bike "Sparta"

This is Chris' bike "Cop Killer" (the rental number was 187)

Locals like to bring out their creativity via bike decor.

Amsterdam had me at it's architecture and canals.  We had a habit of bumping into things, my head up, looking at the most beautiful archs and peaks and window shutters and....we did not fall into any polluted canals, phew.

Chris promised to build me a house like this.  Now it's in print.

We saw our share of museums (Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Anne Frank House) cafes and coffee shops.  Now, there is something very precise and different from a coffee shop and a cafe.  You will both find them everywhere in Amsterdam.  In a cafe you order your coffee, latte or other expensive hot drink to dicuss things like the meaning of life or to prove your advanced state of enlightenment.  Okay, and just relax and talk.  A coffee shop, however is a place where you buy and smoke weed. They actually have menus where you can buy different kinds of grass or hash ranging from €6 to €70 a gram.  Sheesh ! Yes, you can also get coffee there and other cold drinks, but it's pretty much just a hot-boxed place to smoke.  No alcohol or tobacco allowed !

This is my fake stoner face at a coffee shop.

This is Chris' authentic stoner face at a coffeeshop.

The nightlife is beautiful here.  It seems like the nightlife here has many faces.  The most netorious one being the Red Light District, with prostitutes, big and small, dancing (or sitting on a stool, chewing on gum, bored out of their mind) behind glass doors with the big red lights over top, waiting for their next customer. Erotic shops and "Sex Pubs" are everywhere too, awaiting those who have come to Amsterdam to take advantage of dutch tolerance.

 Then there's the pub and coffee shop life, where drinkers and smokers meet. It's where you can legally do both...even on the streets.  I'll never forget that guy who ran out of the pub saying "Oh my God ! Feels like I'm having a heart-attack!"  I felt bad for the poor paranoid.

And then there's the beautiful and calm nightlife where you can walk between lit up bridges and admire the swans and ducks swimming in canals who are admiring us on the streets.  Boats are slowly moving through and I almost expect an accordion player to start playing "That's Amore"  before I realize that this is Amsterdam and not Venice.  Hmmm.....romance.

And Amsterdam is a beautiful place.  Did I say that already?  Really, it's not as crazy as I thought it would be.  Yes, everything is legalized but dutch people certainly aren't that much into it and the place has SO MUCH more than just that.   I felt really safe walking around alone and didn't feel any threat of being harassed.  I mean, if guys are looking for it, they can find it in the district.  You know a city's left a good impression when you could stay a while longer.  This morning, Chris and I slouched all the way to the trains station, waving good bye to our homeboat as the train passed by, destined (and looking forward to) the dutch country side of Enschede.