TITLE CHOICES
1-When Americans are not the most hated!
2-Drag Queens Unite!
3-They'll be dancing. Dancing on the boat.
4-Strange Orange Circle Thing In The Sky
I was in Amsterdam last week and got some great pictures of the area. The weather was phenomenal which almost never happens there so I took full advantage of it and got out of the hotel and poked around the city a bit. Hope you enjoy.
It just happened to be Gay Pride Weekend which I thought was kinda redundant given it is Amsterdam but the city was gearing up for quite a party. I was there all day Friday and Saturday morning so I didn't have a lot of time to get out and enjoy the festivities but there was certainly a festive feeling. As I was walking back to the hotel after my journey through the city it was approaching dinner time and like most European countries dinner takes an extended period of time in The Netherlands and given the beautiful weather and the party feeling in the city it was quite the revelry. The street was lined with restaurants and pubs all filled to capacity with patrons. The street was also filled with people moving about, finishing up their work weeks and looking to relax, it was a great atmosphere. Also, filling the streets were (opportunity for title suggestion #2) DRAG QUEENS. They were everywhere and the dinner patrons were eating it up! The queens were meandering from outdoor patio to outdoor patio pausing to take pictures with the diners and pub patrons. Quite the scene!
(title nominee 1) Part of that festive feeling was also the weekly invasion of the British had happened. Seems that the British Pound is performing quite well against the Euro (heaven knows I wish the same could be said for the US dollar) and the Brits have taken to summer weekend getaways to mainland Europe cities with Amsterdam being at the top of the list. The pubs fill up with Brits who then start their weekend. Soon, they are drunk and singing ridiculous soccer songs at the top of their lungs. For a brief three days the Brits make Europe forget about "The Ugly American". God Bless the drunkards!
To give you an idea of the mood of Amsterdam last weekend I offer you this (title nominee #3). I was walking through the streets in my typical fashion, which is rambling and not paying attention and had passed through the famous red light district of the city. It isn't seedy and it isn't something that you have to go looking for, it is just kinda there in the middle of it all. I had passed through most of it and was walking down another nondescript street with a canal through the middle of it when I heard the unmistakable sounds of CLUB MUSIC. I thought that it was possible that it was something to do with Pride weekend and all, but no...it was a boat on the canal with two women dancing their hearts out and a guy driving it. No apparent reason for it, just pretty typical Amsterdam...or as I like to call it sometimes, Hampsterslam.
(Nominee #4) THE SUN SHONE IN AMSTERDAM. In 7 years of flying I've NEVER seen the sun in Amsterdam. I've had to have been there 20 times and never saw it! And there it was..in full glory and gorgeous. It was remarkable!
Enjoy the pics..I'll post a couple more on the next post. Notice the parking spot against the canal..NO GUARDRAIL. Now THAT will make you a better parallel parker for sure!
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