Amsterdam

Is a great city. Walkable. Friendly, Charming. Diverse. I'll admit our entry into this heaven of an urban/esque city was rough. But I was quickly enchanted. Our train ride was smooth, moody and cool. Coffee and croissant helped. Passed thru Belgium ( country # 3) - no passports viewed in European union countries - into the Netherlands. Here is where I state I got permanently lost, in a weird way, for the rest of the trip. The language is impossible. For someone for whom words are vital in a strong way it's odd and a bit castrating to have that ripped from you. Dutch, Danish, gibberish. And "the Netherlands? Holland? I fell in tho. Until safely back in France, at the airport. Into the comforting hands of Air France. But that's foreshadowing.
So train ride: fair. And getting to the JoHell was accordingly: poor. Bad directions from Joel (the airbnb owner). And her place was so so. But we rallied and showered and hit the town. Soon we were eating and drinking and smoking up the place. There were a monstrous amount of people there. The weather: perfect and that's a draw. Red light, check. We'll be back a bit later some day to see a bit of live action. Lunch on a canal at the end of the district. Narrow, mostly walking and scooter, streets hemmed in on one side by canal water and moored houseboats and the other by tall homes with serviceable landings and porches and windows making the most of the outdoors.  Specifics of Amsterdam as it relates to us: tried to get into Anne Frank house, but failed. Perhaps we didn't try hard enough, but it's a hot ticket. We attended Europe's Largest Food Truck Festival on Saturday at Vesterbrook (?) Park. Question marks like the previous one will indicate, again, my troubles with the language there. Luckily our son, M. went to school a semester nearby a few years ago and was an excellent guide! Besides being smart and street savvy, he's about 6'4" and so easy to follow! So at the Festival: civilized European behaviour all around. No entrance fee, just a million bikes parked, neatly, in the lot. No ticket needed, just money thank you, at the food trucks. You can buy beer in a recyclable plastic cup OR bring whatever you want in with you. Big bottle of champagne, Check. We had beer, but the gals we sat near had a few humongous bottles of bubbly. M ate more duck - we all did, he got two and they were delish!
quack,
La