Hotel Medemblik

... couple in bodysuits that I think were meant to hide how fat they were, a VERY energetic black couple, a woman who could smoke a cigarette and blow smoke rings without using her mouth, a male stripper in a mask who should have kept his mask on, a pregnant female stripper who couldn't dance and a masturbating man in a gorilla suit!! We left the show and went for a walk through the alleys back ...

... but to protect the authorities from the people of the city. Are you starting to get a picture of how they see themselves? They are also known as noose-wearers, as they were forced by the Emperor Charles V to walk through the streets barefoot, wearing a noose around their necks and ask for mercy, after they got particularly insubordinate one time. Anyhow, after reading all this, and getting myself mentally prepared to deal with these difficult sounding people, I found the ...

... were out on loan. My attempts to show Matt why I like Vermeer so much seem to have been thwarted at every attempt on this trip, although he did like the few that he saw. The lower floor of the Rijksmuseum is a display of a variety of riches from the Golden Age. I had never realised that the Dutch were one of the richest nations in the world in the 1700s due to trade with the East by the Dutch East India Company. I also never realised how much this shaped the ...

... no, Barney's was more like an EMPIRE. There was Barney's Farm next door. Across the street was Barney's Uptown. I asked one of the guys what the difference is. He answered (with accompanying hand gestures), "There you can drink and smoke, there you can eat and smoke, here you can buy and smoke." Coffee shop is an infamous euphemism. Barney's at Amsterdam is nothing like the Barney's Coffee at the mall or Barney's New York. I ...

... pattat and loempia our mission began. 6 50 for a have you met the muffin man space muffin seemed pretty steep but the chop chip muffins were irresistable. Me Tim and anouk munched down the soft and moist muffins in jiffy. We were told just to go on with watever rather than wait for the effect as it can take up to 2 hours ! We then went to the sex museam which was really funny as tim already looked pretty stoned:P .. anouk and i was still feeling fine so we ...

We took the train up to the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. Here we saw the Rijksmuseum (art museum with Dutch artists), Van Gogh Museum, and Anne Frank house. We didn't make it to the Red Light District or any of the coffeeshops (which sell marijuana).

... and the gorgeous Vondelpark and along canals. In the park, people practiced Tai Chi, Capoeria, played soccer and chilled out. I was cruising around on the bike feeling just dandy. Once IŽd returned the bike, I walked around the streets in search for Moondog, an electronic fashion shop. They have another shop across town called Fullmoon, so I went across town to find it. These guys sell magic mushrooms, grow kids, legal opium, san pedro, peyote cactus ...

... LA, Antony -French, Jonathan -from San Diego!). Long story short, everyone got wasted, we went to another bar as well where I f'ed up my shin somehow (woke up with a big gash and huge bruise). Also at that bar everyone there (not just us) spontaneously burst out in Bohemian Rhapsody which was awesome. ended up going to bed at around 7am. which was awesome at the time but not so much the next morning. had SUCH a fun time that night.

... s old family-friend, Theo, and Theo's family. We met Theo's wife Josie, and his two daughters, Petra and Estela. I hope I spelt the names correctly. If I havn't, please email me and I'll fix them up. Petra was close to Natasha's age and Estela was just born this year, on the same day as Natasha's birthday! March 29th. I took lots of photos, and once again, I'll upload them when I have a chance. One the way back to the other house, we went by the dijk that was blown up ...

PICTURES! After we arrived at Tante Jaqueline and Om Benard's house, we had some food, then we went to sleep... OH, how welcome this rest was, after not being able to sleep on the plane. (Natasha was too excited!). We slept for a few hours, then we got up and had more to eat. According to my mum-in-law, Dutch people like to eat lots of bread and cheese ...