Tulip Inn Hilversum

... that they are soft and sweet, fresh endive, strawberries as big as the palm of my hand......ready made steak tartare, carpaccio, cheeses and more cheeses - duh its Holland for mickeys sake !! freshly baked bread in allshapes and sizes and then ...... drumroll please........ BOSCHBALLEN !!!
The same way as French Champagne is heaven on your tongue - Boschballen is like clouds that burst into your cheeks and make your heart skip a beat ...

... to a restaurant called Greenfields which was great - we had a lovely lunch - nothing Dutch sadly - we had burgers but Dutch burgers.... they had cheese on !!! lol !!!!
Then we came home and chilled which was great !!!! I fell asleep on the couch more than a few times during the evening. We had dinner - Dominos pizza and then the girls all went to bed and we chatted and watched TV...
By the time it was bed time for the biggies I was shattered ...

... gate ----- this gate was attached to the ground - yes but beyond the gate - A Train !!!! At this point i was thanking Murray - " no mel you won't have to go far - its about 200 metres " in the most colourful way imaginable !!!! So jumped on the train and being the swiss when they say the train will be here in 1 min 38 secs they aint lying !!!!!
Boarded my plane to Schipol - Amsterdam !!!! I flew Eidelweiss Airline !!!! The name conjours up fields of daisies ...

... of the car, announce they're "going to sing until the police move them on" (as translated by Erica!) and proceed to sing all sorts of popular tunes...! They were very good! (The police never came, so they finished their unique busking style, packed up and left after a few tunes - very random!)

...then Erica headed home on her bike (how Dutch!), and I caught the train to my chosen destination...!

... while listening to street performers and watching the world go by. Very relaxing and especially nice to get off our feet for a few minutes. On the walk back to the ship, we asked directions to the Red Light District. We were told "Just keep on this street, you can't miss it'. I know we can't take pictures there, but as tourists we had to see it. Well, what we saw was rather disappointing. Only one or two windows and a few shops. I told Jeff that if I paid to do the ...

... I knew it had to be the guy I met online! Small world! The other couple who joined our table are from Michigan, and believe it or not, they lived in Naperville for 9 yrs (my hometown where I graduated from high school)! It was like old home week! We had a ball at our table and, of course, with all the laughter (and the wine) our table was the loudest! (Unlimited wine with dinner! - Hmm!) Tomorrow we depart for Volendam and Edam (home of the cheese).

... and off I went to Cane , France. The trip was at least two hours long and I enjoyed every minute of it as there was one picturesque scene after another. Massive farms with endless rows of corn and other crops scattered across the landscape as the cattle grazed on lush grass bringing back memories of when I lived in Tennessee with my Grand Parents when I was 13. The ...

... cobblestones and bridges over canals! The house was all done up and I was in a line of people throughout which took away from it but it was good to see where the family hid and it was sad that she died a month before the end of it all. We had fun in Amsterdam and will have to get back to see the Van Gogh museum as we did lose a day or two from substances...ahem. NOT happy about that but when in Rome...wait, we were in Amsterdam..oigh...

... on the Nieuwezijds Kolk, and the radio show was apart of the action, as well as "live" performances by Jim "Bonguru" Spector, SuperDude, Ilene Spain & Her Boys, and John Sinclair & Mark Ritsema on the big stage. Our radio show featured appearances by Sidney and Joeri for the Opening Tokes, Ravi Dronkers, Mark Ritsema, SuperDude, and Cannabis Cup Heroes Garrick Beck and Barry "Plunker" Adams, plus music by Archibald, the Swan ...

... and w*rk-and even a blind man can see h*w much w*rk I get d*ne when I d*n't have t* w*rry ev**y minute ab*ut securing my dinn**. And n*w, back t* *ur regularly-scheduled pr*gram.... (Amst**dam, May 20, 2006)-Reading my Int**nati*nal H**ald-Tribune *v** c*ffee and a j*int at The D*lphins this m*rning while waiting f*r the results *f the ep*chal New Orleans may*ral electi*n lat** t*day, a dispatch fr*m 50 years ag* smacked me in the face, like this: 1956: H-BOMB EXPLODED Ab*ard ...