The people were extremely friendly when inquired about street trams and directions to the hotel. Since we stayed at the Tuna Hotel in Brussels, it is only appropriate that our hotel in Amsterdam is called the Iron Horse.
We got to Amsterdam and had no idea we arrived on Pride weekend! This is apparently one of the busiest weekends in Amsterdam. The city has the flag flying everywhere! So instead of easing our way into the city, we decided to head out and meet up with Matt's friends who are also here, and one who has been working here for three years.
We were suppose to meet up at the Drag Queen Olympics, but we were provided with the wrong site, therefore totally missed out after searching the city for about two hours! Instead, the rain chased us into a trendy restaurant where it was busy with great food and cheap cheap beer!
This amazing appetizer bruschetta plate was AMAZING!
The night, we attempted the meet up again, this time it worked out! We met at the street party in the heart of Amsterdam. The atmosphere was buzzing, and people were having a great time! The street was decorated with rainbow balloons and confetti flying everywhere! The crowds in bars spilled out to the street and so did the music and dancing. Now why can't Vancouver Pride Street Party be like this?!
Now what I will not miss about Amsterdam are the locals who walk with you alongside while offering you all sorts of illegal substances. They were VERY persistent.
We then headed out to a local dance club called Roque. This was a night that made me missed my friends at home! THe music was mostly top 40s, and when Starships came on...well this is what happened...
This song reminds me of my friends at home.
The next day, we went out to the Pride Parade. This has to be by far the coolest Pride Parade I have been to. The floats are actually floating on the canals of Amsterdam. The entire city seem to be celebrating diversity. Young, old, families, gay, straight, the crowd was great! Everyone just seem to be in a great mood even when a 10 minute shower poured down during the start.
The participation in terms of the amount of people on each float was shocking.
At night, I had my fix of Dutch cuisine. Boerenkoolstamppot was the dish of choise, recommended by the server. This dish was essentially mashed potatoes with cabbage. This topped with a gigantic meatball on top, needless to say, after this meal, dancing was NOT on the menu! Instead, we decided to take it easy and do what we took for granted back at home, watch a movie at a theatre.
The movie, A Friend For the End of the World, was surprisingly good. It was somewhat of a romantic comedy but with no happily ever after. This movie touched me on many levels. What I did take away the most, I think, was to treasure every moment you have. This movie definitely made me feel a bit less guilty about taking my trip, and leaving everything else on hold to experience life.
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