Amsterdam

A bucket list city…Amsterdam is synonymous with the legality of drug use and all forms of activity that are considered to be taboo in most places throughout the world. Marijuana, shrooms, prostitution, and the infamous Red Light District. These are some of the reasons that many young tourists flock to this Dutch city. I don’t know maybe if I visited in my 20s or early 30s I probably would have participated in some of the shenanigans. Fortunately, I’m a little more mature now…I was able to experience the city simply as a well season adult and take in the scenery…a beautiful city…romantic in it’s own hippie way…a bit crowded, at least in the popular areas…and even more hard to navigate than Paris was…I was late for every appointment…an hour and a half late for my tattoo appointment with @heatherjycheungtattoos…who still met with me and designed an immaculate Sankofa bird tattoo for my leg…I’m super satisfied with the results…I walked around a bit afterwards…the streets were bustling…there were so many bicycle riders…I mean everywhere…I found a liquor store that sold Legendario rum…a Cuban rum…similar taste to Grand Marnier…I’ve been trying to get my hands on some since I visited Cuba in 2019…I bought 5 bottles and sent them to myself via DHL (these jokers sent it all the way to Illinois…15 minutes from my residence only to tell me that I can’t mail liquor to myself without a license and then made me pay another customs fee to send it back to Amsterdam…its still on hold for me today…In Amsterdam!!!)…the next day my Dutch pancake making class was cancelled…I just can’t win on this trip…I took a ride on a boat through the legendary picturesque canal…ate a nice dinner…missed my pub crawl appointment…like I had done 2 nights in a row in Paris…it was all good…still a great experience…I even took a stroll through the famous Red Light District where the women stand in the windows…the tourists and onlookers were walking shoulder to shoulder…it seemed more like a tourist attraction than an actual sex workers area…I don’t know…overall a great trip…I’ll be back…next time when it’s warm…better planned…and to get my rum!

Mondi Restaurant

https://www.mondirestaurant.com/