6.17 FRIDAY-THAT DAM GUIDE

OR

What A Lovely look at A’dam!

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“You Up?”

“Yup”

“You don’t look up.”

“I’m Up!”

“Wanna take your shower first?”

“Yep, you get to Squeegee.”

Well, the water might drain faster if the floor was level and the drain wasn’t above the floor level… Never mind.

We bounce out of bed… ok… drag outta bed and get it together in time to stop at Teddy’s Corner for coffee to go with the Croissants we picked up on the way home last night, just for this occasion.

Coffee, Good – Croissant a bit stiff but good.

Trek to the Stock Market Square – a wreck.

Chuck manages to head straight past the street they need to jog over to get to their destination and while dodging morning delivery trucks, is all the way to DAM square [the CENTER of town and Royal Palace before he realizes that the BIG MUTHA truck blocking half the street also blocked his view of the turn… so… back up the other way, the big MUTHA truck is still there so they miss the turn again.  But even more, they forgot the Camera so it’s back to the Flat, Up the Ladder… er… uhhh, stairs, and back down to try again.

The truck is gone, the right turn is made and the arrive to find… and empty square.

Hmmmmm, Are we too late??? Or Too early???

“Oh, Hello, are you looking for me?” 
Says the Perky Leandra, otherwise known as Lealu, one third of That Damn Guide who pops up as if from the mist.

“We’re still waiting on 3 others, it will be a small group today and that’s good, I don’t have to use my Drill Sargent voice.”

Just then, Ginny & Kishore with their friend Renee in tow from Slidell, Louisiana [New Orleans to keep it simple] come bouncing along and after brief intros around, we were ready to to see A’dam with Lealu.

The tour was scheduled for 3.5 hours but since we were such a small group, Leandra [Lealu] asked if we minded if it went over, there was sooooo much to show us.  A unanimous “Hell No - LET’s GO!” and we were off.

From Beursplein [Stock Market Square] thru the outskirts of the Der Wallen - the Red Light district that surrounds de Oude Kerk, [hey… ya got sailors and hookers, they got salvation] and introduced us to her favorite “Coffee Shop”, [the product is most Definitely NOT coffee – you get that at a CAFE – at a Coffee shop, Smoakables, and Edibles are the bill of fare] there are also other shops all about that sold all the paraphernalia, seeds, grow kits etc.] She then walked us past China Town and the “Jodenbuurt - Jewish Quarter, now totally re-built – with the 60’s architecture not even blending in with the rest of the area.  We stopped for a REAL Coffee break at this neat hotel / design studio / café Called Droog with the neatest Fish Tank display that you'll have to wait for the pics to see.  Then it was  thru Neumarkt, down past the flea market adjacent to Waterlooplein, in front of the Stopera and on and on… too many places to remember, the attached map is an approximate route, and the pics will be up on Picassa as soon as we can get.

Along the way we discovered that Kishore was a Radiologist and Renee’s husband was off visiting relatives, hence his absence.  They were part of a VERY sociable group [we were to find out later] of 40 from Slidell that took only ONE email from a friend who was starting to work with Viking, that  was key to amassing what would be a hefty chunk of the passengers on the Viking Tialfi and the rest is history.  This is the same ship as the Wacky American Tourist and Ever-Lovely Dragon Lady are on… Oooohhhhhh, this is shaping up to be another Great Adventure.

When Lealu concluded after 4.5 hours we were all great friends and Lealu promised to send a follow-up email with lots of great links and the map.  She also encouraged us to go to the “Garden Walk” a once monthly event where you pay to visit several elaborate private gardens but time was not right for us.  We said Tot Ziens to Lealu and told The Cajun Contingency that we would SEE THEM later.

Dragon Chick wanted to retrace our steps to check out a few recommended stops to find tchotchkies for the Kids etc.  So off we go to find the tchotchke shop, and Flea Market at Waterlooplein.  We made it to Waterlooplein, got a couple of T-Shirts for Dave and Jon and promptly forgot the other stop in favor of heading home… but with one stop at Lealu’s favorite Coffee Shop for some brownies.

Hey… it might do good to mellow out before the trip.

Recharging Batteries and a not so quick pizza at Café Italia  [did he really come to Amsterdam for Pizza?] but with the hardest workin’ Pizza lady in A’dam.  It was the safest choice at 11pm and with pics all around, they head back to the Flat-Flat to do the repack and prep for the Trek to the Passenger Terminal and the Viking Tialfi.

A brief word about Lealu And her cohorts at   That Dam Guide

If you're ever in A’dam there are a lot of “Free” Walking Tours – tip at the end.  TDG is different, e25 per person up front guarantees you the ultimate tour of A’dam bar none.  Lealu’s attention to detail, her humor and anecdotes kept the tour lively and interesting and she never missed a beat even with interruptions and questions.  That Dam Guide is the only way to see Amsterdam. 

Tomorrow we will follow their meticulous steps to find the Tialfi, and…

Welll, you'll just have to tune in tomorrow to find out what.

Ciao Voor Nu,

Uncle Chuck & The Really Ready to depart the Flat-Flat.

Dragon Lady