Day 5
Today was a bitter sweet day for sure. We awoke at 8:30am with the knowledge that this was our last full day in Amsterdam...shit
Trying not to dwell on it too much we got ready to leave for the St. Nicolas tour we had booked a couple days prior. Needless to say, it was a bit hard to cut through the fog of our morning daze (I'm sure the copious amounts of Cheese we smoked the night before wasn't helping
). We were beginning to run late and decided we'd catch the next shuttle and still make it on time. Mmm...yeah, that didn't work so well. Moving a bit too slowly, we ate our rolls that we had purchased from the AH the previous night and then realized we needed to sprint downstairs to catch the shuttle. So we grabbed all of our shit and flew down to the shuttle's departure point......only to find that the shuttle had left already! We were literally 30 seconds late! Now we were pissed because missing this last shuttle meant there was no way in Hell we'd make it down to the Leidsplein on time. DAMMIT!
After catching the next shuttle we boarded our daily train to CS and tried to decide on what we'd do today now that our plans have changed....again. Without putting too much thought in to it, we ended up walking down the Damrak towards Boom Chicago just to see if we could book a tour later in the day. Again, we marveled at how easily we were getting around now. It's quite a good feeling to be able to say, "Alright, let's head down to here/there.", and then actually
know how to get there by taking the sidestreets and alleys that the tourists avoid. It worked out really well because we saw a bunch of new places we hadn't noticed before...like the Sensi Seedbank!
Our first day was obviously a blur and after entering the shop I remembered that hippy had taken us right past SS. I chuckled a bit to myself and thought about how ridiculously baked I was off that Silver Pearl
After perusing the catalog I asked the counter salesmen what she'd recommend for my particular set of growing conditions. Suggestions mostly centered around indicas for their shorter stature and quicker finishing times...and I was really in to the idea, but somehow just couldn't decide on what to get. She handed me a catalog to take with us and we left the shop. So the Mrs and I discuss it a bit and remember that we have an extra card sitting back at the room just begging to transport some magical beans. "Fuck it.", I think to myself, "I'm getting SOMEthing!"
We spun in our tracks and headed straight back to the shop. By the time we had returned, there was now a man behind the counter. Again, I asked for some suggestions and upon hearing my criteria he actually sent me to another shop! It was hilarious, and refreshingly courteous! He informed me that The Flying Dutchmen was "...right over there *pointing*.", and they had a better selection for less money as well...for what I was looking for at least. So we thanked him and walked 100 yards down to TFD. After much debate on my part (again) I settled on some X-Haze from the White Label Seed Co. I don't know if anyone has experience with their product, but if so please let me know. Anyway, I decided on the Haze as it was the Mrs favorite ingredient in the gear we smoked. I'm just hoping this X-Haze isn't as trippy and racing as the Silver Pearl, though. Guess we'll just have to find out!
After finally settling on a product at TFD, we headed down to Boom Chicago. We went in and checked the sign in sheet only to discover that every slot was indeed still full. BUT, we noticed that our time had a line drawn through it as not enough people had signed up! Bummed that we missed our cruise, we now felt a bit better about being late this morning seeing as how if we HAD made it on time we would have done so in vain. Hmm, guess we'll just have to do it next time
As the day wore on, and we strolled around, it started to sink in that we were heading back to CS for the last time. Obviously, this put us in somewhat of a depressed state. I looked at the Mrs and inquired, "Well, what now?". We wanted to walk through the Jordaan one last time so we headed in that direction. Per usual, it was beautiful and not as crowded as the center. Unfortunately, the beauty of our surroundings only fueled our now deepening depression. "Hmm...", I thought, "...I guess it's time to head over to
Amnesia."
Upon entering, we headed to the drink bar and asked the quite friendly woman what the best smoothie was. "Mango!", she replied with a smile. So we ordered two......and then she came back to inform us they were out of Mango! Seriously!? We just laughed and shook our heads. "Alright, what's the
second best smoothie?", I asked her with a big smile and shaking my head. She then recommended Forrest Fruit. They tasted AWESOME! The only thing we didn't like about them was that they were packed with seeds. Somewhat encouraging because at least we know they're using REAL fruit
After grabbing our drinks I headed to the front counter by the window to grind something for the last cone we had. We didn't have much left, except for that freakin' Silver Pearl from the first day! "Might as well!", I thought. We loaded up the cone and took our drinks outside to one of the benches. This is definitely our new favorite place to chill at, BTW. Just a great spot.
So here's where something great happened. We started blazing away on the SP and a group of local kids came and bought some gear. They sat outside at the other table/bench with an American who was totally baked, oblivious to the world, and texting on his phone like mad. This in itself got me laughing. I also have to mention really quickly that one of the local kids came out with a bag of the biggest buds I've ever seen. If I hadn't been so ridiculously high I would have asked him what the hell he just bought. It looked stunning....seriously. Anyway, back to the story, so we're sitting there hitting the shit out of the SP joint and right as we got to the end of it this American couple strolls by with their two young children (about 8-10 years old I'd say). They're having a conversation when the husband looks up and sees us all sitting out in the sun enjoying ourselves. "Oh, look! I could go for some coffee right now. It's getting late in the afternoon (about 6:30pm). Do you want anything?", he asks his wife. "Sure, I could definitely get something right now.", she replied. Now, there's 6 of us sitting out there, and the locals are smoking the joints they just rolled 5 minutes ago and we had just finished....so it WREAKED of pot. Somehow, this escaped the husband as he made it all the way in to the shop. The wife and kids however only made it to the door when the wife finally realized what they were stepping in to. She starts barking at her husband, "Jim! JIM! We have to go! I think I saw someone light something in there...". LOLOLOLOL!!! OMG....it was the BEST! Now, I actually would have felt somewhat bad for them except that if you had heard the tone of this woman's voice you would have told her to "Fuck off." for sure. It was certainly that, "What is wrong with these heathen criminals!?", sort of tone and her being angry that we would be so horrible as to smoke pot....and OUTSIDE in full view no less! How dare we? How DARE we!?
As they scurried away I looked over at one of the local guys and he was looking at me like, "WTF. I don't speak English but I know that those people were fuckin' morons.". I just shook my head, rolled my eyes, and started laughing. Oh man...it really was a lot of fun!
Shortly after our patio adventure the Silver Pearl hit me...hard. I HAD to get up and start moving. This is where the Mrs made the comment, "I'm sorry...but my favorite smoke is the one that knocked you out!". We laughed a bit and I agreed that it was certainly a stand-out strain. Even after smoking high-grade 'dam weed all week the SP still fucked me up...hardcore. Now that I wasn't going to pass out from it, I could accurately assess the effects and taste. It still tasted awesome for sure...sweet, which is what the Mrs prefers. But the high is just not my style. This time around, it was still very energetic but I could full-on feel the racy trippiness of it. It actually made me think back to the first day when I watching hippy speak and all of a sudden his movements were slow and leaving trails. On this trip with the SP, I had the same effects but with some paranoia added in. Not something I enjoy all that much. It passed in half an hour or so but we still had to keep moving. We headed over to the Damrak again to try and decide on if we wanted to buy some Dutch cheese to ship home. After checking the prices once, and then again, and then again....and then once more...lol, we decided it wasn't worth it. Why are we getting all this stuff for other people anyway? It's OUR vacation, right?? GEEZ!
Deciding that we'd skip spending more money on gifts the Mrs informed me that we MUST go to a canal bridge for a "good luck kiss". Awww! The closest (and most pretty, IMO) were back over in the Jordaan where we had just come from. Oh well, we didn't mind because we love the place, so we wound our way back over to find a bridge. Still soaring, we found a suitable bridge and sat and enjoyed each other's company for a bit. We reminisced over our week in Heaven and thanked each other for being there. I'm not ashamed to admit that we almost cried thinking about having to leave. Even mentioning it right now gets me a bit choked up....*sigh*.
We had the most amazing time in Amsterdam. One we will certainly never forget. From the first day's adventure, to walking up to CS for the last time, we had the best times of our lives. Returning is no longer a question of "if", but absolutely of "when". Next time, we'll stay outside of the 'dam and just enjoy the Dutch culture more. Of course, we'll have to take at least ONE trip in to the centruum to stock up on gear from our favorite shops! We're both missing the people, shops, and gear quite badly...but know that we'll be back and our experiences will only get better with each visit
Favorite shop for gear: I chose
Amnesia as they supplied my favorite strain. The Mrs chose
Homegrown Fantasy for their Cheese and Silver Pearl.
Favorite shop for atmosphere/chilling: We both chose
Amnesia...and especially for their spot out front on the patio. Wish we were still there *sigh*. Special mention goes to
Basjoe as we also loved their patio when it got later in to the night and less busy on the street.
Favorite smoke of the trip: I chose Pink Kush from
Amnesia. IMO, the taste was simply perfection and the stone was out of this world. Was great for sex and indulging in too many desserts. The Mrs chose Silver Pearl from
HGF. No matter what the budtender said, this was some STRONG shit! The taste was fruity and mildly sweet with a bit of spice...and the high was very up, energetic, and even trippy at times. Also, after smoking a joint of SP we were high for quite a long time. Four hours was probably the average.
Runner up smoke: I chose
HGF's Cheese. I loved the taste, which was a bit thick and oily. The Cheese also had a high that I absolutely loved...perfect head/body balance...and STRONG! Just top-shelf gear for sure. The Mrs chose Chocolope from
GA. The Chocolope had a sweet inhale and a burnt-brownie chocolate taste on the exhale. This was another very up, happy, and energetic high that wasn't too racy. Also, this was another strain that had us soaring for 3-4 hours.
Favorite overall shop: I HAVE to choose
Grey Area. The gear is outstanding and the service was downright amazing. Stepping in to this shop and speaking with the budtender/owner made us feel as though we were home. We had such a great experience there. The only thing GA needs is a spot next to a quiet canal for us to sit at. We would then move in next door
I haven't asked the Mrs what her fav was yet.
Thanks to all for reading and commenting. We're honored that you shared our experience with us. Here's to looking forward and planning the next great Amsterdam adventure
thanks