Bilbo's Flight From The Shire
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Bilbo Baggins
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Sun 28th Mar 2010 12:35 am
- Location: Central Scotland
Yep--I know some folk dont like ABRAXAS as I suppose it is a tourist shop, but you really have to admire the effort they have put in to make this shop a really nice place, the weed was great, the decor was fantastic--but once again the music was rubbish--more jazz funk nonsense---you would almost think that the coffeeshops were trying to discourage people from sitting too long, but if that is the case why spend a lot of money and effort in providing an artistic spectacle as ABRAXAS and many others have done ?????
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Bilbo,
Great report. So well-written and entertaining. I am glad to hear that your wife enjoyed Amsterdam as I remember how much of a concern this was for you. Perhaps, now you will get to go back again someday. My only regret from my recent trip is the people that I missed meeting - yourself and the missus among them. Again, I'm glad to hear that you had a great trip and am looking forward to reading more about it.
I sympathize with you regarding the unfortunate music choice in some shops. I remember feeling as though I were being driven out of a coffee shop in Harlem by some horrible dance/rave mess played at high levels. I remember being amused by the thought that perhaps it contained subliminal messages designed to get you to leave after your purchase. Subliminal message or not, it worked on me.
Great report. So well-written and entertaining. I am glad to hear that your wife enjoyed Amsterdam as I remember how much of a concern this was for you. Perhaps, now you will get to go back again someday. My only regret from my recent trip is the people that I missed meeting - yourself and the missus among them. Again, I'm glad to hear that you had a great trip and am looking forward to reading more about it.
I sympathize with you regarding the unfortunate music choice in some shops. I remember feeling as though I were being driven out of a coffee shop in Harlem by some horrible dance/rave mess played at high levels. I remember being amused by the thought that perhaps it contained subliminal messages designed to get you to leave after your purchase. Subliminal message or not, it worked on me.
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Bilbo Baggins
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Sun 28th Mar 2010 12:35 am
- Location: Central Scotland
The shower and a wee doze perks us up and we are out and about again, deciding to be a bit more adverturous we stroll on up the canal without our usual right turn up the Leidestraat. here we see the real Amsterdam as I imagined it, the shops which sell the cheap booze and coca cola that seem to be missing from the centrum. As I stroll I finish off the silver haze and whats left of the Laughing Buddha and my mind settles into the calm serenity which my mind has now adopted as its default Amsterdam setting, I love this floaty stoned feeling but get the feeling that even this early a spot of tolerence has settled in, I decide to change tactics and decide to have a go at the hash when I get the chance. We pass a shop and buy a tub of yoghurt for Mary's hash to be crumbled into as previously recommended to me on this site. I realise I dont really have a clue where we are but like earlier---I dont care, when up ahead looms a quaint little coffeeshop LA TERTULIA we sit down and I go in and buy a gram of SUPER MAROC POLM the bud lady is around the same age as me which surprises and reassures me at the same time, I also get a couple of coffees and we sit outside in a lovely little paved patio area with nice potted flowers and nice view--this is a nice very Dutch feeling coffeeshop and I like it, I think I have read about this on the site somewhere but had no idea of its whereabouts I look at the map and see I have drifted a good bit out of the town centre, its nice up this neck of the woods and I like it.
I crumble the whole gram into the yoghurt, and leave it to infuse for a while, Mary is nervous, she has never been stoned before, she sees me crumble this brownish gold powder into the yoghurt and wonders what the hell is going on. After ten minutes we eat the yoghurt between us, Mary sits after she has eaten it and two minutes later declares '' I dont feel a thing ''----we speak to an older English guy called George ( And to think I was nervous about being a tad on the mature side, lots of folk in these coffeeshops are the same side of fifty as we are ) this guy George tells us they do great spacecakes in this La Tertulia place so I go in and buy a couple before we leave.we wander up the canal a bit and once again find ourselves in the region of Dam Square once again.
We go into a cafe which has a good varied choice of music on the go ( One thing I never saw anywhere in Amsterdam was a Jukebox ????? would be a handy thing in a coffeeshop methinks ) anyway we buy a coffee and Mary perches on a bar stool, I feel the beginnings of a different type of stone and realise the hash yoghurt is kicking in, Mary still declares she can feel bugger all, I go outside the cafe for a smoke as it has now started raining and Leave Mary for a minute, when I come back a mere five or ten minutes later She is sitting with a big cheesy grin on her face, '' I definately feel something weird '' she says, and continues to smile like a Cheshire cat '' Why are you smiling all the time I ask '' ( Knowing the answer full well ) '' I dont know it just seems to be so nice '' However me saying this to my wife has the effect of making her think she is smiling for no reason and the next time I glance over she is sitting with a serious expression on her face '' I better not smile too much or everyone will see that I'm stoned''. Abbas dancing Queen comes on ( A Song from our disco youth ) and to my horror Mary starts singing along and kind of dancing on her seat, she declares the music sounds louder and she can hear all the orchestrations and strings in the song as if they are separate from the song itself, she appears to be having a ball, quite unaware she is stoned she has kind of forgotten she has swallowed half a gram of Morrocan hash, still , its good fun and her natural sense of fun shines through. I disappear for a call of nature and when I return she looks worried and says that everyone must know she is stoned, apparently in my absence an English waitress came to the table and asked '' Are you alright '' meaning in an English way, '' can I get you another drink '' Marys stoned dome thought that maybe waitress had sussed she was stoned and she replied '' Why---dont I look alright '' Mary ordered a coffee and the waitress disappeared nto the bar to get it, Mary spies the waitress pointing at her and talking to another waitress, which will be one waitress saying to another--'' coffee for that lady over there '' Mary imagines they are talking about how stoned she is, yes indeed ladies and Gentlemen, my good lady is well and truly out of her box.
We decide to go to a coffeeshop and head down the hill from the Dam Square --not out usual route down past the flower market and on down the Leidestraat, but down another main road, and soon we came across another ROKERIJ, although unlike the previous ROKERIJ dow by the Leidestraat this one looks very nice not too busy and most of all, the sounds of the beginning of Pink Floyds '' Shine on you crazy diamond '' wafts out into the Damp Amsterdam night, this is enough for me and we head in and a friendly budtender recommends the SAHARA hash I have never heard of this but decide to give it a go, smokes very nicely, reminds me of the Lebanese we used to smoke in the eighties. Mary buys two coffees and declares she is loving this, she like Pink Floyd and this song is zoning her out, she doesnt say a word for ten minutes as she tunes in, I wonder at the magic of weed as Mary stares at the walls, any substance which can shut my wife up for ten minutes is worthy of serious medicinal appraisal. we eat half another spacecake ( The ones we bought from LA TERTULIA) and she takes the joint from me and gives it a few wee tentative puffs as if she expects miracles, after a while we are both really stoned and head down the road, we head to the Leidensplein and have Fajitas for a snack, this blows Marys mind sheraves about these fajitas as if they were Haute Cuisine of the highest order, she has the munchies and when it comes time toleave my wife declares she wants a go at these pancakes they have on the menu, we decide to share one---I get about two bites of this pancake ( this thing is the size of a large pizza hut pizza and has marndarin oranches, peaches and whipped cream on it) before she devours the lot like she hasny eaten for a month, she declares this to be grub of the highest order and we go to a cafe and sit and have a drink before finally heading back to the hotel quite early --11pm and I sit on the balcony and smoke a SAHARA hash joint which is really good and nice for chilling out ( It cost 10E by the way, think I forgot to mention that,) around half twelve or so we zonk out ---another great day--I feel I could get to love this place and reflect how nice life is when all that you desire is available to you,, weed, food, drink, the sights and sounds of a foreign culture-----roll on tomorrow
PS I liked this second Rokerij a lot which makes me feel guity about giving the Leidesplein ROKERIJ a bad report in the coffeeshop section
PS2 I now realize the second ROKERIJ is not down from dam square as I thought but is the ROKERIJ II up a bit quite close to the station, I dont recall walking up there but this was definately the place--I liked it
I crumble the whole gram into the yoghurt, and leave it to infuse for a while, Mary is nervous, she has never been stoned before, she sees me crumble this brownish gold powder into the yoghurt and wonders what the hell is going on. After ten minutes we eat the yoghurt between us, Mary sits after she has eaten it and two minutes later declares '' I dont feel a thing ''----we speak to an older English guy called George ( And to think I was nervous about being a tad on the mature side, lots of folk in these coffeeshops are the same side of fifty as we are ) this guy George tells us they do great spacecakes in this La Tertulia place so I go in and buy a couple before we leave.we wander up the canal a bit and once again find ourselves in the region of Dam Square once again.
We go into a cafe which has a good varied choice of music on the go ( One thing I never saw anywhere in Amsterdam was a Jukebox ????? would be a handy thing in a coffeeshop methinks ) anyway we buy a coffee and Mary perches on a bar stool, I feel the beginnings of a different type of stone and realise the hash yoghurt is kicking in, Mary still declares she can feel bugger all, I go outside the cafe for a smoke as it has now started raining and Leave Mary for a minute, when I come back a mere five or ten minutes later She is sitting with a big cheesy grin on her face, '' I definately feel something weird '' she says, and continues to smile like a Cheshire cat '' Why are you smiling all the time I ask '' ( Knowing the answer full well ) '' I dont know it just seems to be so nice '' However me saying this to my wife has the effect of making her think she is smiling for no reason and the next time I glance over she is sitting with a serious expression on her face '' I better not smile too much or everyone will see that I'm stoned''. Abbas dancing Queen comes on ( A Song from our disco youth ) and to my horror Mary starts singing along and kind of dancing on her seat, she declares the music sounds louder and she can hear all the orchestrations and strings in the song as if they are separate from the song itself, she appears to be having a ball, quite unaware she is stoned she has kind of forgotten she has swallowed half a gram of Morrocan hash, still , its good fun and her natural sense of fun shines through. I disappear for a call of nature and when I return she looks worried and says that everyone must know she is stoned, apparently in my absence an English waitress came to the table and asked '' Are you alright '' meaning in an English way, '' can I get you another drink '' Marys stoned dome thought that maybe waitress had sussed she was stoned and she replied '' Why---dont I look alright '' Mary ordered a coffee and the waitress disappeared nto the bar to get it, Mary spies the waitress pointing at her and talking to another waitress, which will be one waitress saying to another--'' coffee for that lady over there '' Mary imagines they are talking about how stoned she is, yes indeed ladies and Gentlemen, my good lady is well and truly out of her box.
We decide to go to a coffeeshop and head down the hill from the Dam Square --not out usual route down past the flower market and on down the Leidestraat, but down another main road, and soon we came across another ROKERIJ, although unlike the previous ROKERIJ dow by the Leidestraat this one looks very nice not too busy and most of all, the sounds of the beginning of Pink Floyds '' Shine on you crazy diamond '' wafts out into the Damp Amsterdam night, this is enough for me and we head in and a friendly budtender recommends the SAHARA hash I have never heard of this but decide to give it a go, smokes very nicely, reminds me of the Lebanese we used to smoke in the eighties. Mary buys two coffees and declares she is loving this, she like Pink Floyd and this song is zoning her out, she doesnt say a word for ten minutes as she tunes in, I wonder at the magic of weed as Mary stares at the walls, any substance which can shut my wife up for ten minutes is worthy of serious medicinal appraisal. we eat half another spacecake ( The ones we bought from LA TERTULIA) and she takes the joint from me and gives it a few wee tentative puffs as if she expects miracles, after a while we are both really stoned and head down the road, we head to the Leidensplein and have Fajitas for a snack, this blows Marys mind sheraves about these fajitas as if they were Haute Cuisine of the highest order, she has the munchies and when it comes time toleave my wife declares she wants a go at these pancakes they have on the menu, we decide to share one---I get about two bites of this pancake ( this thing is the size of a large pizza hut pizza and has marndarin oranches, peaches and whipped cream on it) before she devours the lot like she hasny eaten for a month, she declares this to be grub of the highest order and we go to a cafe and sit and have a drink before finally heading back to the hotel quite early --11pm and I sit on the balcony and smoke a SAHARA hash joint which is really good and nice for chilling out ( It cost 10E by the way, think I forgot to mention that,) around half twelve or so we zonk out ---another great day--I feel I could get to love this place and reflect how nice life is when all that you desire is available to you,, weed, food, drink, the sights and sounds of a foreign culture-----roll on tomorrow
PS I liked this second Rokerij a lot which makes me feel guity about giving the Leidesplein ROKERIJ a bad report in the coffeeshop section
PS2 I now realize the second ROKERIJ is not down from dam square as I thought but is the ROKERIJ II up a bit quite close to the station, I dont recall walking up there but this was definately the place--I liked it
Last edited by Bilbo Baggins on Mon 21st Jun 2010 11:48 pm, edited 7 times in total.
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spidergawd
- Posts: 4420
- Joined: Sun 11th May 2008 09:21 pm
- Location: The Mars Hotel
Real nice.Bilbo Baggins wrote:... down another main road, and soon we came across another ROKERIJ, although unlike the previous ROKERIJ dow by the Leidestraat this one looks very nice not too busy and most of all, the sounds of the beginning of Pink Floyds '' Shine on you crazy diamond '' wafts out into the Damp Amsterdam night, this is enough for me and we head in and a friendly budtender recommends the SAHARA hash
Truly enjoy reading. . .
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titus wong
- Posts: 884
- Joined: Sat 11th Apr 2009 06:47 am
Alleluia! Good for the missus! You had me chuckling throughout Bilbo!Bilbo Baggins wrote:...I feel the beginnings of a different type of stone and realise the hash yoghurt is kicking in, Mary still declares she can feel bugger all, I go outside the cafe for a smoke as it has now started raining and Leave Mary for a minute, when I come back a mere five or ten minutes later She is sitting with a big cheesy grin on her face, '' I definately feel something weird '' she says, and continues to smile like a Cheshire cat '' Why are you smiling all the time I ask '' ( Knowing the answer full well ) '' I dont know it just seems to be so nice '' However me saying this to my wife has the effect of making her think she is smiling for no reason and the next time I glance over she is sitting with a serious expression on her face '' I better not smile too much or everyone will see that I'm stoned''. Abbas dancing Queen comes on ( A Song from our disco youth ) and to my horror Mary starts singing along and kind of dancing on her seat, she declares the music sounds louder and she can hear all the orchestrations and strings in the song as if they are separate from the song itself, she appears to be having a ball, quite unaware she is stoned she has kind of forgotten she has swallowed half a gram of Morrocan hash, still , its good fun and her natural sense of fun shines through. I disappear for a call of nature and when I return she looks worried and says that everyone must know she is stoned, apparently in my absence an English waitress came to the table and asked '' Are you alright '' meaning in an English way, '' can I get you another drink '' Marys stoned dome thought that maybe waitress had sussed she was stoned and she replied '' Why---dont I look alright '' Mary ordered a coffee and the waitress disappeared nto the bar to get it, Mary spies the waitress pointing at her and talking to another waitress, which will be one waitress saying to another--'' coffee for that lady over there '' Mary imagines they are talking about how stoned she is, yes indeed ladies and Gentlemen, my good lady is well and truly out of her box.
Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.
And you were worried the missus wouldn't like the place? 
Sounds great Bilbo,knew you would have a blast,loving your report,it's great to read a first timers view of the Dam,i wish my wife could be persuaded to have a yoghurt,save me a fortune in vodka.
Great to hear her first stone so well described,whats next?Mary discovers Vaporisers and starts smoking you under the table?
"I feel i could get to love this place"sounds like your already there buddy,be warned though,it can be an expensive,magnetic place to be addicted to(my bank account would confirm this
)Welcome to the world of Amsterdam addiction 
.Peace
Sounds great Bilbo,knew you would have a blast,loving your report,it's great to read a first timers view of the Dam,i wish my wife could be persuaded to have a yoghurt,save me a fortune in vodka.Great to hear her first stone so well described,whats next?Mary discovers Vaporisers and starts smoking you under the table?
"I feel i could get to love this place"sounds like your already there buddy,be warned though,it can be an expensive,magnetic place to be addicted to(my bank account would confirm this
)Welcome to the world of Amsterdam addiction .PeaceTrips to Amsterdam 50-Trip 51- April 2018