HASJ DREAMER IN TOWN! May 24-30, 2009

[HasjDreamer]

Cisco...GH IS still giving out free grinders. Not sure the amount, the budtender handed us one when I commented on how the GH has some of the consistently BEST bud in A'dam throughout our 9 trips. It was pretty cool, like I said the magic word of the day!

Potimus...good eye! Glad to see King popular over in the UK...I've been a Shepard fan since the mid '90's (and a bit of an acquaintance) and am lucky enough to have some cool old "posse" era shit! Recently I've discovered the joys of Faile, Fake (although I couldn't spot a single piece unless the unsigned one is his - I haven't posted that yet), Banksy (of course), and this dude from Iran - ICY! Look him up, his work is SLICK!

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009

With our holiday in full swing, we wake to grey skies and drizzle. Not a problem: ARJAN'S HAZE and a hearty spliff of TEMPLE BALL kept our spirits sunny as an Ibiza sky. Our customary stop, 137, fueled us for a day of strolling rather then scootering (too dank) as we headed toward the center of town.

Seeking internet and cannabis enlightenment, we return to

FREEWORLD

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Nice fellow behind the counter, we order sodas, internet and a gee of

SUPERPOLM at 9.50 e/g

Good for what we wanted - a nice upbeat high that left us rejuvenated. Hard-ish to the touch but warmed up quickly once manipulated. Funny, the dude next to me was surfing porn casually on the coffeeshop computer! The wife started to laugh and I looked over ...

Somehow we wind up back at BARNEYS. Not sure what transpired, I know we WERE heading towards Nieumarkt but perhaps we ate? Or maybe dropped off coats or something? Who knows?!

For the FIRST time this trip I am denied photo access to the menu..."Advertising" the grumpy looking aging hippy tells me. No sweat but ANOTHER strike against Barney's. I mean, they have some product and all (I even bought a sweatshirt to use on the scooter) but the vibe CAN, at times, be questionable. We pick up...

DR. GRINSPOON 17 e/g

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Stunning bud...STUNNING price. I mean, can you BELIEVE 17 e/g for bud? I told the 'tender "I HAVE to try it" and he said "EVERYONE says that!". It was a handwritten on the menu and pretty much lived up to the hype (and price tag). Pure PURE clean CLEAN sativa - immaculate cure and as strong as a pure sativa can get. No regrets.

Apparently we hadn't eaten yet because we stop off at our favorite Brodje spot down the street. From here, it's off to Nieumarkt...

[Potimus]

Hey,

an aqaintance of Shepard eh Hasjdreamer....lucky man. checked out ICYs stuff on the web...pretty cool...good to see people in countries with alot more problems than our own still taking time to make art.

Yeah, King of the Hill is/was pretty big in the UK, im definetely a fan!

back on the artistic angle check out Dface, TheLondonPolice (all over Amsterdam) and Pez, saw Pez painting in Barcelona last year, the man is an interesting character!

P

[HasjDreamer]

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 2009 continued...

We have forsaken Gil (the scooter) for the afternoon and decide to make it a walking day instead. First stop - Nieumarkt to stock up on some quality bud. Now, for us, QUALITY BUD + NIEUMARKT = GREENPLACE. Could NOT resist one more SILVER BUBBLE gram to keep us upbeat and alert. Also, a newbie to the Hasj family:

TWIZZLA (price not recorded)...grab & go, but the notes are pretty clear: TOPS! Listed as a "black Maroc" it was more of a dark brown with creamy center that was a perfect texture making rolling a nice spliff an absolute joy.

Since we're in the neighborhood we try to find (and actually manage TO find) the rather elusive

BASJOE

Why elusive? Don't have a clue except we were to never find it again during our stay. Oh yes, we tried - but the spider web that surrounds Nieumarkt would not yield at any time but today. Good thing we took FULL advantage and scored a gram of the NOTORIOUS

TERMINATOR at 50 e/g

What followed our request for purchase was a combination smoking class and chemistry course! After warning us so many times and meticulously picking up the package I told him I almost expected a haz-mat orange suit to be donned! A stoned bloke sat at the counter and the budtender broke off a piece of terminator and placed it on the tip of his joint and passed it around. Of course, an immediate high hit us - clear, soaring, and we were like WOAH! He explained to roll a joint we should put it on the paper itself and put the tobacco on it and spin it.

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We would hold onto the terminator until later that night thinking it would be a perfect nightcap - WRONG! Another poor end of night choice - too buzzy!! Very strong high but, I don't know, its punch packed a wallop but we kinda expected MORE. Maybe we're just favoring the traditional hasj SO much that almost anything else doesn't carry the same buzz.

Toasted off the bubble, we walk on to Rembrandt Square and our must-stop: BUSHDOCTOR.

With a rather extensive icelator menu we ask for a nice, unusual Maroc (having sampled the Aslama so many times we wanted something different). Impressively enough, the budtender turns our attention to one of the more affordable offerings:

MAROC POLLINATOR at 12 e/g

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Wow! It looked like a brown sugar cube - no crust, all a sugary resin that begged to be rolled. Nice clean high with a unique flowery taste.

We stop off at the apartment and pull out some menus for dinner. We head down the Prins THINKING we're only 20 minutes on foot from our destination. Man, google maps messed up something FIERCE 'cause we never found our destination 40 odd minutes and turned around to head back. Somehow, we discover a little hole-in-the-wall coffeeshop (the first of a few!)

JOHNNY

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Nice enough shop but their coffee machine was down so we were forced for a grab and go. Oddly enough, we stood over the budtenders who were down in a pit-like location. A bit bizarre!

Our purchase was MAKO at 8.50 euro a gram. Solid bud, nothing to write home about but a nice taste, cure and high - especially for the price!

Still searching for a place to eat and not having the opportunity for cafe at Johnny, we stop off at

DUTCH FLOWERS

One of my favorite shops for hasj - hey, they won't kiss your ass but we've NEVER been treated rudely and we were even able to score the coveted window seat! Two cafe, please, and a gram of

GRAND CRU @ 12 e/g

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Ahhh, ANOTHER text-book hasj! Taste - divine! Texture - perfect: dark brown wax on the outside, lighter brown fudgy interior. If only Keebler could bring us such a cookie!

We smoke up and FINALLY decide on a Tapas restaurant that happened to be around the corner from our apartment. Cheap (3e) Sangrias and tasty inexpensive tapas (but we DIDN'T like the lamb - too "funky"...).

We end the night with a stop at ye olde POPEYE'S for hot chocolates and some indica to cuddle up to.

BUBBLEGUM at a mere 8.50 e/g

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VERY heavy hitter - impressive for Popeye's! Dense, pungent bud that complemented our hot chocs perfectly. A quick view on the internet, some smoke and we were back to the apartment to call it a night.

Having trounced through rainy weather all day we settle down for our Terminator experience (listed earlier). Like I said, we should've smoked it earlier since it was quite the soaring high that left us watching comedy central for a couple of hours!

We finally drift into slumber all too aware that tomorrow marks the eve of our last full day in Nirvana. The weather promises to cooperate and we have plans to go on a scooter jaunt and try to slow down the clock!

-HD

[HasjDreamer]

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009

Despite the late night we wake relatively early (8:30am) with BIG plans for the day. The skies are cloudy but the temps are warm and the forecast is for no more rain and breaking skies - PERFECT for our scooter venture into the outer reaches of the center.

Our obvious first top is 137 for cafe - we're too early (they don't open 'till 10:00am) but they recognize us and let us in anyway - making us coffee while they continued to set up for the day. No product purchase - just smoked some Grand Cru from the night before.

We pack up Gil and prepare for our first REAL scooter ride. My skills have improved so my confidence is up and we head down the Prins comfortably stoned and caffeinated. Our destination - Anne Frank's REAL house (not her hiding space, the Annex) is in the southern part of town before MLK park and near the US Presidents area (Rooseveltlaan and Kennedylaan), well out of the tourist area.

We cruise comfortably, only getting lost a couple of times - the first near the museums (where we ALWAYS get lost, even on foot!) and the other when we passed and missed Churchilliaan street and found ourselves at a business park.

We arrive within an hour or so and are impressed to find a group of school kids gathered around and their teachers seemed equally impressed that a couple of Americans would track her house down!

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We stay around a bit after the kids leave, enjoying the solitude and reflecting further on Anne Frank's life - at least the happier parts of it when she lived right here, played right here, just another little Dutch kid who never got to see the dramatic and wonderful development of her adopted country...

We head out, northern bound and finding the return trip familiar we rapidly make it to the Albert Cuyp and pull in for a stroll and visit to...

KATSU

Katsu IS a great shop - very friendly, decent sized and a good vibe. Some folks on the forum absolutely adore it as a hang out spot but I find it a bit too physically uncomfortable for long stays. The chairs are hard as shit and I'm finding the clientele to be more tourist than local. Great if you're visiting the Cuyp for sure, but I'd travel out to 1eHulp (more on that later) and other first for a out-of-the-way, local hang out spot.

Since we're traveling on 2 motorized wheels, we gladly opt for a less pricey and mellower solid option...

RED LEB at 5 e for 1/2 gram

Fresh! Spicy! Nice!! Perfect buzzy, get-on-yer-scooter hasj that made me glad we stopped in and made me wish I bought more than that 1 spliff worth! Ahh, we'll have more hasj experiences to come...

Back at the apartment we celebrate our 2 hour tour with a PROPER spliff of the terminator. This time I use the toothpick to squeeze it between bits of tobacco dropping it into the paper and the results were MUCH better - a smooth burning spliff that allowed us to enjoy the full potential of this notorious hasj. I can appreciate it - 'tis just not my favorite! Besides, it looks like pickins from a baby's diaper...

Next up, the best lunch of the trip, more LUNATIC bud from Greenplace, some surprises from the Doors and our favorite little local shop in town!

-HD

[StonedSince67]

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009 ... We pack up Gil and prepare for our first REAL scooter ride.

thanks for another nice earlymorningcoffee&smoke read

but now you are on the scooter ride ... and i am wondering just how fast you are going ... and how many miles you will do on your first big scooter outing in amsterdam and countryside ...

and is there a photo of gil?

[HasjDreamer]

Hey stoned...

Funny, I never thought to track either miles or speed - between the hasj, weit and our fellow travelers on the roads I was a bit too distracted to even look down at our speed! Since we've arrived back home we purchased an Aprilia SR 50 R Factory scooter - another little 50 cc beast! I imagine we were topping no more than 25-30 mph on the roads around town. Funny, we'd go from canal roads weaving between the pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, delivery trucks and fellow scooters to the FAST bike paths along the Spui eventually leading me onto the streets navigating the rotaries (roundabouts) and speeding down the straight roads!

The others on the road were surprisingly supportive of my amateurish driving habits and I was only "beeped" at once when we stopped at a green light - appropriate enough, I imagine! How else was I to learn?? The other was when a woman yelled out to me "no scooters" on a bike path leading out of the center (past the half-way point of the Amstel). Note - the bike paths that don't allow scooters post the fact! I didn't notice the scooter profile within the red circle with the line across!!!

Picture of the wife on Gil...

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High and hungry, we try our hand at finding ANOTHER restaurant on our list - this time determined to locate it! Can't remember the name - but it's a French bistro on the Nes. Easy find - we walk to the Dam and stroll up the Nes and we find it quickly and OH boy, aren't we glad we did!!

The ever-present Jack Russell and fighting cats along the way...

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We settle in comfortably with a outside table enjoying the sun and the cold heinekens presented to us by our server. We order, first, what we came for: croque madame! We've made them at home but, jeez, NO comparison! We also order the chicken club with avocado - with the most delicately sliced bacon and fresh roasted chicken...

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We decide to poke our heads thru the Red Light District, stumbling across a woman being filmed on camera:

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...and wind up at the OTHER

GREENHOUSE, RED LIGHT DISTRICT

For a cafe and...

HAWAIIAN SNOW at 11 e/g

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A par-for-the-course splendid sativa that kept us alive and ready to hit the town. The next purchase...

KING HASSAN also at 11 e/g

Pretty standard (I mean that in the best possible way!) Maroc - obligatory dark brown waxy shell followed by customary lighter brown fudge filling. Ahhh....if only getting solid like this was so easy back at home!

We head to the fun-house maze that is Nieumarkt Square in a vain attempt to locate Basjoe's...yeah, right! No luck! Like so much of Amsterdam, finding the same place twice really CAN be an achievement!

Oh well, we settle (SETTLE, THAT'S funny!) for

THE GREENPLACE

For some budinsky. Man, have I told you lately how freaking AMAZING this place is? Both purchases tonight would be legendary...

MANGO KUSH at 14 e/g

Whoa Nelly! This is some SERious sh#t folks. I know, I sound like a broken record with the "perfect cure" but the CrAzY aroma, sweet, pungent taste and buds bigger than the son on father knows best...

LA CONFIDENTIAL at 12 e/g

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Price drop! Quality lift!! Couldn't resist what has become a legend...LEGEND! Can't imagine even bothering with the Grey Area and their tiny ass seating and swarm of American hippies (no offense ''
). This bud tasted JUST like a fudge brownie - man, SOOOO good! Warm and toasty stone that reflected the consistent quality of the bud from this joint.

Back towards our neighborhood I kept thinking about this curious hasj I spotted on their menu only after I was exploring the pics:

AFGHAN ICE 1.2 g for 30 euro

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Same dude behind the counter - nice, nice bloke! Gave us the customary ice-warning "last step before hasj oil - just add chemicals!". When I thanked him he stopped me and said, most unusually, "no, I'm the one who should be thanking you!".

Don't know if it's actually ice FROM afghanistan or ice made from afghani buds but this stuff had me in hasj dreaming HEAVEN - I could only imagine that this was a return to the old mazar I sharif hasj so lovingly handmade back in the 60's and early '70's. Look at it - black and 'afghani" like in appearance - flexible as a stretch armstrong and not a HINT, I mean HINT of contamination. We rolled it up spaPEGGYstyle in strings and rolled a phatty that left us almost as high with anticipation as we would be when we smoked it...almost!

Clean, soARING high that TASTED like the pure blacks we all reminisce about (for me, the early '80's). Didn't do the true hasj tests on it but the smoke and ash were both clean and, well, we ALL know that the taste and smell give away the bullshit straight off. We were in Hasj HEAVEN!

Ok, dinner and after dinner discovery up next...

-HD

[Ba Tat]

I am totally loving your reports. Thanks for taking the time, great photos.

[StonedSince67]

Since we've arrived back home we purchased an Aprilia SR 50 R Factory scooter

thanks for the photo of gil, it only seemed fair as he/she/it was mentioned a lot in the reports

but wow, is this the new one ... ???

I imagine we were topping no more than 25-30 mph on the roads around town

well you don't need more to have fun really

... and I was only "beeped" at once when we stopped at a green!

you know you're a stoner when ... you stop at a green light!

We were in Hasj HEAVEN!

so you have finally Hasj Dreamed your way into Hasj HEAVEN ...

[HasjDreamer]

Hey Stoned...THAT'S my baby!!!
Except we have the all-black model - same graphics, but they're in red & white. SLIIICK! In Massachusetts we're not required to carry a motorcycle license (I don't have one) or register/insure the vehicle if it's a 50cc so it saves me some cash on that end (AND its 100-125mg!). She's pretty slick - quick as can be off the stop and she's supposed to go up to 45 mph + but I haven't built the nerve to go over 35 yet!! lol Brakes on a dime and handles like the Italian thoroughbred she is...

Hasj Heaven? You know it! Amsterdam dominates my dreams - I used to have this persistent nightmare where the wife and I would be wandering about in Amsterdam (although it was NEVER the real thing, always some drab and boring American looking landscape) and I'd be saying to the wife "we're going home soon, we gotta pick up some hash!" and NEVER being able to pick up...nightmare indeed!!

UPDATE!
I forgot to mention that the AFGHAN ICE came from DOORS!!!
Once again...WHOA!

THURSDAY, MAY 28, 2009
A stop off at the apartment and the Greenhouse for tea and cafe (and, of course, much smoking!) and it's time for dinner! We're feelin' like Indonesian tonight having reminisced about the Rice Tables of yore when they were on EVERY corner and all along the Dam and Rokin. We're in the right area though and quickly find a great little Indonesian place on Haarlemerstraat (the name escapes me). Funny - it was definitely a "Dutch" Indonesian restaurant with an all-Nederland staff and a fusion menu that combined Indonesian curries and spices with a Dutch stampot
meat stew. Our waitress reminded me SO much of my Nana I wanted to help her buss the tables! Had to be in her '70's, she shuffled to the bar holding her back and I SWEAR you could hear her moan. The biggest, laziest cat I've EVER seen hung limply from the bar stool while she poured us beers - completely unfazed!

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Despite our servers "all-business" approach (quite Dutch!), she wound up being quite the gracious hostess and our meal was, indeed, quite delicious! Inexpensive and filling, we were ready to roll... literately!

Rather than go our usual route to 137, we decide to hop on Gil and see if we can't find one of those shops that only the locals go to and few tourists wander into. It's late - maybe 11:00pm or later because it's dark out and we dash onto the Prins and towards the outskirts of the Jordaan.

We pass a few familiar shops - Dutch Flowers being one of them - but, nope, it's GOTTA be small and local and one I've never heard of. We bang a right off the Prins towards Marxinstraat and, low-and-behold:

BRONX

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Ok, now THIS is what I'm talking about!! It's about as local as local can get - the Moroccan budkeep spoke virtually NO English...and when I asked which hasj was better he only shrugged "Hasj?". Yes, please, Hasj!

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Limited menu, BOTH hasj was the same price so we're not sure if we got the SUPER POLLEM or the POLLEM PRIMEUR" because they were BOTH 8 e/g! Maybe they're the same and different languages perhaps??? (WOW > I JUST figured that one out!!!!)

Delightful hasj - lighter brown but sweet with that PERFECT taste and consistency. So fudgy and very buzzy...

We also order a coffee and a tea and soon discover they too, like the Greenhouse, have mint tea. Except here at Bronx, the man behind the bar REALLY delivers by boiling the fresh mint in the water and straining it carefully through a screen into a glass filled with fresh mint!

We settle in, enjoying out beverage and feeling like a couple of locals! Gil is parked out front and we're toking on this AMAZing hasj at short money...so good, we score another gram on the way out. "Excellent hasj!" I mention and a younger Moroccan dude walking in smiles and says "you'll find MANY things to like from Morocco!". I laugh and say "I'm beginning to see that!".

Apparently more toasted than we thought, we drive around the Jordaan district a wee bit lost until we find our way back to the Brouer and our home...and least for one more full day!

Exhausted from quite the satisfying day, we fall into bed dreading the fact that tomorrow, Friday, will be the last full day of this extravaganza...

-HD

[Balou]

Great report, nice style and pics. I can't wait to try the Mint Tea!

[puffpuffgive]

Hasj Heaven? You know it! Amsterdam dominates my dreams - I used to have this persistent nightmare where the wife and I would be wandering about in Amsterdam (although it was NEVER the real thing, always some drab and boring American looking landscape) and I'd be saying to the wife "we're going home soon, we gotta pick up some hash!" and NEVER being able to pick up...nightmare indeed!!

hahah, I have almost his exact same dream. I'll be in 'Dam, but as soon as I realise I'm there I'm instantly in a bland London-type city, desperately looking for a coffeeshop. Or I#ll dream that I'm in dam on business, and have been so busy it's my last day and haven't picked anything up, or that I've somehow ended up outside the city centre and can't find my way back to main town area, etc etc!! Frustration dreams that always surface when I've been away too long...!

also- Damn- I remember peering at that oily afghan ice in doors back in march. Didn't end up purchasing at the time, but I think i may have to next time!

[HasjDreamer]

Balou - DEFINITELY check out Bronx for some mint tea (and, of course, primo hasj!)...

PuffPuff - Dude, you're SCARING me - our dreams are a little too similar - I'm afraid we may run into each other during my next Amsterdam nightmare!!

FRIDAY, MAY 29, 2009

We awake to a beautiful day but, alas, it IS the final full day of our journey and the only thing that's required of us is returning Gil to GILEX on Marxinstraat (that and smoking copious amounts of kind herb and hasj!)...

We smoke up some of that Bronx hasj whilst chilling in the apartment, dreamily looking out our windows to a magnificent view that we're trying oh so hard to burn into our memory. It's funny, you sit and look at the details thinking "soon I'll be home, I won't be here anymore..." but it's hard to appreciate it properly until you actually leave and think about it from home...

Anyway, we wrap up the session and walk down the straat to

137

This time, we pick up some bud...

ALLEGRIA @ 11 e/g

Spicy! Nice bud...

It's early and the owners (an oldish Dutch woman and, I think, her husband who just hangs out smiling while she does the work - wouldn't you??) are stocking up on herbage for the day so there's like a friggin' TON of ziploc bags on the counter FILLED with different weeds! Just sitting out there, no big deal - I kept thinking, this American's mind is BA-LOWN!!

Only in the Netherlands!

Fueled on cafe and bud, we climb aboard Gil for our last ride back to his true owners. With confidence gaining we speed along the Prins like locals traveling a whole lot faster than usual which is kind of a BAD thing because we're arriving too quickly at the Marxinstraat.

When we arrive, we've used up about a 1/3 of the tank (yeah, that's it!) so it's down the street to the Texaco for a fill up. Pretty cool, it costs us like 1 euro and change and I got ONE more chance to drive Gil..

Well, should I say DRIVE LIKE AN ASSHOLE!

We take off from the station going up the street in order to turn around. I'm cocky and it's my last blast so I'm FLYING about as fast as I've gone yet - but even better, I start crossing over from the bike lane (fast) to the car land (faSTER) onto the TRAIN lane (FASTEST) and as I approached Gilex at top speed I realize that the train lane is a few inches above the street and rather then risk a header going over the curb I risk a header JAMMING on the brakes. They screech, the wife slams into my back and I get intimate with Gils handlebars! No header, but locals lounging in outdoor cafes roll their eyes at my amateurish behavior! Ay caramba, what a way to end my time with Gil!

To top it off, I'm flustered and having a helluva time putting ol' Gil on his stand and the guy at the shop comes over and helps me in a appropriate disgusted manner. "Ya came back in one piece"? He seemed surprised - but then again, so was I!

We get a discount on our rate since we picked up later in the day so it comes to under 150 euro for the full time - not bad, not bad! It would introduce us to a love of scootering back home...

Fortunately, a coffeeshop appears next door as if by magic. And a magical experience it would prove INDEED! No better way to settle my frazzle nerves (and my wife's, I'm sure!):

1eHULP

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Another amazing local-Moroccan shop, but this time there was no mint tea and the budtender spoke fluent English. Of course, it is in a more populace part of town and the clientele, while not touristy, doesn't seem as unintentionally exclusive as the Bronx. The menu reflects this and is much more elaborate:

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We go for our first Pakistani hasj of the trip:

PACO @ 11 e/g

A definite Pakistani-Moroc rather than Pakistani import. It's nice - has that spicy taste but the vibe of a Moroccan and provides a nice solid stone.

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With cafe in hand, we settle in to THE most BEAUTIFUL and COMFORTABLE shop we've seen in quite a while - it's empty except for our buddy:

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Check out the exotic Moroccan vibe...

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We chillax to the max, smoking some serious hasj! After an hour or so, we start heading towards the centrum on foot with a blunt rolled and ready for the walk...our goal: the Flower Market!

-'till next time,

HD

[StonedSince67]

... JAMMING on the brakes. They screech, the wife slams into my back and I get intimate with Gils handlebars!

phew! ... this moment was definitely not expected ...

Fortunately, a coffeeshop appears next door as if by magic ... 1eHULP

how appropriate ...

i am not a dutch speaker, but with the help of this Dutch to English Dictionary, i translate 1e ('eerste') as 'first' and Hulp as 'aid' so we end up with First Aid

bet the smoke was sweet ...

'till next time

and we're glad there is another "next time" coming

via con dios

[spidergawd]

What a lovely travelogue, you really had a ball . Thanx for sharing it.

[HasjDreamer]

Hey Stoned..."First Aid": Rather apropos!!

Thanks Spider...it's my pleasure!

Heading out of 1eHulp having been given sufficient "first aid" we make our way towards the Flower Market on the Singel Canal. Not sure EXACTLY where it is, we ask and are quickly redirected and readily spot the white covered barges on the Singel. Having promised friends and family back home that we'd come back with some bulbs, we start shopping around and there's LOTS to see...

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... 0299-1.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... CN0302.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... 0300-1.jpg

"grow your own"
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... CN0301.jpg

Loaded up with unusual tulip and other flower bulbs, it's time for lunch and being our last day we decide to GO ALL OUT

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... CN0303.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... CN0304.jpg

McFull it's time to get McHigh, so we wander towards the Rokin area and come across an old friend from the mid '90's, the coffeeshop formerly known as Cum Laude,

KANDINSKY

Cute budtender that doesn't look old enough tells us that she's been working there since the late '90's when it was Cum Laude (and most likely served us then!). We chatted and got some

KANDINSKY HAZE at 11 e/g

No notes but I do remember walking and smoking a blunt of some nice pungent haze that kept us going all the way to Centraal where we head East and explore some of the coffeeshops and "touristy" areas we rarely go into nowadays.

We pass COFFEESHOP VOYAGERS..

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... eeshop.jpg

A shop almost next door (to the East) from Coffeeshop Central (which was WAY too busy and full to try and navigate!) and, if you recall, we were there on our last visit in August and did NOT purchase due to the absolutely outLANDISH pricing of the items (2 grams Afghani for 25 euro minimum purchase!). We wander in for the fun of it and notice that the south-eastern proprietors have been replaced with Russian or Eastern European owners and significantly lower prices more in line with neighborhood. We STILL didn't bother to pick up but it was nice to see the price drop...

Since we're so close, we hit one more shop in the neighborhood (that, of COURSE we find by accident!) for a grab-and-go..

STIX

For, what else?

TEMPLE BALL 13.5 e/g

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff26 ... CN0319.jpg

Yeah, outside of Willie Wortel's in Haarlem, THIS is THE Temple Ball to smoke! Spicy, fresh and a soARING high that is like no other. One of the world's truly GREAT hasj's!

Will wrap up the night and follow up reports, but it's TOO nice 'round these parts at 10:00 am on a Sunday morning so look for the wife and I on our Scooter ("Beatrice") bopping about the North End sipping espresso! We'll bring some smoke and try and have about as much of a Amsterdam experience as we can!

-HD