Note: Apologies for the length...dont know what happened...one minute I was smoking some Chemo, the next thing, war and peace.
Day 1 - Part 1
The flight from Toronto was fine, but in retrospect, felt 3 times as long as the flight home....even though it was an hour shorter. Long taxi to the gate, quickly through passport control and our baggage might have very well been the first off the plane.
Jinxy and I grab train tickets and three minutes later we are on our way to Centraal. Check our bags in the lockers at the train station -- but not before pulling out my gear pouch (rolling papers, grinder, lighter, etc).
And then it happens... We step into the early morning Amsterdam air.
The chime of the trams welcome us as they slowly negotiate the approach onto the Damrak. The grind of the trams is almost drowned out by the clacking of boot heels on cobblestone. It's overcast and cold, but not chilly. The sun isn't even bothering to fight the clouds today. There's a slight breeze, and I stop for a moment take it in. The Mokum aroma is in the air, it tingles... a mix of marijuana, canal sewage and cat piss. I love it.
Exhale...and...focus...click.
We have business to take care of this morning. It's 8:30am and we are mobile.
Postponing the traditional Barneys breakfast to make a run to 1e Hulp. We decide to walk from Centraal to Marnixstraat to "stretch" the legs. Simple enough route on the map, but somehow we (I) manage to zig zag the entire distance there. And by that I mean, we zigged when we should have zagged, an exhausting experience.
By 9:15ish we finally arrive at 1e Hulp...it's just us, the budtender and one other girl in the shop.
After a short chat with Larby, and an inspection of the menu, decide on 0.5g/37.50e OGxCasey Jones shatter and 2g/22e Burmese Kush. 1e Hulp is not entered in the Cup, and the budtender also advised the bho is not good. Grabbed some coffee and decided to sit and burn a joint of burmese to relax and start the vacation.
As I'm about to light the jammer, a really stoned dude walks up and murmurs "lighter"...so I pass it to him. He returns it and walks away...Jinxy and I giggle about it and as I turn to light the jammer again, the dude is back and murmurs "lighter" again... Am I not supposed to light this joint?
The burmese kush was great, lovely aroma and very smooth. The shatter was amber and thick, very nice, but we did not have any at this point, it would come into play later. I regret not buying more and not getting back to 1e Hulp during this trip. That mistake will not happen again. Great service, fantastic menu and a fine environment to blaze.
Jinxy wants to sit and relax, but I can never rest long in Amsterdam. Say our thanks and head across the street to Funkey Munkey. All I could think about walking in here was how much I liked the Girl Scout Cookies last year. The Cup entry this year was Casey Jones 13e/gram with I grab one of, and 2 grams of the Big Buddha Cheese for 22e. We grab some drinks and settle into the couches for a wee smoke session....
...and after 30 mins I'm antsy again so we are off for breakfast. The walk is much quicker and direct to Barneys thankfully. First into the coffeeshop for some Liberty haze 2gr/28e and Chronic thunder 2gr/32e....and across the street for eggs and meat.
Last time Jinxy and I were in Amsterdam, we popped into Barneys and this happened:
Jinxy assured me this wouldnt happen again, and he was true to his word. However, the Liberty haze combined with tiredness and the proximity of everyone crammed into Barneys got my social anxiety running...feck me...I will fight this off but I would like some fresh air. So after being here for about 30 mins we are up and on the move again.Across the street and a couple of Irish breakies later Jinxsy and I are thoroughly satisfied. Out comes the Grinspoon and I roll a 1.5 gram cannon as a "little" pick up to the morning.
Pass it to Jinxsy and four hauls later he says "I'm good". WHAT?!?! Dude, first joint of trip and you're already waving off? I'll cut him some slack and chalk it up to tired bones.
Popped into Green House for 1 gram of Exo Cheese for 11e, and then Dampkring for 1 gram of morrocan ice hash for 18e. Cheese was the usual goodness from GH and the morrocan was super soft and very smooth. These were fly and buys as both purchases were smoked later.
We've only been in town 4 hours, but have already been to 5 shops. It was around 12:30 so we decided to grab our bags from the lockers and head to Voyagers.
Crossing the street and turning the corner onto Geldersekade...finally, some familiar faces! Great to see both Cisco and matty223 again. Cisco is looking strong, healthy and high - dedication and hard work paying off and I'm very happy for him!. matty is talking about either going to or coming from Cafe de Klos...whichever hes making us hungry!
From there its a tidal wave of ACDers... there's Hide, Tomoya, Luvtick with a caramel goodie -- so good, USBongLord painting every joint with spoon or wax,LionofJudah, Phil, Omnibuzz and Bifton... and at least a half dozen others whose names I lost track of in the barrage of introductions and reintroductions. Half are heading for Julia's or Batavia for food, the rest remaining, a huddled mass of stonage.
Say our hellos to Gabby, Highly Blessed and I think Danny was there too. Understandibly our room isnt ready, still only 1pm-ish...so we store our luggage in the basement and buy some weed. 2 grams of kosher kush the cup entry for 30e, and 2 grams of the Notorious OG for 30e, couple of coffees and we settle in for a smoke session. Roll a cannon of Notorious! Smoke smoke pass pass and repeat.
An hour or two later we decide to head to Nieuwmarket to hit some old favs.... Green Place for 2 grams of Headband for 28e, Hillstreet Blues for 1 gram of Polm 6.50e...probably the best hash of the trip and it was also the cheapest. Honestly, sometimes a good high can be found in a gem of a deal...that polm was mellow and relaxing, my body felt warm, and tender like I just had a massage.
Part of my OCD compells me to be in a coffeeshop at 4:20 whenever I am in Amsterdam. We end up in of all places, Jolly Joker. I picked it partly because of the view, but also because of the recent reviews here on ACD. A couple of green teas (which they have an amazing selection of, and also a huge cast of all other teas, just lovely)... and 2 grams of Royal Cheese, which was pre-bagged for 22e.
We sit in the window of Jolly Joker, watching people pass by while day turns to night. Street lamps begin to illuminate the cobblestone as the high of the Royal Cheese cuts through the Polm. This is a good place. Right here, right now, with this moon fighting through the clouds. So bloody high....so happy.
This Royal Cheese has me hog-tied, what a great day and its only half over.
Jinxy and I toast to our good fortune.
Coming up next - Day 1 continued: Check in
lovely stuff 
