London to Amsterdam

Ok here we go! First we get together at 645am for the weigh in, then we board the bus and we are off.

These are the people I have to deal with for the next 16 days:

Alright the first day mainly involved taking a ferry from England (?) to France and then driving to Amsterdam.  From the ferry I took a picture of the Dover cliffs, and then ruined a picture of the Dover cliffs.

It’s kind of rainy and cold and the water was choppy but I’ve been taking dramamine every day and the weather will get better in a few days when we move south. 

Ok we are back on the bus and are about to play “speed dating” which is their way of forcing us to get to know everyone. This is a great idea because there are some quiet people on this trip. I am not on one of them and I met half of these people already. Let’s go!

We are in the Netherlands now – just hit a rest stop. The back half of the bus is drunk already and the girl next to me wants to share a pot brownie in Amsterdam. This is going to be interesting.

Ok yeah, it was very interesting.

We went to a traditional Dutch Cultural Experience which was our tour guides way of saying Sex Show. I’m thankful for a few things: 1) I was all the way in the back row. 2) It’s the only sex show I’ll ever go to. It was interesting in a cultural kind of way but it was kind of gross in a people having scripted sex on stage to techno music kind of way. I do not have any pictures of this experience as cameras are not allowed in the Red Light District. It’s better this way.

Then we went to a bar which was connected to a hostel. It was jam packed. I asked for a straight tonic with lime which apparently means gin & tonic with lime. I’ve learned to take a small sip of every drink because most bartenders make alcoholic drinks – it’s their job. So I spit this one out. Then I left and walked down the street to a coffee bar which in Amsterdam is a place to buy weed legally. The one we went to is apparently the most famous of all of them – The Grasshopper.

It’s three stories – smoking room in the basement, bar on the main level, restaurant upstairs. I think they put the pot in the basement so that no matter what floor you’re on you still get stoned. The funny thing about this whole area is that there are ice cream shops and fast food restaurants EVERYWHERE. I found some of the girls ordering four pieces of cake at the bakery next door. There were only two girls. This is Pip and she is one of the many Australians on our tour.

Thus concludes Day 1. And yes I stayed sober.