What's that smell?

Well, we finally found where we grant me admin rights on this blog so now it should say who published/wrote what post. We knew it had to be there somewhere!

The next stop on the tour was the great city of Amsterdam. Yes you've all heard the stories and yes they are true. Being a simple boy from the suburbs I was blown away with the liberal attitude to everything.

In the air lingers a sent of something which I can not place, well actually it was everywhere, the smell of marijuana. You can buy it in cafe's, you just have to ask for the menu. Also they sell many varieties of mushrooms and they ain't for your stirfry!

We took in one of Amsterdam's more unusual forms of entertainment - an erotic cabaret. It makes it sound almost classy, I can assure you is wasn't. Some of the acts we fun, like the male stripper who called up some girls on stage and I think you've heard about the banana performance - yes, still going strong. I was pleased NOT to have been called on stage for that one.

After they show we went to a couple of bars and made friends with the owner of one. He actually invited us to his birthday party in a couple of nights but we wouldn't be in the city. After the bar had shut he let us stay and keep drinking with him and a two of his friends. Needless to say i woke up with a bit of a headache. Unlike me, Dan woke up looking and feeling good, as usual. I still haven't figured out how he does that...

We slept in a little before we attacked the city, walking around the canals and shopping area before joining a canal cruise in the evening. We visited the attic and home of where Anne Frank and her family lived. It was quite a moving experience, especially the closing video of Otto the father; he survived Auschwitz and Anne died only a month before liberation... I will be reading her diary again (I first read it in school) and I am sure I will have more understanding and appreciation after all I have seen and read now.

We roamed the streets for the day and came home atound 3pm for a nap. I know sad isn't it but we needed it after some pretty heavy nights. The cruise was very much a farewell for everyone on tour. We drank, laughed and took some really bad photos. The cruise finished but in no way had we - we took the party to The Grasshopper - quite an infamous club and we drank and danced and talked crap until the wee hours of the morning.

We got up with only a few hours to spare only to find that we weren't leaving until an hour later than planned so we could have slept in. AHHH and we needed it. Dan did grab an extra hour after breakfast but I stayed up. Only one casualty for the big night, Dan lost his shirt! Yes it has happened before just ask Charlie! He did have it on when we arrived home but not when we left the hotel the next morning.

We boarded the bus feeling a little precious to our onward journey to Paris. It was a strange bus ride back to Paris - sad to be saying goodbye to some of our new friends, happy to see others go and excited for the next two weeks.

Upon arriving in Paris, we looked at our confirmation for the hotel and we had booked the wrong dates. OOOPS. We booked 5-7th rather than 3-5th. this worked out quite well, giving us another two nights in Paris but nowhere to stay! I was getting a little worried but Dan just took it in his stride. We rocked up to the hotel and luckily they had vacancies so we had 4 nights there rather than having to move. I am sure Dan will update you on the brilliant location...

The tour is over, friends have been made and heaps of new experiences will remain in our memories forever. We have lots of food to try and make back home and all the photos to go thru. Any one for a slide night?

Learning:

• I can not go one for one Vodka with Dan
• Before using a new mouth wash for the first time it is best to read the instructions. Dan didn't and it was CONCENTRATED and burnt a layer of skin off the inside of his mouth. Skin actually came off. And he just thought it was stronger than he was used to...