So, Iāve decided traveling alone is the only way to go. I can meander and wonder in cool shops. I can stop for a coffee or grab a chocolate croissant whenever Iād like.
In Amsterdam, I did just that. (Down side to traveling alone is you get lost a lot, which I also didā¦) My first stop was this little Cafe. When they say cafe, they donāt mean cookies and coffee. They mean liquor. I ended up getting a latte Macchiato. It was so freaking good. The place was awesome. The doors were open and the bar was right in the middle. Every outside facing wall was mostly window and the sills had huge flower cases and beautiful flowers. There were old, used board games and cards. Each table had itās own small vase of fresh flowers. It was cute.
I then moved on. The walls of buildings are lined with flowers. Huge flowers, small flowers, wild flowers, cultivated flowersā¦ It was beautiful.
I stopped in a bakery and grabbed a chocolate filled something.
I wondered around in the vage direction of the van Gogh museum for a bit longer. I found a quaint little thrift store and that is where I found the magic jacket.
I tried it on and it fit like nothing else. Its leather, Iām good condition, and only 20 euros! Wut! The man running the shop was British. We had a good chat. He mentioned what girls always do when they try on a jacket was (I flipped my hair out of the jacket as he talked) āthat, just now!ā He thought I was from Louisiana. T.T He advised me against Anne Frankās house and a canal tour.
After I bought the jacket, I wondered into āThe Wine Shopā. Yup. Its exactly what it sounds like. It was pretty cool.
I stumbled upon a homeopathic shop. I found an awesome crystal candle holder. The woman there gave me raspberry tea for free because āeveryone needs tea in this weather.ā I found a cat! It was really pretty in there and so chill. When she found out that I only had a day here, she pushed me out the door and told me to see everything Amsterdam has to offer.
I went into the van Gogh museum and was looking at my very first picture when a guy comes up to me. āScary looking, isnāt he?ā (it was a self portrait.) āNo,ā I said. āHe looks sad.ā Of course I was projecting, but still. The guy thought I was from Texas, and then tried to make me guess where he was from. I refused. (New York) We had a small conversation on why I was here. He thought I was studying philosophy. When I told him I was studying neuroscience, he said I was mysterious. I told him I was here to look at the art, not talk about myself. But I shook his hand and told him it was nice to meet him. I spent the rest of my time there alone. It was nice. I was able to just observe and think and absorb. It was beautiful and sad. To know how depressed he was and to see how it changed his art and to watch how he grew through the strokes of his paint brush or the layers of paint... It was painful and beautiful. It was humbling. I was in awe.
Which was probably not a good thing since I went directly to the shop after and spent a fortune on things. Oh well. #WorthIt
I went to the I (am)sterdam sign and took some pictures (#selfietime). Then I went to eat at the Cobra. It was interesting. My waiter looked like Mathew Davis and Chris Hemsworth had a baby. <3 I got a Heineken and an Old Amsterdam sandwich. It was weird, but not bad. It had aged cheese, walnuts, a sweet jelly, and bitter greens on sourdough bread.
It had started to rain so I went out to the gardens while no one was there. It was really beautiful and weird as hell.
The woman in the homeopathic shop told me to check out the Amsterdam museum, but it was closing as soon as I walked in. :( Which was fine in the end because I had my life changed. Seriously guys, if you want me to fall in love with you, take me to an Orchestra.
The museum entrance was located inside a extravagant tunnel. There was a small group of people playing inside the tunnel. Three violinists, a Tuba player, and an accordion player. The acoustics were amazing, but the music was better. It was beautiful. I kept throwing money at them. They were selling CDs for 15 Euros (though the cute violinist offered me a discount). I stayed for three songs before I finally pulled myself away.
I wandered for a bit and stumbled across some also confused Americans. We discussed the oddness of the buses and where we needed to go.
I found another cafe with āhealthy coffeeā and ordered a vanilla latte. I finally stopped being a stereotypical man and asked for directions. She spent a good amount of time explaining things to me. It was really nice. Everyone on this trip had been so kind. It was awesome.
10/10 would recommend Amsterdam.
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