Sent: 29/10/2001

Subject: Ahhh Amsterdam

Well well well..........

It is 4pm Monday afternoon and I am absolutely shattered. Louise took the 
easy option and flagged work today, wish I had done the same. The reason for 
this apparent lack of energy, motivation, brain cells:

Louise and I have just returned from: AMSTERDAM (ENOUGH SAID?)

Friday afternoon Louise and I flew out to Amsterdam.....we started the 
weekend break with vodka and wine on the plane, only a few drinks but 
considering the flight is a mere 40 mins....well it put us in the mood.

Mistake #1: Taking advantage of last minute cheap airfares is great. 
Booking suitable accommodation in advance to cooincide with such flights is 
usually also recommended. However as Louise continuously reminds me, since I 
have moved to London, my organisational skills have gone out the window so 
we thought "it will be alright" and at 6.30pm we were calling hotels, 
hostels from the Amsterdam train station. We managed to find a place, really 
cheap too and guess what....when we got there, not only did we get a bed, 
but an invitation to join the bible reading and a free bible too: BONUS!!! 
We had strolled into the Christian Youth Hostel, with curfews and all. 
Louise always looks on the bright side, so we just dumped our bags in the 
room and found the first coffee shop we could. I can not explain how weird 
but how also positively FAB it is to order a latte, a mocha and 2gms of 
weed..........Louise's face looked like a child on XMAS morning. We shared 
4 j's, started dribbling to these Irish lads and then strolled around the 
infamous red light district.

OH MY GOD..............5000 legal whores wearing next to nothing in windows 
lit up by flattering red fluros, jiggalos on the corner saying "Hey you 
wanna F*CK? and sex shops everywhere.....KOALA BOY HEADQUARTERS INDEED. As 
we were a little bent, we managed to get completely lost and according to 
the locals the next day, were walking through areas where two young girls 
should not be!!! TOO FUNNY.

Did some shopping, a fav past time of ours..........we would stop every 
couple of hours to roll a scoob and share a spliff then get back to it. 
Stopped at the Dolphin cafe which is very cool (SIOBHAN AND SIMONE, you 2 
would love it). Louise indulged in some SPACE CAKE and then we took in a 
canal cruise which was pretty good apart from this asian guy behind us who 
insisted on sniffing and making vile noises every 2 seconds...GROSS! Perhaps 
someone had a laugh at his expense and suggested inhaling weed through his 
nostrils? Ended up at GRASSHOPPERS that night, all the cafe's have such FAB 
names ie: Greenhouse Effect, Grasshoppers, one place goes as far as 
stating: "Lousy food, warm beer".....obviously Food and Beverage not the 
most profitable side of the business.

Sunday: my birthday! 22 years of age and starting to feel it. We did have 
good intentions to hire bikes and ride around like so many people 
do......apparently according to Jean-Paul.....this local guy we met (who 
incidentally speaks 6 languages - YEAH OK, that's normal) the trick is: 
Don't hire bikes for 15 guilders per day......no no, just buy one from a 
junkee for 20guilders instead and then sell it back to them before you 
leave. I mean - of course, why not?

Explored the sex shops, there are some FAB toys in there.....latex 
underwear, butt plugs the works! Holiday quote was Jean-Paul's opinion of 
Amsterdam's Red light district: "It's just another shopping mall"

Now there is something to ponder.......

Thank you to all those who sent me text messages, birthday wishes, emails 
and presents. Truly appreciated. For those who forgot such an important 
occassion...............SHAME ON YOU! I am back in London for a good while 
now as I need to save some money quick....until the next time I write, stay 
happy and enjoy life.

Kristy
xoxox