Amsterdream

Amsterdam was a dream-come-true, and not for the reason you may all be thinking. My friend Skye, who lived in Amsterdam for a few months and took a class on Dutch social policy, was able to give me a brief overview of the way the city is run, so that I could start to notice some of the differences in practice.

At the risk of being shunned by my family of capitalist die-hards, I must say that most notable in Amsterdam was the lack of very rich and very poor. The housing is not divided by neighborhoods, as in most American cities, but a building of "projects" will stand between a middle class apartment building and a high-profile business headquarters. The mix means no neighborhood is really any "worse" or "better" than another, and I really appreciated the Dutch people's willingness to spend time in and with the public.

I often had my breath taken away by a gorgeous, tall, blond Dutch man or woman, riding a bike, effortlessly cool, along a canal. The Dutch are beautiful and chic. And though marijuana is legal, it's not necessarily classy, so you might be hard-pressed to find one of those magnificent Dutch in a grungy coffee shop. And, they all speak English. hooray!

Other awesome things about Amsterdam: accessibility (everyone rides bikes, everywhere!), Dutch cheese, excellent shopping (my fave: a cupcake bar/boutique called The Darling), stunning architecture and breathtaking canals around every corner. Here are the pictures, ready, set, flash blog!

HEINEKEN

Houseboats

Electric Ladyland - fluorescent museum