Day 2 in Amsterdam:  We went to the Flower Market - lots of bulbs but one terrific spot where they sell fresh cut flowers.  We had a great light breakfast at the Mart and then started our walk.  At one point we had a route decision.  Dave wanted to go a route we had taken a couple of times, I wanted to go a new route that would take us in a cicle to see new places but end up at the same place.  After 5 minutes of negotiation...yes, that, we split the difference. We then walked back over to ....you guessed it...The Red Light District.  If the red light is on, the girl is working.  I, for one, have seen enough, but he had found the old part of the city and wanted to be able to give a quick tour to our friends. Here's an oddity, one of the oldest churches in Holland in in the middle of this district. Frankly, it was a bit scary at 9am.  There were several packs of teenage boys roaming around. I was more concerned about what they had been doing all night, they weren't freshly scrubbed for mass.  In fact, it felt more dangerous at that time of the morning than at 10pm. I'm sure I did not have my "cool look" on.  I mean, we could not take a gang of teenage boys on.  And as many times as I have seen a place that looks iffy at night look beautiful in the morning, this did not. Frankly, as I watched the bars and brothels open for the day, or never having been closed, I have wonder.  As with many other European cities, the pubs and cafes are the social life, which I've always admired, but this seems different.  You're probably wondering, "Where in the world are you people staying!".  We're at a 5 star hotel in the center of the city!!!  Not bad digs!  But Amsterdam is different in terms of locations.
We started looking for lunch but soon realized that pubs only served grilled ham and cheese sandwiches!  THAT WAS IT! These places were meant for beer and conversation - screw the food...I mean, no-one was eating and no signs of it - so different from the Copenhagen canal environment.  And none of those looked like places that I would want to risk a meal!
So after a 1.45 hour quest we finally agreed to share some mini burgers and a beer.  I was near killing someone because as you know, the 2 things that make me cranky are being tired and being hungry.  Combine the two and I am deadly!  I haven't mentioned that I'm going on 5 hours of sleep for the last 2 days...can't get the time zone change this time.

Our friends finally made it after a 7 hour delay.  We met up and had a great dinner at an Argentine restaurant.. They continued on we came to back to rest.  Tomorrow I'm insisting on real culture - Van Gogh Museum, Anne Frank House.

And, I'm working on my list of "yo's and no's", but not until I have left Amsterdam.  I do want to have  as much of a view as possible.  In fairness, this is a world class city and I know we have only scratched the surface.   I know that impressions are being made that will only be processed later.

I'm hoping to hook up my camera to Dave's netbook in the next couple of days and post pics..not sure yet if his software will work.