The One Where Ellie Leaves Her Glasses at Heathrow

Me in Amsterdam

Summary: I went to Amsterdam and it was sweet, but I lost my glasses.

Word of the day: coffee shop
I’m taking a break from my usual British/U.S. dictionary to mention a phrase on so many buildings in Amsterdam. The funny thing is, I really thought they were coffee shops at first, but you can smell that the weed as you walk by, and so I caught on quickly.

What I learned this weekend: Heathrow Airport ate my glasses. I am embarrassed to tell you (but I’m going to tell you) that what I learned deep down at my core is that what all of those countless employers and teachers and principals and vice principals always told me about being late is true. I learned from this experience that one should be on time for his or her flight, because then he or she will be less likely to freak out and leave his or her whole make-up bag (including his or her glasses) at check-in. And he or she will never get these items back if he or she forgets them.

What I love about London: Being only a cheap plane ride (trying to discount missing glasses!!!) away from Holland. I’m pretty sure the stoically carefree people of Holland changed me forever.

Seeing Red
Well my first visit to Amsterdam was this weekend, and because I waited for a day without Amsterdam to write this, I feel like some of it has worn off. But I managed to scribble some thoughts down last night in the airport.

As you know, I lost my glasses. [whines on about losing glasses for five minutes]

It’s hard to say what I really loved about Amsterdam, because it is so a place you just GO. You do not DO in Amsterdam (despite what you might think about all the doing people are doing), but you just BE. For instance, on Friday, after meeting up with my friend Katie Jones, who is working as a flight attendant and got a cheap flight from Ohio, we soaked up some local color at a bar near the dodgy east part of Amsterdam. Turns out we needed a big key to get into the bathroom, because they lock it to keep the Dutch men from peeing all over the walls. At first I thought this was a joke, but then I discovered all of the pee deflectors in corners and public urinals all over the city.

On Saturday, Jessica got in town and we simply explored. I would definitely recommend a walking tour in any city, and Amsterdam is delightfully walkable as long as you watch out for the bikes ringing their bells to alert you before they smash your limbs. But when you aren’t walking, you can always sit in Amsterdam. There are plenty of cafes and coffee shops to just relax.

On Sunday we did a little museum-hopping with a new best friend from Australia we met in the hostel. First we hit up the Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank wrote her diary in hiding. And then on a completely different note, we went to the Sex Museum, where you would hardly believe the erotic art over the centuries.

On Monday we did some last-minute Amsterdam tourism, hitting those random Monday spots like vintage shops and Cannabis College, where one can thumb through hemp-constructed clothing and books on the medicinal benefits of marijuana. Did you know that marijuana is both antibacterial and antifungal? Must be why the Dutch have such amazing skin. What is funny is that Americans view it as such a fungus. Actually (and maybe we better discuss this over a beer sometime), I see a lot of class discrimination in the American criminalization of drugs. And why in the world is alcohol a more acceptable undertaking than weed?

Oh whatever, this trip simply added to my plate of things to ponder and ways of life to dissect. And now I have that strange clarity that losing one’s glasses will bring. And I consumed a lot of fries drenched in mayonnaise and all kinds of cakes. Amsterdam is any easy city to enjoy yourself in.

I am now reading: Blink by Malcom Gladwell. Well actually I already started and finished it in the airport and on the plane, but I definitely think it's worth mentioning this clever analysis of our gut instincts.