in amsterdam now, found an internet cafe with an american keyboard thankfully. we got in just a few hours ago after spending the day in brussels, where we walked through the square, ate an amazing lunch that must have been worth 10,000 calories: mussels in garlic butter, half of chicken with potatoes au gratin, a sampling of belgian cheeses and about three neuhaus chocolates for dessert. i felt like quite the piggy once we finished. we hopped on the train soon after to amsterdam and have been walking around the city since we arrived.

but wait, lemme finish on paris. it was still beautiful the second day, though the initial excitement had waned considerably. we didn't have the time or money to do too much there, so we did plenty of walking around while gawking at the pretty sites. the visit to the rodin museum was awesome. a bunch of his sculptures sit in the massive garden surrounding the premises, including "the thinker." inside was "the kiss" and a bunch of busts. we ended the day by buying a bottle of wine and some sandwich materials for a lovely (and cheap) dinner along the seine river. this was followed by a very touristy boat ride along the seine, which saw the eiffel tower lit up like a christmas tree. they must have put some huge blinking christmas lights on the thing and set it to go off every hour for about 10 minutes. it was a fabulous ending to a lovely two days.

now amsterdam begins another two days. tomorrow we're heading to the van gogh (the dutch pronounce it "van goff") museum, where the largest collection of his stuff is housed. this is actually my third time in amsterdam, so i'm not tripping out on all the legal drugs and girlies hanging out of the windows the way pablo is. we already hit up the red light district, which is really a place to be seen first-hand in order to be fully understood. girls really do sit/stand behind glass doors waiting for some man to approach, money in hand, for some nookie. most of the girls look bored and most of the guys are drunk and greasy-looking. down the street from this is the famed marijuana museum, where one can purchase seeds and a growing kit for cheap. then the coffeeshops, usually filled with tourists, where you can choose your weed or hash from a menu that comes complete with a description of the high. it's very bizarre and a bit sketchy. junkies and pickpockets are everywhere.

but beyond the highs and hookers, amsterdam is really a beautiful city lined with canals and culture. dutch design is the best in the world: all clean lines, minimalism and understatement. i like that stuff. we're gonna hit up more of the city stuff and likely stay away from the seedy sites. my greatest pot-smoking days are behind me and i'm glad that i had the chance to come here during their heydey to take in the bomb chronic. that visit totaled about ten days of continuous wake and bake -- and then bake some more. there was never a sober moment. i can barely remember that trip. now, it just makes me sleepy or paranoid. (though i might pick up a joint for old times' sake :-)

after amsterdam comes cologne, germany, to see the cathedral. and then onward to berlin and eastern europe. stay tuned.