Amsterdam glows at night

Mara and I just got back from having dinner at a bar called the Getto on Warmoestraat on the edge of the red light district. Warren the Wonder Chef made me a warm salad that was way too yummy for a salad and topped it off with a preview of his brand new experiment: an apple lasagna (made with pancakes, apples, cinnamon and cream) for dessert. It was quite possibly the best thing I've ever tasted in my life.

We walked back to the hostel through the red light district, lots of glowing neon and a dizzying array of pretty women in windows. Women in the sex trade have safe workplaces here.

Met a couple of Americans at the My Home hostel where Mara works.

This picture is of Ian (on the right), who is from upper state New York and is heading to France next, where he hopes to stay and work for a while and Michael (on the left) who (if I remember correctly) is from California and has been travelling Europe and Asia with his guitar. He spent some time in Japan and speaks what sounded (to me) fluent Japanese to some of the Japanese residents of the hostel.

Wish I had more time here, but I think I've made a friend and will be back. Originally thought I might leave Wednesday afternoon so I could pick up Citronnade in Brugge and head back to Paris Thursday morning. That way I'd have plenty of time to get the bike back to Business.com by Friday even if I get lost. But it looks like rain and even snow in Belgium Wednesday and Thursday so I might be better off waiting to leave from Brugge very early Friday, when it will be overcast -- but so far the forecast is dry.

Will decide after checking weather again in the morning.

Have lots more to report on the train ride and some of the people I met, but don't have time tonight, so I may get caught up on that and may have to wait until I get to Dijon to upload more photos. The Internet connection here is one with a box where you insert coins and I don't think they want me to haul out the tower out from under the desk to find the USB ports.

For now, before going to bed I'm going to go chat up a couple of the other residents of the hostel, who are sitting around listening to Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven. Feels like I'm in a time warp.