Dear London Town

I came across this video some time ago. I have some friends who will be coming to London and while I’ll give them my usual 1-day in London tour suggestions, sometimes it’s fun to throw in something new and different. I think I’ll have to take myself out to see a few of these places:

Stop 1: New London Architecture on Store Street
Stop 2: Dog Cemetery inside Hyde Park (closed to the public)
Stop 3: Shunt near London Bridge Station (check website for opening times and tickets)
Stop 4: Traffic Light Tree in Canary Wharf
Stop 5: Marker by which distance to London is measured is found near Trafalgar Square
Stop 6: Miniature St. Paul’s Cathedral/Ladies Statues on Vauxhall Bridge
Stop 7: Wellcome Trust
Stop 8: Soviet T34 tank off Old Kent Road, Bermondsey
Stop 9: OXO Tower, Southbank
Stop10: Windsor, Pembroke, Dublin, Edinboro Castle pubs, Camden Town

For more unusual sights, check out GoUnusual.

My dear friend Steffi came to visit me in Amsterdam from her home near Rotterdam. Our day was spent meandering through shops, cafes, a park and almost a museum. During our time, I totally fell in love with Amsterdam. It is charming, easy to get around and English is spoken by nearly everyone. I took a lot of photos on the trip. To see the full set, visit my Amsterdam set on Flickr.

Day one included a hop on-hop off canal boat/bus tour. We started with the amazing Anne Frank house. After winding our ways through the canals a bit, we found ourselves at Albert Cuyp markt in order to find food. Once our bellies were filled, we headed to the Heineken Experience where many Heinekens were sampled. We enjoyed cheering on the boys attempting a perfect pour. After some lessons, Jack got up and did it on his first go!

The folks were headed to Europe on their way to Africa and decided to take a long layover in Amsterdam, which was convenient for me! After two failed attempts to see Amsterdam (due to flights and illness), I had high hopes for this visit.

I arrived at the hotel twenty minutes before they were to leave to find the excursion office for the Red Light District tour they had booked. While I was a bit unsure I really wanted to see the RLD with my parents, once there and we found it was no problem to book me in, I joined. I am *so* glad I did!

There is so much to learn about and see in the RLD. Our tour guide was fantastic. She was funny and smart and has been leading tours for something like ten years, I believe. She many times has to do it in both English and Spanish, but our group that evening all spoke English.

There was a lot of information to take in. Our first stop gave us some intimate details from Mariska, a former prostitute/sex worker who now runs the Amsterdam Prostitution Information Center. She told us about everything from prices, negotiations and how to rent a room/work a shift, to safe sex practices, tax regulations and why they use a red light (leaner, tanner, younger looking and less cellulite — hello I’m buying one now!). It was impressive. I was also surprised to learn that the age span starts at 18 and the oldest is/was 88!

The ladies as we walked through the streets were sometimes playful and sometimes indifferent. When I looked through the windows at some of the younger looking girls, I felt as though they looked back at me like I was judging them. If anything, I was just curious.

My father, somewhat jokingly, asked our guide during the tour: Is this where the term window shopping comes from?

She laughed and said she wasn’t sure. I cannot find anything yet about the origin, but it sure makes sense!