Diary of SpanishI was Born in Latin America, My Friends are in Europe and I'm Living In India… My Daily Life… My Friends… My Diary

Many people come to India because they are searching for something new and different. I go to Europe for the same reason. For some days I want to feel free and careless. I don’t want to get worried that one day I will not have electricity or another I will not have water. I don’t want to worry about the lack of sidewalks or the spicy food, I don’t want to worry about the excessive heat or the heavy rain. I simply don’t want to worry.

In Amsterdam, the first thing that caught my attention were the Argentinian restaurants near the Dam square, this is great of course, I wanted an asado! Soon after I remembered that The Netherlands princess was Argentinian, so that’s why! By walking towards the Centraal Station, you can almost breathe the free and vibrant spirit of the city. But beware of the special lanes for bicycles, coz the cyclists will not stop if you are accidentally walking there. Be careful!

Exploring the city was fun. We were in Amsterdam during the Gay Pride days, so you could see shops selling pink cowboy hats and scarfs. The people wearing them were in white pants and tank tops. Everybody seem to be so happy, laughing and talking. Nobody seemed to be bothered if some guys were making out in the street. No way that you can see such expressions in India (being gay was illegal just a couple of years back). The red light district seems to be a hot spot for tourists as we ended up there by following a guided tour for senior citizens lol. It was amusing to see how the girls “call” their potential costumers.

I particularly like the houses along the canals. If you combine them with the narrow streets, the stoned lanes and some rain you are mentally transported to the era of painters, philosophers and artists. There’s a charm about Amsterdam that goes beyond bicycles, cheese and clogs. I like this city. In the city center the pubs and bars are full of people just laughing and having fun. There’s a great nightlife to enjoy.

But I also had to go to the country side. I love open spaces and Zaanse Schans was fantastic. I felt like I was looking to a vivid canvas, it was wonderful. The windmills were gorgeous, the strong wind was refreshing… I started to imagine myself inside the story of Don Quijote de la Mancha.

Finally I got enchanted with the dutch handicrafts. They are just beautiful, specially the Delftware pottery. I couldn’t help but to get some souvenirs, taste the different kinds of smelly but yum cheese, watch how the clogs were made and admire the diamonds and watches. It was really great to be in The Netherlands.