My wife Dee and I just returned from a week in Adam. As always, it was wonderful.
We arrived at our hotel at dinner time, having spent over an hour at the airport trying to locate Dee's checked bag. It was not to be found.
We prefer pipes or bongs, but being desperate by now for a "relaxer", we hurried over to Rusland and purchased a Maroc and tobacco joint. It was first rate, giving us a smooth float.
The evening got even better when the airport called a couple of hours later and advised that Dee's bag had been located and was on its way to our hotel!
We had already been in Europe for 2 weeks, and Dee had developed a terrible cough by the time that we got to the Dam. So, we went to Chocalota the next morning to get some of their famous chocolate hash cake to save her throat and lungs. Since we were there, I purchased a gram of their Orange Bud. Well, we shared the hash cake, and it did absolutely nothing for us. The Orange Bud was a totally different story. We got smooth, very long-lasting, walk-about highs from it.
We tried to go to ARC for dinner, but that was impossible. The after-work crowd was slamming down drinks as fast as the wait staff could deliver them. We tried again after 8 PM, but it was even crazier then. Don't bother going to eat, but it is a happening place if you are going to drink.
The next morning we made two coffee shop stops - the Gray Area, where I picked up a gram each of Bubble Gum and Yellow Cab, and Abraxas to buy Bon Bons for Dee. The Bubble Gum was, as always, smooth and uplifting. The Yellow Cab was very similar to the Bubble Gum in my opinion. As you can tell, we like to remain functional so we can do things while stoned. In fact, one weed dealer told me that he does not understand the dudes who come in, smoke the strongest weed like crazy, then sit there all day glazed over, oblivious to where they are, or perhaps even as to who they are.
Anyway, Dee was thrilled with the Abraxas Bob Bons. Just one of them would give her a nice, drifty high for several hours and she is no lightweight. She can outsmoke me 3 to 1. At 5.9 Euros for a 3-pack, she stayed high all day for $10 USD. I never had it so good! Anyway, we had to go buy the Bon Bons every day.
One interesting dinner we had was at the Garlic Queen. The garlic is not that overpowering, and the food is very good.
We went to both Boom Chicago shows. They are always fun, although I think we are getting too used to them.
We found the staff in all the coffee shops very friendly on this trip. We were shocked when we walked into the Gray Area and saw a new weed dealer there. I said, "Well, you're not John and you're not Steve." The dealer laughed and said, "No, I'm Mike, the new guy." I like Mike. He says that he even opens up on time. That is a new twist for the Gray Area.
The milkshakes at Rusland are as good as advertised, and the bar girls who make them are even better. Very fine indeed.
We went to Zanse Schaans one day. It is the Dutch equivalent of Williamsburg. They have a working windmill, a cheese factory, a wooden clog factory, and other stuff. It is 15 minutes from CS.
Another day we went to Utrecht. It is a sizable city, half an hour from CS, with a totally different vibe from Amsterdam. Their 2-level canal is neat. Lots of outdoor cafes right on the canal with other cafes up at street level overlooking the canal. Yes, they have coffee shops, but we didn't visit any.
We also spent time in Vondelpark. That is always a good bet. You never know what you will see. Had lunch there at Vertigo. We shared the Tapas Mystic. It was good and a bargain. I think it was 12 Euros and more than we could eat. Spicy little red sausages were especially tasty.
Just people-watching while sucking up beer at the Ritz Cafe on Rembrandtplein was a delightful way to pass the time on a couple of afternoons.
It was tough to leave Adam. We are already looking forward to our next visit.

Shin

Thanks for the info. We're leaving a month from today and you really whetted my appetite. I laughed while reading it as my wife can also outsmoke me by a wide margin. Thanks particularly for the bon bon tip.

Very nice trip report. The Garlic Queen sounds interesting, did you get to try garlic ice cream?

The Bon Bons sounds good, also off out there on the 14th Oct so really looking forward to trying some new things.

If all else fails it will be back to the old Orange Bud :)

Finally a trip report to read! It's been a while...

Thanks for taking the time out after your trip to do so as it certainly enhances the message board's content. And having read that you and your girl had such a nice time in Amsterdam is also wonderful. Welcome home!

Was actually out in Williamsburg this weekend and had an excellent evening. I often compare Amsterdam's outlying areas, such as de Pijp, to Brooklyn, so I know where you're coming from :)

Cheers!
~uberchef

Greetings Uberchef !!

I think he meant Williamsburg, Va

I will be in A'dam in a few weeks and report shortly after. Those bon bons sure do sound yummy. Great little report.!!!!!!

I guess this is a dumb question but what are Bon Bons? Where do you get them? I will be going for the first time with my wife in Nov. and they sound great.
Your report was also OUTSTANDING Thanks Joe

Williamsburg, VA....jeez, I guess I didn't see where he was coming from after all! Anyways, yes, now everything is illuminated :) I guess Zaanse Shaanze is a whole lot more like Williamsburg, VA than Williamsburg, Brooklyn anyways!

Dank u wel for the greetings...
~uber.

I should have said Colonial Williamsburg, that re-creation of the original town in Virginia. The re-creation was built with the Rockefeller's money. It is a very neat place for a short vacation, only a little over 2 hours from DC. Sorry for the confusion.

Bon Bons are sort of like chocolate truffles, but made with hash butter. How good they are depends on where you buy them. We had great success with the ones from Abraxas, which is located in a little alley behind Dam Square. At Abraxas, you buy them, as well as space brownies, etc. from the bar, not from the weed dealer.

Thanks to all for the positive feedback.

Shin

Reading another post reminded me that my wife Dee insisted that we go to La Tertulia on this trip. We always seem to walk past it, but have never gone inside before. It is that fern-farm coffee shop on Prinsengracht run by a mother and daughter and is reported as being so very female-friendly. They are open only during the afternoons.

Well, all of that is true. During our visit there I was one of three men to show up as compared to well over a dozen women. One gaggle of five young tourist-girlies spent at least 15 minutes giggling over the menu.

Finally, I was able to buy a gram of their Bubble Gum. It was so bad that I threw it away.

Shin

I hit a bonbon last night from Abraxa's. I got nothing. Nothing at all.

They told me that between the three bonbons in the package, they contain a full gram of hash. I still have the two left over.

They taste really good - like chocolate candies from a (bad) valentine's day box.

Shindoni

my wife and i love restuarants that feature garlic in their cooking. where is the Garlic Queen located?

Thanks
Mike & Helen

Mike and Helen - If I remember correctly, The Garlic Queen is located on Regulierswarsstraat, along with a number of other good restaurants. We were lucky to get a table without a reservation. After us, they turned away walk-ins. Also, they keep their glass front door locked. You have to ring the bell for someone to decide whether to let you in! This is somewhat strange, since the front of the restaurant is open to the street, blocked only by a couple of tables and chairs. I guess it is because there is no room to stand once you get into the place.

Regarding the garlic ice cream - we were too full after dinner for dessert.

Freakpa - Sorry you got nothing from the Abraxas bob bon. I know how you feel. I had read so much about Chocolata's chocolate hash cake that it was awful that it did nothing for me. My wife weighs less than 110 pounds and got a nice buzz for hours from a single bon bon. Maybe you needed two of them, or maybe the chef burned the hash for himself out of your batch.

Shin

Great trip report!! My wife and I ate at the Garlic Queen in June. It was a great place. We also make it to Boom Chicago every trip. Man, just talking about these places makes me wish we were back again. We made it to Grey Area and had the bubblegum. It was great stuff. Never tried the bon-bons, maybe we should do that next time. The only thing missing from the things that we do is a great trip to Fun4Two in Moordrecht. We are thinking about a trip for my birthday in January. Never been to Holland during that time of year, but thinking about a quick trip the end of that month.