on april 2, 2007, i set out for another business trip to europe. this time, i traveled with a close colleague of mine who was only a year older than me. the prospective time we would spend there would be was 6 weeks traveling to the following spots: london, amsterdam, and paris.
london:
this was my 3rd time in london so i wasn’t as excited. nevertheless, traveling is always nice and los angeles grows mundane after a while. during this trip, i didn’t have my camera with me so i did not take any pictures.
during my stay, i stayed at a really nice hotel called le meridien. despite my room smelling like smoke, everything else was luxurious. you could tell me just looking at the people that stayed there, high-class white collars. the nicest part about this hotel was the indoor pool, spa, and sauna.
amsterdam:
this was the best part of my trip for several reasons. it was my first time in amsterdam.
before i arrived, i had already heard so many things about amsterdam and they were all true. marijuana was legal, most of the people were very good looking, and it was the land of bikes. although i do not smoke “mota”, it was interesting to visit a place where marijuana was legal. stores known as “coffee shops” would sell all types of marijuana and the types of people ranged from young teens to salary men. during my stay, i must say that i say many pretty girls that could easily be models in hollywood. i’m not sure what it is over there … maybe the food or water. then there’s the bikes. everywhere you go, there’d be people in bikes. never in my life have i seen so many people in bikes and i was impressed. maybe it’s all the exercise that keeps them healthy looking.
then there was “koningommedag” or also known as queen’s day. this holiday was definitely an eye opener. basically, it’s a holiday where everyone dresses up in orange roams the streets intoxicated and high to celebrate the birthday of queen wilhemnia. all the streets were filled with stands selling food, clothes, alcohol, and PEOPLE. at every central district, there were dj concerts spinning techno, house, and hip-hop. the canals were packed with boats of all sizes with people partying. i must have seen at least 3 large boats filled with people and dancing to music played by DJs who were also on the boat. it was unbelievable. for more info about queen’s day, visit
paris:
paris was a lot calmer than amsterdam but beautiful as always. in paris, i stayed at la tremoille. during my paris trip, there were 2 significant events.
the first was the casino. my co-worker and manager enjoyed playing hold ‘em so we visited a nearby casino for some play. although i play hold ‘em with my friends, i do not usually play in the casinos. however, i had no choice but to play this time because my company could not leave the tables. however, i ended up leaving with $300, just enough to buy me some
the second was playing basketball next to the eiffel tower. the eiffel tower is amazing at night. it’s lit up with lights and playing ball next to it was a once in a lifetime experience. i haven’t played basketball and year and here i was picking up a game at paris. i’m going to admit it, i suck at basketball. i just never practiced the game too much in my early years. nevertheless, i still knew the basics… dribbling, shooting, etc. but just wasn’t a star performer. i ended up playing 2 games and sat out because i wasn’t in shape.
