Amsterdam

8:22 pm, local time

I got into Amsterdam around 2 this afternoon. It's like the "royale with cheese" scene from Pulp Fiction - it really is the little things that are different. For instance, the bed in my hotel room doesn't have a comforter, and the bottom sheet is flat, not fitted. And the shrimp bisque I ordered for dinner tonight was pretty good, but it was not the type of cream based bisque I was expecting. Even so, I don't think it's quite hit me that I'm in another country for the next four months. I start work on Tuesday, since Monday is a holiday, which gives me a long weekend to get settled, figure out how to get to work, and all that.

Duckie and I had a wonderful fun time in Vegas. We didn't really do that much gambling - maybe only an hour or two at some low-stakes craps tables. Instead we spent most of the first day just wandering up and down the strip. The inside of Paris was way cute. I had expected it to be tacky, but the way it was decorated I felt like we were walking around outside instead of in a hotel. And the Bellagio was stunning, of course.

Maybe I've been in California too long, but I kept thinking, the whole time we were there, about the incredible amount of waste that goes into that city. The light on top of the Luxor, the golf courses, even the fountains at the Bellagio. All gorgeous in their own way, but completely unsustainable. Even Adam got a little upset when we went somewhere and the cups were all styrofoam. Methinks, however, that we will most definitely go back - and next time on a Friday/Saturday night trip.