The challenge is that some are just drop off locations for packages, and some sell the boxes, etc. but nothing online says which is which. I asked him if he new offhand, he didn't but he got his laptop out and sat with me until we found one, then he called and spoke to the man on the other end in Dutch, confirming that they did indeed have boxes too.
Hazaa!
The funny part is that he really was not having it today, was not in a fabulous mood, but admitted it, and actually asked me after we had found out what we needed, "Are you the type of person who likes to have a person be nice and help you, or do you like to just get to the task at hand?", and when I said that I think it's nice to be kind to people, he said, "Yeah, I just like to get things done."
I had to respect it! He helped me, saved me a ton of stress, and he was flat-out honest with who he is and how he likes things. I dug it!
Anyhow, I headed on my way, all purchases in hand, and walked my way over to the post office. It's kind of like having a post office in a Grand & Toy in Toronto (when they had stores). They sold office supplies, with a little side section for shipping. It took me a long time to figure out how to get all of the things into two tiny boxes. They didn't have the larger ones, sadly, so it became a fun puzzly challenge to make it all work!
There was no chance that the chocolates that Pops and Edgar love would fit into the box, so, sorry guys, those aren't making their way back (the M&S round ones with the cookie in the middle), but look at how damned efficiently packed the two boxes I just sent are! Like, I'm pretty proud! The one on the right is my favourite. Meant-to-be!
Now I'm sitting in a restaurant called Mazzo, and it's pretty cool! The food is yet to come, but I ordered bruschetta and a Caesar salad. Can't wait! Here's what the place looks like, and the food, because I'll have taken pictures and uploaded them to my iPad before I post this later tonight.
How cool with the lady ghosted out!
From there, I walked toward a store that a woman had mentioned to me when I asked what shoe size her store had. It was not a store that would have my size. She did, however, give me a card to a partner store that was called... wait for it... Big Shoe. It was just called Big Shoe, you guys. Today was the day that I went, and they didn't have my size! They just sold out so it's not like it never existed, but it would have been so great. Though, the shoes ranged from 180€ to 1050€, both of which seem crazy, but the later of which is absolutely absurd!
Then I walked toward the tourist office to book a big trip for tomorrow. Sure, in comparison to the trip I'm on, a 6.5 hour tour of the norther part of Amsterdam, seeing real windmills and go to a clog making place, doesn't seem that huge! But we take a bus out to the country, get to see the real windmills, with a real tour guide (not just a pair of headphones), then go to a cheese tasting, a Holland museum, and the clog place. I'm very excited about it. I realized very quickly yesterday that the busy downtown streets of Amsterdam aren't my favourite part of Amsterdam, and am looking forward to seeing something new tomorrow.
After sorting all of that out, I decided that since my last day is Monday, and I have to be at the airport for 1pm, that day is a slight write-off because I'll have to leave the house at 11am to get to the post office and then, of course, the airport. Because of that I really wanted to go and see Anne Frank's House today. The line up was 1 hour and 15 minutes, but we finally got in. In the line I was chatting with two lovely ladies from Cologne, Germany, and it made the time fly by a bit faster.
You're not allowed to take pictures in the house, because everything is so fragile and because... respect, but we got to see the bookcase that acted as a door to the people in hiding, as well as real sections of walls where Anne Frank had posted some of her favourites movie stars and posters. Her diary was actually there, in a case, for us to take a look at. I don't know why I was surprised, it is the house that she wrote it in, but I'd heard so much about it, it just seemed so surreal to actually see it.
The stairs we walked up to get to different floors got more and more steep, where the rise far outweighed the run, and you had to walk sideways to get up them. There were a lot of things that I found touching, of course, and many that were very sad. They play a lot of video interviews in certain parts of the house through the home, and it brought it to life quite a bit.
I bought myself a copy of an English version of her diary, and it comes in a beautiful fabric and heavy card sleeve that resembles the plaid pattern on the outside of her original diary.
After that I thought I would walk home, it was getting a it dark, and grab something from the substantial grocery store that I'd yet to be in, that I see each day when I walk into town.
I actually ended up walking by a restraurant before that, which seemed to have a very cool vibe about it. I asked if they had a table, and they said they were fully booked, but that I could sit on the patio. Usually a great idea, but it was / is a very cool night. Thankfully the had heaters that work quite impressive, so I sat outside.
I ordered the delicious ribs of some sort as an appetizer, and then the cod for my main. The cod was odd (teehee), it was very tart, well, the sauce with it. I think everything but the fish was picked, and I feel like I ate an odd fish part as part of the side that came with it, because it was very dense and... it, I just don't want to eat it again, lol.
Then it was home time. I didn't even remember to take a picture of the outside because it was so chilly, but it was really good!
Finally I made it to the store on the way home, and look what I found!
Peanut Butter Oreos! I bought three packs, two to send home, one to try. I ate three cookies and decided that I didn't like them. Some may, so I'll still send them back and see what people think!
All three of these look like paintings!
It looked like there was some focused light behind the bridge. I just couldn't stop staring!
Nighty night!
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