We opted to take a day off work to visit Amsterdam. There is a park and ride program that costs 8 euros for parking at the olympic stadium and two two ride passes for the transit system, that we used to get downtown.

Our first stop was a cup of coffee for me! R had a hot chocolate that I was fascinated to see made.  The lady threw some chocolate chips into a cup, filled it with milk, and then put the steamer from the latte machine in to heat up the milk and chocolate chips! R let me try some, and it was amazing!! Mind = Blown.

We walked along Kalverstraat, and stopped at a bunch of stores. We had 3 things to get: some shoes for me (I have my mind set on some Campers, or similar brand), a winter coat for him, and a SIM card for my cell phone so that I can use it here if needed.

I found the Camper store to be intimidating, despite it being so small. I tried on some clothes at Vero Moda, Esprit and Only, but didn't buy anything. I found a blazer, sweater and long sleeve tee that I really liked, but decided to think about. Those stores are everywhere here, so if I decide that I want to buy them in the end, I can go somewhere closer.

We also went to the Madame Tussauds wax museum. I said that I would go if it was less than 15 Euros, and it was 16, so we went in. I was pleasantly surprised, I thought it might be creepy, but it was pretty neat. And it was on a high floor right by the Dam Square, so there was a nice view right by Madonna, Elle McPherson and Posh Spice.

View of the Dam Square

R found a winter jacket that he really liked, but it was pretty expensive, so he decided to keep looking. I told him that if he doesn't find one there'll likely be sales on in Toronto when he visits in February. Though until he finds one, he'll probably be pretty cold!

We forgot about getting a SIM card until the very last minute, but thankfully the Hi store was still open, and I got a pre-paid blackberry card for 20 Euros. It's nice to know that I can call or bbm the folks here if I ever get lost!

You may be wondering why I have not included many pictures.  Well, I forgot to charge R's sister-in-law's camera so when I went to turn it on to take a photo of the Olympic stadium, it turned right back off again.