Inside Amsterdam's 'coffee shops'
On the Warmoestraat, it's easier to find a coffee shop selling cannabis than an actual cup of coffee. There's a hive of scum and villainy like this street in every major European city, a dirty, dodgy avenue lined with seedy hotels and run-down bars, tacky souvenir stands and neon lights, drunk tourists and overpriced kebab stores.
But the Warmoestraat has that little something extra mixing with the distinctive stench of decay and old booze: the unmistakable aroma of hashish.
Grazing the side of the Red Light District like an open sore, the Warmoestraat is the gateway to the area. For the average tourist, the Red Light District is more voyeurism than vice, a seedy sideshow glimpsed with wide eyes by people wanting to see, but not necessarily be seen. For others, it's a place to pick your poison: casual prostitution, a sex show, or soft drugs.
As lovely as the UNESCO listed canals and dozens of world-class museums are, there's no doubt a large percentage of international visitors flock to Amsterdam largely because of the free availability of marijuana.
Hope Solo dealing with the stars
"It's all in fun," Solo says in between television appearances and wedding proposals. "I take everything with a grain of salt." Clearly, she has no clue as to how huge this has become. Two months after the United States women's soccer team's runner-up finish in the World Cup, Solo is the "it girl," an American sweetheart, which may seem kind of funny considering her history and her job. She's a goalkeeper, for God's sake, which means she is the biggest oddball on the soccer field. Four years ago, she was considered a malcontent and was temporarily banished from the U.S. women's soccer team after speaking her mind. Now look at her. America can't get enough.
On this particular fall Friday, she'll bounce from her radio tour of Kansas City to a scheduled five-hour rehearsal for "Dancing With the Stars" to a soccer practice with a couple of thousand screaming ponytails clamoring for her autograph.
She'll do it rather seamlessly, with the help of a large cup of coffee and a tour guide/media chaperone named Rob. She'll do it because Solo knows that at any time, this ride might end.
A souvenir nook in the corner does a roaring trade in shirts bearing the coffee shop's trademark dog logo. But why buy the T-shirt when you can check-in online? Abraxas, located across Dam Square in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it alley,
This means a pedicure. You can update your entire look with one of summers' hottest nail polish shades: neon yellow or pink, pale grey or creamy coffee. ALL WEATHER GEAR : Fluctuating temperatures make spring dressing tricky .
