Lights Out for Amsterdam’s Red Light District?

by Adrienne Wilson on

My tour of Amsterdam was probably one of the purest 5-hour jaunts imaginable. Think windmills, cheese and clogs, because that’s all I managed to capture photos of and I slept a majority of the time on my tour bus. No Mary Jane the weed or Mary Jane the sex-show prostitute to be seen, so maybe I was on the wrong bus. Like it or not – some travelers come to Amsterdam ONLY for these two purposes. Maybe not both or simultaneously, but like I said SOME travelers and hey, they’re booming industries.

-Or was a booming industry.-

From the sound of this News from Amsterdam piece six days back some entrepreneurs in the Red Light District are not getting their licenses renewed. You see, they have this thing called the Bibob Act which can deny the licenses to entrepreneurs who can be linked to crooked-criminal-filthy money. Ouch! Apparently 37 entrepreneurs have been hit with the bad news and together they own half of the ‘windows’ where prostitutes can be found. Double ouch! Sounds like a hot time in the city. It might just be time for all the sex sight-seeing folks to seek out the windmills too. If you use your imagination they could look like…

via Jaunted

Caribbean Islands & Hurricane Season 101

by Adrienne Wilson on

With storms brewing and the weather being all out-of-wack these days, it’s easy for a traveler eyeing the Caribbean to look the other way. I myself have been guilty at one point in assuming all the islands were doomed during the months long season of torrential rains, lightning and overall horrific T-storms, but such is not always the case. The Miami Herald has a nice little write-up on the Dutch-flavored Caribbean island of Curacao, which hasn’t been hit head-on by a hurricane since 1877. While Curacao is the featured island of the piece there are two others, Aruba & Bonaire, that clump the three into what can be called the ABC’s of hurricane season since ill-winds rarely grace any of them during the time.

For Curacao, there are many reasons to visit aside from escaping the storms that plague other nearby islands. Beaches are almost a given and there is tons of diving for the underwater fanatic. The author of the piece also explores the hip side of Curacao and describes the Museum Kura Hulanda in downtown Willemstad, the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue, and a classy outdoor music venue at the Avila Beach Hotel.

Sounds like a good place to go to me. Avoid the rain-pelted beaches by traveling to Curacao this season! I wish I could. Um, yeah!

Photo of the Day (6/10/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on


Judging from my recent POTD picks I’m beginning to think I’m a wee-bit deprived of colorful places. You think? Here I’ve gone and plucked yet another from Evan R.’s best of the best Flickr photo set. This one like the last one seen on Gadling is out of Amsterdam. Something about graffiti covered walls lined with bikes makes me want to hop on one of my own and take off to this friendly, funky Dutch land. Check out the rest of the uknowthename Flickr shots.

Pot Spots

by Erik Olsen on

We in no way would ever advocate drug use. Personally, I keep away from the stuff as it tends to interfere with my ability to work and focus and remember stuff and helps prevent me, sort of, from writing nonsensical, long run on sentences that seem to go nowhere at all and juset go on run-onningly such that….damn, where was I?

Oh yeah, pot vacations. Um, ok, so let’s see. Now where would you in all available American media expect to see an article about the best stoner vacations? The New Yorker? Travel and Leisure? Nice try. Or you wish. Nope, predictably said article can be found in this month’s High Times magazine. Yes, right there next to the Bud of the Month centerfold and a mind-sharpening quiz (thirty two joints minus seven joints is how many joints?) is a piece that helps you discover your inner hippie. So where do they recommend you go? Number one on the list is St. George, Utah….just kidding. Ibiza gets the top nod, followed by Nerril, Jamaica and (of course) Amsterdam.

Photo of the Day (5/27/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on


I’m going to go out on a limb here with this one, but is today’s photo of the day exploding with bright, neon florescent colors or what? Talk about eye popping! I’d give anything to stumble upon a little carnival like booth these days after seeing nothing, but fields of what used to a vibrant crop of corn out here in the never ending mid-west. Evan R. does all of us far away from anything of the like a huge favor by taking us there in this photo. There happens to be Amsterdam in November of 2005 and there are several other great shots to be found in his very own flickr pool – uknowthename.