Strangers

A day in Amsterdam

"Thanks for this late-night birthday present honey."

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Lola POV

Friday, 12 June 2020

You can't come to the Netherlands without a visit to Amsterdam, so today Rachel and I decided to go there with our boys. The best thing to do is travel by train because you can see the beautiful train station, however, we travelled by car because we wanted some privacy. Maybe, the car ride was equally as fun as the day in Amsterdam. We talked, played games, sang along with the radio. This day was a surprise for Ben and Gwilym. When Rachel and I told them about our plans, they both yelled 'ROAD TRIP!'. It was like telling 2 little boys that Santa brought presents, they were so happy. In the car, we made a little plan. Gwilym really wanted to go to the Rijksmuseum, a museum with all kinds of paintings like the Nachtwacht painted by Rembrandt van Rijn. Ben really wanted to see the World War II monument on the Dam. Rachel really wanted to go to the P.C. Hooftstraat, a street with shops like Dior and Chanel. And me, I just want to be with my favourite people.

"All right, I think the best thing to do is Dam, Rijksmuseum, walk through the P.C. Hooftstraat to the Vondelpark", I said when we parked the car. "Yeah I think so too", Rachel said. Ben and Gwilym nodded. "Laten we gaan", Ben said. "Yes honey, let's go", I laughed. We started walking, the sun was shining. It wasn't to busy, so that was nice. When we entered the Dam, we saw that there were more people. Gwilym and Ben put on their hoods right away. We waited for most people to go before we headed to the monument. "Look Lola, I touch the Dam", Ben said with a big smile. I burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" "Honey, we're standing on the Dam, that's the name of the square. What you are touching is the monument on the Dam" "Ohw.... lemme take a picture!" Next, we walked to the Rijksmuseum and looked at some paintings. When we walked out of the museum, we smelled something.

"What is that smell?", Gwilym asked with disgust on his face. "That, my dear, is called weed", Rachel said, "And yes, it's a horrible scent." "Do you think? I think it's not that bad", Ben said. "Jep, same", I said with a grin on my face. "Ooh I have an idea! I really want to show Ben something. Why don't you guys go to the shopping street? I've been there and shopping isn't Ben's favourite hobby so...", I said. "Ohw, uhmm, okay. Shall we meet in the Vondelpark in about an hour and a half?", Rachel asked. "Yes, good, see you", I said while I dragged Ben away.

"Lola, wha-" "Have you ever smoked weed?", I asked him. "No." "Well, when you are in Amsterdam you have to do it" "But... Ehmm... Okay, all right, let's do it" "Nice, but we are gonna share one, because one: I also want one and two: it's you first time."

"Hey, there you are, was it fun?", Gwilym asked. Ben and I looked at each other and started laughing. "Oh no, I know this laugh", Rachel said, "Lola lemme see your eyes. Yes, they're red. They've been smoking weed." "Now you say it, I smell it", Gwilym said. "It wasn't my fault", I said when I finally stopped laughing. "No dude, of course not", Rachel said. "All right, let's go to the New York Pizza or something, so you guys can chill out a bit." I started humming the bassline of 'Under pressure'. They all started laughing after a moment of silence and after that, the four of us were singing Under pressure while we were one our way to grab a pizza. Hopefully, we don't forget the bassline...

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"And then we went for a pizza, and he forgot it. Totally escaped his mind. And we got back, and I remembered it!" - Roger Taylor.