Wednesday May 2, 2012
On Tuesday, the day after Queen's day, new legislation kicked in that requires visitors to the Netherland's famed Cannabis Cafes in the three southern provinces that Border Belgium to carry and display a Cannabis Card for entrance. If everyone cooperates and the legislation isn't overturned, this might mean the end of soft drug tourism in those provinces.
At least one cafe has defied the new ruling, according to the National Post, "and was promptly slapped with a police warning to stop sales to non-residents within 24 hours."
According to the press office of Amsterdam, "The mayor of Amsterdam has opposed these plans, not because he fears that tourists will not come to the Netherlands anymore but because he fears that some of the tourists will seek to buy there cannabis on streets. This would cause both safety and health problems."
Will this turn of events change your travel plans?
More on Netherlands travel Planning: Netherlands Travel Map | Amsterdam Travel
Tuesday May 1, 2012
Perhaps you did not know that Berlin was a water city with more bridges than Venice. Well then, wouldn't you like to take a load off your feet and paddle around the city?
Back Stage Tourism offers either a four or six hour canoe tour of these waterways and the attractions along them, ending conveniently at a "hidden" beer garden. It's called the Walking on Water Tour and sounds like fun. Check it out; there's also a bunker tour, for those who feel the time has come to study the past versions of social control and government spying.
Wednesday April 25, 2012
Many fans of the Pugliaese lifestyle are familiar with the pasta called "little ears" or Orecchiette. Here in the coastal town of Bari, you'll find them displayed in the streets of the old town as you see in the picture. These are orecchiette grande, the maker informed us. They're big ears, about 4 times the size of the normal ones you get in restaurants.
Tuesday April 24, 2012
Yesterday I awoke, got dressed, left my apartment in the Ducal Palace (!) and headed for a bar in little Giovinazzo in the Italian region of Puglia for my morning coffee. I paused to watch a fisherman tend to his nets, and later to watch an old man 'relaxing" his freshly-caught octopus by swirling it gently in a washtub full of sea water until its legs uncoiled and began to float freely. Then off for a cappuccino and pastry like everyone else. What a civilized morning! Well, if you can ignore the ultimate fate of the octopus that is.
Don't forget to leave time for casual observance. When in Puglia, do like the Pugliese, take time to see what's around you. Have a coffee in the piazza. There's no rush to see the museums. They'll be there for a very long time.