I'm Quite Proud of the Gays. Especially the Dutch Ones.

Last weekend I went to Amsterdam to visit my good friend Kate who recently moved there from Washington, DC (Kate and I go way back about 10 years when we met in DC and became fast friends). It happened to be Gay Pride weekend, so we spent Saturday on a boat on a canal with about 15 other people (some of whom Kate works with) watching the Gay Pride Parade, which takes place on boats crusing down the canal...gives all new meaning to the term "parade floats." The weather was gorgeous and the whole city was out. Heck, it was so packed, perhaps all of the Netherlands was there...the city was buzzing.

It's impressive how popular Gay Pride activities have become. So popular, actually, that all the straight people go too. It's a bit of an all-day love fest of peace and understanding -- as everyone gets a bit more in touch with their inner disco drag queen. What's not to love about that?? By the end of the evening, one of Kates friend's, Karen, had a huge sticker plastered on her chest that said "I'm Gay." (She's not.)

What I really like about Gay Pride "Dutch Style" is that the parade takes place on boats. The streets and bridges were lined with crowds watching the party go by. After watching the parade pass, all the boats (including ours) went out on the water for a two-three hour cruise, forming a traffic jam on the water full of people partying, dancing and having a generally crazy time. Adults, kids, pets...everyone was out enjoying the disco-thumping boats. I think my favourite parade boats were the "gay grannies" (exactly what it sounds like -- old, gay grandmas); the ING boat (corporations are impressively on-board with Gay Pride these days too) with a cast of smartly dressed IMG employees performing their own choreographed line dance to Dolly Parton's classic song "Working Nine to Five;" a set of topless, blue-painted mermaids with long golden braids; a boat of gay tennis players (most in skirts) dancing with rackets in hand; and the gay Brazilian boat. And of course, no Gay Pride Parade is complete without a slew of men in drag who have better bodies than me and most women I know. Whatever. I was just enjoying rocking out to all the Wham! and ABBA.

Our party cruise ended around 6pm-ish. By this time, the crowds had taken to the streets and everyone was out (no pun intended). Kate and I fought our way through the crowds, got dinner and then went to a cafe for a cappuccino around 8:30pm. We were sitting outside gabbing when two cute blonde guys came and joined us at our table with a pretty endearing pick-up scheme. It totally worked -- we ended up going with them to one of the main city squares for a giant party where everyone under 25 who lives in Holland (it seemed) was packed into a tight space dancing to a DJ playing blaring techo music. We had some more drinks (there were beer stands lining the streets) and danced with our new pals for a couple hours, then slipped off to meet up with some of Kate's friends at yet another outdoor party about 5 blocks away in another city square. This party had a band. We had some more drinks, hung out a bit more (I bought a fun light-up neon lei necklace), and we finally departed the scene around 1:30am. By this time, Kate and I were famished again, so we stopped into a busy Middle Eastern diner called The Pharoah something-or-other where we each got a plate of grilled chicken (we think it was chicken) and a giant side of french fries. nothing says "DIET" quite like that at 2am. Stomachs full, we stumbled home pretty tired. I had a splinter in my toe where I had wiped out on some wooden steps earlier and Kate and I both had a bizarre case of the spins. We are both clearly too old for this.

Saturday we took it easy...met Kate's friends for brunch at an Irish pub near the Dam (city center), then wandered over to tour the Rembrandt House. Rembrandt lived there for more than 20 years where he painted most of his famous works. The house contains many of his etchings and is still furnished/preserved in typical 17th-century style. After the tour, we wandered through a few galleries and antique shops, browsed the storefronts (as most places are closed there on Sundays), and then stopped into the lounge at the Hotel Americain and had a few cocktails as we watched the people go by. We wandered to another more residential square later that evening and had dinner outdoors at a very tasty Turkish cafe.

I flew back to London Monday morning and went straight into work. It's kind of nice...Kate and I are now the same distance away from each other (45 minute flight) as we were when I lived in NYC and she lived in DC. It's nice having an old friend from home so close...and fun that we are both having European adventures together. It's hard to beleive that the last time we were both in Amsterdam back in February, Kate had no clue she would be living there permanently in 4 short months. Funny how life works...