Chris's Post-Bar Celebration

1. pick up little guide book abt paris, "paris for you" is a tiny 100 pages free guide abt paris published by the paris convention vistors bureau.
2. buy a day, 2-day, etc museum pass. there is a one-time fee (varies depending on the length of pass), but with that one-time fee, you get FREE admissions to a LONG LIST of museums in paris and outside paris (versaille, rodin museum at meudon, etc). with this pass, you'll be standing at a shorter line (special line)or sometimes, you'll just get to go in without the long wait. in tourist season, june-august... ITS A GOOD THING. i waited about 15 minutes to get into d'orsay. while the "walk-in" tourists waited in a LONG line --40 min wait-- and have to pay for individual museum pass.
3. buy a day (or whatever) metro pass that will allow you to just go anywhere and get lost without having to constantly communicate with the sometimes rude transportation workers working the ticket booth. there's so much to see in paris, so u will want a day's pass, at least. i think it's called "mobilis" or something. you can get this at any metro station, by talking to the person working the ticket booth =) i would highly suggest speaking a little french, usually it will get you nicer treatment. ex: "bonjour monsieur. parlez-vous anglais? je peux... un multi-trip metro ticket pour the whole day." it works... trust me. its better than just going, "i would like to buy..."

Now, just a few words on cafe etiquette: You don't pay when you get your order -- only when you intend to leave. Payment indicates you've had all you want. Service compris means the tip is included in your bill, so it isn't necessary to tip extra; still, most people leave an extra euro or so. You'll hear the locals call for the "garçon," but as a foreigner, it would be more polite to say "monsieur." All waitresses, on the other hand, are addressed as "mademoiselle," regardless of age or marital status. In the smaller cafes, you may have to share your table. In that case, even if you haven't exchanged a word with your table companion, when you leave it's customary to bid him or her au revoir.

if you want to see the FAMOUS pieces... study the floor plan and find the most effective route. winged victory, venus de milo, and of course the monalisa are notoriosly famous. hit these pieces as soon as the door opens, before you have to fight with 100 others and have them as your picture's background.

A visit to a cheese market is a must. Alkmaar, located half an hour north of Amsterdam by train, where the specialty is Gouda. The market is held on Friday mornings in the summer beginning literally at the crack of dawn—it’s all over by noon. It’s fun to watch: Hand clapping is an instrumental part of the selling process and large purchases are sometimes carried off by porters on ornamental carriers. After visiting the cheese market, a walk through the old center of the town is certainly worthwile. Many houses are more than one hundred to two hundred years old, some even date back to 1573, the year Alkmaar became the first city in Holland to beat the Spanish army.

The Alkmaar Cheese Market takes place in Alkmaar's main square every Friday at 10 a.m., from early April to early September. The tour groups arrive early, so try to be there between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m.--especially if you're intent on photographing or videotaping the action.

Alkmaar is just over half an hour from Amsterdam Central Station by intercity train. For more information, see the Netherland Railways domestic journey planner, which gives slower "Stoptrein" connections as well as Intercity trains.

Some guidebooks suggest you combine Alkmaar with a visit to the Zaanse Schans. If you came to the Netherlands for windmills you sure could do worse than that, but if you hate tourist traps, give it a miss.

If you are more a nature-loving type, go to nearby Bergen, just a few kilometers north of Alkmaar. A bus will take you there every half hour. From Bergen you can walk to the Northsea-beach at Bergen aan Zee in an hour. The walk will take you through five kilometers of beautiful dunes, the widest stretch of dunes The Netherlands have to offer. If you don't want to walk back, be sure to check when busses run from Bergen aan Zee back to Bergen, because certainly in winter they don't run very often.

Sex Museum
Damrak 18, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sex Museum
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The Amsterdam Sex Museum houses an extensive international collection of historical erotic and pornographic art, literature and artefacts. The exhibits include mannequins arranged in titillating tableau, Greek temple devotional items, Japanese carved erotic ivories and antique and modern fetish wear.

There is a comprehensive selection of manuscripts and drawings ranging from the Karma Sutra to twentieth-century comics and a vast film and photographic library proffering every sexual predilection and preference.
An interactive section offers visitors privacy in one of several small padded booths, with a selection of films playing continuously whilst the display of contemporary paintings can be viewed from one of three appropriately shaped seven-foot long vibrating chairs.

Sex Museum

- Opening: 10:00 am to 11:30 pm Daily