i wanna live in amsterdam...

* roundtrip airfare from chicago to amsterdam via london: $678

* 15 minute train ride on the heathrow express from london heathrow to paddington station: £16/$32 (using the spot rate of £1 = $2.02)

* 20 minute silver mercedes benz taxi ride at 5am to london heathrow driving at 125 miles per hour with me having uncontrollable visions of princess di and dodi: £40/$81.

* getting ripped off by a taxi driver in amsterdam to take us from centraal station to our hotel (he actually went around the city twice just to prove the ride was worth the money even though our hotel was only a 5 minute drive away): €15/$21 (using the spot rate of €1 = $1.41)

* metered taxi ride on our last day in amsterdam from our hotel to centraal station: €7/$10

* being witness to what i would call hands down the best show, musically, i've ever heard live (meshell ndegeocello and the spirit music jamia live at the paradiso in amsterdam on saturday, april 9th): absolutely positively god-fearingly fucking PRICELESS!!!

details on our trip to follow when time permits but i just want to say really quickly that i am a happy, happy soul. the concert at the paradiso (which faaaaaar outdid the show at london's jazz cafe) was out of this fucking world. they blew my fucking mind with their improvisational jazz. meshell ndegeocello and every member of the spirit music jamia are musical geniuses. that show...? well, it made me happy. i've never felt so happy after a show.

and bob's your uncle...