The Grannis Experience

First and foremost, I missed Jay today, he was out sick with the flu...way to end a trip Jay.  Oh, and I swear, if I get sick tomorrow...it's going to be "POW!! Right in the kisser."  No seriously, Jay it sucked not having you there, I know I'll survive and everything, it's just that I wished you were there is all.  Stinks and more stinks.  So as of now, Jay is resting, and I'm making sure I'm staying quiet for him.  

Well, let's get into it.  So today was kind of a quiet day for me, I knew I had the Kina concert, and I knew that I wanted to at least see Jay be comfortable before I left.  So I figured I would stay with Jay at least 3 hours before the Kina concert, so around 1:00 p.m. I went for a stroll in the neighborhood, and hit up a broodje stand.  This time I was going to remember it, if I liked it or not.  Lets begin, now from what I remember last night, I think I went into a different store, however if I have learned anything from Anthony Bourdain, you don't deny a place, when the line is out the door.  So with that in mind, I went in.  The smell of this place was enchanting, really, it was an eye opening experience.  Now from what I'm hearing, this wasn't you're typical broodje...to tell you the truth, this was more of a Turkish style broodje.  My Broodje I decided will be filled with lamb kabap donner, and with the works.  This includes, a heaping blend of pickled onions, cabbage, lettuce, a mixture of regular lettuce and cabbage, and ending with 3 slices of cucumber and a slice of tomato.  And at the end of that you will receive the following with an order of frittes/chips (french fries basically).

The meal as a whole, notice the shameless product placement...

Honestly, this was a massive sandwich, delicious as well

The sandwich deconstructed

Lets begin, well what can be said?  There is a medley of flavors going on here.  And you know what?  Each of them blend so well together, they know exactly what needs to be in this sandwich or rather this broodje.  It's so precise and to the point, I honestly can't describe it.  How should I say this.  The blending mix of the creamy horseradish sauce with the tabasco and is that Sriracha I taste?  Really this sandwich is out there, and when I say out there...I mean, wow, really good out there.  By the way did I mention the bread?  It's a mixture of a pita and a baguette...I never knew that was possible...how is this possible?  I don't expect to find this back in the states...however I would really like to attempt to make one of these.  They are just so good, I can't believe I missed out on the experience yesterday.  Oh, and my last final touch on the broodje, the lamb was excellent, as excellent as you'll see when ordering a gyro for the first time.  Oh and another thing, the broodje was only 5 euros, so in American dollars that's roughly about $6.70 as of today's conversion.  Not bad considering it was a huge portion, and that you received fries and a drink with it.  

Now on to the Kina concert and the rest of the day.  Now mind you I left Jay's side at approximately 3:45 p.m., after riding the rail all the way into the central station, and then walking around till I was completely lost, well the fact is this.  I was scared, I've never been scared of walking in a city by myself before.  By frankly, I find it rather soothing, the thing is this.  I'm standing in the middle of a plaza, and I noticed nothing around me.  The fact is, if I have learned anything from Bear Grylls, I can always find my way of direction by using my watch and the sun...however today this was not going to help me at all, as you can see below, today was a Saturday, and it was massively busy.  I mean one giant cluster fuck...I've seen and have been around major congregation of people before...but this...this is an entirely different animal.  There are a shit ton of bikers, and a shit ton of trolleys, and a shit ton of people, and they are all darting around like nothing, when there are a shit ton of cars zooming in and out of streets that they should not be zooming in and out of, and if I really wanted to I could have just screamed out, "I'M A TOURIST!!" in the middle of the plaza if I wanted to, instead of pulling the Bear Grylls' stunt.  Either way, I was going to get taken away from a gypsy  

This picture does not do Amsterdam any justice on how packed it was today on a Saturday

 But, even with the odds stacked against me, I kept my composure, kept it cool, looked at all the signs and street names pointing me into the direction I needed to get going towards, and pushed my way forward.  As I was getting closer and closer to the Paradiso, I noticed signs for the Hard Rock Cafe (so Dutch).  Well, I finally ended up at the Paradiso, and all was well.  However, if I had not been so directionally challenged, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have waited in line with 4 other people, standing out there for an hour and a half. However, I made friends, and everyone seemed really cool.  So it was nice after all.  Once again, Amsterdam has a ton of Asians, and of course a Kina concert would be no exception, there were a ton of them.

As I entered the hall the excitement had built up, this was it, and of course with Kina finesse, the show was amazing.  No complaints...the only complaint I had was the fact that the Paradiso was rushing Kina off, and wouldn't allow her to do an encore.  Boo.  Oh, I definitely have to point this out.  I was the loud and obnoxious American.  Kina had asked the crowd what they had wanted to hear for the second to last song, very similar to what she had done in Philly, and of course one of my all time favorite Kina songs has to be Geneve, however Kina doesn't remember the lyrics too well, and she apologizes to me.  So, I stare at her long and confused, and the only thing I really wanted to hear, was what I have heard at every Kina concert now, and the words came flowing out of me..."Gangster's Paradise!!!"  With a blank stare, and a surprised look, Kina looks at me, we share a moment, "You know "Gangster's Paradise?"  a goofy grin spreads across my face, and I smile like I always do, and I nod my head, the crowd seems somewhat confused, but kinda into it.  I know for a fact this is one of Kina's favorite songs from childhood as it is one of mine as well...and she begins..."Oooo...OooOOOooo...As I walk through the valley of the shadow, of death..."

The concert ends with us of course doing an acoustic version of "Message from Your Heart."  And once again, and awesome time.  The concert ends with her obviously meeting ever fan, and making sure that they are all greeted with the warmth as if she has been friends forever with them, there is something about her, she is always genuine, and never fake, she will take the time to talk to you even if she's busy, and as I was telling her how awesome she was, and that I am on vacation from the states, just the simple words, I'm from the U.S., and I had to come see this concert here in Amsterdam, her first reaction was arms stretched out and she's already embracing me for a hug.  I wasn't expecting a hug I wasn't expecting anything, I just wanted to tell her she was inspiration to me, and she is my biggest idol.  However, in the end Kina will never cease to amaze me.  Her voice, her charm, and wit, and everything in between is what makes her my idol.  She will go to no end to make sure that she recognizes the fact that she wouldn't be here, without us, her fans...her Kinerds...

"But if you care i'm open, and if you need I'll stay a while.  So you can get this off your chest.  Prove to yourself without me is best." - Kina Grannis