Partly to make up for spending half a day on the train the day before, Sarah and I got up early (7:30!) and rented bikes! Clearly I had a great time last time I got to ride around a city on a bike (Munich, anyone?) so I was very excited to get back on a bike in a new city, especially one that was bike-friendly. The friendly bike renter guy gave us a map and showed us where nice places to ride were, then Sarah and I jumped on our sweet red bikes and headed out. Sarah wanted to see the Red Light district (me, not so much) so we decided to go there first thing while it was still daylight and not as sketchy.So our first stop of the day was the inner, inner circle of the rings of canals. We stopped at a bridge and managed to find a spot to lock up our rides (which took about 8 minutes- we had a wheel lock and chain with a key for security) then- we walked into Chinatown. The next street over was the actual Red Light district and it looked innocent enough. We came across a movie being filmed, so we stopped for a look, along with a small crowd. It involved a few girls in a few windows and a guy on a tractor. I have no idea what the movie was about, but they rehearsed the tractor man pulling up to this shop and the guy getting off about 12 times... and by then I was bored.
So, down the street we continued, passing by tulip bulb stands, marijuana stores and every type of x-rated shop you can think of. Since it was still early, there weren't too many women in the windows... but there were a few. The experience of this one street was distressing and I was very glad to get back to my bike and ride away from there.
Since I had the map, I was the leader all day. However, we just rode around, taking pictures of statues whenever we saw them and mostly just petaled around in no particular direction and no destination in mind. Sarah had heard of the Heineken Experience and wanted to go there, but it wasn't on my maps and we didn't know where it was. I told her (since I didn't really want to go, thinking it would be like Anheuser-Busch 5 minutes away from my house) that we would go-- if we found it (again, thinking it was totally unlikely in the huge city). 
For some reason, I only had one spare battery in my backpack and of course, my camera's battery light when on. So, a little before lunch time, we decided to stop by at the hostel so I could get fresh batteries. We petaled over a bridge and suddenly right in front of us was-- you guessed it-- the Heineken brewery!
And what luck- I am glad we made our little bargain and found the brewery when we did, because it was awesome! It was nothing like the brewery by my house (which I've been to millions of times) including the price (free at home- and €11 for an Experience). We made sure to get our 11 euros worth out of it, so we took a few hours and did the self-guided tour right, reading every label and watching practically every video available. We got a few tokens for beer and a free gift (a bottle opener, how apt!) and my favorite part was the video email we sent of the both of us lip-syncing in front of a green screen to some traditional Dutch tune! It was hilarious, and unfortunately, I only got to see it once before it got deleted, otherwise I would put it right here!We passed the rest of the day wandering around looking for things: a place to eat, an ice cream place that we had a coupon for, and eventually the "I amsterdam" sign. Here's what it is:
We rode thru a few parks and just enjoyed the scenery for a while then decided to head back to the hostel for the night. We stopped at a shop and had a cup of tea to warm us up and there, Sarah bought some legal "plant matter" for about €2.50. After dropping our bikes at the hostel and adding a few layers for warmth, we found a nearby and tiny park and Sarah lit up! We hung out for a few hours (me eating candy the whole time) then headed to bed.
