Three days in Amsterdam and I never saw the red light district or stepped foot in a coffee shop. My tour guide lives on the Amstel river in the heart of town, so instead I saw small fishing towns, local's pubs, farms where people actually still use those wooden shoes, failed at learning salsa, and ate everything from poffertjes to Chinese food. Riding bicycles for miles along the lit up canals is something I'd have laughed at, a tourist trap fairytale dream travels of teenage girls and the unadventurous, but kinda really enjoyed it. Pretty much everyone here speaks English and speaks it well; yet exploring with her even when I'd say something in English the locals would still only answer me in Dutch.