Apothecary Shed

Now You’re Talking: Moca Amsterdam Rocks

March 3, 2026

gem art, museum amsterdam, andy warhol, art, art museum, banksy, modern art, warhol 1 Comment

Disappointed with the rijksmuseum? Well the Moca is for you. Now if we can just keep this secret.

All our faves and a few newbies to boot.

Andy shimmers

But that robot overwhelms it all

You Can Just Skip the Rijksmuseum

March 3, 2026

gem art, museum amsterdam, art, art museum, rijksmuseum, throngs Leave a comment

OK. It’s mandatory if you go to Amsterdam. But this has to be the worst organized major museum in the world. The architect was an idiot. Want to get from 3 to 3? Well, first you go down to 0 then cross through the throngs of confused lost tourists and go back to 3. Got that?

Look, if you have to ask how to get to EVERY SINGLE LOCATION maybe something is off. Anyway there is lots to see, if you can find any of it.

Vaguely disappointing as always. Maybe if we just liked tourists more…

What’s Better?

March 3, 2026

gem food, mixology, who knows amsterdam, fernet branca, poffertjes, romey, toronoto cocktail Leave a comment

A late night Toronto on 23 (to compare to the one we made at Bar Hachi)…yes this one was way better

or little tiny Dutch pancakes, apparently called poffertjes ??

Well, I mean, how many poffertjes are you supposed to eat at one sitting?

I guess we will forgive the little French guy for his Maginot line. Maybe.

Challenge Accepted: Make a Proper Japanese Waitress Belly Laugh at Yamazato

March 3, 2026

gem food, travel birthday dinner, gem, japanese waitress, kimono, lisa, madou, noelie, restaurant, romey, yamazato Leave a comment

Dinner at Yamazato is exceptional, even 15 years on from the first visit. Absolutely world class. And Japanese service to boot.

The question is, can you make a proper Kimono wearing Japanese waitress belly laugh? Well, yes…if you are us. We had so much fun.

I mean, maybe the martinis we started with at 23 had something to do with it?

Or maybe it was mr big nose? No one knows.

But wow.

Who us? Goof off?

Happy Birthday gem-san.

A Blast From the Software Security Past on 23

March 3, 2026

gem travel, who knows 23rd floor, florence, gem, madou, noelie, okura 1 Comment

Who are these people? Madou? Florence? McGraw? Noelie? All together? No fucking way.

A nice way to turn 3C is to gather the geeks in Amsterdam for a photo shoot.

The Only Bar Open at 2am in Amsterdam

March 2, 2026

gem who knows amsterdam, bar, bar hachi, roulette 1 Comment

Whatchya gonna do after a florence show when the only weenie bartender in your hotel (a French guy) won’t stay open to last call? Find a dive bar. Bar Hachi fits the bill perfectly. When we arrived, NOBODY was there and our driver was a bit concerned. We went in anyway. Great cocktails made by an enthusiastic young man who was not drinking for ramadan, but who really really wanted to learn some stuff. We had a blast.

The Big Birthday Surprise Revealed: Florence and the Machine and the Ziggo

March 2, 2026

gem concert, travel cosmic love, florence, florence and the machine, lisa, never let me go, noel, romey, sympathy magic, the dog days are over, ziggo dome 2 Comments

The Ziggo Dome is an excellent place to see a show. And Florence puts on quite the excellent show. We surprised Romey and Lisa with tickets day of (something planned for months and somehow kept secret). The show was superb.

Surly audience though..