Weed and Brothels

I need to get my passport renewed. Time is running out. The end appears near!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7769199.stm
I've always wanted to go. I've always wanted to see this legendary city; to sit in a cafe that legally allowed one to light up a joint; to stroll down the street and see the prostitutes lined up in their glass cells. I've wanted to go to just know it is a real place just as when I was a young girl wanting to go to California just to know it was there. California always sounded so far away. Palm trees, orange groves and summer most of the year! Could that really be?
Well, I made it to California and I've lived in, worked in or visited most of the continental United States.
When I became an adult I set my sights on Europe. Just to see if it was really there. It becomes more real once you have been there. I didn't go to Amsterdam. I didn't get to go to a lot of the European countries. I did enjoy the ones I did visit and I've always planned on going back.
Venice is sinking. At least I got to visit. Now Amsterdam will be changed and I may never get to see it as I envision it. The cafes and the prostitutes, they may be illegal by the time I get there and the legend dies. I may have to settle for seeing flowers and canals! I'm sure that will be a grand sight but I wanted to see it ALL!