When you tell people you’re going to Amsterdam, everyone has something to say.

They nod in some sort of knowing way, like you’re going to spend the entire trip smoking a joint on a prostitute’s bed. Just because they think that’s the way to enjoy a long weekend, you don’t have to. Amsterdam is not Vegas and what happens there can actually leave.

Yes, Amsterdam has legalized marijuana and legal prostitution, but this vibrant city is much more than than the seedy underbelly Puritan Americans seem to loath and love and snicker over like 12 year old boys.

Beautiful canal strewn streets, small shops and coffee houses that serve just coffee make Amsterdam a near perfect one city trip. From the architecture of the narrow buildings hundreds of years old to the largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world, Amsterdam is a casual, complete and resonates cool across every picturesque bridge in the downtown.

Whether staying at the Ibis Hotel next to the Central Station or floating in a houseboat in a quiet neighborhood – three days in Amsterdam is absolute bliss, the kind of place, you just want to “Seas the Day.”

Yes, there are the darker sides of the visit such as walking through the Red Light District and blowing a bowel or two to ease the jet lag, but for the next couple of days, we’ll review the city, where we did almost everything but ride bicycles through all of the construction zones — that was left to the locals, who zip along bike paths in fashionable boots and mini skirts like pros.

Following our own advice: We packed light and picked an off season time to visit Amsterdam because hotels are easier to book and plane tickets are cheaper. The weather, while a little chilly and damp, was still in the 50s and made all of the walking that much more bearable and if we could go back tomorrow, we’d book the next flight there. Though a better exchange rate might make it a little more affordable.

Tomorrow: Is it me or is my room actually floating?