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Amsterdam Destination Guide

Amsterdam is one of the most popular travel destinations in the world, famous for its beautiful canals, top art museums, cycling culture and so on. It is the capital and most populous city in the Netherlands and often referred to as the "Venice of the North" because of its expansive system of bridges and canals. Here are some of the key points to remember as you plan your trip to Amsterdam.

Must-See Attractions

Most visitors begin their Amsterdam adventure in the Old Centre, which is full of traditional architecture, shopping centers, and coffee shops. You'll also want to check out Amsterdam's Museum Quarter in the South District, which is great for shopping at the Albert Cuyp Market and having a picnic in the Vondelpark. The top museums to visit there are the Rijksmusuem, the Ann Frank House, and the Van Gogh Museum.

If You Have Time

There are several other unique districts in Amsterdam, and you should try to explore as many of them as time allows. The Canal Ring is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that was originally built to attract wealthy home owners and is a center for celebrity spotting and nightlife today. The Plantage area has most of the city's museums, including the Jewish Historical Museum, the Scheepvaart Museum, and the botanical gardens.

Money Saving Tips

●Unless you really want to see the tulips（郁金香）blooming, avoid booking between mid-March and mid-May. This is when hotel and flight prices rise.

●Look for accommodations in Amsterdam's South District, where rates are generally cheaper than in the city center.

●Buy train tickets at the machine instead of the counter to save a bit of money.

●Instead of hiring a tour guide, hop on a canal boat. They're inexpensive and will give you a unique point of view of the city.

Check out our homepage to view price comparisons for flights, hotels, and rental cars before you book.

What is a dream?

For centuries, people have wondered about the strange places that they seem to visit in their sleep.  However, they have been valued as necessary to a person's health and happiness. 

Historically people thought dreams contained messages from God. It was only in the twentieth century that people started to study dreams scientifically believing that they tell about a person's character.  He believed that dreams allow a person to express fantasies or fears, which would be socially unacceptable in real life. 

The second theory to become popular was Carl Jung's compensation theory. Jung, a former student of Freud, said that the purpose of a dream is not to hide something, but rather to communicate it to the dreamer.  Thus, people who think too highly of themselves may dream about falling; those who think too little of themselves dream of being heroes. 

Using more recent research, William Domhoff from the University of California found that dreaming is a mental skill that needs time to develop in humans. Until they reach age five, they can't express very well what their dreams are about. Once people become adults, there is little or no change in their dreams. The dreams of men and women differ. For instance, the characters that appear in the dreams of men are often other men, and often involve physical aggression.

The meaning of dreams continues to be difficult to understand.

 If you dream that a loved one is going to die, do not panic. The dream may have meaning, but it does not mean that your loved one is going to die. 

A. Dreams make up for what is lacking in waking life. 

B. However, people should not take their dreams as reality. 

C. They have been considered as meaningless nighttime journeys. 

D. It gives scientists chances to better understand human mind. 

E. Children do not dream as much as adults. 

F. They think their mind is trying to tell them something. 

G. First, there was Sigmund Freud's theory.

The Party of Their Lives

In Los Angeles's infamous Skid Row, there are hundreds of children living on the streets or in shelters. It's a place where dreams go to die. But one couple is determined to use their own experience with loss to foster a sense of hope.

In 2013, Mary Davis and her husband lost their first unborn kid. Refusing to let the heartbreak break them, they became volunteers in a Skid Row homeless shelter. They found that many of the kids there had never had a single birthday party before, so they decided to throw a birthday party for those homeless kids. They took over a room in the Union Rescue Mission and filled it with streamers, gifts and a cake. The kids were so excited that they made their own music—singing and clapping and, of course, laughing. 

Since then, the couple have thrown a party each and every month. They routinely attract 250 kids and their parents. An hour before each party, volunteers arrive to set up the decorations and activities: face painting, balloon artists, a DJ, cake, and pizza. There are small presents for the kids celebrating their birthdays, but the Davis make sure there are more than enough to go around. 

"I remember a mom came with her kid," Mary says. "It was their first night at the shelter, and her child had a birthday. We had an extra gift for her—pink headphones. The little girl was so excited. And her mom... she's crying. ‘I never imagined we would ever need to be in a shelter. I didn't know what to expect. But I really didn't expect a birthday party for my child.' she cried with happiness."

Doing her best to normalize these kids' lives is both heartwarming and bittersweet, Mary says. "If you look outside, you see homeless person after homeless person on the street, and it reminds you that these kids don't get to leave this area after the party."

It may be why, after throwing 88 parties, she still cries after each one. She credits the kids in the shelter with helping her hold on to hope. "We didn't realize how much joy they were going to bring us," she told CBS News. "And it was so healing for both kids and us."