Amsterdam , General info:
7/10

Amsterdam , Cheap stuff:
1/10

Not much cheap stuff in Amsterdam, it\\\\\\\'s a very expensive city and ever more so since the interoduction of the Euro.

Amsterdam , Different stuff:
5/10

Plenty of different stuff avaialble from food to clothes and plenty of shoes, a womens dream, 100\\\'s of shoe shops and we are informed that Amsterdam some how get styles other cities do not.

Amsterdam , Don't miss:
8/10

QUEENS DAY April 30th. 1 milion people in city centre and all dressed in orange or most of them.

Gay Parade Aug 1-3 - Amazing sight on water.

Amsterdam , Food:
5/10

All types available but the Dutch service is terrible. Eggs are the main dish, everywhere you go, eggs.

Amsterdam , Hotels:
8/10

Amsterdam Escape (Dot Com) offer a real alternative to your regular Amsterdam hotels, luxury Amsterdam apartments and the best thing they are SMOKE FRIENDLY. Hard to get a smoke friendly place theses days, even in Amsterdam. The Smoking bvan somes into effect in July 2008 the effect of this on hotels, bars and coffeeshops is yet to be seen.

Amsterdam , Safety:
9/10

Amsterdam is a very safe city, Pick pockets are about the worst thing that will happen to you here. No muggers or burgulars and very little petty crime.

Stafford, Staffordshire , Cheap stuff:
1/10

The local market survives - just, given the competition it faces (see above). In the markey one may buy artfully camouflaged poor-quality fruit and veg (that's produce), dodgy electrical goods, replacement hoses for old washing machines and, an exciting addition to the local retail experience, Polish foodstuffs.

Stafford, Staffordshire , Different stuff:
5/10

Stafford has in recent years become home to a large number of mostly young people from eastern Europe. They are quiet, polite, hardworking, healthy and attractive, and perform sterling service in local shops and farms. This failure to blend in with the locals has caused some comment. Mostly appreciative.

Stafford, Staffordshire , Don't miss:
6/10

Um. The open-air Shakespeare at the castle at the end of June is fun. Unless it rains. The park alongside the river has been replanted and developed and is rather pretty in the summer. Unless it's flooded.

Stafford, Staffordshire , Food:
2/10

Don't ask. There are no decent restaurants in Stafford. Although the cafe in Marks is OK.

Stafford, Staffordshire , Hotels:
3/10

The Swan, an old coaching inn, on the main street. There are others, but none that I'd consider. There's a more upmarket one in the village of Acton Trussel, a few miles out of town.

Stafford, Staffordshire , Safety:
7/10

If you're in any way vulnerable (ie. aged, young, drunk or drugged, lost), best to avoid walking around the small areas of suburban low-income housing on the outskirts of town. Gangs of amateurishly unpleasant children and youths might well give you a hard time, in between smashing the glass in bus shelters and gobbing on the few remaining public telephones. Also, the town centre after 8pm on a weekend evening is the rightful domain of the drunken British young adult. There are drunken assaults, there is vomit, there are loud and ugly voices. It's not pleasant. Other then that, no probs.