1,000 Places To See Before You Die

There's a book that sits on every travel enthusiasts shelf (or at least there should be) and it's called 1,000 Places To See Before You Die. It marks some of the most interesting cities, restaurants, hotels, landmarks and museums from all around the world. My sister introduced me to her edition and after scanning the pages, I ran out and bought my own copy. Before I go on trips, I always consult "my bible" for a sneak peak of the places I'd like to see when visiting a new city or country.

I began marking the pages of the places I have seen with colourful stickers. And as I slowly continue to travel, the book gains character from the array of stickers that grace its pages. I should mention that I have a slight competitive nature though. I knew something felt different when I pressed my first sticker down onto the page that described the Eiffel Tower. After smoothing the non-sticky side with my thumb, I felt as though I had made a small accomplishment. It was such a rush after every added sticker.

I knew my addiction became serious, when I couldn't find a specific cafe featured in the book while backpacking the Netherlands. My friend and I added Cafe Society to our "list of things to see" in Amsterdam, but when none of the locals had heard of the cafe, we couldn't find it on the internet at the time AND we couldn't locate it after a week of strolling the canals and streets, I panicked. That meant one less sticker to add to the book. It was like missing a piece of a puzzle, only worse.

I started asking anyone on the street if they'd heard of Cafe Society, frantically pointing to the photo and the blurb from the book, but there was no hope. We even walked parts of the city we hadn't seen just for the slightest hope that it could possibly pop up. I was starting to believe the cafe didn't even exist at the same time that my friend was beginning to get suspicious and catch onto my secret addiction. He was getting tired and wanted to stop searching, however I still had my heart set on stickering that page. It almost resulted in a fight until...

We ended up running into the American Hotel that the cafe was randomly located inside of. By the time we found it, we were both so exhausted from the search and my friend was so fed up with me that he didn't even want to hear the words "cafe" or "society" ever again.

So my book will always remain one sticker short. I'll go on knowing there is now 999 possible places from the book I'll see before I die... Or I may just visit the cafe if I ever return to Amsterdam. I can assure you though, my addiction isn't as bad and not to worry because I won't be booking a flight to Amsterdam anytime soon just to see that cafe.

P.S. Has anyone really been to this Cafe Society? Just curious!