Old and New Amsterdam Compared and Pie

I wash my hair between Monday night and Tuesday morning and at some point on Friday. Every week. Hair dressers and women's magazines are always telling you it's a good idea to wash your hair less frequently and in the (relativey) smogless Amsterdam it's finally possible (in New York I wash my hair every other day. I brush my teeth the same amount in both places). My shampoo smells like babypowder. I don't know if I explained my complex method of choosing items like shampoo when faced with Dutch packaging. I basically choose something cheap and familiar looking. So I have Dove shampoo. The package says "Anti-Roos" and according to my translator roos means rose. Needless to say this discovery was very distressing. I mean, there must my lingo-psychological damage caused by prolonged use.... I later learned that "roos" is the word for dandruff. A little insulting. But just to be certain, I bought a conditioner (also Dove brand) which is labled "Respect and Balance." For some reason that's in English, though the rest is Dutch (I think I have normaal haar, right?). It seems like a good way to counter act shampoo that might be washing away flakes of my Self along with unwanted build-up and dead skin.
In New York I buy shampoo solely based on smell. Also commercials (to be totally honest). And the last time I bought shampoo in New York I succumbed to the trap of buying designer or professional or whatever the term is for an expensive one. I find myself making comparisons like this a lot lately since I have just over a month left here. I don't think I remember New York clearly anymore.
I have a vague notion that I might have already mentioned my perculiar Dutch shampoo situation in this blog, and if so, I appologize for boring you. My parents are in town and we had a long day riding the train to and from Maastricht (yup, the one with that treaty!). We also saw some neat medieval stuff like walls and churches. And we saw the crypt of a saint who died in 384 AD. But the important news is that the South of Holland is known for a particular type of pie called Limburgse Vlaai (which when pronounced correctly it rhymes with pie). And so I was finally able to fulfill the promise implied by the title of this blog.
Honestly, I wasn't blown away. It was served cold (a no-no) and there were raisins in it. Also I think it was a little mass produced. I won't condemn the style as a whole, though. The crust was cakey rather than the flakey pastry we are used to in the States, which I can dig. And the concept has merit (a crust of uniform thickness on all sides with a nicely proportioned amount of filling) but I think I went to the wrong shop. I guess I'll have to try it again.