Hotel Ibis Amsterdam Westcorner

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Amsterdam's canal routes form a kind of spider web shape around the old medieval city. The city was, of course, first formed by damming the Amstel river, hence the name Amster-dam. This dam is at the centre of the city, now under 'Dam’ square.

Canal Tour

The tour through the Amsterdam city canals introduced us to the Dutch houseboat way of living. Apparently the houseboats are ‘prime real estate’ and no ...

... them home to our hotel...the 100's of tulip bulbs, cactus, lilies, dahlias...I cannot even begin to describe the incredible flowers. Also went to the Albert C. market...vendors selling you name it...cheap prices, some cheap stuff, but sometimes some bargains...a chocolatier selling chocolate penises (did I spell that right?) Rebecca wa grossed right out. Also had a boat ride through the canals...saw the upper class district...as well as the open ...

Today, I awoke to a sunny day. Always an early riser, the time change did not have me behaving any differently. Waking up early in big cities is a great thing. Similar to the silent mornings of Buenos Aires, such was the same in Amsterdam. Bikers on their way to work, and just a couple of bakeries open, I headed to the ...

... a small print known as Almond Blossom, 1890. It's a little different from his more well-known work but something about it is very pleasing to the eye--like most of his stuff. He's a legendary painter for a reason. The Rijksmuseum is filled with more of the classic Dutch art, including Rembrandt and Vermeer (although one of Vermeer's most famous paintings, the Milkmaid, was on loan somewhere so we ...

Arrived in Amsterdam, no problem. Bought some small souvenirs for the parents. Onward flight to Venice was delayed. Security is very tight. Buying water for the flight required the water to be hermetically sealed. If you break the seal before boarding, you can't bring it on board, even though you bought it at the airport. Ay yai yai.

... I have been to in Europe so far. The set up was cool, the flow of the pictures was nice, the other impressionists were interesting, there were letters he had written to family and to girlfriends and it was generally really neat. After that, we went to the Rijksmuseum, where the Rembrandt Exhibition was. I saw not only a bunch of his paintings, but also a ton of his sketches. It was really cool, not as cool as the Van Gogh Museum, but still very cool. By then it was about ...