Day 17 ... highlights Rijksmuseum and Grachtenfestival (Canal Festival) ... today was our last full day in Amsterdam; we decided to spend it at the Rijksmuseum [pronounced R-eye-xs-museum ... roll the 'R'] which just re-opened in April 2013 after being closed for eight years. My day began with one last jog around the perimeter (x2) of Vondelpark ... logged 6.5 KM ... came back and put one last load of laundry in, grabbed a quick shower and met Sabine and her D...

Day 16 ... highlights broadened our horizons outside of Amsterdam and explored other parts of the Netherlands a bit today ... Markam, Voldendam, Zaanse Schans, Delft, The Hague & Madurodam ... went on bus tours today exploring the villages of: Markam [famous for clog making], Voldendam [famous for cheese], Zaanse Schans [famous for its continued use of windmills for local industry], Delft [famous for their blue & white china], The Hague [famo...

Day 14 ... highlights Rembrandt museum and flea market shopping ... went to the Rembrandt museum which also included a tour of the 17th century home he purchased and created a lot of his masterpieces in ... but, alas, eventually he went broke and could not pay the mortgage, and lost everything ... learned a lot about Rembrandt - I didn't realize he was so entrepreneurial, he actually took years perfecting the art of ink etching [on copper plates], they had ...

Day 13 ... highlights exercise and relaxation ... today has to be one of my favourite vacation days so far ... Sabine and her Dad took a day trip to Nijmegen to the Canadian War Memorial and I stayed in Amsterdam and had a quasi-day to myself. I didn't really have too much on the agenda (that way there's no pressure ) ... so my day was comprised of: 1. grocery shopping [Beanie's fallen for some cinnamon bun pretzels here ... as well as their cherry yog...

Day 12 ... highlights country-side bike tour and a small cafe in Nieuwendammerdijk ... today, again through Yellow Bike Tours, we went on a 4-hour bike ride through the Dutch countryside of North Amsterdam, which ended up being 5 hours and every minute of it was breathtaking and a great time - this tour is well worth the cost. We rode through three small - oh, so quaint - villages, through a rainshower, and to one of the best little cafes I've ever had the plea...