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Today we spent the day walking around Ameterdam and checking out the many amazing sites. We started in the Rijksmuseum, where we got a taste of Dutch art. There were many English speaking tours on the go all the time, so we were able to get a bit of insight into many of the paintings. Only a small portion of the museum was actually open to the public, because they are currently renovating (and they have been for the last eight years!!).
After the museum we had a nice breakfast at a nearby cafe (the Cobra Cafe) and we met up with Sander and Annelie. Sander's brother, Tom, also me us there and he played tour guide for us for most of the day. (Tom has been living in Amsterdam for the last ten years or so). After enjoying our breakfast we began our journey through the heart of Amsterdam. We saw many famous things, like the "Golden Bend" in the King's Canal and Anne Frank's house.
Today was a very hot day in Amsterdam - something like 36 degrees, so we thought it best to pick up some ice cream. We then came across a nice tree
lined square where we were able to hide from the heat in the shade and refill our camelbak's with a nearby fountain.
We walked through the flower market and picked up some lunch at a local grocery store (cherries, old Amsterdam cheese, hot cross buns, bread and egg salad). The five of us sat on the steps of an old church to eat our lunch before setting out in search for some real sustenance: beer. That we found in another local grocery, and we drank it while walking through the Red Ligh District. Of course, it was the middle of the day, so the red lights were not on, but the workers were out in full force!
We had to hurry through the Red Light District because the much anticipated Brazil vs Netherlands football match was about to begin and we had our hopes set on watching it with many locals in the great Vondelpark. Awe got to the park just in time to miss the first goal by Brazil - in fact we didn't get to see much of the game at all because the place was so crowded we had to sit very far from
the TVs. It didn't help that the Tavs were very small; all we could see was some blue jerseys and some orange jerseys mooing around on a green field. We couldn't even see the ball!! So while Tom, Sander and Annelie jockied for position to watch the match, Elysia and I found a nice shady spot in the park near a pond and relaxed. There was a young family of ducks there enjoying the shade with us. I promptly fell asleep and worked on rodent myself of the jet lag.
After the match, which the Netherlands won by the way, we walked over to a small African restaurant with anfriend of Tom's (Hugo). Dinner was great, so we paid the bill and walked back to the houseboat where we enjoyed some Dutch licorice and some red wine with Annelie and Sander.
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christine ansell
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roof
stop thinking engineer and start thinking lawsuits