I forgot to add the text to my Amsterdam post.  As I have said before our internet connection is highly variable so when the signal is strong I try and get the pictures online.  This time got them online and did not get it all together.

Amsterdam is another city that needs lots of time to explore.  A day is just not enough.  Instead of taking a bus tour we elected to get a hop on hop off “boat” for the day.  It was a perfect way to see the city by travelling up and down the miles of canals that parallel the roads and start from the very busy harbour.

Beautiful homes, churches and even offices line the various canals and every residence has a docking permit for a boat on the canal.  There are no empty canal spots left and those individuals that choose to live on a boat have seen the value of their permits rise to very high amounts.

The highlight of our stop here was a private tour of the Rijksmuseum in the evening.  Our departure was delayed until after midnight to enable all the guests to get to the museum, have a wonderful private reception and enjoy the gallery without hordes of visitors that we saw lining up during the day when we passed.  We stood in awe of Rembrandt’s famous painting The Night Watch.  Not only were we up close and personal we were surprised that photographs were permitted.   Van Gogh’s paintings were also on display including his famous self portrait.  Obviously it was a great evening and all part of the Grand World Voyage as it is called.

Today we are in the North Sea with the temperature falling.  Tomorrow morning we begin our week of touring the Scandinavian countries and then comes Ireland and Scotland.  I am running out of memory on my camera discs and computer storage!