2nd June...

A new city....a beautiful Motel... and all the excitement of the day ahead had us up early and in search of a cafe for breakfast.

We were not disappointed....the coffee was great....the breakfast delicious and even those of us short of sight could read the menu with ease....what a cool touch.


Our first visit of the day was - Anne Franks House....
We had pre-purchased tickets so not to miss out...which was just as well when we saw the queue on arrival.

 Still to this day it still seems surreal that we were in the actual home...standing in the room that Anne all those years ago wrote her diary entries.
Such a sad time in history.

Another amazing experience in this day of crazy variety was the Body Worlds Exhibition (The Happiness Project). The boys didn't join us on this adventure so Donna and I tackled it alone. I loved the message behind the exhibition.... it was the link between health and happiness. There were moments when it really hit that these were actual bodies...and it was a touching exhibition on many levels.


We never tired of the sights in the shops in Amsterdam.... from their brownies (which we didn't try)..


to their cheese....which we did try...


 We spent some time shopping for souvenirs...we definitely wanted to take clogs home for the girls.


Just loved this patterned delftware ..although I didn't bring any home.


The evening was spent on a very interesting tour.
We took the 'Red Light District Walking tour' ... our guide was very informative...respectful and frank... actually he was rather blunt and to the point at times...but I liked that about him.
Prostitution is legal in Holland and I was surprised at how well regulated and respected it is.. we were guided through past the window prostitutes who were so beautiful.


I think that's one of the things I love most about travel.... the chance to experience and learn about things completely outside of your normal radar.

We were exhausted by evening....it had been a long day of walking.... and we had a big day planned for the following day.