Greetings from Amsterdam

Well tonight is my last night with the tour group. I am in Amsterdam. Amsterdam is what I have imagined it to be. There are proper cycle lanes for cyclists, house boats and canals. When we arrived we had 45 minutes to have some lunch. We were dropped off in a nice area where we could get something from the markets and then have some time for souvenir shopping, I bought some ornaments: miniature clogs, a picture and a windmill. After the souvenir shopping we went to a diamond shop where they cut, smoothed and set diamonds into rings, necklaces, etc. We were shown the process and were shown the different types of diamond sizes and values. Most of us were too poor to pay exuberant prices for this luxury. After this we did a canal cruise in downtown Amsterdam with my tour group. We went past Anne Frank's house (diary fame) which has been converted into a Museum. The houses along the canal are very different. They tend to be a number of stories where the kitchen is on the first floor, the living area is on the second floor and the bedrooms are on the third floor. This afternoon we were given some free time to check out down town Amsterdam. We walked to the red light district area and smelt the unique smells this area has on offer. I was not interested in going into a coffee shop and trying out Space Cake, or sampling anything illegal. It was interesting to walk round, but settled for a hot chocolate and a piece of Dutch Apple cake at McDonalds.