More about Amsterdam

We had a whirlwind of a trip in Amsterdam. I can't believe how much we got to fit in. Here were the highlights:
Zaanse Schans: There were a lot of awesome windmills here, but the favorite was De Kat- a paint mill. They grind pigments here for dyes. They restored it and run it- it is amazing to see it in action. The force being generated was incredible! We also saw an awesome wooden shoe carving demonstration.
The Rijks museum: The Delft, Rembrandts and Vermeers were amazing, but the surprize was an Andy Warhol of Queen Beatrix I loved! and a Miffy (Dick Burna) exhibit Evelyn liked. Miffy is the Dutch version of Hello Kitty- but she is a cute bunny.
A canal boat tour: Wow. It was so neat to see all the different canals and look at the pretty canal houses and house boats. I loved it.
Our Lord in the Attic: This was awesome. It was a 17-century houses a rich merchant converted into a church when Catholicism was banned in Holland. It was actually three canal houses that were adjoining- he knocked down the walls between the attics to make a church. It was beautiful and amazing what people did to try to practice their religion. Maybe it was more amazing because of the juxtaposition- we passed by a tiny slice the Red Light life- some shops and ladies of the night. But it was 2 p.m. Luckily a fast thinking Roger tried to distract Evelyn with the swans in the canal.
The Van Gough Museum: It was incredible- I love Van Gough and seeing Sunflowers and Almond Blossoms in person was great!
The Royal Palace: Before it was the royal palace for the House of Orange, it was Amsterdam's City Hall, then a palace for Napoleon's brother. When it was a town hall they had an orphans administration office, where three officials were in charge of the city's orphans. It was so interesting how much they admired the Romans and modeled so much after them.