They don't call them the Dutch Masters for nothing.

We woke up to sunny skies and pleasant temperatures this morning. Breakfast was delicious with fresh cooked eggs and bacon and some of the best bread (or "brood" in Dutch) I've ever had.

Since Amsterdam is crisscrossed with all these canals, we decided what better way to get around than by a canal boat? We got a 24hr pass and proceeded to the closest stop before hopping on a boat for the "Rijksmuseum." Even though they are renovating probably 85% of the museum, the works they put on display in the "temporary" museum were amazing. Rembrandt and his contemporaries and students were truly masters of lighting and texture. The landscapes were stunning and Rembrandt's portraits were so lifelike; even up very very close. There was an amazing scale model of an old Dutch warship, made from small wood timbers and completely rigged out also. The only thing missing were the little guys manning the deck. If the "temporary" exhibit was this good, I can't imagine how good the whole collection is.

We were good and hungry after the museum, so we set out to find a sandwich shop. I can't believe how hard it is to find something that's not McDonald's or Burger King or a Falafel stand. As it happens, we ate at a falafel stand. My "Doner Kebap" was very tasty, but Angela's bratwurst was not and she only ate half of it. We spotted an "Australian Ice Cream" shop and had a couple waffles with chocolate sauce and fresh whipped cream. Yummy!

Not satisfied with our street art purchase from yesterday; we perused the artists selling their pieces on the "Leidseplein" and noticed something very curious. It appeared that they weren't "real." In that I could not see the brush marks on the paper; nor could I see where the water in the water colors actually deformed the paper. Some of the artists didn't even sign their pieces. Very curious... Unfortunately, we had to race to catch the canal boat so we didn't have the chance to look at them very closely.

We took the canal boat to the end of the line and switched back to get back to the Westerkerk and the Anne Frank House museum. After walking around the Jordaan neighborhood (and getting pretty cold doing it, since the clouds moved in and the wind picked up), we took our tour of the Anne Frank House. I don't remember reading her diary when I was in school, but I need to now. Her family's story is pretty amazing. I will say that their "hiding place" was bigger than I had envisioned it.

Walking through the Red Light District on the way back to the hotel was a trip. There are so many sex shops, sex theaters, and women posing in their little private fishbowls that you become completely desensitized to it.