Friday, November 8 and Saturday, November 9, 2019
Our last day in Amsterdam and it was a full free day. A group of us took the tram to the Rijksmuseum.

We got there not long after the museum opened. Our first stop was the
“Night Watch” by Rembrandt. It was painted in 1642. It was fascinating how they are using computers/technology to scan the painting and work on the restoration process which I believe will take a year!
Below is a copy of the Night Watch. They feel it depicts the original size and it will be studied to gain information.
We spent several hours exploring the rest of the museum.
It was fun watching the school groups explore and learn about the museum.
The Hard Rock Cafe is close by so we went in and got a pin!
As we were heading to the floating flower market on this cloudless day. What a difference a day makes in the weather from yesterday!
One of the places we visited was the floating flower garden (since 1862) which is known locally as the Bloemenmarkt and had lunch across from it. You can purchase all kinds of tulip bulbs, fresh flowers, Dutch souvenirs, and Christmas decorations. It was fun visiting all of the shops!
Part of our group hadn’t been to the Red Light District so we walked through the area. In Amsterdam there are bicycles everywhere. As a pedestrian you really have to pay attention to the bicyclists so you don’t get run over!
We stopped in and saw the inside of the Basilica of Saint Nicholas.

Another landmark is the Central Train Station in the heart of the city that opened in 1889.

We still had our tram passes so we took it until the line ended and then back.
In doing this we got out of the city center and saw other parts of Amsterdam.
Our view from our hotel on our last evening in Amsterdam!
Our wake up call Saturday morning was very early so we could board our bus for the ride to the airport! We flew Air France from Amsterdam in the morning and arrived in the United States in Atlanta and then had a flight on Delta Airlines home.
Both flights were close to on time and we were home by 5:00 PM on Saturday. Our Hilliard Chamber of Commerce group was so fun to travel with and Aventura World made sure everything went smoothly. We made new friends, new memories and explored new cities! We can’t wait for 2020’s adventures!