Amsterdam

Europe is so spoiled with its air travel and it makes me jealous! Everything is close by and there is a multitude of airlines offering cheap flights to various places. This is great for travellers like me who want to take advantage of their cheap offers! I flew out of Birmingham to Amsterdam via BMI Baby for about £75. I can't even get a 30 minute flight for that price at home! The added bonus was that it was only 1 hour to fly to Amsterdam.

I had a great time in Holland. I have some family there so I did a little visiting; catching up with Aunts, Uncles and cousins mainly and then spent a day wandering the streets of Amsterdam.

I visited Rembrandt's house; it's one of my favourite sights in Amsterdam. It's not gigantic like some of the art galleries and it never seems to be as busy as some of the other attractions either.

I really enjoy viewing some of Rembrandt's works in the house where they were originally painted. It just gives a more realistic feel to the circumstances of the artist and the painting. Rembrandt's collection of artifacts is also still in the house; this is one of my favourite parts of this museum. Rembrandt collected all sorts of things: seashells, fossils, coins, gemstones, stuffed lizards, whale vertebrae, tortoise shells...all sorts of quirky things!

if you have never visited Amsterdam, it is definitely worth visiting at least once just to see it's old canals, cobblestone streets, and bicycles everywhere! Just don't walk on the orange-coloured pavement or you will get run over... by a bicycle!

The floating flower market