Brussels and Amsterdam


We left Paris this morning for Brussels, the proud capital of Belgium and of the European Union. The orientation tour in Brussels focuses on the Grand Place with its Baroque guild houses and Gothic Town Hall. Not to be forgotten is the famous cheeky little Mannekin-Pis statue. After lunch, we set off to Amsterdam, popularly known as the "Venice of the North" with a photo-stop at the astounding Atomium - a 94.5 metres high Zinc blende structure in the form of an iron crystal.


The Atomium


Amsterdam city tour
Good morning to Amsterdam, the capital city of Holland. The brief orientation tour of this city starts by visiting the old central square, the Dam, which is the hub of Amsterdam's canals. It is only possible to see Amsterdam in depth by taking an enjoyable canal cruise.


This is taken during the canal cruise. It's the place where Anne Frank (Author of "Diary of Anne Frank") stayed during the war.


The Central train station                         Guess what's this? (Do a mouseover at the picture)



In the afternoon, we visited a diamond-cutting factory, a wooden clog factory to watch a clog maker at work and finally to a cheese making factory to sample the real Dutch cheese.


Crown with diamonds (must be pretty heavy)                 Diamond ore on display


Clog-making demonstration

We spent the rest of the day at the windmills before returning to the hotel in the suburb area of Amsterdam.


Windmills                                                 My tourmates and I


A windmill close up


This is Manfred (we call him Freddie), our driver, who accompanied us throughout the trip before we depart for London. He's a very cute and nice man.

Freddie and his coach


The Streets of London