At Large in Amsterdam
We had one full day on our own in the city. We hit the bikes and headed out. First to a market, then a local coffeeshop before visiting the Van Gogh Museum. The special exhibit there was amazing. It was all about the effect of night and evening scenes on impressionistic painting. Obviously Starry Night was the focus of the exhibit, but what I found the most interesting was the obvious inflfuence of earlier painters on Van Gogh. The way they structured the exhibit was chronological so you could easily see the effect of early Millet on the work of Van Gogh. In some cases there were exact figures or shapes lifted from early paintings by later Van Gogh's.
After the museum we headed across town to the Dapper Markt which is a more local flavor of the Amsterdam market scene. Close by was the Ij (pronounced "I") brewery located in a windmill. They have a great tap room and patio where you can enjoy their beers in the sun while people watching.
We completed our loop of Amsterdam by cutting across the city on our way back to our hosts house. That evening we enjoyed a home cooked meal and later the best ice cream in the city. All in all a great day in Amsterdam.