Our last day in Amsterdam started out with a sumptuous breakfast of cinnamon apple and raisin mini pancakes with delicous strawberry coulis. We left the place staggering, thoughts of lunch far from our minds.
We finally went to see the Van Gogh museum, something we had been meaning to do from the beginning. Although the busiest museum I had ever been to with lines for every painting, it was extremely well thought out and interesting.
The museum went through Van Gogh's many different styles, from early sketches to his dark period (although sadly the potato eaters was not displayed here) to his much brighter colours he developed after his stay in Paris.
Van Goghs easel and paints, it seemed so crazy to see the very paints he used!
In Paris he became close friends with Degas and remained so for the rest of his life (below you can see a sculpture of Degas). It is clear from his letters that he thought highly of his friends and his brother (they had a lovely audio of his letters playing), often citing their importance to him and telling them about his progress in his current paintings. He even entertained thoughts of having an artists house where they could all live and work together but sadly this never came to be.
Breathing fresh air after our interesting forey into Van Goghs life and art, we continued with our favourite past time, wandering the canals. We had a rather large mishap with Necia tearing her toe open and developing a strange rash which culminated in her going to the doctors to get everything sorted out.
For dinner we ended up with a view of one of the pretty squares of Amsterdam, and I found another Trappist beer! How could I resist?
We indulged in pub styled tapas of breads and dips and bitterballen.
A fantastic end to an interesting and multifaceted city.
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