Saturday, July 4.

Caught Metro into town, jumped on the bus, and headed to Gasson, the diamond merchants. Not to buy, but to see how diamonds are actually cut. What a laborious process. On average it takes two days to work a rough diamond into the finished article. A normal brilliant diamond has fifty seven facets. This company is now able to cut a stone with one hundred and twenty one facets. They have a patent on the process. Produces a superb stone. Unfortunately no photos were allowed. Did grab this one outside though. 
Must be doing well as someone else drove of in a Maserati of the same colour while we were there.   

 On the bus and headed back to the Rijks Museum to complete our tour. As I said previously it is huge, but well worth the effort, as it is an amazing place.  

  

  This is in a dolls house.

  Library

  

  

  Have to love Rembrant

  

  

  

  

  

  

 Spent another four hours there and jumped on a boat for a two hour cruise of the canals. Given that all but one are man made , it actually being a river around a kilometre wide, they are amazing. There are four main canals running parallel to each other in a semi circle around the main town centre, and then interconnecting canals, and yes there are near ones and far ones. 

   
   

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 Following our boating experience we boarded a tram and headed for the Zoo. Saturday’s it does not close until sunset, around 10.18 pm. Makes for a very long day. A great deal of the exhibits you are able to walk through, obviously lions and the like are not included. Great variety of displays, however some of them are a little tired. In their defence they are in the middle of a massive rebuilding program. Some of the buildings are world heritage so changes are very slow. There is a row of original houses fronting the canal which are quite cute. 

    
 
   

  

  

 We were eventually thrown out at 10.30, so headed by tram and Metro back to Myrtle after an enjoyable day.