Afternoon: Board an overnight flight.

Morning: Arrival at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. Transfer to de Zaanse Schans, a village with windmills, a klompen maker (wooden shoes) and a fabulous pancake house.

Lunch: Pancake house.

Afternoon: After lunch we continue to Amsterdam and check into our hotel located in the heart of Amsterdam. The balance of the afternoon is yours to relax or explore the city.

Dinner: Welcome dinner in a local restaurant.

Evening: All evenings are free to explore on your own or relax.

Lodging: Museum Square Hotel Amsterdam

Meals Included: Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Hotel dining room.

Morning: Coach to the Kroller Muller Museum, home to the largest private collection of Van Gogh paintings. Located in a dense forest, this one-level museum and sculpture garden will satisfy the most critical art connoisseur.

Lunch: Enjoy lunch at the Kroller Muller Museum cafeteria.

Afternoon: Coach to Amsterdam and board the barge, our home for the next seven nights. Meet the crew and pay close attention to the captain's safety orientation.

Dinner: Aboard the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Aboard the barge.

Morning: We start the day barging to Haarlem. You'll see locks, bridges and lots of traffic on the rivers and canals. Heavy cargo such as stones and steel is still transported by barge. In addition, the Dutch are passionate about water sports and all kinds of crafts will pass us from sailboats to yachts. When arriving in Haarlem, look to your left for a large building with a glass dome. You don't want to be inside; it is a prison.

Lunch: Lunch onboard.

Afternoon: After lunch we visit the Frans Hals Museum. A lecture will introduce this famous Dutch painter (1581-1666). Hals was commissioned to paint Amsterdam's civic guards with the understanding that he paint in Amsterdam. However, he became tired of traveling between Haarlem and Amsterdam and, when pressed to finish the painting, missed the deadline and didn't get paid. His contemporary, Pieter Codde, finished the painting, called Meagre Company, a reference to the short men in comparison to guards in other paintings. After a lecture you are set free to independently explore this fine museum. Returning to the barge, we stop at the statue of Koster, who, according to the Dutch, was the inventor of printing.

Dinner: Dinner aboard the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast aboard the barge.

Morning: This morning we bus to Aalsmeer, to the largest flower auction in The Netherlands. Here we take a field trip through acres of flowers and plants. We will also watch the bidding as buyers from all over Europe compete with one another. Soon afterwards, the trucks leave for the distributors, and some flowers head for the airport on their way to the USA. The next day they may be for sale in your flower shop. Our journey continues to Cruquius, a former steam pumping station used to drain the area around Amsterdam which was threatened with flooding. After lunch we bus to Leiden, Rembrandt's birthplace and, appropriately, our home for the night.

Lunch: Free to sample local cuisine.

Afternoon: You are free for independent exploration of Leiden this afternoon.

Dinner: Dinner aboard the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast aboard the barge.

Morning: Our morning starts with a visit to Gemeente Museum in The Hague. Accompanied by a docent, we marvel at the collection of Old Masters.

Lunch: Lunch on barge.

Afternoon: We barge to Delft and visit The Porceleyne Fles, the oldest surviving porcelain factory in The Netherlands. Here we enjoy a lecture and field trip before heading back to our floating hotel.

Dinner: Dinner aboard the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast aboard the barge.

Morning: We barge this morning to Rotterdam and walk to a church where the pilgrims said their last prayers before sailing for England where they boarded the Mayflower for the United States. A lecture on this important part of our history will surely captivate you.

Lunch: Aboard the barge.

Afternoon: After lunch we attend a lecture on the different schools of painting. Then we explore the Boijmans Museum with its fine collection of Old Masters (Van Eyck, Fabricius, J. Bosch) with a lecture and field trip. Afterwards we continue to Gouda, our home for the night.

Dinner: Dinner aboard the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Breakfast aboard the barge.

Morning: In Gouda we visit the Catharina Gasthuis for an unusual lecture and field trip. The museum exhibits altar panels, painted in the Golden Age, by Dirck Barendsz, Antonie Blocklandt, Pieter Pourdus and Jan Steen. Across from the museum is the St. John's Church where we attend a lecture on the famous old windows with biblical scenes. You may want to consider buying some Gouda cheese, delicious and the real thing.

Lunch: Lunch onboard.

Afternoon: Relax on deck as we barge towards Amsterdam. Weather-permitting, you'll enjoy the ever-changing scenery from a deck chair. We will moor in Oude Wetering.

Dinner: Dinner aboard the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Breakfast: Aboard the barge.

Morning: An early departure brings our barge back to where it all started one week ago, Amsterdam, or Mokum as the Dutch call it. Your program leader will lead the group to the center of Amsterdam to Rembrandt Square, to the flower market and finally the beguinage.

Lunch: Free to explore local restaurants.

Afternoon: This afternoon you'll have time to visit a museum or see the Anne Frank House. Amsterdam has many terraces where you can watch the locals (and tourists) go about their business while you enjoy a Heineken or a cup of coffee.

Dinner: Enjoy your farewell dinner on the barge.

Lodging: Fiep

Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner

Breakfast: Aboard the barge.

Morning: Transfer to the airport for departure.

Meals Included: Breakfast