Amsterdam's an old city, so it's built for foot-traffic, and what a pleasure that is. Compact, for sure. And like Manhattan and other newer versions, built upward, not outward. Buildings are narrow and tall (5 or 6 stories), and lean (as the piles beneath shift) on one another, which is good idea, no matter what.

Now, with the addition of public transit (buses, subways and trams), getting around this remarkable city is a breeze, but for me, a guy who likes to walk, it's heaven.

Every street, a conglomeration of housing, markets, watering-holes and restaurants, stores, and you-name-it ... every neighborhood possessing its own charm ... with canals wrapping around all it, and plenty of green spaces for dogs to run free, children to play, and adults to picnic, and enjoy the sunshine (winter will soon be here).

MLR is taken to school by her father in a baksfiet (cargo bike), and D and I pick her up after school, for a leisurely, lets-explore, walk back home. Always a few stores that MLR likes to step into, to do some "shopping" ... mostly just looking, but she knows that Gramma and Grampa are an easy touch, and so we are!