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As my time in Amsterdam is unfortunately coming to an end, I have been thinking about the completion of my "Things to do while in Amsterdam" list. To create my own personal list of things I wanted to do, I used the article, "20 great things to do while in Amsterdam" and Vanity Fair's article, "Where I Go: Seth Meyers."

Upon reflection, I realized I had 2 items (Both critical) left to complete. First, I have been able to get on a bike here in Amsterdam, but not longer than to run a quick errand (These errands have been run on Francisco's incredibly tall bicycle, which makes for an awkward ride as I can't see over the handlebars). The first thing I realized I had left to do was ride a bike around the city for an entire afternoon; and I decided I wanted to do it on a bike where my feet could touch the ground. Secondly, I realized I had not eaten a raw herring. Just as I began to worry I would not be able to complete my list, somehow, over the past week, both have been checked off!

I was able to get a bike ride in with my Aunt Pauline; she and I rented bikes through MacBike and went on a guided tour of the city. Our afternoon's fellow biking comrades and companions consisted of a bachelor party, a mother-daughter pair and one gentlemen who did not quite understand Amsterdam's rules of the road (We'll call him "Ralph" for privacy purposes). By the end of the afternoon, Ralph still did not understand which side of the road he should be biking on, he hit 2 pedestrians, he interfered with an ambulance's path, photo bombed the bachelor party's picture and finally, got really, really lost.

Can you spot the photo bomber?

Our tour took us all over the city; we began at Centraal Station and biked to the south end of the city. We saw Brouwerij t' IJ (A brewery in a windmill) and the zoo before moving up to The Amstel, the skinny bridge and over to museumplein. We also biked through Vondelpark, Jordaan and the downtown core. What was especially great about our bike tour, is that we did it in true Dutch style: in the absolutely relentless, pouring rain.

My second item was magically checked off last night. Francisco and I went out to dinner with our friends, Katharina and Benedikt, and it was as if the waitress knew I had one last item to complete on my list. For some reason, she brought over raw herring, on the house!  So, there you have it, my list is complete (Except for the small part about riding a bike where my feet were able to touch the ground).