Artis Royal Zoo, Amsterdam

The oldest zoo in The Netherlands, it houses a planetarium, an aquarium and a geological and zoological museum. For around 19 Euros (as of July 2012), you do get quite a lot. There is one part of the zoo where you can walk inside and have monkeys let lose, swinging around you. There was also a butterfly house, with many different species fluttering around. There are numerous feeding stations with fruit, so you can always get a close up when they are feeding. 

Inside the museum/aquarium building, there is a large variety of taxidermy animals, as well as species of fish from the rainforests to the reefs. The planetarium is interesting, but the voice over is in Dutch; so unless you speak fluent Dutch, I would probably give this a miss.

The zoo did house giraffes, zebra and gorillas, but was missing other big animals, such as elephants, rhinos and tigers. Overall, I thought you got a lot for your money.

Sex Museum, Amsterdam

For anyone travelling to Amsterdam, the Sex Museum is a must!! It contains hundreds of photos, paintings and sculptures, creating a timeline of sex and pornography, from vintage to modern day. This isn’t sleazy, however. It does house many tasteful photographs, but does venture into some bizarre sexual acts. You can also hear orgasmic moans in the rooms coming from speakers. All is done in a kind of tongue-in-cheek humour.
Admission is only 4 Euros (as of March 2012) and is well worth the money. You are guaranteed some laughs, amazing novelty photo opportunities and an education in porn. What’s not to love??

Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, London.

Here are some pics from the recent Diamond Jubilee celebrations :)

Thames River Pageant

Carriage procession