Day Thirteen - Resting

We took a small car drive to pick up fresh milk (our Dutch is lousy and we had actually purchased something like a yogurt drink). Matt noticed the tires looked a little flat and we will top them up tomorrow. We had scrambled eggs for breakfast. I had a bit of an unsettled night, not much sleeping was happening.

We took a walk into the village, and popped into a chemist as mosquitos have taken a liking to Matt, I dont blame them, he is very nice indeed. Later in the day, we took another stroll, and popped into a optician as we are looking for replacement glasses in a similar style - currently big glasses are all the rage, and it isnt what Matt is looking for.

Having not slept much I curled up in a ball and slept for a couple of hours this afternoon, and Matt was able to compose a piece of music.

We found a pub this evening and had a cheeky half-pint, before strolling home and settling in for the night.

Tomorrow we are heading for Dunkirque, and our final night before returning home on Saturday.

Day Twelve - Windmill

At the end of today, we are staying in a windmill!

We packed the car, it took a couple of trips, we also pre-packed the adventure bag for a few days so we didnt need to drag out the big suitcase. jPots, adventure mugs and groceries wobbled on the back-seat along with our adventure laptops, kindles and cameras.

Our first stop was at the Delft pottery and spent a couple of hours exploring the history and lots of amazing pottery and artwork in traditional blues. We explored the ancient garden then settled for lunch. I had hummus with pine nuts and roasted toms on a seeded role and lovely salad with balsamic dressing. Matt had goats cheese with honey and again a great salad.

We plugged in the next address into TomTom, and traffic was slow. google maps alerted us to delays and re-routed - much to the protest of TomTom.

We were given a tour of the windmill - I wont lie, the stairs are curly and steep. The bottom floor is a large kitchen, the middle floor is the living room and curly stairs lead up the bedroom. The is also another virtually vertical stair case at the base of the bed to the top floor - but we declined. The host gave us a detailed tour, and helped us plan our adventures and left us with a bottle of something bubbly.

We settled in, then took a walk into the little village at the end of the street. Matt purchased milk and we took home hot chips which I dipped into my curry ketchup (I am bringing back many bottles of this).

Day Eleven - Amsterdam

This morning feels so very long ago, in a good way, we really packed a lot into the day.

We topped up the travel app and now we feel like seasoned tram experts. Our first stop included seeing Anne Frank’s house from across the canal. On getting closer there were crowds of people taking photos and a museum was on the corner. It was odd seeing people posing in front of the door, selfie-style. Not my cup of tea.

We stopped for bunch, and had traditional dutch pancakes. Matt had the savory style with egg and spinach. I turned my pancake into an apple pie, topped with home-made crumble, apples and spices. We had hot chocolate and freshly squeezed orange juice.

We took another tram down to the museum district, however the Van Gogh museum tickets had been sold out for the day. There was only one thing for it - burgers and cocktails. I had a couple of Yellow Brick Roads and they were very nice indeed. I had a baked sweet potato with sour cream cheese and chives and Matt had ordered pulled pork over fries.

The tram home was 10 steps away, and we travelled back to the apartment to pack, and cook dinner.

Day Ten - What a Day

We installed the GVP app, to pre-pay for travel across Amsterdam, be it bus, train, tube or boat. A 24-hour ticket only costs 9 euros. The app even shows you how to get to each stop, and what to look for - I am scoring it a 10 out of 10.

Armed with information, we headed on the tram, very efficient - scanning the barcode of the ticket on the app to check in and out of every journey. I managed to trip up stairs, and chip the corner of my phone. At least the camera is now jane-tested. It bares the scars of the standard trip up.

We walked through the Museum park, may revisit this tomorrow. I found my inner-child and hopped into a garden fountain while it danced a waterfall around me. We then wanted to explore on foot and we had many hours of walking. Most directions I gave to Matt was “it is over the next bridge”… it became a thing.

What I wasnt expecting was the city on water, it wasnt high-rise buildings, every canal was hugged by tall houses, and other elegant buildings, many converted to shops. We stopped at a coffee shop, to turn around and exit as it was a cannabis coffee shop - it is just the smell… too sweet and overpowering.

I had to watch every single step I took. If it wasn’t cobbled pavements with drop-off curbs, it was the sea of bikes which sailed around the city without a care in the world. Matt spent much of the day checking I hadnt fallen into a canal, or taken out a row of bikers. Cobbed paths really wanted to tip you into the bicycle lanes.

We took a break at a classic MacDonalds, before locating an iconic Analog Amsterdam store for Max.

Before returning home, we stopped in a cafe/bar where Matt had a Duval beer and I had a lemonade. I gave into temptation and treated myself to exploring a chocolate shop named Puccini. Matt and I will open the selection of chocolate later with a pot of tea. If you are curious, and I know you are, then take a peek here: Puccini Bomboni | Artisan Chocolate made with Natural Ingredients

The return journey was just as easy, now resting our throbbing feet while typing up our respective blogs.

Day Nine - Amsterdam South

We are in a lovely apartment in the south area of Amsterdam with airplanes low in the sky early in the morning and mid-afternoon.

Matt and I emptied the car and sorted the washing and drying. With it being a Sunday, we had a gentle reset day. I was over-excited by having an iron and ironing board. Read a few chapters of my book and picked up my cross stitching.

Tomorrow we will explore Amsterdam.

Day Seven - Pottering

We stayed close to our apartment today, with walks along the canal. Meeting horses, donkeys, a couple of pot-bellied pigs, so many sheep, goats and oodles of cows who spent the day in the green fields and walked themselves back into the barn at dinner time.

Day Six - Windmills and cheese

Another lazy start on the holiday clock. Coffee and cereal kick-started our day then we headed for Zaandam about 30 minutes away.

We spent a good 3 hours exploring the historic town of Zaandam, and a good fistful of windmills were a joy to see and capture, along with sooo many clogs. We purchased rosemary cheese (so good) and shot glasses because, why not.

We went to a grocery store on the way back to stock up for the next couple of days - there is no getting around it I need to tame the oven.

It was another excellent day.

Day Five - On the road to Amsterdam

Bidding a fond farewell to Damme, Matt plugged in the address to our next country, Netherlands and plotted a route avoiding the tolls.

So…. after paying a surprise toll (only 6 euros) we made good progress and several hours later arrived at our next home for three nights. We are a stones-throw from a windmill peeking around the corner. The house is on a farm, with cows, old horses and a wonderful welcome from Hetty who vigorously shook our hands on arrival. There is also a sheepdog and we were warned not to let the farm cats in. Noted. Do Not Let the Cats In, but if they stroll in themselves I will give them a warm welcome :-)

Still figuring out the oven. Too many buttons. The oven is also a grill and a microwave and No, I have not managed to make anything work on command. I did however burn some baked beans (for me) and ravioli (for matt) on the stove after pressing about 20 million buttons across dozens of combinations. I still dont know how it works, that was a fluke. We will be cooking proper food tomorrow evening so wish me luck. The internet doesn’t have instructions, but I will figure it out - it is like the Krypton Factor and I like a puzzle.

There are steep curly stairs to the top floor and a good nights sleep on a cosy bed. I need to walk down the stairs one at a time, and I left a light on so we didnt take a wrong turn and fall down them in the night.

Day Four - Damme

Such a lazy start to the day. Ignoring the drizzle, we made scrambled eggs and plotted the day. A visit to Damme was on the cards. The town was empty, but it was reassuringly just as we left it years before.

On the way home, we saw barriers drop, and a bridge lift and shift to make way for a giant barge full of rubble.

Early evening we packed the car, as tomorrow, we start our journey north. Wine and pasta for dinner.

Day Three - Chocolate Heaven

A cloudy start ending in blue skies with a warm breeze and birds chirping in the castle woods.

We still have two nights in the castle in a lovely apartment.

After a long and restful night, I made scrambled eggs which served as fuel to kick-start the morning, I connected our radio to my phone and filled the rooms with music.

We plotted a route to the centre of Brugge and parked underground with a leisurely stroll into the market square, through beautiful streets full of shops and quirky alley-ways. There is a shop that only sells rubber ducks… and one just for hand-made bags. We stopped in a giant church to take pictures, and on arrival in the square, made an immediate beeline to the waffle truck. We were treated to freshly made waffles coated with melted Belgian chocolate. It was absolutely heaven.

We explored the town, rediscovering old favourites, and went into The Chocolate Story (a museum) which culminated with a hot chocolate drink (or really a giant chocolate on a stick, swished in hot milk).

Later in the afternoon, on our return home, we took a walk around the castle grounds. Now settling into the evening with a limoncello and a little more cross-stitching.

Day Two - A walk in the woods

After a lazy start, we had breakfast then explored the local woods. On leaving, the car park was quite empty but returned to it bursting at the seams.

Most of the local town was locked up, being a Sunday. However the local church will have a service at 3pm today to bless the pets. In town, Matt spotted the windmill in the distance that we will get to stay in, on the return journey. I wasnt too sure, so we google mapped it.

We found a store open and able to buy fresh milk and butter, along with a few more meals as we are here for four nights. On returning back to the castle, we prepared lunch. I did a little cross-stitch, and we went for another walk around the castle.

Now settling for the evening. Still feeling a little tired, so it will be an early night.

Tomorrow we head into Brugges and the home of the best chocolate in the world.

ps… Cherry pie for pudding - win!

And we are off

Friday was the usual busy day, ending a glass of port and the last-bits packing. The car will effectively be an extension of the suitcase with no weight limit.

As is the norm, pre-holiday sleep really didn’t happen, it was rather stormy outside and we were concerned about the dartford crossing in high winds. I was pottering about at 3am before waking Matt with my hairdryer at 4am (it is an excellent alarm clock). We were in the car and on the road before 5am.

Several miles after setting off the car bleeped and flashed the flat bottom sign, telling us the wheels needed a check. Sure enough, our brand new tire replaced only days before was looking distinctly pancake like with 11psi. We did a pit stop to top up the tank and add much needed air to the tire.

We made good time and breakfast was a Leon Burger. We drove onto the Eurotrain up onto the top bunk and parked, engine off and windows down as directed. The first 15 minutes were listening to someone’s car alarm going off. They hadnt followed instructions. I couldn’t help myself and instinctively applaud loudly when they eventually returned to the car. They heard me. Holiday Jane was in high spirits.

The drive on arrival was great, we left behind the storms and it was all blue skies. We headed to Dunkirk and parked at the first gallery blown along with a blustery blue sky wind. The car door decided to trap my foot - that bruise will pop up later.

After a stroll on the sandy beach front, we had been sand-blasted enough and headed to the castle. Stopped for fresh food and home-style cooked meals to see us for a couple of nights.

Our apartment has views of the long driveway through a forest and overlooking a square lake. The lift is has a double layer door and snaps shut and swings sideways as it lifts us up.

Settled ourselves, pasta for late-lunch after taking a while to this working. It only works with special pans, and mine were not the same (yes - I packed pans, just in case) everything but the kitchen sink. Always prepared.

Stars pop in the sky with no nearby light polution. We ony hear wind through the trees and the dog howling like a wolf in the apartment next door.

Early night on a cloud of a bed.