Marlon’s 70th birthday Amsterdam

ann Tours arrived and picked ups up at the hotel.  She was an excellent tour guide.

Our arrival at the windmills was exciting.  I sure wish the weather would cooperate and stop raining and being so windy.

Napoleon had tea here in this tea house. 

The scenic Dutch village of Zaanse Schans is most famous for its windmills, once used to power everything from paint-making to paper production.

Windmill village of Zaanse Schans

We are going into this building to watch them make wooden shoes.  I'm interested in how this is accomplished.

The variety of wooden shoes was impressive special ones are made for weddings, rollerskating, and farming. A long time ago they tried to make sandals from wood but they don't look comfortable at all.

I don't know how this bunny was chosen to be the icon for Amsterdam but it was everywhere including the wooden shoe shop.

Time to tour the windmills and find out the history.

The windmill we toured inside of was made for grinding dyes to make pigment for paint.  Rembrandt actually bought his paint from this exact windmill in Amsterdam.

The next building hosted a variety of chocolates that the mills had ground the cacao into chocolate. The smell in here was so chocolatey.  We made our own cup of hot cocoa with the instructions on the table, one teaspoon of cocoa, one teaspoon of sugar, pour in 2 tablespoons of water, and mix well, bring the cup to the counter where they add the hot milk and fresh cream.  Now doesn't that sound so good?  Let me tell you it was so tasty.  

After we toured this village we were back in the car to see the Henri Willig farm. Jersey cow milk is fantastic for making delicious cheese as it is higher in fat and protein. jersy cow farm where they also produce gouda cheese with many different flavors added. 

Pretty interesting to find out the cows decide when they need to be milked.  They go into the stall the the machine cleans and attaches the milkers to them.  The cows have tags on them and the machine tracks when they were milked and how much milk they produced.  The utters are cleaned after being milked to keep from infections.

Lunch was at the wharf where we got to choose anything from the menu.  The food was delicious and so was the view.  

I am full from lunch, the weather outside is still miserable.  The guide is taking us to catch a boat to travel across the water to another town called Marken.

We are headed back to the hotel. It’s been a great day making memories. Amsterdam is an amazing place with lots of things to see and do.   Marlon will decide where we will eat dinner for his birthday 🥳 

Arrival to Amsterdam Dec 23

Trains, bikes, cars, and people are everywhere. You must be very careful getting around or you will be run over!!

Going in and out of shops looking for unique souvenirs! We did stop at a waffle place and bought a stroopwafel with coffee.

Stopped in for a coffee and a Stroop waffle.  Very good tasting, like caramel in between waffles.

Now to find the Canal House Museum which is our next stop. 


Grachtenmuseum Amsterdam (The Museum of the Canals) is the starting point for visitors to Amsterdam! So this is where we are starting to learn about how Amsterdam was built. It was located in one of the most beautiful canalside houses. 

Looking through the window of the miniature version of the canal house.

After leaving the museum we walked down the street called the Flower Market.

Misc things in windows that got my attention.

Sampled some cheese in this huge cheese shop. Later in our trip, we ended up going to the farm where this cheese is made.

Several stores sold rubber ducks. Florentijn Hofman and his giant floating rubber duck traveled from harbor to harbor.  The love of ducks became contagious and this was the first step in opening the first duck store.

Hungry?  See something in the slots you want?  You can order here and pay the door opens and you get what you paid for.

The streets are narrow here.  Most cars park 1/2 on the sidewalk.

Lots of graffetti

The canal views throughout the city are so nice to look at. Peaceful, relaxing.....

I don't know what this is all about but I did find it interesting. It made me laugh. 

There was a demonstration of rioters shouting Hussein. A crowd was following them with a group of police close behind.

Time for lunch and decide what kind of food we want to eat.  We decided on a place called Wok to Walk.

We were not dissappointed in our choice to eat here.  The food was amazing. 

I  got phad Ti noodle with chicken.

It gets dark early. That is our hotel in the background.

Many streets have canopies of lights.  I feel Christmas in the air.

We have reached our destination of finding a Christmas Market.

Many stalls with lots of things to purchase. Food, trinkets, beverages. It's a little chilly tonight but it's not raining so that's good!

Spent time at the market and now we are cold and tired.  Time to find something to eat then get back to the hotel.

Love the lights reflecting on the river.

Dinner tonight at Gourmet Burger.  

Burgers were exceptionally delicious. Audy accidentally ordered two large fries.......lol

We are back at the Clayton Hotel formerly known as Hard Rock.  This is the view from my balcony.