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 🥳