We took the usual tram to Centraal and hopped on the free ferry across the river to the Iamsterdam sign, where we took photos. After a quick look around the gift shops we went back to Centraal and had kebabs for lunch, before embarking on our Countryside and Windmills bus tour. The company is called Tours and Tickets, and this day our guide was Edgar, who was hilarious, and could play a mean jazz piano. The first stop was De Zaansche Molen, thirteen working windmills not far our of Amsterdam. Following that was the Marken clog factory, which turned out to be more interesting than it sounds!
A boat ride on the IJsselmeer Lake across to Volendam was next, and this is when we were unexpectedly entertained by Edgar on the piano. We had a few drinkies on the boat as well, which added to our enjoyment of the trip, before disembarking at Clara Maria Cheese Factory. We bought at least four cheeses each, not thinking about when and where we were going to eat them.
Volendam is a really picturesque fishing village, and of course very touristy, but we made the most of the time there, tasting the drinks at the Bierkaart bar and then getting caught in a sudden downpour. Luckily we had ponchos that Kay and Alistair had been carrying since their cruise!
We arrived back in Amsterdam around 7 pm and walked around the red light district because we could. The rules have tightened up around oggling the girls in the windows (about time) and we only saw two, but fortunately the taking of photos is prohibited.
After an Indian meal we caught the tram back to IJburg and bed not long after.
No comments:
Post a Comment