Just The Fiat Left

So I left you guys in the middle of a storm in Voledam where it was pretty windy out on the coast and the storm clouds raced overhead. At night, with all the lights from the restaurants that line the seafront, Voledam is such a pretty sight. I was especially pleased that we made the effort to walk around the waterfront at night because by day the town is ruined with hoards of tour buses passing through. It’s such a shame for the locals because it’s not a big town and yet the heart of the town is just overrun with tourists.

For us we had a feed of Cod dipped in Tartare Sauce and moved on to Edam, which is the perfect place for us because we are addicted to cheese sampling.

Edam is perfect, beautiful canal surrounded by gorgeous housing, each with a perfectly painted door and a floral window display. Obviously I couldn’t own a house in The Netherlands because my floral art is just not up to scratch. The only thing with Edam is that there are very few cheese shops, oh and it rained so we sheltered in a pub where I ordered an Amstel Beer. Another thing that wasn’t quite what I had expected, it was fizzy and lemony and I’m not even sure it was beer but it was really yummy.

After Edam we went back to our windmill in Spaarnwoude to await confirmation that our brand spanking new electric bikes were ready for pick up. We are both totally excited for this. It’s taken a few visits to various bike shops, trying the different brands and the offered models, foregoing a few because they’re just too damn expensive and being disappointed when we made a decision only to find the shop had no stock. Anyway we have persevered and fingers crossed they will be exactly what we hoped for.

After a late start, we never sleep in and we both slept in till 9 30, we ventured to the Markets in Haarlem which were exactly as I had thought markets would be, a place to get your fresh fruit and veges and meat and cheese and bread etc. So we came away with my basket brimming with all this fantastic produce, a large slice of cheese, and a beautiful bunch of flowers, (I just need a proper vase now).

Next to Delft, Haarlem would be my next pick of towns in The Netherlands. It’s got some stunning shops and great little cafes and it’s got a really nice feeling to it, No morning is ever complete without coffee and this did not disappoint so all in all a great stop.

Finally we head to the bikes. “I have good and bad news”, the salesman says. It seems to be words we have heard a lot on our bike buying journey.

“We have your bikes however they are not ready”. At this stage of the proceedings we are not fazed and settle in to drink the free coffee provided, which after a three hour wait turned to free Heineken.

Our bikes are stunning. We chose Gazelle simply because their brand has an excellent reputation and they make award winning bikes which look good too. I wanted a retro style so I chose the Gazelle Miss Grace design and Doug got a matching men’s one which is more manly than he imagined so he’s wrapped.

We are heading to Germany tomorrow, it was the plan today but with the hold ups and then Doug wanting to tutu with his new toy, we are still in The Netherlands next to where else but a canal.

In other news Doug has a new lady friend and he’s quite partial to her. Apparently she’s quite good looking too as opposed to my dear Google Map Lady who according to Doug is incredibly ugly. Yes he has traded in Google Maps for a GPS App which I must admit has saved a few cross words/ full on blazing rows.

I have also managed to burn through most of my anti slip mats that sit between my plates and pots to stop them from sliding around when travelling. The ones I use to separate my frying pans keep sticking to the bottom of them sight unseen and then up in flames they go. Still at 1£ from Tescos I think I can afford to get a new roll.

Sorry the photos of Voledam and Edam will have to wait as I have mislaid my camera, possibly in a pub.

Any tips on Germany?