A day for windmills

I think we slept 11 hours last night so are now truly feeling rested. Our bedroom is on the top floor of Duncan and Lauraine’s home. It is very cozy, quiet and comfortable 

Our day starts once we’ve finished breakfast (yummy oatmeal) and Odessa has had her morning nap. 

Today we walked to Zaanse Schans, about 3.5 km. It is a neighbourhood of historic windmills and distinctive green wooden houses representing an 18/19th century village. 

You can see the windmills in the background as we cross the bridge.

Not raining but cool out today. The village was perfect to walk about and see the Dutch culture from the past. 

Here is Albert Heijn, the big grocery chain today in the Netherlands, as it once was. 

It is a touristy place especially in the summer. Surprisingly there were still tourists there today. 

A closer look at the windmills we saw from the bridge.

Next lunch at Swarte Walvis. I think refers to a black whale. Ir was really nice, great food and a fine place! 

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted meals but here is my lentil and avocado salad and Norm’s Carpaccio Sandwich, delicious! 

Odessa enjoyed the lunch too.

Sinterklass was supposed to be in the area today. He is the legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. We missed him but got see where he would have tied up his horse.

The sign says Parking for Horses Maximum 1 hour. 

As we headed home we managed to spot more windmills.

This area is also famous for chocolate. There are many chocolate factories. You can smell chocolate as you walk along the streets. It is heavenly. 

We stopped at the chocolate store where Lauraine designed their logo. The store is called Smells Like Chocolate. The logo has 4 cocoa beans and you can see it on the bars and bag. Very classy! 

One more windmill. We even looked inside. You can hear the wheels grinding and see how things worked years ago. 

No tourists here just us. 

And inside 

Finally back home and time for some of us to have a nap.