Whistlestop

The only problem with our hotel and it's beautiful view over the canal, is that without air-con the rooms get quite hot, so we had to sleep with the windows open. Which would be fine, except the canals are quite noisy overnight, and we've all had really broken sleep over the last few days. When the alarm went off pre-7am today, we felt mad, but had to get up for a second coach trip. This one wasn't a patch on the first, and we very much felt like herded sheep as our ill-informed guide rushed us about. The places we visited; Volendam, Marken and Zaanse Schans were all very pretty and definitely worth seeing, but we needed much more time, especially in the final pretty windmill town.

After a visit to C&A (Mum couldn't believe it still existed!), we went back to the hotel for a half hour rest, before going for a final walk along our canal. We stopped to have a beer in a little bar with a floating platform over the water, which was pretty special. For dinner, I'd found a veggie restaurant and we had an incredible, long, lazy feast! It was absolutely delicious, and perfect for the final night.