We’ll start with the Sydney Fish Markets. We’ve been here before. I’ve brought you here a couple of times in the past. It’s one of my many Happy Places, and I love sharing it with other people. On this trip, I shared it with my family, and now I’m sharing it with you.
If you’re a seafood eater you’ll understand just how enveloping and drool-worthy this place is. Would you like to know more?
It has been a busy, but sad time in the Netherlands. Everywhere you go the flags are at half-mast.
The ramifications of nearly 200 Dutch people being killed, and over 30 Australians, has left me reflecting on how precious and yet fleeting life can be. Would you like to know more?
First and foremost it must finally be Summer! Windows have begun sprouting school satchels, which means that school is over and someone has passed their exams!
We had a night celebrating a little while ago, Would you like to know more?
It’s amazing what you learn when you pay attention to the advertising screens on trams! I recently read about Molen van Sloten on just such a screen, and resolved that at the next chance we got, that’s where we’d go! I’d had no idea that there was a working windmill so close to Amsterdam!
As directed, we took the tram and got off at the last stop, and just followed the signs from there. And a remarkably picturesque walk it was too!
Can you believe these are the back of peoples back yards? I’m so jealous!
This was the best sign so far, and had me giggling.
It directed us to walk through Sloten, a thousand year old village which only got annexed to Amsterdam in 1921. It’s so tiny and quaint!
I love the atmosphere of this village. If it was further away I‘d want a Summer house here. But it’s so close that I can visit whenever I want!
Out of a tree shaded walkway we then saw the sight that had drawn us here.
The massive rotating sails of the mill. This particular mill is a water mill that, by use of an Archimedes Screw, keeps the polder of Sloten above water level, if not sea level.
This is the only public mill in Amsterdam and being able to go up inside it as it was turning was such an amazing experience! We both had huge grins on our faces!
Being us, on the way home we stopped off in Leidseplein and sampled a few more of the delicious cocktails off the menu at the Bar Americain.
Pretty good way to end the day if you ask me! I hope your weekends were both productive and educational too!
I had a birthday. You don’t really need to know which one. But I did.
This is the first year I’ve ever had a Summer birthday though! I decided to celebrate this fact by lazing around on the balcony in the sun-shine, and having take out Thai food
with some expensive champagne. Himself indulged the occasion in my honour with some expensive whisky.
Followed by some cheesey movies (Cowboys and Aliens followed by Tourist), for a Friday night, it was everything I wanted to do.
Saturday I was spoilt! After a day out (which is an entire post all on it’s own and is still being structured), we ended up at the Bar Americain
to have some cocktails and collect ourselves.
After some discussion we decided that the place we needed to be was the Whisky Café. So that was where we headed.
They have a tasting menu where you get to try three different whiskys that have something in common. Either area, distillery … we went for the Whisky Appreciation Society selection and fell in love with the first one. So then we each had one of it. (It was an 11 year old Auchentoshan, very delicate, evaporated on your tongue with subtle notes of chocolate …)
Damn this makes it look like all we did was drink! I swear this will be rectified in the next post!
One of the best birthdays I’ve had in years. Thank you Himself, for making it so memorable, and so wonderful. I love you so much! *hugs you tight*
ghoti industries 