Holland

 We stayed at a fabulous bed and breakfast in Amsterdam (www.parkzijde.nl) and I just had to show you the amazing breakfasts that were provided.  Oh my!  And they insisted that we take what we hadn't eaten to have for our lunch.  And notice the dishes?  They were hand painted by our hostess who paints on porcelain.  These had fanciful insects on them but she does a variety of styles, all very lovely.  What a nice touch!!!
We stayed in the Garden Room,  should you happen to check out the link.  It's worth it, and it is certainly worth staying there should you be in Amsterdam.  I can't recommend it enough!!

 This was a tunnel that we passed through a couple of times as we were driving around Amsterdam.   I was messing about with the camera.  I liked the bumpy parts the best, just for the distortion!!   We kept our car for one night and took a drive the second day before returning our car to the airport.
A little story....beware when you park in Amsterdam.  Amsterdam is crazy expensive to park in....outside our b and b it was 5 euro per HOUR.  And the powers that be are lurking nearby to ticket one for any seeming transgression.  We arrived at 5:35 in the evening (I know that because they had asked us to arrive after 5:30), we knocked on the door of our b and b, introduced ourselves, asked what to do about the car, our host indicated that we needed a special card to even buy a parking permit, my guy went with him to purchase the permit which was stamped at 5:41.  Too late, the ticket on the car window was stamped at 5:39!! For 58 euros!! So beware if you are parking in Amsterdam.  Maybe at the very least, I should have stayed with the car whilst my guy went and sorted out the permit. Just something to keep in mind of you plan on driving in Amsterdam....well, I guess the driving is all right, it's the parking that's a problem!!

But on our second day we took the car and did a bit of exploring.  We came across this delightful parade.

 A bit of countryside.

 We drove along the coast, winding northeast out of Amsterdam, which at this point was field on one side and a dike on the other, and then lots of water on the other side of that!

 These guys were enjoying a snack and the water view from the top of the dike.

 More snacking, more waterside views.  Sigh.

 And always, and everywhere, these monsters.

 Water, water, everywhere.....

 I much prefer this version of 'wind turbine'.  So much more tranquil, don't you think??

 But then the wind is good for fun things as well.  And even the cows stopped to watch the fun!!

Honestly, there were so many beautiful views, everywhere one looked.  More crazy shutter snapping!!
At the risk of boring you with all these shots, I'll save the rest of the pics for next time.
I'm home now and have been to a workshop using soy wax on cloth.  Wow, what a fun time.....more on that later.
I'm back in my own time zone now and my head has caught up with my body at last.  Jet lag, gotta love it!!!
Back soon.....