Rembrandt, Van Gogh, windmills, canals—this is what comes to mind for many when thinking of visiting Netherlands. Me, too until now. But–Oreo Cookies? I have now come to understand that Holland, specifically Wormerveer and Zanse Schans in Zaanstadt, where we are staying, is the center of the universe for the chocolate that is used for […]

On Sunday, 9/28, a shocking realization – tomorrow is our last full day in Holland. Somehow we really settled in, but the end is coming. Tuesday morning we take off for Barcelona. So on Sunday afternoon, our last hurrah, very satisfactory – an archaeology boat trip into a nature preserve just north of our town […]

Charming views of old-fashioned technology. Life is sweet and days are bright. We went to look at windmills at a sort of reconstructed town on the Zaan River, called Zaanse Schans. This kind of windmill was developed over time in a triangle of eastern England, Flanders, and northern coastal France. First mention, 12th century, used […]

In Rouen on September 5, I had an accident with the rental van. Did you ever try to find parking for a modern van in medieval streets? Me neither. How do delivery vans manage in Rouen? They park half on the sidewalk, half on the street. How do you get around them? You drift left […]

Our problems with posting anything in France meant that we just couldn’t get pictures from Bayeux up on the blog (mainly, our connections were so puny that everything just took forever, or just wouldn’t). So here are pictures of the town, and a couple of the Tapestry. The museum people don’t want you taking pictures, […]