Alkmaar, Assendelft and a visit with friends

Got up early and were packed and ready to go by 7:30 a.m.  Had a quick breakfast at the hostel (it was included)... the kids were pretty excited about the massive jars of chocolate sprinkles and other Dutch stuff ... I was excited about the cappucino maker and the Dutch cheese.  Such a nice spot!
 

Left by 8:15 as we needed to get to Alkmaar to see the weekly cheese market, and also to meet up with Arie, Carolyn, Ben and Sabina at the market.  So great to see them!!

The market was really, really busy so we could barely see what was going on, but basically this is the place where the farmers come to sell their big wheels of cheese every week.. .they have professional testers, etc to see how good the quality is, how much it is worth, etc.  Pretty touristy but still a bit interesting, We didn;t stay for the whole "show" because it was so crowded and it was hot.  So we all wandered the streets for awhile, found a stand selling oliebolen, then we had a picnic next to the town's windmill, that Carolyn had brought for us.  So nice.



 
 

They headed home after lunch and we continued exploring the town a bit more, had our first poefferjes (spelling?) from a street vendor, bought some cheese (of course), then headed out to find our B&B which is in Assendelft.

The B&B was lovely... the owners were super friendly and welcoming.  We sat and chatted for awhile, then Rodger and the kids went for a boat ride along the canals from their yard, with their rowboat.

At night we drove out to Arie/Carolyn;s for dinner, which was a short 30 minute drive.  Such a nice evening and the kids got along great!  We sat outside for some of the evening, until it started pouring! So nice to catch up with them.