Ambling Around Alkmaar.

ZAANDIJK.

Heavy rain overnight has been replaced by a cool wind with sunshine. Paul goes for a run whilst Rosie busies herself with her housewifery duties.

We head for Alkmaar, a fairly large town further down the coast. We find a cheap car park on the edge of town. Paul followed a walk around the town whilst Rosie spends 2 hours browsing the shops. It has all the big name shops as well as a vibrant bar and cafe society on the canal sides.

On to our final destination in a suburb of Amsterdam called Zaandijk. We park up in a free car park by a railway station. A guy from Cambridge immediately comes over to talk to us. He drives a 135 like ours. He explains that he is staying z day longer than planned. He bought train train tickets to visit Amsterdam. After sitting on the station for a while and seeing no trains, he learnt that there is a general transport strike today.

We share experiences, he is obviously more technical than Paul, he talks about using epoxy resins in the van. We mention Rosie's need for a washing machine. His wife, he tells us, doesn't have the same need. As a result, I suspect he has a strange smell about him. Later, however, we discover that there is a chocolate factory on the other side of the railway line and the smell emanates from there. There are green parakeets flying above in the car park as we talk.

We go to the village in search of provisions for tonight's dinner. There is a Spa supermarket in the village, well stocked with good food and wine. We asked the assistant if there any bars in the village. Only one but it is closed! We walk the long way back to the van but everywhere seems shut.

There is a van opposite the size of a single decker bus. It is called a Phoenix, the name is stencilled on the windscreen. At one point, the sun projects the letter "P" onto the back of the driver's head such that it appears to be tattooed on.