Unlock the door

A VW Golf is a great car, but has its limitations. Our family of 5 fits perfectly legal. However, when you add 2 more adults, it becomes quite iffy. So when we decided to visit the old town of Delft Saturday, we had to come up with alternative measures of transportation. The closest metro stop is just a few minutes away from our house, and we also have some great friends (the Engelbrechts) who have a few extra bikes sitting at their house that they were willing to lend us.

You can't visit Holland without visiting a windmill. When I first think of windmills to visit, I instantly think of the Zaanse Schans or the Kinderdijk, but those places are both far away, and major tourist traps. We just happen to have a working grain windmill in the next town over. A short scenic bike ride through the polders adds to the experience. We were the only visitors, so the miller spent a lot of time explaining everything about the area, mill, and process of grinding flour. The kids also got to help with the flour sifting process.

There's also a little store where earned money is used for the upkeep of the mill. I'd rather visit a mill like this one, and buy some cool treats, than go to tourist-infested mills and have to pay an entrance fee any day!Dogs are not allowed in the Mill, but Coco was, if she stayed in my purse

We planned to take our bikes on the metro, so we'd be able to bike around Delft and see more of the town than would be possible on foot. It worked great on the first leg of the trip, but for the second leg, we had to get on a tram that doesn't allow bikes, so we brought them all that way for nothing. Delft is great. There was a huge flea market, where many treasures can be found.

The sellers at this stand thought they'd make one of my children happy with a cute little egg holder shaped like a chicken. A lottery was decided upon, to figure out who to give it to. Sterling picked the number 8. Ginger picked 5. Then Sterling picked number 7, which was the correct number. However, Ginger was very offended and put off, because "Sterling isn't 7! He is 8!" She didn't quite understand how this lottery worked, and it took a lot of consoling, and Sterling lovingly trading his chicken holder for a more standard one that the sellers offered when Ginger sprouted tears. You can just never know what sets that girl off, and when she's set off, it takes a miracle to get her happy again.

Sterling's favorite find was this old "skeleton key", which he bought with his own €3. He tried many old doors to see if the key would unlock them.

Reluctantly Heather and Ruth took (tiny) bites of a raw herring.

And we were amazed a the crooked state of the church. It should be called the leaning tower of Delft!

Delfts blue was everywhere! From the lamp posts, to shelves stacked with the most beautiful porcelein. It's so hard to pass all of that by!

On the way home we met up with Emma at one of the metro stations. It was great to have extended family from both sides all together! We had a great dinner of bacon (again), potatoes, and creamed spinach, followed by a fun night of chatting and catching up. Towards the end of the night the sad realization hit, that less than 24 hours later our adventures with Ruth would end again.