Sad to leave our lovely lakeside campsite this morning. It’s been my favourite of the holiday so far, and Edam has been a real highlight too.

We move round the corner to park the van by the marina and then cycle into town. Our intended canal boat ride in Giethoorn didn’t happen so we are sailing in the canals of lovely Edam instead. We leave our bikes outside the old town hall which doubles as a civil wedding venue and a separate tourist info. We pick up boat tickets and a few souvenirs in the turismo whilst listening to the wedding guests clap and cheer next door.

Off up the canal to pick up our whisper boat. It’s big enough for 7 so quite roomy. 15 secs of explanation and a laminated route/info card later plus a wobbling entry into the boat eek…and we’re off. It’s fine for a while until Tony pulls into the side to let a couple of bigger boats pass. We are now stuck in a patch of water lilies, with me panicking and us not going anywhere fast! We have to push ourselves off the bank, Tony de-weeds the propeller and thankfully we move again. The route is mostly circular with great views of houses and gardens, one small canal is particularly lovely. Have to almost lie down at one point to get under a very low bridge. It’s been just under 1hr  and mostly fun. Thankfully I manage to exit the boat a little more easily, less dorkedly.

Picking up our bikes, we notice that the next wedding is already in progress and there’s the cutest bike standing outside the registry office, with a huge basket of flowers and a just married sign. Only in The Netherlands! Once we are back at the van, we leave Edam and set off to Leiden, 1hr away.

Arrive at Rjinsburg, near Leiden, and set ourselves just before the rain starts. Time for some laundry and eventually home made paella followed by National Treasure on DVD, Tony’s choice obviously.