Sep 10 (Wednesday) – Monnickendam, Drive to Deventer, Central Netherlands

It is sunny today, thank goodness.  We checked out fairly early and headed to Monnickendam.  Parking was found near the harbor and we headed off to see what we could see.  First thing we saw was the carillon tower and heard the bells chiming.

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Video (sound) of carillon bells
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And a short block from there was a bridge with good views over a canal. 

We decided to have our lunch at a restaurant overlooking the canal.  It looked like it had been around for a few centuries. 

Then we wandered around town...

and down along the extensive harbor.

During our research for the trip one of the “attractions” listed for Monnickendam was good ice cream shops.  And we found one right on the canal leading to the harbor.  So, we stopped for some ice cream.

Having now exhausted the sights of Monnickendam (at least in old town) we headed off for the hour and a half drive to Deventer.

We found our hotel, Hotel Vermeer, quickly.  It was located on the edge of a large plaza beside a large church.  There was no parking directly at the hotel, but some cars were parked in an area close by the hotel, so we parked there and went inside to get checked in.  When we got back to the car (10 or 15 minutes later) we had a ticket on our windshield…parking in an area reserved for residence.  What a bummer. 

After unloading and finding a legal parking lot we headed to city hall, right next door, to see what could be done about the ticket.  Turns out, nothing.  It will go to the car rental company so we will settle with them.

Our hotel...

and our room was way at the top with a window overlooking the church square outside. 

But we didn't let the ticket dampen our enthusiasm.  We headed out to explore the town.  First stop was a large, long main square. 

This beautiful and interesting building was right on the square. 

There were a lot of interesting streets to wander.  

This being The Netherlands, there were some big cheese shops. 

The church is St. Lebuinus, right across from our church.

We had a nice sunset that we could just see through the trees in front of our third story room.