Day four arrived and flew by in a flash. We were very lucky that the sunshine really began to shine for us today and we got to enjoy our final morning and our visits to Zaanse Schans and Volendam with the sun blazing. The only downfall to this was the lack of wind! This made for some very still windmills.

Once we had checked out of the hotel, we were taken by our very friendly and knowledgable bus driver to Zaanse Schans, where we were able to wander around all the shops and the windmills and we even got to go on a mini tour of one of the windmills and go right to the top. We were told all about the functionality of the windmills and how they fill their time on days like today, when there is no wind! We even met a man selling paintings that spoke 18 languages! He was able to converse effortlessly with all of us in English, then Anna in Russian, Josh and Freddie in Hebrew and even a little Mandarin was exchanged.

After we all stocked up on some more souvenirs, we made our way to a little fishing village called Volendam. This place had very unique houses and our driver told us all about the competitions the locals have to keep the best gardens and the cleanest windows. The whole village was filled with beautiful shops, cafes and even a little stretch of a beach, where we all had a great time relaxing. We were taken to a cheese factory where we got a tour of the factory and got to sample lots of the cheeses. Lots of cheese was purchased for gifts and then we made our way back into the sunshine for some final fun.

Before we knew it, it was time to go to the airport. With a great flight, and no delays, we were back in Glasgow by dinner time where we were all met by all of the enthusiastic parents and siblings that must have been missing us a lot!

It has been such a fantastic and memorable trip with a really superb group of pupils (and even teachers). This will certainly be a week that we will remember forever.

We hope you enjoy the photos!