After leaving Leiden for the last time this morning, we and all our luggage headed to visit the ADM cocoa processing facilty in the Amsterdam port area. Ad Grinwis, the Logistics Coordinator for the facility, showed us the discharge station where beans from other countries, namely Ivory Coast and West African regions, are brought in. Most of the beans come from various regions in Africa. An interesting fact that Ad shared was that the biggest problem he faced was theft from locals in Africa. One kilo of beans is worth two and a half days' wages, so it is very tempting for thieves and pirates to steal the cocoa beans. Beans from different countries have many different traits, such as color and/or quality.

After a morning talking about the importation of cocoa into the European Union, we filled our hungry stomachs with McDonalds on our way to our last stop in the Netherlands - the Floriade Exhibition. This is like the Olympics of flower expos! It occurs in a different city in the Netherlands once every ten years. On what was certainly our warmest day so far, we walked through many magnificent floral arrangements representing countries all over the world. There were 5 different sections of the expo to visit. The Rest & Relaxation gardens were a must visit for all of our tired feet. What a way to end our time in Netherlands. Now its off to Germany for the rest of our time abroad!