Thursday was the last Dutch breakfast we'll have. We both really enjoy these. Cheese, sliced meats, breads, boiled eggs, and the traditional sweet things - hackislaw, mousshas, hail etc. We had an early start to the day. We were to be at Dave's aunt's house at 10 am. We needed to pack (something we do almost everyday. Living out of a suitcase is really quite easy.), have breakfast, get the daily post written, and take a drive to the coast before 10.
The coast was only a few minutes away. It's a whole different world there. A real tourist town with lots of stores you'd expect to see in an oceanside town. It was very windy. Apparently it's generally windy all over the island. There were many small (6x9 yards) beach huts lined up along the beach. People rent the space to put them on and use them as a tent/cottage. One of Dave's cousins has one. They go to the beach as much as possible. The hut has a bed, a small stove, and a toilet.
We got to Dave's aunt's house by 10. She doesn't speak English but we made out alright for about 15 minutes and then her son, who speaks Enlgish, came. Another cousin and her husband also came. We visited, and had coffee, for almost 2 hours. Again we showed the pictures of our family. After the visit Dave and I wandered through the village getting some great photos. Then it was off to the ferry.
We arrived back on the mainland by 1:30 and headed toward Amsterdam. We stopped in Voledan which was supposed to have a fish market (we still had to get some sour herring, which we love!). Unfortunately there wasn't a fish market. It was another town that had a lot of shops for tourists. We wandered around for awhile, picking up a few things. Dave was able to find a stall that sold fish and bought a sour herring. He took one bite and that was it. He said it was terrible - really terrible. I took his word for it. So into the garbage he fish went.
Next we headed to the town of Edam. We wanted to see the cheese market and all the excitement of that but that didn't occur until Friday. We found a couple of nice cheese shops and did some sampling. Needeless to say, some cheese will be coming home with us.
Amsterdam was only about 15 minutes away. Dave is a real pro at driving here now. Traffic circles (which are everywhere - and make traveling much quicker as there are no stop signs to deal with) are no problem. When we came into the centre of Amsterdam, what was intimidating 2 weeks ago, was a breeze. Our final hotel was on the edge of the canal in old Amsterdam. The whole building is leaning. You can't really see it from the outside but you feel it on the inside. When I come up the stairs and step to the left, I stumble for several steps as the floor slopes. It's quite funny to watch. The reason the buildings are leaning is because they're all built on poles - which need to be replaced. Dave found out this project will take place by digging out the earth beneath the buildings, creating a subway of sorts, and putting in new foundations. A museum nearby has just had this done. It took 20 years to do this one building!
We lugged all our luggage and shopping bags to our room as it's time to pack everything up for the trip home. The stairs in the hotel are very steep. Getting the heavy bags back down will be a challenge.
After a rest (it was a very short night the night before), we headed out for our last dinner in Europe. Since we're in the heart of the city, there were many cafes to choose from. The day had been fairly warm but by 7 pm it was once again cold. We didn't dress properly so it was a chilly meal. The main actor from the Harry Potter movies was making an appearance right across the street from the cafe. There were a lot of sceaming girls. I caught a quick glimpse of him.
By 8ish we were back in the room. We did really well with our lodging. We didn't know quite what to except since we weren't paying top dollar for the rooms. Only once (in Eindhoven) did we have to share a bathroom. We'd read online that some rooms didn't have towels and some not even toilet paper. I brought these things along, as well as a number of other things (mini fans, extension cords, iron). For the most part we packed really well. We bought new suitcases before we left. As I was zipping the large one up on our bed (before we left) the zipper split open. The zipper has continued to be a problem on a daily basis. It made it to Europe just fine but I'm concerned about the trip home. We need to buy some straps to be sure it stays shut. I'll need to see if the store will replace it when we return.
It's now Friday morning and I'm sitting by the open window in our room. The sun is shining but it's quite cool outside. The suitcases need to be carefully packed. We're off to tour the Heineken factory this morning. Our flight leaves at 5:30 (11:30 am for all of you). We land at 7:30 pm and Elaine will pick us up. I don't know when I'll be able to enter the final chapter of the blog. It may well be on Monday when we're at home. You kids will be leaving for Cananda and the wedding about the time we're getting on the plane. Drive carefully and we'll see you tomorrow.
A few more things more tidbits for you:
- both Dave and I have been told we look Dutch and could blend in very easily.
- cars and parking. All of the parking on the streets is parallel. When entering these very narrow streets we'd look to the parked cars to determine if the street was a one way street or not. (the signs here aren't always the best) This didn't work as cars park facing both
directions.
- one more way to flush a toilet - push a button on top of the tank. Stepping on a button on the floor is my favorite. :)
- stickers by the mailslots. Most homes have a sticker by the mailslot which has two words on it. They can be either "nee" (no) or "ja" (yes). The word on the left indicates if the home wants flyers or not. The word on the right indicates if they want the paper or not. Nifty
system!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Onderdendam to the island of Texel
Wednesday saw us exploring more new areas and meeting more new people - some of whom were family. We had another wonderful Dutch breakfast at the windmill where we stayed on Tuesday night. Inge, a lovely woman who served breakfast, told Dave a bit about life in her small village. One interesting thing she said was that the kids from the village ride their bikes to the high school in Groningen - which is 8 miles one way.
As you know, my post yesterday was extra long so I wasn't done writing until just after 11 am. This was the latest we had "started" our day since arriving here. It was raining, a gentle rain but raining none the less. We were headed to the farm for which Dave had arranged a tour. With the scratching of a quickly drawn map in hand, we headed out. What was crystal clear the night before became muddled. We weren't able to find the farm and so the tour was out.
We headed toward Friesland - a province in Holland that has its own language. People here joke that you need a passport to go there because it seems like a different country. We drove for an hour and saw many news sights. The main crops are potatoes (huge fields of white and purple blooms) and hay. The cows stand in fields of grass up to their knees. There are some grain fields - most of which are still green. (If you remember the grain fields in southern Holland and France were being harvested.) In one town we passed through, we had go wait for a boat that was going through the canal and therefore the bridge was up.
We traveled close to the northern shore (along the North Sea) for much of our trip. Of course you can't see the sea as dikes rim the land. The dikes are covered with sheep. It looks great and is an easy way to keep the grass cut. When we crosses over into Friesland, we went up on top of the dikes. The wind is wild up there! There were a bunch of people flying huge kites on the "beach". I'm sure they were hanging onto them with all they had.
We stopped in the town of Dokkum because we were told we could see very old buildings and homes with straw roofs there. Buildings, yes. Straw roofs, no. However it was a wonderful place to stop. It was market day (maybe every day is market day?). We were able to leisurely stroll through it. We came to a fish stall and there lay smoked eel. Nasty to look at but we wanted to try it. One skinny little eel was $10 (US)! We needed instructions on how to eat it. There we stood, at a table with someone else devouring a fish, looking at our lunch. Dave took the first bite and said it was really good. I took a bite and had to agree. But, I had to eat it with my eyes closed and not think about it. I almost gaged once. I was eating near it's head (still attached) and something stringy was in my mouth. (Amanda will relate to this as she can't eat chicken legs due to "stringy things".)
Next stop was a stall that sold wooden shoes. The vendor was what most would picture as an old Dutchman - wooden shoes and all. We told him we didn't speak Dutch but that didn't fizz on him. Away he went telling us about his love of wooden shoes. If we understood him correctly, he has worn only wooden shoes his whole life. (The longer we're here, the more Dutch we're understanding.)
We wandered through the shops on the narrow streets. Before we got to the market, we went up an old, operational windmill. (One of the things we wanted to do on this trip.) Up 4 flights of stairs so steep they were almost ladders. Not a good thing to do in a dress! The man
looking after things had a long history in the milling business and told us how it all worked.
Back in the car to continue on to Texel. The island were Dave's mom grew up. We made it to the ferry by 6 pm. It was about a 20 minute crossing. The island is very small - 5 miles wide by 20 miles long. We went to Oosterend - the town we were looking for. There weren't any places to stay there so we back-tracked about 5 minutes and found a hotel in De Waal. The guy at the front desk looked up the name "Kooger" in the phone book and gave us 2 addresses. We drove to the first one, which Dave thought was his cousin Anneke, knocked on the door and after a few words there we're hugs all around.
We had coffee with Anneke and some friends. Then we went on a walking tour of the village - about 1,400 people. We've seen many beautiful towns/villages and repeatedly I've said this is the nicest one yet. Unless we see something really super great today, I've found my absolute favorite - Oosterend. The streets are very narrow, twist lazily, and are made of cobblestone. The houses are right "on" the edge of the road. The style of homes is what you think of when you think of an old Dutch home. There are cats running around everywhere. It very peaceful. Hopefully the pictures will give you a taste of what we've experienced.
On our very short walk we visited more of Anneke's family. A sister, two brothers, and her mom (Dave's aunt). That's 4 homes within a 10 minute walk. Everyone was happy to see us. Of course, the phone lines were buzzing after Anneke called her mom to see if we could visit her in the morning. The family knew we were in town. :)
We got back to Anneke's just before 11 pm and it had just become dark. I was awake at 4:30 this morning and it was broad daylight already. Very little darkness here right now.
Here are a few random things you may find interesting:
- people check their cells phones while riding their bikes. In general, they aren't as addicted to their phones as Ameicans are.
- people dress the same way we do. I was expecting clothes to be quite different here - in regards to fashion. In Paris I thought I would see some difference but I didn't. The most fashionably dressed women were in the Loire Valley of France which is unexpected as it's more of a "rural" area. One thing I did see (in all 3 counties) was girls/women in their late teens/early 20's wearing either very short shorts or very short shirts with tights. It looks great if you have the figure for it.
- we learned to trick the gps. Every time we want to go to a new town, we need to enter a street name and house number in order for Flo to be able to give us directions. Since we don't have the number/street, we enter "wilhe" and we always get a street that begins that way. Then use the number 4. It works like a charm. :)
- bike park. People leave their bikes like we'd leave our cars at a "bike park". From there they catch a ride - car or bus.
- American business. It's bothersome to come here and see McDonalds, Pizzza Hut, and other such US places. The one that gets me the most is Aldi. But then I believe it's a European company so it makes sense that it's here.
One thing I learned today - sheep are used to "cut the grass" in the strangest places - in front of businesses.
One new thing I learned today - a straw roof lasts 30 years on a house and 50 years on a windmill.
Most powerful moment of the day - standing on a dike knowing this rather small "hill" keeps the North Sea from covering Holland (which is below sea level).
One pleasurable experience - eating double zout droppies (salted licorice) while driving through Holland.
Hugs and kisses to the grandkids. Today (Thursday) is our last full day. Tomorrow we fly home. Mixed emotions about that.
As you know, my post yesterday was extra long so I wasn't done writing until just after 11 am. This was the latest we had "started" our day since arriving here. It was raining, a gentle rain but raining none the less. We were headed to the farm for which Dave had arranged a tour. With the scratching of a quickly drawn map in hand, we headed out. What was crystal clear the night before became muddled. We weren't able to find the farm and so the tour was out.
We headed toward Friesland - a province in Holland that has its own language. People here joke that you need a passport to go there because it seems like a different country. We drove for an hour and saw many news sights. The main crops are potatoes (huge fields of white and purple blooms) and hay. The cows stand in fields of grass up to their knees. There are some grain fields - most of which are still green. (If you remember the grain fields in southern Holland and France were being harvested.) In one town we passed through, we had go wait for a boat that was going through the canal and therefore the bridge was up.
We traveled close to the northern shore (along the North Sea) for much of our trip. Of course you can't see the sea as dikes rim the land. The dikes are covered with sheep. It looks great and is an easy way to keep the grass cut. When we crosses over into Friesland, we went up on top of the dikes. The wind is wild up there! There were a bunch of people flying huge kites on the "beach". I'm sure they were hanging onto them with all they had.
We stopped in the town of Dokkum because we were told we could see very old buildings and homes with straw roofs there. Buildings, yes. Straw roofs, no. However it was a wonderful place to stop. It was market day (maybe every day is market day?). We were able to leisurely stroll through it. We came to a fish stall and there lay smoked eel. Nasty to look at but we wanted to try it. One skinny little eel was $10 (US)! We needed instructions on how to eat it. There we stood, at a table with someone else devouring a fish, looking at our lunch. Dave took the first bite and said it was really good. I took a bite and had to agree. But, I had to eat it with my eyes closed and not think about it. I almost gaged once. I was eating near it's head (still attached) and something stringy was in my mouth. (Amanda will relate to this as she can't eat chicken legs due to "stringy things".)
Next stop was a stall that sold wooden shoes. The vendor was what most would picture as an old Dutchman - wooden shoes and all. We told him we didn't speak Dutch but that didn't fizz on him. Away he went telling us about his love of wooden shoes. If we understood him correctly, he has worn only wooden shoes his whole life. (The longer we're here, the more Dutch we're understanding.)
We wandered through the shops on the narrow streets. Before we got to the market, we went up an old, operational windmill. (One of the things we wanted to do on this trip.) Up 4 flights of stairs so steep they were almost ladders. Not a good thing to do in a dress! The man
looking after things had a long history in the milling business and told us how it all worked.
Back in the car to continue on to Texel. The island were Dave's mom grew up. We made it to the ferry by 6 pm. It was about a 20 minute crossing. The island is very small - 5 miles wide by 20 miles long. We went to Oosterend - the town we were looking for. There weren't any places to stay there so we back-tracked about 5 minutes and found a hotel in De Waal. The guy at the front desk looked up the name "Kooger" in the phone book and gave us 2 addresses. We drove to the first one, which Dave thought was his cousin Anneke, knocked on the door and after a few words there we're hugs all around.
We had coffee with Anneke and some friends. Then we went on a walking tour of the village - about 1,400 people. We've seen many beautiful towns/villages and repeatedly I've said this is the nicest one yet. Unless we see something really super great today, I've found my absolute favorite - Oosterend. The streets are very narrow, twist lazily, and are made of cobblestone. The houses are right "on" the edge of the road. The style of homes is what you think of when you think of an old Dutch home. There are cats running around everywhere. It very peaceful. Hopefully the pictures will give you a taste of what we've experienced.
On our very short walk we visited more of Anneke's family. A sister, two brothers, and her mom (Dave's aunt). That's 4 homes within a 10 minute walk. Everyone was happy to see us. Of course, the phone lines were buzzing after Anneke called her mom to see if we could visit her in the morning. The family knew we were in town. :)
We got back to Anneke's just before 11 pm and it had just become dark. I was awake at 4:30 this morning and it was broad daylight already. Very little darkness here right now.
Here are a few random things you may find interesting:
- people check their cells phones while riding their bikes. In general, they aren't as addicted to their phones as Ameicans are.
- people dress the same way we do. I was expecting clothes to be quite different here - in regards to fashion. In Paris I thought I would see some difference but I didn't. The most fashionably dressed women were in the Loire Valley of France which is unexpected as it's more of a "rural" area. One thing I did see (in all 3 counties) was girls/women in their late teens/early 20's wearing either very short shorts or very short shirts with tights. It looks great if you have the figure for it.
- we learned to trick the gps. Every time we want to go to a new town, we need to enter a street name and house number in order for Flo to be able to give us directions. Since we don't have the number/street, we enter "wilhe" and we always get a street that begins that way. Then use the number 4. It works like a charm. :)
- bike park. People leave their bikes like we'd leave our cars at a "bike park". From there they catch a ride - car or bus.
- American business. It's bothersome to come here and see McDonalds, Pizzza Hut, and other such US places. The one that gets me the most is Aldi. But then I believe it's a European company so it makes sense that it's here.
One thing I learned today - sheep are used to "cut the grass" in the strangest places - in front of businesses.
One new thing I learned today - a straw roof lasts 30 years on a house and 50 years on a windmill.
Most powerful moment of the day - standing on a dike knowing this rather small "hill" keeps the North Sea from covering Holland (which is below sea level).
One pleasurable experience - eating double zout droppies (salted licorice) while driving through Holland.
Hugs and kisses to the grandkids. Today (Thursday) is our last full day. Tomorrow we fly home. Mixed emotions about that.
Apeldoorn to Groningen
This morning I'm writing from the best location so far. (Dad, you will love this.)I'm sitting at the base of an old windmill. The canal is only a few yards away. There is a sailboat tied to the dock on my left. Beautiful Dutch homes on the other side of the canal to my right. Right in front of me is a small bridge. Today is garbage pick-up day. Many people in the village bring their garbage pails to the base of the windmill for pick-up. A man just came by to get his garbage pail wearing wooden shoes. Eckta Hollanise!
Yesterday (Tuesday - I note the day more for me than you. It's quite challenging to keep track of the days. I have a slight fear of mixing the days up so that we miss our flight home!)was absolutely wonderful. Another very full day but what a day!
We had decided to leave Apeldoorn right after I finished blogging. (I blog every morning right after breakfast. If I didn't, I wouldn't remember everything that happened the day before.) We were going to head for Friesland. We'd been told about the palace in Apeldoorn but decided not to see another palace. As we drove past it, we changed our minds and we're so glad we did. What a beautiful palace - and the gardens were unlike anything we've ever seen!
Het Loo (the palace) was mostly used for hunting in the fall. It was built in the late 1600's. A number of kings and queens have lived (and decorated) the palace from day one until quite recently. Every room we were permitted to enter was fully furnished. Most were from different time periods - with the focus on the very early residents. The most modern room was from the 1930's which the current queen of Holland, Beatrice, decorated as a teen. We found out that a lot of the very old furnishings were found in the palace's attic.
After going through the castle, and a special exhibit for Maxium (the current Prince's wife), we headed to the restaurant where we had a fabulous lunch. We had soup very similar to what I make at home (the kids call it green/Dutch/meatball soup), a croquet, a pastry with sausage inside, and a wonderful apple/almond dessert. We each had a bit of everything. The food has been great here. So much so, there'll be more of me coming home than left. :(
After lunch we went out to the gardens. It was so very hot yesterday. Thankfully there were lots of fountains from which we could get some water to splash on ourselves. The gardens were huge! I've noticed that many of the plants here are the same as what we have at home (petunias, marigolds, lillys). This is somewhat disappointing. I guess I assumed everything would be different. The gardens were mostly very short hedges perfectly trimmed in geometrical shapes. What a lot of work! There were huge vacuum hoses in the garden where the trimming was being done - to suck up the clippings. The fountains had a variety of statutes. There was one with dragons with water coming out of their mouths. I have a great picture of Dave getting a drink from one of these.
At the palace (in the public bathroom) I found yet another way to flush a toilet - step on a button on the floor. I think this is the best option.
About 2 pm we got into an insanely hot car (it's black inside and out) and headed north. In about 90 minutes we were in Groningen - a city in the very northern part of Holland. We always go straight to the city centre when we arrive in a new place. Parking here is interesting. There are ticket machines along the street. You put in money until the meter indicates the time you'll be ready to leave. You then print a ticket and leave it in you car. This is much easier than using individual meters. Most of time we can't use the machines as they only take cards with "chips" in them. (I believe I've already talked about cards with chips.) On occasion we have just left the car without a parking ticket in it because we have no way of obtaining one. When we were in Eindhoven, we found out we'd been parking in reserved parking for 2 days. So far we haven't received any parking tickets.
As we headed into the city square (walking of course) we saw the market was there but beginning to close down. We were able to wander through it a bit. (One of the things I wanted to do while here was go to a market.) There were lots of produce, cheese, and fish stalls. I'd love to stop and carefully check out all of the types of fish but the sellers keep asking you what you'd like. When you say you're just looking, it's not received so well. We were told by my cousin, Jon Thompson, that we needed to try smoked eel. We saw some at the market - they look like dried up snakes. We plan to go to a fishing village on Thursday. Maybe we'll try eel there.
Cars weren't allowed in the city square but there were bikes everywhere - the most bikes we've seen yet. Crossing the street was a dangerous undertaking. Dodging the bikes was a challenge! We went to the tourist information center (again something we do when we first arrive in a new place) to try to find a bed and breakfast in the country. We thought we were in Friesland but it turns out we weren't there yet. The search for a place to stay turned out to be frustrating so we left. We thought we'd ask Flo if she had any suggestions. We chose an address 10 klms from the city center and away we went. (Adventure and the unknown are great parts of any trip.) --- Something I need to mention here, while in the tourist center I saw cards with our last name on them. Van Harten means "from the heart", so it's something that appears on cards of congratulations.
When we arrived at the address Flo suggested, we were at the base of the windmill I'm currently sitting under. Yes, we slept in an old windmill!!!! Dave and I were both beaming when we found out they had one room left - there are only two rooms. Most businesses are closed on Monday and Tuesdays here but the chef happened to be in kitchen - with the door open because it was so hot. He was preparing food for his brother's wedding on Friday. He showed us our room and we were all set. The room could be an apartment. It's about 600 sq feet and has the first couch and mini kitchen we've had yet. I have great pictures of it. Laura, the whole thing is painted orange - you'd love it!
We lugged our suitcases up two flights of quite steep stairs and headed right back out. We wanted to see some countryside. Lots of beautiful farms - houses and barns are in the same building. I took pictures of cows by windmills. The livestock here are very healthy - but they should be considering all the huge fields of lush grass they have to roam around in. We were on one lane roads wandering through many fields and farms. Very nice. We were able to find a small place to have a bite to eat. Beside it was a bar with a table of men having a beer after work. It didn't take long before Dave was sitting with them. He arranged a farm tour for today. The bartender sat with the customers as Abba played in the background. He'd get up once in awhile to go into the bar to get something. You could hear him singing. One song was the disco song "burn, baby, burn". Seeing this middle-aged Dutch man singing this song in northern Holland was amusing.
We headed back to the windmill and watched a movie. The name of the town the mill is in is Onderdendam.
Today we head to Texal - the island where Dave's mom grew up.
One thing I learned today - in the 1700's the king of Holland was also the king of France
One new thing I experienced today - the orange juice of Holland. I don't know what's different about it but it's really good!
Most powerful moment of the day - hearing that the SS took over the Het Loo palace near the end of the war. This was much more disturbing than powerful.
One pleasurable experience - watching Dave bump his nose on a window that was so clean he didn't know it was there :)
Yesterday (Tuesday - I note the day more for me than you. It's quite challenging to keep track of the days. I have a slight fear of mixing the days up so that we miss our flight home!)was absolutely wonderful. Another very full day but what a day!
We had decided to leave Apeldoorn right after I finished blogging. (I blog every morning right after breakfast. If I didn't, I wouldn't remember everything that happened the day before.) We were going to head for Friesland. We'd been told about the palace in Apeldoorn but decided not to see another palace. As we drove past it, we changed our minds and we're so glad we did. What a beautiful palace - and the gardens were unlike anything we've ever seen!
Het Loo (the palace) was mostly used for hunting in the fall. It was built in the late 1600's. A number of kings and queens have lived (and decorated) the palace from day one until quite recently. Every room we were permitted to enter was fully furnished. Most were from different time periods - with the focus on the very early residents. The most modern room was from the 1930's which the current queen of Holland, Beatrice, decorated as a teen. We found out that a lot of the very old furnishings were found in the palace's attic.
After going through the castle, and a special exhibit for Maxium (the current Prince's wife), we headed to the restaurant where we had a fabulous lunch. We had soup very similar to what I make at home (the kids call it green/Dutch/meatball soup), a croquet, a pastry with sausage inside, and a wonderful apple/almond dessert. We each had a bit of everything. The food has been great here. So much so, there'll be more of me coming home than left. :(
After lunch we went out to the gardens. It was so very hot yesterday. Thankfully there were lots of fountains from which we could get some water to splash on ourselves. The gardens were huge! I've noticed that many of the plants here are the same as what we have at home (petunias, marigolds, lillys). This is somewhat disappointing. I guess I assumed everything would be different. The gardens were mostly very short hedges perfectly trimmed in geometrical shapes. What a lot of work! There were huge vacuum hoses in the garden where the trimming was being done - to suck up the clippings. The fountains had a variety of statutes. There was one with dragons with water coming out of their mouths. I have a great picture of Dave getting a drink from one of these.
At the palace (in the public bathroom) I found yet another way to flush a toilet - step on a button on the floor. I think this is the best option.
About 2 pm we got into an insanely hot car (it's black inside and out) and headed north. In about 90 minutes we were in Groningen - a city in the very northern part of Holland. We always go straight to the city centre when we arrive in a new place. Parking here is interesting. There are ticket machines along the street. You put in money until the meter indicates the time you'll be ready to leave. You then print a ticket and leave it in you car. This is much easier than using individual meters. Most of time we can't use the machines as they only take cards with "chips" in them. (I believe I've already talked about cards with chips.) On occasion we have just left the car without a parking ticket in it because we have no way of obtaining one. When we were in Eindhoven, we found out we'd been parking in reserved parking for 2 days. So far we haven't received any parking tickets.
As we headed into the city square (walking of course) we saw the market was there but beginning to close down. We were able to wander through it a bit. (One of the things I wanted to do while here was go to a market.) There were lots of produce, cheese, and fish stalls. I'd love to stop and carefully check out all of the types of fish but the sellers keep asking you what you'd like. When you say you're just looking, it's not received so well. We were told by my cousin, Jon Thompson, that we needed to try smoked eel. We saw some at the market - they look like dried up snakes. We plan to go to a fishing village on Thursday. Maybe we'll try eel there.
Cars weren't allowed in the city square but there were bikes everywhere - the most bikes we've seen yet. Crossing the street was a dangerous undertaking. Dodging the bikes was a challenge! We went to the tourist information center (again something we do when we first arrive in a new place) to try to find a bed and breakfast in the country. We thought we were in Friesland but it turns out we weren't there yet. The search for a place to stay turned out to be frustrating so we left. We thought we'd ask Flo if she had any suggestions. We chose an address 10 klms from the city center and away we went. (Adventure and the unknown are great parts of any trip.) --- Something I need to mention here, while in the tourist center I saw cards with our last name on them. Van Harten means "from the heart", so it's something that appears on cards of congratulations.
When we arrived at the address Flo suggested, we were at the base of the windmill I'm currently sitting under. Yes, we slept in an old windmill!!!! Dave and I were both beaming when we found out they had one room left - there are only two rooms. Most businesses are closed on Monday and Tuesdays here but the chef happened to be in kitchen - with the door open because it was so hot. He was preparing food for his brother's wedding on Friday. He showed us our room and we were all set. The room could be an apartment. It's about 600 sq feet and has the first couch and mini kitchen we've had yet. I have great pictures of it. Laura, the whole thing is painted orange - you'd love it!
We lugged our suitcases up two flights of quite steep stairs and headed right back out. We wanted to see some countryside. Lots of beautiful farms - houses and barns are in the same building. I took pictures of cows by windmills. The livestock here are very healthy - but they should be considering all the huge fields of lush grass they have to roam around in. We were on one lane roads wandering through many fields and farms. Very nice. We were able to find a small place to have a bite to eat. Beside it was a bar with a table of men having a beer after work. It didn't take long before Dave was sitting with them. He arranged a farm tour for today. The bartender sat with the customers as Abba played in the background. He'd get up once in awhile to go into the bar to get something. You could hear him singing. One song was the disco song "burn, baby, burn". Seeing this middle-aged Dutch man singing this song in northern Holland was amusing.
We headed back to the windmill and watched a movie. The name of the town the mill is in is Onderdendam.
Today we head to Texal - the island where Dave's mom grew up.
One thing I learned today - in the 1700's the king of Holland was also the king of France
One new thing I experienced today - the orange juice of Holland. I don't know what's different about it but it's really good!
Most powerful moment of the day - hearing that the SS took over the Het Loo palace near the end of the war. This was much more disturbing than powerful.
One pleasurable experience - watching Dave bump his nose on a window that was so clean he didn't know it was there :)
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Apeldoorn
This morning I'm sitting on a tiny balcony of our second floor room in a huge old house in Apeldoorn. The stone tiles under my feet are covered in moss - which is kind of neat but also a bit messy. Yesterday after I finished blogging, Dave and I went to the Hema which is a department store. We needed to pick up a lot of tea towels for the kids - and some for me and Kathy (a good friend at home). She's never experienced a Dutch tea towel so she's in for a treat. :) We picked up a toy for the grandkids while we were there.
Then we met Kees for lunch. He was able to get away from work for a bit. We walked to where the cafes were. Many weren't open as it was Monday. One wonderful thing about Europe is that you can choose from many outdoor cafes. At home, they're really quite rare. After a nice lunch of good food and conversation, it was time to leave Eindhoven. We said goodbye to Kees and headed toward Apeldoorn - where Dave's dad is from. It was only 1 1/2 hours away.
This is a beautiful town. Again there are bikes everywhere. We didn't see many bikes in
Eindhoven. We went to the tourist information center and got some more gifts for the kids. One of things I remember from when I was a kid was when mom and dad came back from Holland every year, they always brought something for us. This was very important to us kids and so I feel it's important for our kids as well. Besides, before we left, Mark told Dave to bring home lots of gifts. :) We're doing our best, Mark.
We found the house Dave's dad grew up in. It's a large house - even by North American standards. It's very beautiful. We took lots of pictures. If fact our total pictures count is about 230! Just now the church bells are ringing. Another wonderful experience in Europe!
We found a huge park nearby and tried to decide what we're going to do for our final days here. (The only thing we had planned was sleeping in Amsterdam on Thursday night to catch our 5:30 pm flight on Friday.) We talked about it for a few minutes and then gave up. It was so incredibly hot yesterday that we just wanted to rest and cool down. As you know the weather for the first week was quite cool - low to mid 60's. Sunday afternoon it really warmed up. Yesterday it was in the low 90's but not humid - thankfully. Today will be even warmer. The upside is I'm starting to wear some of the new clothes I bought for the trip. Amanda and Laura, today I'm wearing the white and pink sun dress. :) It's going to storm tonight and then the temps will be in the 70's. Much more comfortable.
So we asked Flo for some suggestions for nearby hotels (she really is handy!). The one we're in was a few blocks from the park. It's on Canadalaan Wey. It was given this name after the 2nd world war. There's even a Canadian flag on the street sign. The room is large with the best bathroom we've had yet. It's just been updated and is quite large. We rested for awhile. Our days are very full and as you've noticed, we often aren't finished eating supper until 9 pm so the day's are also quite long. The busy schedule is starting to catch up with me.
About 7:30 we headed out for supper. I wanted one more Dutch pancake before we left so we found a pancake place nearby. Dave had fritters with oranges and whip cream. Was that ever good! After supper we headed back to our lovely but hot room - no air conditioning - and ended another day of our trip.
Today we're off to Friesland. Looking forward to old buildings, windmills, and farms.
One thing I learned today - it is possible to go the wrong way on a one way street and live to tell about it
One new thing I experienced today - giving our waitress tip who then immediately turned to her boss and gave it her
Most powerful moment of the day - seeing where Dave's dad lived
One pleasurable experience - sitting in an outdoor cafe having a very leisurely supper with
the love of my life
Then we met Kees for lunch. He was able to get away from work for a bit. We walked to where the cafes were. Many weren't open as it was Monday. One wonderful thing about Europe is that you can choose from many outdoor cafes. At home, they're really quite rare. After a nice lunch of good food and conversation, it was time to leave Eindhoven. We said goodbye to Kees and headed toward Apeldoorn - where Dave's dad is from. It was only 1 1/2 hours away.
This is a beautiful town. Again there are bikes everywhere. We didn't see many bikes in
Eindhoven. We went to the tourist information center and got some more gifts for the kids. One of things I remember from when I was a kid was when mom and dad came back from Holland every year, they always brought something for us. This was very important to us kids and so I feel it's important for our kids as well. Besides, before we left, Mark told Dave to bring home lots of gifts. :) We're doing our best, Mark.
We found the house Dave's dad grew up in. It's a large house - even by North American standards. It's very beautiful. We took lots of pictures. If fact our total pictures count is about 230! Just now the church bells are ringing. Another wonderful experience in Europe!
We found a huge park nearby and tried to decide what we're going to do for our final days here. (The only thing we had planned was sleeping in Amsterdam on Thursday night to catch our 5:30 pm flight on Friday.) We talked about it for a few minutes and then gave up. It was so incredibly hot yesterday that we just wanted to rest and cool down. As you know the weather for the first week was quite cool - low to mid 60's. Sunday afternoon it really warmed up. Yesterday it was in the low 90's but not humid - thankfully. Today will be even warmer. The upside is I'm starting to wear some of the new clothes I bought for the trip. Amanda and Laura, today I'm wearing the white and pink sun dress. :) It's going to storm tonight and then the temps will be in the 70's. Much more comfortable.
So we asked Flo for some suggestions for nearby hotels (she really is handy!). The one we're in was a few blocks from the park. It's on Canadalaan Wey. It was given this name after the 2nd world war. There's even a Canadian flag on the street sign. The room is large with the best bathroom we've had yet. It's just been updated and is quite large. We rested for awhile. Our days are very full and as you've noticed, we often aren't finished eating supper until 9 pm so the day's are also quite long. The busy schedule is starting to catch up with me.
About 7:30 we headed out for supper. I wanted one more Dutch pancake before we left so we found a pancake place nearby. Dave had fritters with oranges and whip cream. Was that ever good! After supper we headed back to our lovely but hot room - no air conditioning - and ended another day of our trip.
Today we're off to Friesland. Looking forward to old buildings, windmills, and farms.
One thing I learned today - it is possible to go the wrong way on a one way street and live to tell about it
One new thing I experienced today - giving our waitress tip who then immediately turned to her boss and gave it her
Most powerful moment of the day - seeing where Dave's dad lived
One pleasurable experience - sitting in an outdoor cafe having a very leisurely supper with
the love of my life
Monday, June 27, 2011
Family in Eindhoven
Yesterday (Sunday) was a very different and special day. There was very little sightseeing and much time spent with family. A day I had looked forward to since we booked our tickets back in February. We began the day with breakfast in the cafe across the street from our room. There were rusks, gouda, and raisin bread. Good Dutch breadkfast foods. We gave Flo Kees' (my cousin) address, which was fine except we ran into the first construction since we arrived here a week ago. The roads in Europe are fanastic. Michigan should come and have a look. :)
We got to Kees' about 11 but he wasn't there. There had been a miscommunication along the way. He showed up a few minutes after we arrived. It was so good to see him again. The last time was 40 years ago when I came here with dad and Elaine. We spent a lot of time with Kees' family when we were here so there's a bond. I didn 't realize how strong the bond was until I had spent an hour or so with him. Then it all came rushing back. :) We had coffee/tea in his apartment. When he made coffee, the coffee machine ground the beans and then made the coffee.
We've seen this in other places. That's fresh coffee!
After chatting for awhile, which felt very natural, he took us to see some things in Eindhoven. We saw:
- the house dad grew up in. The street was much shorter than I remember it. I recognized the house as we drove up it to. We took pictures out front and tried to take pictures of the garden in the back but there was a fence up. I got a picture of the bedroom window were Elaine and I slept. Kees held the camera up over the fence and took pictures of the garden.
- the canal were dad swam and skated as a kid. It was much wider and longer than I remembered.
- the orginal Phillips factories/head offices were many of the Rinzema kids worked.
- the pub dad, Elaine, me and Kees' family went to on our last day in Holland.
- the house Kees grew up in and where we spent a lot of time when we were here.
- Kees' business/offices. He creates office spaces all over Holland. If you don't understand that, I'll explain it to you when we're together.
We stopped in a cafe to sit for awhile - which turned out to be too long as we were an hour late for the family gathering. We went to Gerrit-Jon's house (Kees' brother) and there were about 20 family members there. I only recognized a few - Tante Geerte (these names won't be spelt correctly I'm sure), Tante Fin (who is 87 and looks great!), and Uncle Wim (who's 90 and still driving!). I won't list all the names of the people there. Again, ask me about it later. We sat outside in a beautiful garden. (the cool weather is gone - it was very hot) From the time we arrived we talked, ate (incredible food that kept coming and coming),drank (there was
even champagne to celebrate our 30 anniversary - one of the reasons we took this trip), shared pictures and really enjoyed being together.
I tried to talk to everyone there and think I was pretty successful. Yesterday I was a little concerned it would be awkward but as the day was coming to an end, I found myself sad that it would soon end. Growing up I didn't have family time like this. Now I see what I've missed.
We showed many of the family the pictures you took Emilee. They said you were a very good
photographer. Everyone said we have a lovely family (which we do!). Several thought Rob and Mark looked exactly the same. They loved the grandkids.
(I'm writing this morning outside the cafe we had breakfast. The street cleaner just came by within inches of me. Where in Michigan can you get that experience?)
We said our goodbyes about 10:30. Goodbyes (and hellos) involve holding each others arms/hands and 3 "air kisses" - one on each cheek and then back to the first cheek. Very natural for folks here but a little awkward for us. Is it really an air kiss? Should you actually kiss the face? If yes, how "much"? Do you start with the right cheek? Who makes the first move?
We dropped Tante Geerte off at her apartment - which she was very eager for us to see - which we did. It's a beautiful apartment. Very big and decorated nicely. As soon as I walked into the living room I could see a painting that dad had painted. More goodbyes and we went back to Kees'. We made arrangements to meet for lunch today. I really wanted to see him again because yesterday didn't feel like enough. I can feel already it will be very hard to say goodbye to him again (as it was 40 years ago).
Today we're off to buy tea towels - many tea towels!
One thing I learned today - you don't have to see family a lot to have a close connection to them
One new thing I experienced today - riding in a BMW
Most powerful moment of the day - being with Kees again
One pleasurable experience - the entire visit with family. It was so special.
We got to Kees' about 11 but he wasn't there. There had been a miscommunication along the way. He showed up a few minutes after we arrived. It was so good to see him again. The last time was 40 years ago when I came here with dad and Elaine. We spent a lot of time with Kees' family when we were here so there's a bond. I didn 't realize how strong the bond was until I had spent an hour or so with him. Then it all came rushing back. :) We had coffee/tea in his apartment. When he made coffee, the coffee machine ground the beans and then made the coffee.
We've seen this in other places. That's fresh coffee!
After chatting for awhile, which felt very natural, he took us to see some things in Eindhoven. We saw:
- the house dad grew up in. The street was much shorter than I remember it. I recognized the house as we drove up it to. We took pictures out front and tried to take pictures of the garden in the back but there was a fence up. I got a picture of the bedroom window were Elaine and I slept. Kees held the camera up over the fence and took pictures of the garden.
- the canal were dad swam and skated as a kid. It was much wider and longer than I remembered.
- the orginal Phillips factories/head offices were many of the Rinzema kids worked.
- the pub dad, Elaine, me and Kees' family went to on our last day in Holland.
- the house Kees grew up in and where we spent a lot of time when we were here.
- Kees' business/offices. He creates office spaces all over Holland. If you don't understand that, I'll explain it to you when we're together.
We stopped in a cafe to sit for awhile - which turned out to be too long as we were an hour late for the family gathering. We went to Gerrit-Jon's house (Kees' brother) and there were about 20 family members there. I only recognized a few - Tante Geerte (these names won't be spelt correctly I'm sure), Tante Fin (who is 87 and looks great!), and Uncle Wim (who's 90 and still driving!). I won't list all the names of the people there. Again, ask me about it later. We sat outside in a beautiful garden. (the cool weather is gone - it was very hot) From the time we arrived we talked, ate (incredible food that kept coming and coming),drank (there was
even champagne to celebrate our 30 anniversary - one of the reasons we took this trip), shared pictures and really enjoyed being together.
I tried to talk to everyone there and think I was pretty successful. Yesterday I was a little concerned it would be awkward but as the day was coming to an end, I found myself sad that it would soon end. Growing up I didn't have family time like this. Now I see what I've missed.
We showed many of the family the pictures you took Emilee. They said you were a very good
photographer. Everyone said we have a lovely family (which we do!). Several thought Rob and Mark looked exactly the same. They loved the grandkids.
(I'm writing this morning outside the cafe we had breakfast. The street cleaner just came by within inches of me. Where in Michigan can you get that experience?)
We said our goodbyes about 10:30. Goodbyes (and hellos) involve holding each others arms/hands and 3 "air kisses" - one on each cheek and then back to the first cheek. Very natural for folks here but a little awkward for us. Is it really an air kiss? Should you actually kiss the face? If yes, how "much"? Do you start with the right cheek? Who makes the first move?
We dropped Tante Geerte off at her apartment - which she was very eager for us to see - which we did. It's a beautiful apartment. Very big and decorated nicely. As soon as I walked into the living room I could see a painting that dad had painted. More goodbyes and we went back to Kees'. We made arrangements to meet for lunch today. I really wanted to see him again because yesterday didn't feel like enough. I can feel already it will be very hard to say goodbye to him again (as it was 40 years ago).
Today we're off to buy tea towels - many tea towels!
One thing I learned today - you don't have to see family a lot to have a close connection to them
One new thing I experienced today - riding in a BMW
Most powerful moment of the day - being with Kees again
One pleasurable experience - the entire visit with family. It was so special.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Canterbury to Eindhoven
Not a lot happened yesterday (Saturday). We really just traveled all day. We left our hotel in Canterbury, after the best breakfast we've had yet - bangers and all that, and told Flo we wanted to go to Dover and the ferry. It became apparent that she was confused as she was taking us in circles. So we ignored her and tried to figure it out by ourselves. She literally pouted as she shut herself down in protest. We did get to see a little more of the countryside as we tried to get to the ferry. We finally arrived in Dover and was able to catch an earlier ferry. (The ferry was huge! There were several restaurants, lots of shopping, arcades, cafes, gambling etc. I guess this is a very small taste of a cruise ship.)
One thing I want to mention about the hotel in England. Whenever you go into a hotel room, there's a coffee pot with coffee and the odd time a tea bag. Anyone who is a true tea drinker knows you can't make tea, or even heat water for tea, in a coffee maker. It tastes awful. Well for the first time in my life I was welcomed by a kettle, cup and saucer, and a variety of teas. What a treat! The kettle was on within minutes!
The trip across the channel was a little rough. Dave and I staggered down the alley-ways. Not the best experience for someone who gets nauseous bending over to tie her shoes. The unloading of the ferry went surprising quickly.
The plan was to go to the Detla Works and then head to Eindhoven. We landed in France about 3:30 and it was clear we didn't have time for the Delta Works. It was 3 1/2 hours to Eindhoven. We got gas right away - learned our lesson about traveling with less than half a
tank of gas! We only made one stop long the way - just before we headed into Belgium. I thought we had seen wonderful pastry shops in Paris. Laura, THIS was a pastry shop! I took some pictures for you. I've never seen such beautiful pastries before. Yes, we bought something and both of us ended up with cream on our shirts.
The drive was uneventful although it was a bit of an adjustment driving on the righthand side of the road again. The cows here are very content - and fat. Dave saw cows with thick leather straps and bells around their necks in Belgium. He tends to look at the scenery a little more than I'd like so I watch the road - a lot! He points out all the combines we pass and gives the model numbers of the tractors. He's proudly noted a couple of John Deere dealers.
We arrived in Eindhoven about 7 pm. As soon as we drove into the city, it had a familiar feel for me. Crazy I know since I was only here for a couple of weeks, 40 years ago (incredible!). Flo got us to our hotel which isn't really a hotel but rooms in several houses. We have finally come to a place where we're sharing a toilet (on the first floor where we are) and a shower (on the second floor). Good thing I brought the pool shoes!
We're surrounded by restaurants here. We walked a few blocks and chose one with "all you can eat ribs" for 10 euros. A cheap meal! Again we finished supper after 9 pm. We wandered back to our room and settled in for the night. The bed is really a futon but surprisingly comfy. There's free wifi with the room but we can't get the password until the office opens - which is at 11 am. We'll be long gone by then. So right now I'm sitting in the car, getting a signal from the pub beside it. This is the second time we've "borrowed" a signal. The other time was in France outside a hotel.
I have a few more things I want to share about bathrooms. Strange topic perhaps but I find unique things (wherever they're found) interesting. Flushing a toilet:
- in Amsterdam it was a large (bigger than my hand) "button" on the wall above the toilet
- in France there were 2 much smaller buttons (you figure out why they were 2) on the top of tank
- in England there was a "regular" handle but on the righthand side of the tank
- in our current room, the tank is above my head and you pull a rope. I remember this from Oma's house when I was here last.
In Normandy, there were public bathrooms for men with a barely there parition (spelling?). Anyone walking by would have a full view of a guy standing there. Why?
It's rained everyday we've been here but most days it's just sprinkles. I don't think we've had 8 hours of sun yet. Today it's suppose to get into the 80s. I don't care what the weather is today, I'm wearing a sundress! We're off to spend the day with some of my family. Really looking forward to it. Hopefully it goes well and it's not awkward.
One thing I learned today - Eindhoven paints checkerboards on the curbs of traffic circles
One new thing I experienced today - being in a very crowded pub getting the key (and info) for our room
One powerful moment - driving in 4 countries within a few hours. Amazing!
One pleasant thing - the street on which our room is located. It's so "Dutch". :)
I hear Elaine is calling Mom and Dad everyday and reading the posts to them. I hope you are enjoying them. So hi to mom and dad, and anyone else who may be following the blog and I don't know about. Until tomorrow.
One thing I want to mention about the hotel in England. Whenever you go into a hotel room, there's a coffee pot with coffee and the odd time a tea bag. Anyone who is a true tea drinker knows you can't make tea, or even heat water for tea, in a coffee maker. It tastes awful. Well for the first time in my life I was welcomed by a kettle, cup and saucer, and a variety of teas. What a treat! The kettle was on within minutes!
The trip across the channel was a little rough. Dave and I staggered down the alley-ways. Not the best experience for someone who gets nauseous bending over to tie her shoes. The unloading of the ferry went surprising quickly.
The plan was to go to the Detla Works and then head to Eindhoven. We landed in France about 3:30 and it was clear we didn't have time for the Delta Works. It was 3 1/2 hours to Eindhoven. We got gas right away - learned our lesson about traveling with less than half a
tank of gas! We only made one stop long the way - just before we headed into Belgium. I thought we had seen wonderful pastry shops in Paris. Laura, THIS was a pastry shop! I took some pictures for you. I've never seen such beautiful pastries before. Yes, we bought something and both of us ended up with cream on our shirts.
The drive was uneventful although it was a bit of an adjustment driving on the righthand side of the road again. The cows here are very content - and fat. Dave saw cows with thick leather straps and bells around their necks in Belgium. He tends to look at the scenery a little more than I'd like so I watch the road - a lot! He points out all the combines we pass and gives the model numbers of the tractors. He's proudly noted a couple of John Deere dealers.
We arrived in Eindhoven about 7 pm. As soon as we drove into the city, it had a familiar feel for me. Crazy I know since I was only here for a couple of weeks, 40 years ago (incredible!). Flo got us to our hotel which isn't really a hotel but rooms in several houses. We have finally come to a place where we're sharing a toilet (on the first floor where we are) and a shower (on the second floor). Good thing I brought the pool shoes!
We're surrounded by restaurants here. We walked a few blocks and chose one with "all you can eat ribs" for 10 euros. A cheap meal! Again we finished supper after 9 pm. We wandered back to our room and settled in for the night. The bed is really a futon but surprisingly comfy. There's free wifi with the room but we can't get the password until the office opens - which is at 11 am. We'll be long gone by then. So right now I'm sitting in the car, getting a signal from the pub beside it. This is the second time we've "borrowed" a signal. The other time was in France outside a hotel.
I have a few more things I want to share about bathrooms. Strange topic perhaps but I find unique things (wherever they're found) interesting. Flushing a toilet:
- in Amsterdam it was a large (bigger than my hand) "button" on the wall above the toilet
- in France there were 2 much smaller buttons (you figure out why they were 2) on the top of tank
- in England there was a "regular" handle but on the righthand side of the tank
- in our current room, the tank is above my head and you pull a rope. I remember this from Oma's house when I was here last.
In Normandy, there were public bathrooms for men with a barely there parition (spelling?). Anyone walking by would have a full view of a guy standing there. Why?
It's rained everyday we've been here but most days it's just sprinkles. I don't think we've had 8 hours of sun yet. Today it's suppose to get into the 80s. I don't care what the weather is today, I'm wearing a sundress! We're off to spend the day with some of my family. Really looking forward to it. Hopefully it goes well and it's not awkward.
One thing I learned today - Eindhoven paints checkerboards on the curbs of traffic circles
One new thing I experienced today - being in a very crowded pub getting the key (and info) for our room
One powerful moment - driving in 4 countries within a few hours. Amazing!
One pleasant thing - the street on which our room is located. It's so "Dutch". :)
I hear Elaine is calling Mom and Dad everyday and reading the posts to them. I hope you are enjoying them. So hi to mom and dad, and anyone else who may be following the blog and I don't know about. Until tomorrow.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Canterbury, in the county of Kent, in the realm of her magesty Queen Elizabeth II
Yes, we're in England. (!!!!!!!!!) No, it wasn't part of the original plan. I'd like to know how many of you kids knew we'd do something like this. (Leave a comment on the blog. We LOVE to read those by the way.)
So we had to be at the ferry by 6:45 yesterday morning. We went through customs which is great because now we have a stamp for England in our passports :) The ride over took about 90 minutes. Huge ferry boat. I slept most of the way. We passed the cliffs of Dover as we landed. Once we landed the adventure began. As you know, folks drive on the left-hand side here. Terrifying best describes it. For some reason we always felt like cars were coming right at us - especially on the very narrow (16 feet wide) country roads with absolutely NO shoulders. Often there's a building just 6 inches of the road or a "wall" of bushes that are "trimmed" from cars brushing against them when they drive by. The country roads are like snakes with one abrupt curve after another. The locals drive very quickly and often we were startled by a car coming at us around a bend. Dave said it was more difficult to drive here than in Paris. Paris was very busy but here, you have to concentrate very hard all the time. For some reason turning right takes a lot of thought. It just doesn't feel right. Once around the corner, I have to remind Dave to stay on the left side.
Since we really only had a day in England we decided to stay very close to the Dover - where the ferry is located. London was about 90 minutes away but we weren't up to another busy city. So we headed to Canterbury. I believe in the Heath Ledger (probably spelt that wrong)movie (A Knight's Tale?), they mentioned Canterbury. Alway it sounded like a great place to go, and it was. (I think this was my favorite day yet.)
We found out there's a time change here - one hour earlier. Many kids were on their way to school. Amy, in the 3 countries we've been in, all the kids are still in school. Most of the kids wear uniforms and there are many class trips taking place.
We found a hotel right away - in an incredible old home which was built in 1830 in the Victorian Gothic style. This is probably the nicest, most unique, and expensive place we'll stay in. (Laura you would love this place.) They let us in at 10 am which was great. It allowed me to get my blog post for Thursday written.
We then walked to the centre of town and spent about 4 hours there. Dave decided that need toed to buy a jacket. He didn't want me wearing his John Deere windbreaker any more - because it wasn't attractive enough. Okay for him but not me. :) I got a gorgeous turquoise, linen
jacket with flared cuffs. Emilee, I thought of you when I saw it.
We went into the Canterbury Cathedral. A totally different church than the catholic ones we saw in France. This is an Angilcan church. A beautiful church with so much history and many tombs of very famous people in it. After the church we wandered around the town centre (notice the Britsh spelling?). There's a very tall stone wall all around the inner city with huge gates (you have to see them to understand what I mean by "gate") at several points.
We went back to the room. I had a nap and Dave did some research on the Delta Works in Holland. He wants to go there today as we head back to Holland.
Dave says at England feels the most "foreign" to him - of the countries we've been in so far. I think it feels very comfortable. There's so many similarities to Canada. :)
England still uses pounds (not Euros) which is a bother. Having one currency for all the countries is a great idea. Again, something for Canada and the US to think about. Distance is measured in miles/yards but temperature is in celsius. It's a real mix of imperial and metric.
We thought Paris was expensive. England has it beat.
We wanted to take a drive through the countryside to visit some small, old villages but we couldn't find any. Apparently they're all over the place. We stopped in a pub for fish and chips. You can't come to England and not have fish and chips! Dinner wasn't being served for another 30 minutes (they eat "late" here) so we had a beverage. We sat in this small pub, looking at the North Sea, sipping our beverages and talked about infant baptism, the contradictions throughout scripture and unforced rhythms of grace. Once our table was ready we found out they didn't serve fish and chips so we left. We found a place that did have them but they only took cash. We put in our order and went to get some cash. Dave dropped me at a cash machine and drove around the block. We've had it several times when we're apart for brief periods and I wonder what would happen if he never came back or I was gone when he came back. Too much tv I guess.
We got our fish and chips but I was very disappointed that it were served on a plate and not in newspaper. :( It was super good though. We headed back to the hotel and watched a movie. Really the first time we've had the tv on.
Today we head back to Holland. The ferry leaves at 1:30.
One thing I learned today - our debit cards are antique. In England, all the debit cards have chips in them, which makes them much more secure to use. When we handed our card to some shop attendants, they honestly didn't know what to do with it. In one store, they didn't have a pen for us to sign with and another didn't know where our signature should go.
One new thing I experienced today - having my picture taken with a bobby, although the officer didn't like to be called that. He said his name was Nick. Thought of you Bobby when this was happening. :)
Most powerful moment of the day - being in the crypt of the Canterbury Cathedral which was built in 1050. People have been worshipping there ever since - even today. The stone steps were worn down so much you could see the "dips" in them. That's over 1,000 years of feet going up and down. Amazing!
One pleasurable experience - watching the traffic lights. They go from red to yellow and then green. Fun to watch.
Hugs and kisses to the kids and grand kids. Hi to Elaine, Kathy, and Mike. I hope you're all enjoying following our adventures! Until tomorrow.
So we had to be at the ferry by 6:45 yesterday morning. We went through customs which is great because now we have a stamp for England in our passports :) The ride over took about 90 minutes. Huge ferry boat. I slept most of the way. We passed the cliffs of Dover as we landed. Once we landed the adventure began. As you know, folks drive on the left-hand side here. Terrifying best describes it. For some reason we always felt like cars were coming right at us - especially on the very narrow (16 feet wide) country roads with absolutely NO shoulders. Often there's a building just 6 inches of the road or a "wall" of bushes that are "trimmed" from cars brushing against them when they drive by. The country roads are like snakes with one abrupt curve after another. The locals drive very quickly and often we were startled by a car coming at us around a bend. Dave said it was more difficult to drive here than in Paris. Paris was very busy but here, you have to concentrate very hard all the time. For some reason turning right takes a lot of thought. It just doesn't feel right. Once around the corner, I have to remind Dave to stay on the left side.
Since we really only had a day in England we decided to stay very close to the Dover - where the ferry is located. London was about 90 minutes away but we weren't up to another busy city. So we headed to Canterbury. I believe in the Heath Ledger (probably spelt that wrong)movie (A Knight's Tale?), they mentioned Canterbury. Alway it sounded like a great place to go, and it was. (I think this was my favorite day yet.)
We found out there's a time change here - one hour earlier. Many kids were on their way to school. Amy, in the 3 countries we've been in, all the kids are still in school. Most of the kids wear uniforms and there are many class trips taking place.
We found a hotel right away - in an incredible old home which was built in 1830 in the Victorian Gothic style. This is probably the nicest, most unique, and expensive place we'll stay in. (Laura you would love this place.) They let us in at 10 am which was great. It allowed me to get my blog post for Thursday written.
We then walked to the centre of town and spent about 4 hours there. Dave decided that need toed to buy a jacket. He didn't want me wearing his John Deere windbreaker any more - because it wasn't attractive enough. Okay for him but not me. :) I got a gorgeous turquoise, linen
jacket with flared cuffs. Emilee, I thought of you when I saw it.
We went into the Canterbury Cathedral. A totally different church than the catholic ones we saw in France. This is an Angilcan church. A beautiful church with so much history and many tombs of very famous people in it. After the church we wandered around the town centre (notice the Britsh spelling?). There's a very tall stone wall all around the inner city with huge gates (you have to see them to understand what I mean by "gate") at several points.
We went back to the room. I had a nap and Dave did some research on the Delta Works in Holland. He wants to go there today as we head back to Holland.
Dave says at England feels the most "foreign" to him - of the countries we've been in so far. I think it feels very comfortable. There's so many similarities to Canada. :)
England still uses pounds (not Euros) which is a bother. Having one currency for all the countries is a great idea. Again, something for Canada and the US to think about. Distance is measured in miles/yards but temperature is in celsius. It's a real mix of imperial and metric.
We thought Paris was expensive. England has it beat.
We wanted to take a drive through the countryside to visit some small, old villages but we couldn't find any. Apparently they're all over the place. We stopped in a pub for fish and chips. You can't come to England and not have fish and chips! Dinner wasn't being served for another 30 minutes (they eat "late" here) so we had a beverage. We sat in this small pub, looking at the North Sea, sipping our beverages and talked about infant baptism, the contradictions throughout scripture and unforced rhythms of grace. Once our table was ready we found out they didn't serve fish and chips so we left. We found a place that did have them but they only took cash. We put in our order and went to get some cash. Dave dropped me at a cash machine and drove around the block. We've had it several times when we're apart for brief periods and I wonder what would happen if he never came back or I was gone when he came back. Too much tv I guess.
We got our fish and chips but I was very disappointed that it were served on a plate and not in newspaper. :( It was super good though. We headed back to the hotel and watched a movie. Really the first time we've had the tv on.
Today we head back to Holland. The ferry leaves at 1:30.
One thing I learned today - our debit cards are antique. In England, all the debit cards have chips in them, which makes them much more secure to use. When we handed our card to some shop attendants, they honestly didn't know what to do with it. In one store, they didn't have a pen for us to sign with and another didn't know where our signature should go.
One new thing I experienced today - having my picture taken with a bobby, although the officer didn't like to be called that. He said his name was Nick. Thought of you Bobby when this was happening. :)
Most powerful moment of the day - being in the crypt of the Canterbury Cathedral which was built in 1050. People have been worshipping there ever since - even today. The stone steps were worn down so much you could see the "dips" in them. That's over 1,000 years of feet going up and down. Amazing!
One pleasurable experience - watching the traffic lights. They go from red to yellow and then green. Fun to watch.
Hugs and kisses to the kids and grand kids. Hi to Elaine, Kathy, and Mike. I hope you're all enjoying following our adventures! Until tomorrow.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Driving, Normandy, and more driving
Yesterday (Thursday) was a very long day. I guess I take a long time with the blog. Dave says I was at it for 90 minutes. It didn't feel that long. I really wish the iPad had a crusor. It would make things go MUCH faster. Anyway, after my daily blogging (which I think about during the day and plan what I want to say), we headed for Normandy. It was about a 3 hour drive. It rained on and off. (Clothes update - I did get to wear my new sweater yesterday. Sunday it's suppose to be in the 80's so I should be able to finally wear a sun dress!)
We arrived in Normandy (a region) about 2:30. Because we were on the English Channel, the wind was very strong and therefore very cold. We stopped in a small town where the Canadian forces landed on D-Day. There was a 360 theater there which showed actual footage of the soldiers landing on the beaches. It was very moving. We stood on a very high cliff and looked at the beaches where the troops landed. That's about all there was to see in that town. We had a map of all the "sights" in the region but decided not to spend anymore time there.
We got back into the car and headed to Calais - almost 4 hours away. Flo gave us a bit of trouble. She had the wrong highway number - which confused us for awhile. Once we figured it out, we were okay. There are tolls everywhere here. I'll bet we've spent over $100 (US) so far just in tolls. At some toll gates, the only payment accepted is credit cards. The first time we hit one of these, we didn't know what to do which resulted in people honking horns behind us - which helps no one. An attendant came and told us what to do. Not being able to speak French is frustrating but we're making out just fine. It's amazing how much my French classes in grade 7 & 8 are paying off!
We almost ran out of gas. The gas gauge went into the reserve zone and began to flash. Dave was getting really nervous (a very rare thing for this thrill seeker). The off ramps on the freeways in that part of France are few and far between. I had the owner's manual out (in Dutch) trying to find out how many liters we have left. I was "reading" the Dutch owner's manual, watching road signs in French, and reassuring Dave we'd be fine. (the reassuring role is generally Dave's) We saw a gas station but Flo wanted us to turn onto an exit ramp. Fearful of making a mistake and adding yet more time to a long trip, Dave took the ramp, briefly. For more on this, see "new experience" below. :)
After filling up, and yet more junk food to serve as a meal (far too much of this!) we were on our way again. The landscape/countryside in northwestern France is spectacular. Beautiful rolling hills in many shades of greens and yellows (the grain crops are ripe and some are being harvested). Huge fields (40 acres and more) with cows grazing all over the expansive hills and valleys. You can see for miles. The sun was out so everything was breaktakingly beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful farmland. The highways here don't have any shoulders so there wasn't any place to safely stop to take a picture. :(
We arrived in Calais about 10 pm completely tuckered out. We got a room in an old hotel. It had a lot of character. We paid extra to have our own bathroom. An expense I'll gladly pay. The bed was hard and the pillows were harder. We had an early start in the morning - had to catch the ferry. We had to be up by 5:30 - which we did.
The people of Europe - Except for a couple of people, eveyone here is very friendly and do what they can to help you. No one walks around with coffee cups nor pop. It's refreshing to see. As I mentioned earlier, they will walk around with a beer but only in certain areas with lots of shops/restaurants. People are quite fit. We haven't seen one obese person yet (and we've seen a lot of people!) I think this is because they walk/bike a lot and the meal portions are much smaller than we're used to. Increasingly we're seeing North America as a land of excess - in many ways.
I'm missing you kids a lot. It would be so great if you were here with us. Maybe someday.... So hugs and kisses to you and to the grandkids.
One thing I learned today - At the grocery store, you have to weigh your produce and get a bar code sticker before you get to the checkout. (This is were we ran into one of the unfriendly people - the cashier who was obviously annoyed we didn't speak French and we didn't know how to buy bananas.)
One new thing I experienced today - driving backwards down an on-ramp. Scary stuff but if we didn't want to run out of gas - and with 20 miles or more between off ramps, you don't want to run our of gas! - we had to do it.
Most powerful moment of the day - Watching a soldier (in the film we saw in the theater) put one foot on the beach of Normandy and fall to the groud after being shot. I was overwhelmed that someone would do that so we could be free. Almost too much to comprehend.
One pleasurable experience - seeing a small poodle with googles on. It was very cute, funny, and unbelievable!
We arrived in Normandy (a region) about 2:30. Because we were on the English Channel, the wind was very strong and therefore very cold. We stopped in a small town where the Canadian forces landed on D-Day. There was a 360 theater there which showed actual footage of the soldiers landing on the beaches. It was very moving. We stood on a very high cliff and looked at the beaches where the troops landed. That's about all there was to see in that town. We had a map of all the "sights" in the region but decided not to spend anymore time there.
We got back into the car and headed to Calais - almost 4 hours away. Flo gave us a bit of trouble. She had the wrong highway number - which confused us for awhile. Once we figured it out, we were okay. There are tolls everywhere here. I'll bet we've spent over $100 (US) so far just in tolls. At some toll gates, the only payment accepted is credit cards. The first time we hit one of these, we didn't know what to do which resulted in people honking horns behind us - which helps no one. An attendant came and told us what to do. Not being able to speak French is frustrating but we're making out just fine. It's amazing how much my French classes in grade 7 & 8 are paying off!
We almost ran out of gas. The gas gauge went into the reserve zone and began to flash. Dave was getting really nervous (a very rare thing for this thrill seeker). The off ramps on the freeways in that part of France are few and far between. I had the owner's manual out (in Dutch) trying to find out how many liters we have left. I was "reading" the Dutch owner's manual, watching road signs in French, and reassuring Dave we'd be fine. (the reassuring role is generally Dave's) We saw a gas station but Flo wanted us to turn onto an exit ramp. Fearful of making a mistake and adding yet more time to a long trip, Dave took the ramp, briefly. For more on this, see "new experience" below. :)
After filling up, and yet more junk food to serve as a meal (far too much of this!) we were on our way again. The landscape/countryside in northwestern France is spectacular. Beautiful rolling hills in many shades of greens and yellows (the grain crops are ripe and some are being harvested). Huge fields (40 acres and more) with cows grazing all over the expansive hills and valleys. You can see for miles. The sun was out so everything was breaktakingly beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen such beautiful farmland. The highways here don't have any shoulders so there wasn't any place to safely stop to take a picture. :(
We arrived in Calais about 10 pm completely tuckered out. We got a room in an old hotel. It had a lot of character. We paid extra to have our own bathroom. An expense I'll gladly pay. The bed was hard and the pillows were harder. We had an early start in the morning - had to catch the ferry. We had to be up by 5:30 - which we did.
The people of Europe - Except for a couple of people, eveyone here is very friendly and do what they can to help you. No one walks around with coffee cups nor pop. It's refreshing to see. As I mentioned earlier, they will walk around with a beer but only in certain areas with lots of shops/restaurants. People are quite fit. We haven't seen one obese person yet (and we've seen a lot of people!) I think this is because they walk/bike a lot and the meal portions are much smaller than we're used to. Increasingly we're seeing North America as a land of excess - in many ways.
I'm missing you kids a lot. It would be so great if you were here with us. Maybe someday.... So hugs and kisses to you and to the grandkids.
One thing I learned today - At the grocery store, you have to weigh your produce and get a bar code sticker before you get to the checkout. (This is were we ran into one of the unfriendly people - the cashier who was obviously annoyed we didn't speak French and we didn't know how to buy bananas.)
One new thing I experienced today - driving backwards down an on-ramp. Scary stuff but if we didn't want to run out of gas - and with 20 miles or more between off ramps, you don't want to run our of gas! - we had to do it.
Most powerful moment of the day - Watching a soldier (in the film we saw in the theater) put one foot on the beach of Normandy and fall to the groud after being shot. I was overwhelmed that someone would do that so we could be free. Almost too much to comprehend.
One pleasurable experience - seeing a small poodle with googles on. It was very cute, funny, and unbelievable!
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
The castles of Cheveny and Chambord
We just finished breakfast on this rainy Thursday morning. We had French toast (tastes different than what we make)on French bread, in a French cottage in France. How neat is that?! There is another couple staying here. They are French so the conversation at breakfast is very limited. Dave likes to try his French accent out when he talks English. He thinks it helps people understand him better. :) One interesting thing to note about breakfast. Dave and I are given mugs and the French folks are given bowls for coffee/tea/hot chocolate. They drink from the bowls - which are really cereal bowls. Can't figure that one out.
Yesterday we visited two castles. Chambord is massive - 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces and 77 staircases. Of course we were only permitted to go through small sections of the castle. Dave and I always want to go where we're not suppose to because that's where the adventure is but everything was locked up tight so we had to behave. The grounds of the castle are surrounded by a stone fence which is about 8 feet high. The fence is 32 klms long and has 6 gates. The entire property is 5446 hectres - the same size as inner Paris. It seems the main purpose of the castle was to impress others. The building first started in 1519 and wasn't completed until a couple of hundred years later. The really annoying part, for me, is that the kings who owned the place through the years rarely were there. Francis 1 (who started the project) was only there 72 days in 32 years!!
I love castles and reading historical fiction about life in the "castle era". I wish we were able to flash back to those times and see what life was like.
There was hardly any furniture in the castle as everything was packed up when the king moved on. In the late 1700's, the castle had a yard sale and sold off whatever was there. Too bad. If you don't know what the castle looks like, look it upon the Internet. It's incredibly
beautiful. I currently have a picture of it as my screen saver on my work computer.
When we came out of this castle, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We had sun all afternoon - the most sun so far - and it actually got hot out. I thought I'd be able to wear one of my sundresses today but we woke up to rain and I'm in pants and a sweater again. :(
We headed back to the cottage (which has exterior walls almost 2 feet thick) for a nap. Then we were off to Cheverny. A totally different castle. It's fully furnished and the owner and his family still live there. They live in the west wing which, of course, we couldn't go in. This castle has patterns painted on every square inch of the walls and ceilings. There were some amazing tapestries - some of which were from the 1500's and looked like new. If you're a little frustrated with my lack of detail about the castles, it's because it's so hard to put into words what we saw. Especially when I have limited time and space to do so. Hopefully the pictures (which you have to wait to see) will give you an idea of what it was like. We did get a great idea for our bookshelves from the library at Chevereny. :)
After the castle we went to the pastry shop and bought bread and then to the grocery store to get milk, butter, and wine. People shop here almost daily. The shopping carts are tiny. We ate in the garden of our cottage. It was very nice.
A couple of things I want to talk about today - safety and bathrooms. First safety. Both the Dutch and the French are MUCH more relaxed about "things" than Americans and Canadians. On the canal boat ride, there were people sitting on the back of boat (this doesn't describe it well at all but suffice it to say that'd never happen at home). Little kids (and dogs) sit on the crossbar of bikes. (How the dogs stay on is a mystery.) We've already talked about driving. Dogs seem to be welcome everywhere - even in stores. When we had dinner two nights ago, a cat (that looked a lot like Kobee) was wondering around. In some ways this "relaxed attitude" is
refreshing. Seat belts are a must. The beeper in our car continues to get louder the longer you wait to get your belt on.
Now to bathrooms. Public bathrooms, in both countries, are mini rooms. Floor to ceiling walls and doors. When you lock the door it shows red on the outside so there's no guessing if it's occupied or not. In one public bathroom, there were no seats. You just sat on the bowl itself. The toilet paper is a treat. We've stayed in two nice hotels and used a number of public bathrooms. I was starting to believe that all toilet paper was just a notch above fine grit sandpaper. Then we came to this adorable cottage and know that softer tissue can be purchased. The really interesting thing is that it's pink. I can remember when I was little you could buy colored toilet paper (blue and pink) but that too went away - for "safety" reasons.
When we were at Versailles the men had no privacy at all. The women were inline for their bathrooms. The line was right in front of the men's stalls. We watched them go in and out. Sadly the sink wasn't used as much as it should have been.
Today we leave our cute cottage and head to Normandy. A three hour drive.
One thing I learned today - a new way to do my hair. :)
One new thing I experienced today - having breakfast in a bed in a bed and breakfast. Was a little concerned about this.it was a little uncomfortable but okay. Beautiful table.
Most powerful moment of the day - watching about 100 very large hunting hounds have supper. There was a 30 foot row of dog food and chicken and turkey (cut up with heads attached) laid out. The dogs were let into the pen. Wow! Amazing to watch. I didn't think
all the dogs got enough.
One pleasurable moment - being able to take off my coat and feel the warmth of the su
Yesterday we visited two castles. Chambord is massive - 426 rooms, 282 fireplaces and 77 staircases. Of course we were only permitted to go through small sections of the castle. Dave and I always want to go where we're not suppose to because that's where the adventure is but everything was locked up tight so we had to behave. The grounds of the castle are surrounded by a stone fence which is about 8 feet high. The fence is 32 klms long and has 6 gates. The entire property is 5446 hectres - the same size as inner Paris. It seems the main purpose of the castle was to impress others. The building first started in 1519 and wasn't completed until a couple of hundred years later. The really annoying part, for me, is that the kings who owned the place through the years rarely were there. Francis 1 (who started the project) was only there 72 days in 32 years!!
I love castles and reading historical fiction about life in the "castle era". I wish we were able to flash back to those times and see what life was like.
There was hardly any furniture in the castle as everything was packed up when the king moved on. In the late 1700's, the castle had a yard sale and sold off whatever was there. Too bad. If you don't know what the castle looks like, look it upon the Internet. It's incredibly
beautiful. I currently have a picture of it as my screen saver on my work computer.
When we came out of this castle, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. We had sun all afternoon - the most sun so far - and it actually got hot out. I thought I'd be able to wear one of my sundresses today but we woke up to rain and I'm in pants and a sweater again. :(
We headed back to the cottage (which has exterior walls almost 2 feet thick) for a nap. Then we were off to Cheverny. A totally different castle. It's fully furnished and the owner and his family still live there. They live in the west wing which, of course, we couldn't go in. This castle has patterns painted on every square inch of the walls and ceilings. There were some amazing tapestries - some of which were from the 1500's and looked like new. If you're a little frustrated with my lack of detail about the castles, it's because it's so hard to put into words what we saw. Especially when I have limited time and space to do so. Hopefully the pictures (which you have to wait to see) will give you an idea of what it was like. We did get a great idea for our bookshelves from the library at Chevereny. :)
After the castle we went to the pastry shop and bought bread and then to the grocery store to get milk, butter, and wine. People shop here almost daily. The shopping carts are tiny. We ate in the garden of our cottage. It was very nice.
A couple of things I want to talk about today - safety and bathrooms. First safety. Both the Dutch and the French are MUCH more relaxed about "things" than Americans and Canadians. On the canal boat ride, there were people sitting on the back of boat (this doesn't describe it well at all but suffice it to say that'd never happen at home). Little kids (and dogs) sit on the crossbar of bikes. (How the dogs stay on is a mystery.) We've already talked about driving. Dogs seem to be welcome everywhere - even in stores. When we had dinner two nights ago, a cat (that looked a lot like Kobee) was wondering around. In some ways this "relaxed attitude" is
refreshing. Seat belts are a must. The beeper in our car continues to get louder the longer you wait to get your belt on.
Now to bathrooms. Public bathrooms, in both countries, are mini rooms. Floor to ceiling walls and doors. When you lock the door it shows red on the outside so there's no guessing if it's occupied or not. In one public bathroom, there were no seats. You just sat on the bowl itself. The toilet paper is a treat. We've stayed in two nice hotels and used a number of public bathrooms. I was starting to believe that all toilet paper was just a notch above fine grit sandpaper. Then we came to this adorable cottage and know that softer tissue can be purchased. The really interesting thing is that it's pink. I can remember when I was little you could buy colored toilet paper (blue and pink) but that too went away - for "safety" reasons.
When we were at Versailles the men had no privacy at all. The women were inline for their bathrooms. The line was right in front of the men's stalls. We watched them go in and out. Sadly the sink wasn't used as much as it should have been.
Today we leave our cute cottage and head to Normandy. A three hour drive.
One thing I learned today - a new way to do my hair. :)
One new thing I experienced today - having breakfast in a bed in a bed and breakfast. Was a little concerned about this.it was a little uncomfortable but okay. Beautiful table.
Most powerful moment of the day - watching about 100 very large hunting hounds have supper. There was a 30 foot row of dog food and chicken and turkey (cut up with heads attached) laid out. The dogs were let into the pen. Wow! Amazing to watch. I didn't think
all the dogs got enough.
One pleasurable moment - being able to take off my coat and feel the warmth of the su
Versailles
I just saw that my post for yesterday never actually posted. What you see under "Paris" and dated today - Wednesday - was actually what should have been posted on Tuesday. It's what we did on Monday. Hopefully that makes sense.
Yesterday we gave Flo a headache. We checked out of our hotel and should have made it to Versailles (Louis XIV's castle) in 15 minutes. It took 2 hours. We thought driving In Paris was bad on Sunday. That was nothing compared to a weekday! Flo has no accent at all - which I'm sure is done on purpose. She's hard to understand. The word avenue should be clear as a bell. However when Flo says it, you have no idea what she's saying. Throw in all the French street names and it's a muddled mess. Add the traffic - like we've never seen before - and getting around is almost impossible. Our favorite street is "crazy don will sawn". We have no idea what the real name is. No matter how many times she says it (we seemed to be near that street a lot), Dave and I both break out laughing . It never gets old. :)
Flo was constantly "recaculating". There are 2 lanes for cars but there are actually 5 lanes of traffic - two for cars and 3 for mopeds/scooters. The mopeds are very popular. They go between the lanes of traffic so 2 lanes become 5. They rule the road, jumping into the smallest of spaces. After going back and forth over the river a few times, we were able to get to the roundabout (they're everywhere here) at the Arc du Tromphe - the one with 6 or so lanes of traffic and 12 streets coming off of it. The streets are so narrow and there are cars everywhere (parked wherever and moving) that we often can't even see the streets. So I'm trying to count streets and Dave is trying to get to the outer circle of traffic so we can get out of the circle. It's a mess. There's lots of loud taking, pointing, "watch outs" and laughing. Stressful but a aloof fun.
We get out of the city. I had looked up directions to Versailles before we left. We needed to take exit A13. Flo told us to take A13 but Dave thought A14 was the way to go. 30 minutes later and $15 spent in tolls, Dave decided Flo and I were right.
We got to Versailles about 2pm. We stood in an incredibly long line for awhile - until we found out it was the line to go through security - AFTER you had bought your tickets. We changed lines. Did I mention the employees were on strike and so were working with a skeleton staff? After awhile, Dave went back to the first line we were in and I stayed in the ticket line. It took about an hour just to get inside the front doors. The number of people was unbelievable. Words can't describe the castle. Incredibly beautiful, over the top, every square inch covered with marble/paintings/tapestries/gold, massive, etc etc. There were so many people that we literally shuffled along as a pack. Dave and I became separated almost right from the start. He was waiting for me at the end. I got in trouble for leaning on a marble fireplace.
We had a a quick snack about 5 pm - the first food since breakfast at 9. (Our meal schedule is almost none existent.) We drove to the Loire Valley to the bed and breakfast we had reserved. You wouldn't believe this place! When you think of a cottage in the country in France you'd picture this place. You'll have to wait and see the pictures. In the 1700's, this was the gardener's home for the castle across the street. There are flowers and vines everywhere. We have two rooms that are decorated so beautifully. A fireplace. I wish you could see it. We were going to only stay for one night but as soon as we saw the place, we decided to stay for two nights.
We went into the village and had supper. Meals take a long time here. We had wine from a local vineyard. We were done by 9:30 and then drove around a bit.
The weather. Since we arrived, it's been cloudy with sprinkles - everyday. I have yet to wear any of the new clothes I bought for the trip. It's too cold for them. Yesterday we saw the sun for the first time. This morning it's raining. Well Dave wants to get going so I need to wrap this up.
(Several times yesterday I thought "I wish the kids were here to see this". Hopefully someday you'll be able to. :) )
One thing I learned today - King Louis XIV became deeply religious after his wife died. therefore had a chapel added to his home (Versailles)
One new thing I experienced today - ordering off a French menu and trying everything I had ordered (even the cheese that smelled like dirty socks!)
Most powerful moment of the day - putting my hand on the door to the chapel at Versailles where kings and queens had probably put their hands
One pleasurable experience - seeing our cottage
Yesterday we gave Flo a headache. We checked out of our hotel and should have made it to Versailles (Louis XIV's castle) in 15 minutes. It took 2 hours. We thought driving In Paris was bad on Sunday. That was nothing compared to a weekday! Flo has no accent at all - which I'm sure is done on purpose. She's hard to understand. The word avenue should be clear as a bell. However when Flo says it, you have no idea what she's saying. Throw in all the French street names and it's a muddled mess. Add the traffic - like we've never seen before - and getting around is almost impossible. Our favorite street is "crazy don will sawn". We have no idea what the real name is. No matter how many times she says it (we seemed to be near that street a lot), Dave and I both break out laughing . It never gets old. :)
Flo was constantly "recaculating". There are 2 lanes for cars but there are actually 5 lanes of traffic - two for cars and 3 for mopeds/scooters. The mopeds are very popular. They go between the lanes of traffic so 2 lanes become 5. They rule the road, jumping into the smallest of spaces. After going back and forth over the river a few times, we were able to get to the roundabout (they're everywhere here) at the Arc du Tromphe - the one with 6 or so lanes of traffic and 12 streets coming off of it. The streets are so narrow and there are cars everywhere (parked wherever and moving) that we often can't even see the streets. So I'm trying to count streets and Dave is trying to get to the outer circle of traffic so we can get out of the circle. It's a mess. There's lots of loud taking, pointing, "watch outs" and laughing. Stressful but a aloof fun.
We get out of the city. I had looked up directions to Versailles before we left. We needed to take exit A13. Flo told us to take A13 but Dave thought A14 was the way to go. 30 minutes later and $15 spent in tolls, Dave decided Flo and I were right.
We got to Versailles about 2pm. We stood in an incredibly long line for awhile - until we found out it was the line to go through security - AFTER you had bought your tickets. We changed lines. Did I mention the employees were on strike and so were working with a skeleton staff? After awhile, Dave went back to the first line we were in and I stayed in the ticket line. It took about an hour just to get inside the front doors. The number of people was unbelievable. Words can't describe the castle. Incredibly beautiful, over the top, every square inch covered with marble/paintings/tapestries/gold, massive, etc etc. There were so many people that we literally shuffled along as a pack. Dave and I became separated almost right from the start. He was waiting for me at the end. I got in trouble for leaning on a marble fireplace.
We had a a quick snack about 5 pm - the first food since breakfast at 9. (Our meal schedule is almost none existent.) We drove to the Loire Valley to the bed and breakfast we had reserved. You wouldn't believe this place! When you think of a cottage in the country in France you'd picture this place. You'll have to wait and see the pictures. In the 1700's, this was the gardener's home for the castle across the street. There are flowers and vines everywhere. We have two rooms that are decorated so beautifully. A fireplace. I wish you could see it. We were going to only stay for one night but as soon as we saw the place, we decided to stay for two nights.
We went into the village and had supper. Meals take a long time here. We had wine from a local vineyard. We were done by 9:30 and then drove around a bit.
The weather. Since we arrived, it's been cloudy with sprinkles - everyday. I have yet to wear any of the new clothes I bought for the trip. It's too cold for them. Yesterday we saw the sun for the first time. This morning it's raining. Well Dave wants to get going so I need to wrap this up.
(Several times yesterday I thought "I wish the kids were here to see this". Hopefully someday you'll be able to. :) )
One thing I learned today - King Louis XIV became deeply religious after his wife died. therefore had a chapel added to his home (Versailles)
One new thing I experienced today - ordering off a French menu and trying everything I had ordered (even the cheese that smelled like dirty socks!)
Most powerful moment of the day - putting my hand on the door to the chapel at Versailles where kings and queens had probably put their hands
One pleasurable experience - seeing our cottage
Paris
What a wonderful city Paris is! Yesterday we spent 9 hours exploring it. We didn't leave our room until noon due to sleeping so late and blogging - which takes some time. I find editing the post very difficult. It's not user friendly at all! Any who.....
Dave went to the tabac (store) to buy bus tickets. We took a bus to Notre-Dame. It was a little challenging to make sure we got off at the right stop. The names of the streets are hard to understand and start to sound the same. Notre-Dame is hard to describe. It's very beautiful and yet rather cold. It feels more like a museum than a church. We spent about an hour in it. The signs say no backpacks or taking pictures. No one obeyed either sign. I was able to overcome my deep sense of guilt and started taking pictures. We've been here 2 1/2 days and I already have over 70 pictures. Amanda, I want to come to your house to sort through them/edit them.
We then wandered along the Seine River and bought postcards from a street vendor with a booth on the edge of the river. The postcards were mailed this morning (Tuesday) - finding and buying stamps was an adventure itself. Everything takes extra effort but that's fine because we don't have a time table to follow. We slowly walked up and down many narrow streets crammed with shops and outdoor cafes. The pace of life here is much slower than we're used to. People sit in cafes for long periods of time. We're getting good at it too! We ate lunch (at 3:30) at an outdoor cafe and the waiter spoiled us by giving us free food. I guess he felt badly that I didn't order a bigger lunch. People here don't hide their emotions/responses. When we placed our order, it was clear he didn't approve of what I ordered.
We bought gifts for all the kids and grandkids. Then we boarded another bus for Sacre-Coeur. Notre-Dame is beautiful but I prefer Sacre-Coeur. It has totally different architecture. It felt like a church. It was warm and welcoming. We considered going up into the dome but it was 300 steps - one way. We do so much walking here, I didn't think I could make it up and down and continue our day.
After dodging the Jamaicans, who try to tie something around your hand so you're committed to buying it, we stopped for a drink. Here too people can walk around with beer. (Remind me to tell you about the bike bar which we saw in Amsterdam.) We found the bus we needed to get to take back to our hotel - it was after 8 by then. The bus let us off at the end of the line. We then had to walk for 30 minutes or so. By this time we were very tired and were walking very slowly.
It was a really wonderful day. This morning we went to the corner pastry shop and had breakfast. The streets are always filled with people. People watching is popular. People sit in rows in the cafes so they can watch the road. Laura, I'm taking a picture of bread that looks like a turtle for you. Amazing!
Everything is very expensive here. A ham and cheese sandwich was $25 (US) and gas is $12/gallon (US). Not much you can do about it!
One thing I learned today - the French see cheese as a dessert
One new thing I experienced today - being on a bus that was hit by a car - a minor hit but still a hit!
Most powerful moment of the day - the evening mass at Sacre-Coeur
One pleasurable experience - having a waiter tell Dave that ladies go first , so he had to move so I could go in front of him. :)
Dave went to the tabac (store) to buy bus tickets. We took a bus to Notre-Dame. It was a little challenging to make sure we got off at the right stop. The names of the streets are hard to understand and start to sound the same. Notre-Dame is hard to describe. It's very beautiful and yet rather cold. It feels more like a museum than a church. We spent about an hour in it. The signs say no backpacks or taking pictures. No one obeyed either sign. I was able to overcome my deep sense of guilt and started taking pictures. We've been here 2 1/2 days and I already have over 70 pictures. Amanda, I want to come to your house to sort through them/edit them.
We then wandered along the Seine River and bought postcards from a street vendor with a booth on the edge of the river. The postcards were mailed this morning (Tuesday) - finding and buying stamps was an adventure itself. Everything takes extra effort but that's fine because we don't have a time table to follow. We slowly walked up and down many narrow streets crammed with shops and outdoor cafes. The pace of life here is much slower than we're used to. People sit in cafes for long periods of time. We're getting good at it too! We ate lunch (at 3:30) at an outdoor cafe and the waiter spoiled us by giving us free food. I guess he felt badly that I didn't order a bigger lunch. People here don't hide their emotions/responses. When we placed our order, it was clear he didn't approve of what I ordered.
We bought gifts for all the kids and grandkids. Then we boarded another bus for Sacre-Coeur. Notre-Dame is beautiful but I prefer Sacre-Coeur. It has totally different architecture. It felt like a church. It was warm and welcoming. We considered going up into the dome but it was 300 steps - one way. We do so much walking here, I didn't think I could make it up and down and continue our day.
After dodging the Jamaicans, who try to tie something around your hand so you're committed to buying it, we stopped for a drink. Here too people can walk around with beer. (Remind me to tell you about the bike bar which we saw in Amsterdam.) We found the bus we needed to get to take back to our hotel - it was after 8 by then. The bus let us off at the end of the line. We then had to walk for 30 minutes or so. By this time we were very tired and were walking very slowly.
It was a really wonderful day. This morning we went to the corner pastry shop and had breakfast. The streets are always filled with people. People watching is popular. People sit in rows in the cafes so they can watch the road. Laura, I'm taking a picture of bread that looks like a turtle for you. Amazing!
Everything is very expensive here. A ham and cheese sandwich was $25 (US) and gas is $12/gallon (US). Not much you can do about it!
One thing I learned today - the French see cheese as a dessert
One new thing I experienced today - being on a bus that was hit by a car - a minor hit but still a hit!
Most powerful moment of the day - the evening mass at Sacre-Coeur
One pleasurable experience - having a waiter tell Dave that ladies go first , so he had to move so I could go in front of him. :)
Monday, June 20, 2011
Amsterdam to Paris
Monday morning in Paris. We just woke up - at 9:15! I guess we needed those 11 hours of sleep. Yesterday was another very full day. We left Amsterdam about 8 am and arrived in Paris about 2. We made a few quick stops along the way. For most of the drive we could have been driving at home. Highway, cows, fields, trees. We did see 3 old windmills and some beautiful Dutch farms. In Holland there were 5 lanes of traffic and each one had it's own speed limit. The average speed limit is 100 - in France it's 130 (Dave had no problem going that fast.) It rained on and off the whole way and our one (yes one) windshield wiper did a fine job.
Paris is huge, old, full of beautiful buildings and crazy drivers. Flo was outstanding yesterday. We couldn't survive here without her. This iPad is also a must have. Thanks again to the person(s) who gave us this wonderful gift!!!
Our hotel is very near the Eiffel Tower. We had to drive on several traffic circles to get
here. The craziest one is at the Arc de Triomphe. There are about 7 lanes of traffic circling
the arc with no rhyme or reason to it. There are 12 streets that come off the circle. We
needed the 5th one - which we got to. Dave loves the challenge of driving here. I hold on and hope we get to where we're going in one place.
Our hotel is in an old building and it has everything we need. So far no sharing of bathrooms!
Parking is a real problem here. To make a long story short, we found a parking garage a few
blocks from the hotel where the car will stay until we leave. We walked to the Eiffel Tower
which is very beautiful. The lines to get tickets were far too long so we passed on going up
the tower. Instead we took a 2 hour bus ride through Paris. After about 10 minutes we found 2 radios that worked - for the audio tour. We saw a lot but I was a bit disappointed. Often the
guide (prerecorded) was talking about things we'd either passed or hadn't come to yet. We were on the upper level of the bus (open) and it was cold. Some people left so we were able to get
under a protected area at the front of the bus - which were the best seats. The tour was done
around 8ish. We walked back to the hotel - which we found just fine. Getting lost is always a concern.
We had supper in an outdoor cafe - they're everywhere here - next door to our hotel. We sat
outside on a cobblestone street having supper and drinking wine. Yes, we're really in Paris!
Next we wandered down the street and got a crepe with chocolate and bananas. I realized the
pancakes we make at home are much more likes crepes than traditional Dutch pancakes.
We got back to the room by 10. It's now Monday morning. Dave's heading out the door to the
little bakery at the corner to buy some bread. Today we take public transit to see some sites. That will be a education in itself!
One thing I learned today: there aren't any "borders" between Holland, Belgium, and France.
It's like driving from one state to the next. How nice. Many Canada and the US could learn
something from this.
One new thing I experienced today: driving in Paris.
Most powerful moment of the day: seeing sites I saw 37 years ago. Who knew I'd ever see them again.
One pleasurable experience: eating French pastries. Wish you could try them Laura!
Hugs and kisses to the grandkids.
Paris is huge, old, full of beautiful buildings and crazy drivers. Flo was outstanding yesterday. We couldn't survive here without her. This iPad is also a must have. Thanks again to the person(s) who gave us this wonderful gift!!!
Our hotel is very near the Eiffel Tower. We had to drive on several traffic circles to get
here. The craziest one is at the Arc de Triomphe. There are about 7 lanes of traffic circling
the arc with no rhyme or reason to it. There are 12 streets that come off the circle. We
needed the 5th one - which we got to. Dave loves the challenge of driving here. I hold on and hope we get to where we're going in one place.
Our hotel is in an old building and it has everything we need. So far no sharing of bathrooms!
Parking is a real problem here. To make a long story short, we found a parking garage a few
blocks from the hotel where the car will stay until we leave. We walked to the Eiffel Tower
which is very beautiful. The lines to get tickets were far too long so we passed on going up
the tower. Instead we took a 2 hour bus ride through Paris. After about 10 minutes we found 2 radios that worked - for the audio tour. We saw a lot but I was a bit disappointed. Often the
guide (prerecorded) was talking about things we'd either passed or hadn't come to yet. We were on the upper level of the bus (open) and it was cold. Some people left so we were able to get
under a protected area at the front of the bus - which were the best seats. The tour was done
around 8ish. We walked back to the hotel - which we found just fine. Getting lost is always a concern.
We had supper in an outdoor cafe - they're everywhere here - next door to our hotel. We sat
outside on a cobblestone street having supper and drinking wine. Yes, we're really in Paris!
Next we wandered down the street and got a crepe with chocolate and bananas. I realized the
pancakes we make at home are much more likes crepes than traditional Dutch pancakes.
We got back to the room by 10. It's now Monday morning. Dave's heading out the door to the
little bakery at the corner to buy some bread. Today we take public transit to see some sites. That will be a education in itself!
One thing I learned today: there aren't any "borders" between Holland, Belgium, and France.
It's like driving from one state to the next. How nice. Many Canada and the US could learn
something from this.
One new thing I experienced today: driving in Paris.
Most powerful moment of the day: seeing sites I saw 37 years ago. Who knew I'd ever see them again.
One pleasurable experience: eating French pastries. Wish you could try them Laura!
Hugs and kisses to the grandkids.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Amsterdam
It's almost 7 am on Sunday morning although the time on the iPad says almost 1 am. I guess it's still on US time. It's so hard to believe that we'd be sound asleep if we were at home. I'm thinking we aren't going to have much trouble with the time zone change - thanks to an 11 pm flight, sleeping most of the flight (at least I did - Dave not so much) and sleeping aids.
Yesterday was a very full day. The flight was very smooth. The airport is huge. 95 percent of the signs were in English with hardly any Dutch anywhere. Dogs are allowed in the airport! We picked up our rental car - a Citroen - cute as a button and not a lot bigger than that. The trunk barely exists - so much for putting our suitcase in there. We went straight to our hotel which is very modern and new. The parking spaces are tiny and if you park on the white line, your car will be towed. It's tricky opening the door without hitting the car beside you. We're picking up on that theme here - many things are "smaller" here. Like this cup of tea I'm drinking. Literally 4 sips and it's gone.
We left the hotel about 3pm and got back at 10:30. Driving here is an adventure. There are bikes everywhere and they pretty much go where they want. Yes there are bike paths everywhere but you always have to watch for the bikes. The roads are narrow and speed limits are suggestions. It took both us carefully watching the road to make sure we could follow Flo's (the name Dave gave the gps lady) directions. We couldn't drive here with out her!!!
We parked downtown and then walked about 5 miles during our time there. We took a canal boat ride. Not on one of the "new" glass type boats but on an old creaky wooden one. It was great! I had a hard time staying awake near the end of it. We saw homes on the canal built in the 1500's that are starting to lean to the side. We learned the houses were built to lean forward so things being hauled up to the upper floors - with the hooks at the top of the buildings -don't hit the house.
We had pannekokken for supper -a real treat. Girls - they had the best pancake plates and I tried to buy each of you one but there were custom made for the shop so I couldn't. Disappointing. After supper we wandered around the streets/canals and then stood in line for tickets to see Anne Frank's house. It was great to go through it after seeing several movies about it. We went behind the famous bookcase into the apartment. We could see the rooms were these people lived in hiding. Amazing. By the end of the tour, I was having a hard time keeping upright as fatigue was hitting hard. We were able to find the car again - it was a bit of a walk through many alleys crammed full of bikes (all old and in tough shape - so people won't steal them was our guess), flowers trailing up brick walls, and people everywhere.
The bed felt good - even though it was 2 single beds pushed together.
Each day I'll try to fill something in under each of the following categories:
One thing I learned today - there are more bikes in Amsterdam than people.
One new thing I experienced today - walking through clouds of smoke (not your "average" smoke) as people openly smoked and drank as they walked the streets.
Most powerful moment of the day - standing at the sink in Anne Frank's house.
One pleasurable experience - hearing Dutch being spoken. I think it's a beautiful language, especially coming from little blond, blue eyed children. :)
We're off to Paris now. Hopefully it's a warmer day. Yesterday was mid 50's and windy. Until tomorrow. Hugs and kisses for the grandkids.
Yesterday was a very full day. The flight was very smooth. The airport is huge. 95 percent of the signs were in English with hardly any Dutch anywhere. Dogs are allowed in the airport! We picked up our rental car - a Citroen - cute as a button and not a lot bigger than that. The trunk barely exists - so much for putting our suitcase in there. We went straight to our hotel which is very modern and new. The parking spaces are tiny and if you park on the white line, your car will be towed. It's tricky opening the door without hitting the car beside you. We're picking up on that theme here - many things are "smaller" here. Like this cup of tea I'm drinking. Literally 4 sips and it's gone.
We left the hotel about 3pm and got back at 10:30. Driving here is an adventure. There are bikes everywhere and they pretty much go where they want. Yes there are bike paths everywhere but you always have to watch for the bikes. The roads are narrow and speed limits are suggestions. It took both us carefully watching the road to make sure we could follow Flo's (the name Dave gave the gps lady) directions. We couldn't drive here with out her!!!
We parked downtown and then walked about 5 miles during our time there. We took a canal boat ride. Not on one of the "new" glass type boats but on an old creaky wooden one. It was great! I had a hard time staying awake near the end of it. We saw homes on the canal built in the 1500's that are starting to lean to the side. We learned the houses were built to lean forward so things being hauled up to the upper floors - with the hooks at the top of the buildings -don't hit the house.
We had pannekokken for supper -a real treat. Girls - they had the best pancake plates and I tried to buy each of you one but there were custom made for the shop so I couldn't. Disappointing. After supper we wandered around the streets/canals and then stood in line for tickets to see Anne Frank's house. It was great to go through it after seeing several movies about it. We went behind the famous bookcase into the apartment. We could see the rooms were these people lived in hiding. Amazing. By the end of the tour, I was having a hard time keeping upright as fatigue was hitting hard. We were able to find the car again - it was a bit of a walk through many alleys crammed full of bikes (all old and in tough shape - so people won't steal them was our guess), flowers trailing up brick walls, and people everywhere.
The bed felt good - even though it was 2 single beds pushed together.
Each day I'll try to fill something in under each of the following categories:
One thing I learned today - there are more bikes in Amsterdam than people.
One new thing I experienced today - walking through clouds of smoke (not your "average" smoke) as people openly smoked and drank as they walked the streets.
Most powerful moment of the day - standing at the sink in Anne Frank's house.
One pleasurable experience - hearing Dutch being spoken. I think it's a beautiful language, especially coming from little blond, blue eyed children. :)
We're off to Paris now. Hopefully it's a warmer day. Yesterday was mid 50's and windy. Until tomorrow. Hugs and kisses for the grandkids.
We're here!
Just a quick post to let you know we arrived safely. We're off to buy a phone, take a boat ride on a canal, and have a wonderful Dutch supper. I'll give you a full update later today. I'll email our phone number to the kids. Until then.
At Toronto airport
It's been a full day. I (Lis) went to the doctor for an eye infection at 7:45 this morning. Two hours later I was home. Prescription problems. So that put me behind on getting ready for the trip. I had to do a couple loads of laundry, a bit of bookwork, and pack. I wasn't done until 2pm - two hours later than we planned to leave.
We were on the road shortly after two. We drove for about an hour (didn't even get to the 69 turn off) and traffic stopped. The road had been closed for a bad accident. After 90 minutes we were on our way. We were supposed to be at my sister's place by 7. We made it just after 8 - Dave made up for lost time. :) We left right away for the airport and arrived here at 9 pm. Check-in was a breeze! The easiest I've every had in my many flights. We weren't charged for our luggage - which was a real surprise.
We've just had a snack and will soon board. Dave is starting to feel like this is actually going to happen. Not quite yet for me.
Well we have to go. Just about ready to board. I hope you find this blog interesting - it'll get better once we're in Europe. I don't have time to check spelling right now -which shard for me to do.
Hugs and kisses for the grandkids. Next time, I'll be writing from Holland!
We were on the road shortly after two. We drove for about an hour (didn't even get to the 69 turn off) and traffic stopped. The road had been closed for a bad accident. After 90 minutes we were on our way. We were supposed to be at my sister's place by 7. We made it just after 8 - Dave made up for lost time. :) We left right away for the airport and arrived here at 9 pm. Check-in was a breeze! The easiest I've every had in my many flights. We weren't charged for our luggage - which was a real surprise.
We've just had a snack and will soon board. Dave is starting to feel like this is actually going to happen. Not quite yet for me.
Well we have to go. Just about ready to board. I hope you find this blog interesting - it'll get better once we're in Europe. I don't have time to check spelling right now -which shard for me to do.
Hugs and kisses for the grandkids. Next time, I'll be writing from Holland!
Monday, June 13, 2011
4 days until we leave
Another day is almost over. I'm sitting here with the table covered in papers I need to organize for the trip but I'm tired. I was at Synod all day and had a very busy weekend. All I want to do is rest. I still need to figure out how to use our new camera, get the European maps on the gps, and a variety of other things.
A week from right now, we'll be in Paris. Hard to believe. :)
Well I should go and do something.
A week from right now, we'll be in Paris. Hard to believe. :)
Well I should go and do something.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
5 days and counting
In just 5 days we'll finally be heading to Europe after talking about it for over 30 years. It doesn't seem real and probably won't until we land in Amsterdam. We still have several things that need to be done before we go. They'll all get done--they always do. So I'm off to do some now. Until the next time.....
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