May 13:

We finally received the call from the garage this morning that we had been waiting for - car was ready. But first, I had my reflexology appointment and Linda ended up having a Shiatsu head massage.

Then, we headed over to Amersfoort to the garage. The owner told us to keep the keys to the loaner,  just in case we had trouble with the car over the long weekend (Monday is a national holiday). We could just come get it. I've never had that happen before. We also gave him 90 euros to pay our parking ticket.

To test the car a bit, we drove over to the tea house in Eemnes. 

Shetland ponies giving rides to the kids and storks tending to their kids.



And people having a late lunch in the garden. Last year when we came here it was cloudy and rainy. This day was gorgeous.






















After leaving the tea garden, we drove across the fields and took the ferry across a small canal.





On the other side, we found this little house.

We thought about stopping for a snack, but decided to have an early dinner at the house. After some hamburger and veggies in the garden, Linda walked down to the flower market for some fresh tulips and I mowed the lawn.



Noor came over again for awhile and played mainly with Linda. It started getting cold, so we closed up the house and watched a few shows on Netflix before going to bed.

May 12:

We ate breakfast in the garden and then Linda took a little nap hoping to bake the sickness out of her body.

Early afternoon we drove over to the southern part of town for Linda's reflexology session. Afterwards, we stopped at the butcher and I purchased too much meat. Our rule is usually to just buy enough for one or two days at the most. I guess I got excited.

Noor and Duco arrived later in the afternoon to play the game Monument Valley with Linda.

After their dinner, they returned. After about 1/2 hour, Duco had to leave to do some homework but, Noor stayed until mom came and got her. I think we're substitute grandparents. They are used to coming over to play with Kees and Joke.

May 9, 10, 11:

Monday I woke up wondering how I would contact the garage to get Kees' car fixed, when before I got out of bed, Kees called. It was 2:30 in the morning his time and he had already talked to Eugene at the garage and told him about the problem. All I had to do is get the car over to Amersfoort and there would be a loaner car available for me to use.

Even though I wasn't feeling to good (cold coming) I got up and using Louisa on my Tom-Tom GPS drove about 15 minutes over to this neighboring town. Surprisingly, the car worked just fine. No sign of the lack of power from the day before. I hate that sort of thing. 

Eugene greeted me and listened to me retell the string of events from yesterday and this morning. He said he would put the computer on it in the afternoon and check it out. Off I went in a small Nissan. 

Neighbors, Margaret and Andy, came over at 11:00 for coffee in the garden. We try to get together at least once during each visit. Nice people who speak English very well because they lived in Canada for at least 10 years when he worked with a gas company in northern Alberta. Andy had 3 brothers, two of which, spent some time in a German concentration camp for spying. It changed them quite a bit. One ended up committing suicide. WWII is a lot more personal for the Dutch than Americans. We had soldiers die but they had soldiers and civilians suffer and die. It must have been a really horrific time. 

We just found out that May 5 is celebrated as the end of the war in Holland. Also, there is a new plaque embedded in the side walk around the corner commemorating a Jew who was taken away in 1943 and never returned. This last May 5th (a few days ago) flowers were placed on it.

Later in the afternoon, we drove over to Soest Zuid to try to schedule an appointment with a reflexologist when we had used last year, but it was Monday and the store was closed. Luckily the liquor store was open and I bought some vodka to have with my homemade tacos for my belated birthday dinner. I had a discussion with the owner about Ketel One. The original Ketel 1 was actually jenever (sp?), a traditional Dutch alcohol something like gin. Apparently, there was so much competition that no one could make any money, so they switched to distilling vodka and changed the name slightly. I had no idea that Ketel One was a Dutch vodka but its great to be drinking it in the Netherlands. It almost feels like I'm being patriotic. Support the locals - I love it.

Ate tacos and drank vodka for dinner. Very nice. Linda ate leftover fish from the day before. Later I coughed my lungs up all night.

Tuesday I felt worse and slept in. Later, we drove back over to the south side of town and made reservations for foot sessions for both of us later in the week.

We came "home" and Linda created a really nice soup with vegetables from the refrigerator and leftover taco meat. You know soup is good for colds. It went down really well.

Wednesday we both felt better after lots of pills and honey and lemon in hot water. We drove over to Spakenburg because Linda thought they might have a market, but they didn't. 






After walking around the boats, we drove over to Amersfoort for a pedicure. Louisa got lost but we figured it out eventually and found a perfect parking spot about one block from the main square and the nail shop. The only problem was that when we returned, we had a 90 euro ticket on our windshield. That was a shock. There were no signs around but maybe it was an area reserved for residents.

I went first with the pedicure and then sat outside at a pub next door and had a beer and some fries.



We both enjoyed the foot work and the massage chairs that even worked our butts, just not the ticket.

On the way home, we stopped at a garden center and bought and then Linda planted two begonias in the front pots of the house. Linda promises to water it daily so hopefully it won't die.

Later, we drove over to see Duco play ball again. His team won by one run.

He came over after the game to talk about the game. He showed us how he plays Monument on the iPad until his dad came to take him home. Its a school night and he still had things to do. Cute kid. He is getting more confident with his English. More words, less hesitation.

May 8:

Happy Birthday to me and Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful wife and all the other mothers we know.

So, today we got out of bed at a decent time and headed down the road to a town named URK. Kees had told us it is the most conservative town in The Netherlands. But, more importantly, we would pass fields of tulips on the way. And, indeed, we did.

Lots of yellow tulips in addition to various colors of reds. Row, after row, after row.

Some fields looked liked they had been plowed under recently. We are at the end of the tulip blooming season, but we think we have at least one week left. We're hoping there will be some left for Deb and Ray to see next week.

Less than an hour from Soest and we arrive at URK.

Once in the town we find ourselves at a marina/harbor. This town is the largest fishing village in Holland. 

Large, serious looking working ships were docked up and down two large piers along with a good number of pleasure craft.

Out of the harbor and you're pretty close to the North Sea. I don't know what this place is like in the winter, but today even with a stiff breeze, it was delightful.

This is what the street looked like as we walked down alongside the harbor to the open water.

It looked very Dutch to us.

The lighthouse wasn't very tall, but it was situated at a point that was exactly where it needed to be. Checkout the large anchor in the foreground.

After ensuring all of the shops were closed for Sunday, we discovered an open fish restaurant right on the water. I had a dark beer with a funny name. Delicious.

Linda had a 3 fish platter and I had an order of kibbling (cod). Like I had the other day at Schipol. With frites. Yummy. Our waitress was very busy, but she got things done cheerfully. She had a mouth full of braces.

We decided to drive back a different way and headed for Lelystad for an espresso. Without too much trouble and asking a pizza maker, we found a central plaza with an Italian serving ice cream and espresso with outside seating - perfect. I used my 3 words of Italian and he responded in-kind. 

The coffee was served with a tiny cone of ice cream in a special holder attached to the saucer. Unique.

The trip home took a little longer than it should have because the car lost power and I couldn't keep it at the speed limit. But, we did ok. I think it might be a fuel line problem, maybe fuel filter. I talked to Kees about it on Facetime and I'll call his mechanic tomorrow. Everything will be fine.

May 7:

After sleeping in for an embarrassingly long time, Linda fixed some eggs and made some of her pretend pancakes. After eating in the garden, we were off to see Duco play baseball. On the way, we returned Joke's books to the library. By the time we arrived, he had already played 2 innings and had been taken out of the game, but not before tagging a runner out at first base. We sat with Peter and Liesbeth and another couple and watched a couple of innings. Doesn't this sound like a normal Saturday morning in the States?

Peter and Liesbeth invited us over for wine in the garden afterwards. We took gifts for the kids and had snacks with the wine.

Noor and a friend sat with us for a minute or two before they were off. Noor is a typical 10 year old girl: drama, drama, drama and cute, cute, cute.

The gift that we brought Duco was a set of marbles representing the "near" solar system. We all had a hard time determining which represented which planets, except for Earth, the moon, and Mars. Mars was red and Earth had continents.

Later, we walked up the hill to a park that was hosting a carnival. Looked very much like an American one. The first thing we saw was this 90 meter tall tower that lifted about 20 people to the top and then dropped them in a free fall. Oh the thrill.








Bumper cars are a must at any carnival.













After walking around most of the carnival I told Linda I thought the difference between this and a normal one in the States was that we would have many more places to eat. Then, she said let's walk around the backside and low and behold, eateries. 













These guys on the right looked like cream puffs and I bet they were filled with vanilla cream.






There was even one place that was set up like a restaurant. So, the Dutch like to eat too. At least sweets. We also saw a cotton candy and popcorn vendor.



We like the Grace and Frankie show on Netflex and it has started its second season. We watched the first two episodes of the new season on the computer and then hit the bed.

May 6:

There's always a lot of things to do to prepare for a trip that involves staying away for three months and you'd think we would have it down pat by now. Well - yes and no. We must be doing something right because we had our suitcases closed and at the door two hours before Dan Bauer came to pick us up for the airport. Or, maybe we were just anxious to go. After planning one of these trips, on and off for six months, there comes a time when you just want to get on with it. Just do it.

Dulles Airport has changed a lot since we were last there. Checking in was fast and easy. We had quite a lot of walking even with escalators and automated walkways, to get to our gate. Didn't have a seat assignment and had to wait until they started boarding. But, we ended up with an exit row - excellent, lots of leg room.

The flight is considerably shorter when you leave from DC instead of someplace in Florida and that's good. 

The day starts with a sunrise at 35,000 feet over Ireland.




We arrive at Schipol Airport almost an hour early, 6:30 am which means we have a bit of a wait until meeting Kees and Joke at 11:00. 

We pass the time eating an early lunch and Linda enjoying her first tulips in Holland.



We sit outside for awhile to enjoy the sun and the knockout, 72 degree weather and some tulips.

We came early this year to see the tulips and here are some. We expect to find more in the next two weeks with Deb and Ray.

Kees and Joke show up right on time and we visit while eating (again) some fish (cod) and a little of Kees' raw herring. He offers me some but I send him back to get chopped onions. That's the only way I can eat it. We are in Holland. We're making up a story that eating herring is what contributes to the Dutch growing so tall. I'm sure that's a fiction but doesn't it sound good?

We exchange information and Kees forks over the keys to the car and house with last minute information. The drive to Soest (about an hour) is uneventful. Kees and Joke have had new floors and stairs installed, new bed, and a new rug. The place looks great. The garden is blooming with springtime color. Once we arrive we realize how tired we are and take a two hour nap. 

On our way to the Echo Plaza to buy some food, we meet Peter, our next door neighbor and chat a bit. Later, Liesbeth, his partner, comes over and we have a glass of wine. Duco, their son, who comes over later, tells us he has a baseball game the next day at 2:00. We usually go to watch his games when we can, so we make plans for that. At his age, 12 years old, they play for two hours. When time is up, they finish the current inning and stop the game. Seems like a good idea.

Linda fries some hamburger, onions, mushrooms and a green pepper for dinner and we watch a couple of episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Its in English.

Once its 10:00, we can go to bed in their new bed. End of a very long day.

2016 Trip to Holland, Italy, England, & France

May 4:

We're about ready to leave DC for Holland. Below is our schedule for the summer. So, if you're interested, we'll keep you posted on how it goes. I promise a lot of pictures and I'll try very hard to keep the boring text to a minimum.

ITENANARY FOR EUROPE

2016

May 5 – Leave for Amsterdam

May 14 – Deb & Ray arrive in Soest

May 23 – Deb & Ray leave and we stay at a hotel at Schipol Airport

May 24 – Fly to Rome and stay at the Hotel Colosseum

May 25 – Meet painting group at Rome Airport

May 25 – June 7 – Paint and explore Umbria

June 8 – June 11 – Venice

June 11 – June 25 – Jolly Resort,  Ponte di Legno

June 25 – Fly from Milan to Amsterdam

June 25 – July 16 – Soest

July 16 – Fly to Manchester, England; Take train to Nottingham; Pick up river barge at Sawley Marina

July 16 – July 23 – Boating

July 23 – July 25 – Visit with Jill & Jim in Newmarket

July 26 – Fly to Marseilles, France

July 26 – July 29 – Visit with Joy outside of Marseilles, France

July 30 – July 31 – Visit Chantal in Port Frejus, France

Aug 1 – Aug 5 – Visit Claude Immer in Gordes, France

Aug 6 – Fly to Amsterdam

Aug 8 – Fly to DC

Aug 15 – Fly to Fl