Stayokay Dordrecht

... midday, should have been approximately south). This seemed to work (I'll plot the route later, I stopped for lunch in what I think was Amstelveen) and just before I encountered a forecourt I found a helpful signpost - so I decided to follow that.

Signposts in the Netherlands can be confusing - there are the major routes in Blue (which are often - but not always unsuitable - for cycles) much like British motorway signs. Then there are the minor routes that are ...

... hours with my host Nai and the italian guy he's also hosting (which I'm not a fan of). Nai is super nice but the Italian guy is a bit weird. It's all good, just not a fan..

Tomorrow afternoon I should be heading into Amsterdam.. Hopefully it won't be raining quite so much there.

After Brussels we headed north toward Rotterdam, stopping first at what may be the oldest town in The Netherlands; Dordrecht. There we found very hospitable people and lots of leaning brick buildings. Dordrecht was a port city before Rotterdam became the center of aquatic commerce for The Netherlands. We wandered around, attended our host's hopping birthday/housewarming party, ate some great food and then settled in for a few days. During our stay, we ...

... And because in holland the way the homes are built right on the street and all the living roms have full street views & everyone outside has full living room views, as you walk along in the dark afternoons you can see all the different trees in everyones living rooms. The streets in the town centres are also decorated beautifully , and the lights are a lot easier to appreciate when its dark at 4 in the afternoon & still dark at 9 in the ...

... for snow ! Weve been told that the small canal out the front of our house freezes in the winter so we want to go ice skating there too ! Also in The Netherlands they celebrate 2 days of christmas's so we are looking forward to the celebration of those too Before christmas we are looking forward to catching up with some Aussies in September during the world cup in France and Wales well keep you updated !

... as not to miss a single moment of the fun. Eventually the boys and three good-natured Dutch girls (who were nice enough to take the lesson in English for the boys' benefit) made their way onto the beach for more land school. To the outside observer, this entailed a) lying on your stomach on the board, b) frantic paddling of the air, c) jumping up in one motion and d) assuming the stance of Looking Cool. Eric quickly managed to learn the art of Looking ...

... coming to light at the moment a few more than i expected considering we dont speak dutch. Ryan looks like he will be a bit of a handyman and all my job prospects are office/accounting jobs in International Companies. Even when we do settle into a job we are still going to be taking advantage of the prime position of The Netherlands. We are only 3 hours drive from Paris and 45 mins to Brussels and Germany is right next door too ! We will be sure to keep you updated !

... pretty as the 17th century architecture seen in the city). At one point we felt we were not even in the same country - Pantea was the only woman around without a veil! We were lost for a couple of hours but did finally find the red path sign again. By the time we got to Haarlem it was too late for the museum and we were pretty exhausted. We spent some time in the 'Grote Markt' (the main town square next to St. Bavokerk chuch) before ...

... of Amsterdam. Via another connecting bus, we arrived at around 11 am at our would-be destination - WALIBI WORLD! On first impression, 'Walibi World' triggered a few too many memories of 'Wobbies World' for my liking, and the giant gawking head of the parks' wallaby mascot did nothing to suggest that the park might offer anything to budding thrillseekers such as ourselves. However, after moseying through the gates along the uber-1950's Americana themed entry area ...

Today we went out to Leiden to see one of the oldest windmills. It was built in the 18th century. It was pretty amazing how they used the power of the wind and converted it into mechanical energy that powered massive stone grinders. This thing could grind enough flour to feed 8,000 people. That's pretty amazing for its size and the day and age it was built. We walked around this nice little ...