Tot Ziens Nederlands!

We had a great 3 day cycling tour across the Netherlands. Being the king of the road on a bicycle was a very odd feeling,  but we managed to figure out the trail/navigation system eventually even if we never mastered the right of way rules and had a wonderful time. My brother John and nephew Wyatt biked with us and turned it into a party. We had 2 comical stretches of biking in the pouring rain, but everybody handled it with grace (and chocolate) and we dried out at a lovely converted Gypsy wagon on the second night. We saw cows and sheep and canals and dykes and castles and manor houses and pedalled about 75 km in all. Hats off to my amazingly adaptable crew.

We are on a TGV (high speed train - one of Brendan's life list items) headed for Paris now to start the 4th and final section of our Covid Combo of 4 trips in 1. We have 6 nights in the Alsace region between France and Germany and then 2 nights in Paris before we fly home.

Tot ziens Nederlands, Bonjour a La France!!

(Thank you to whoever's car port this is, I'm really glad we found shelter)

Biking in the Netherlands!!

We're doing it!!! I'm so excited!!! We actually made it 1 hour across Dutch cityscape and countryside from the bike rental agency beside the train station to our hostel. It feels amazing  - bikes truly rule the roads here, and you can bike almost anywhere.  We are staying the night in a luxurious hostel (my first hostel ever!)  south of Utrecht. The plan for tomorrow is to bike 2 hours west (ok, google maps says 1 hour,  but we're prepared for it to take all day) to a converted gypsy wagon for the night!

A Day At The Dorp

We finished our 5 days of sightseeing in the Netherlands with Mom and Dad with a day in Eindhoven. After discovering that the Trappist Monastery Brewery Tour was full, we pivoted to visit a recreated Stone Age/Medieval Age village called Prehistorisch Dorp. So much learning! We practiced throwing spears, grinding grain by stone, forcing square pegs through round holes, stilt walking, walking on stilts, writing with feathers and shooting crossbows... none of it very well! 

Then we toured a fantastic war museum with lots of lifesize doramas and vehicles. Brendan's expertise was impressive  

In the land of chocolate and windmills

I had great intentions of posting each day once we hit land (and wigi), but you know what they say about the best intentions...

We have had a wonderful 4 days touring the Netherlands from our vrbo Hunting Lodge.  It is like stepping into another century. We have 1 more day before the next stage of the adventure. 

We had fun touring Amsterdam by foot and canal boat...

Then we rented a boat and toured nearby Breda under our own steam. 

One advantage of renting your own boat is you don't have to feel obliged to tip the driver...

We spent the afternoon getting groceries and hiking around the nature preserve our hiking lodge is in. I am a big believer in trying out local customs and cuisines. Here, Heidi tries to pick from one of the entire SECTION of chocolate sprinkles that Dutch children eat on their toast in the morning. 

Our area is brimming with rhododendrons in the most incredible array of purples. It's like living in a botanical garden. But also surrounded by taxidermy and deer on the walls. But lovely. I clearly need to take more photos to illustrate. 

We explored Antwerp (Belgium) the next day, since our rental house is only 13 minutes from the border. Highlights included a printing press museum that contained the second Gutenberg Bible ever printed, and a Belgian Chocolate exhibition that ended in a room of 10 vats of different types of warm  melted chocolate,  1 spoon for unlimited tasting and no water. I lasted as long as I could!!!

Today, we did a classic site, all about windmills and canals, called Kinderdijk.

We've now been joined by my brother and nephew, and have only  1 more day of sightseeing with my mom and dad, before they head off to Iceland. We're certainly a family with itchy feet after 2 years of not leaving the country!

After we drop them off we will attempt to learn how to navigate the Dutch bike trail system for 3 days. Gulp!!

Crossing The Atlantic

We are in Madeira tomorrow,  so Im writing this on Saturday and hoping we hit wifi or a cell tower on the Island that will update this message. 

It has been a blissfully calm crossing so far. We've had middling 20 degree weather every day; which is warm enough that you can sit out on deck reading by the pool, but aren't particularly motivated to get in it. No complaints. The seas have been shockingly flat, or nearly flat so far. Not that it means we don't still stumble around since there's a constant background sway and lurch happening underfoot. We definitely don't have our sea legs yet. I attempted a Stretching Class in the gym this morning and nearly converted a Downward Dog into a Flat On My Face Dog because a wave happened to rock us at the wrong moment. 

The food, as expected, is excessive and we're consuming massive quantities of it. The kids are pretty independent wandering the ship now, and go for soft serve ice cream 4-5 times a day! I'm so proud of how adventurous the kids have been at dinner - they often skip the kids menu in favour of exotic adult items (they've all gotten Escargots, Brendan raves every night about whatever new, heavily sauced beef dish he's gotten (ie. Beef Wellington with a red wine demi glaze)) as though there wasn't a time in the not too distant past where they all stuck with butter sandwiches. 

We've kept busy during our 9 straight days at sea. I could say we've been rock climbing, water sliding, pickle balling, archery-ing, minigolfing, shuffleboarding, cinema watching, hot tubbing, card playing,  slot machine pulling, track running, board gaming and swimming, but in reality it's been mostly napping and eating ice cream. And doing Gr 9 math. That's the least fun, but we're suffering through. It will be exciting tomorrow to set foot in Europe - we all got official Transatlantic Crossing Certificates today! 

Time to hit the next continent!

Nancy

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Soaking Up The Sun

2 am, Thursday morning - leaving home, with the heater cranked, headed to our flight out of  Montreal.

2 pm, Thursday afternoon- catching up on lost sleep, melting in the 28 degree sunshine, getting sunburnt on South Miami Beach.

Europe, Here We Come!

We're back, baby!! After 2 very long Covid years of cancelled trips and uncertainty we are sitting in an airport, champing at the bit to leave on the next epic adventure. 

I fear for the stamina of my travel companions - through a series of twists and turns this trip has become a mashup of 4 life list trips all in one, and it's gonna be a whirlwind!

We fly to Miami today, departing tomorrow on a 14 night Transatlantic cruise with my parents, celebrating our 20th Anniversary.

Then, we will spend 5 days sightseeing in the Netherlands. We've got a manor house rented on the Belgian border that looks like something out of a storybook. My brother and nephew are hoping to join us for this week, but haven't decided for sure yet. How do people like this sleep at night? 

Then, we'll drive my Mom and Dad back to the airport to fly home. We'll pick up bikes and do 3 days biking hostel (my first!) to hotel. For the middle night we have a converted "gypsy" wagon rented!

Then we'll say farewell to John and our bikes and take a train to France for 5 days in the Alsace,  a region in the northeast sandwiched between France and Germany. 

We'll finish up with 36 hours in Paris before we fly home on the 29th of May. Like I said, a whirlwind! Fingers crossed!!

We'll have minimal wifi and even less leisure time I expect,  but I will post if it's manageable. It will be interesting to see how close to the plan the actual trip turns out. If Covid has taught us anything it's that "You can plan, but don't plan on your plans"

The Road Home Is Always The Same

It's been 21 days of joy, but we're headed for home with a final 6 hour drive. We've had a fun time rehashing all our favourites - best playground,  best poutine,  best new stuffed animal, best sports car, best gas price, best animal encounter etc etc etc. 

It has been good for my soul to be on the road again. Even though there are some sad faces with today being the last day, it also means that tomorrow we get to start planning the next trip!!

A final picnic lunch on the St Lawrence river, which we have followed for 21 days. A final shoutout to our faithful driver, truck and home away from home - thanks for the memories!

Vieux Quebec

We spent our final day of sightseeing in Old Quebec City. Since tours were really the theme of this trip it will not come as a surprise that we started the day off with a Guided Tour of the Chateau Frontenac with our costumed interpreter Francois LeSomethingorOther.

Next we had a double decker bus tour of the highlights of Vieux Quebec.

The plan next was to wander the narrow alleys and soak in the ambiance of the 1700s era cobblestone streets. In reality we spent an equal amount of time soaking in the ambiance of T shirt shops and taking in local treats, but hey, when in Rome...

Barbe A Papa!

Crepes!

Ah, my favourite travel partners! Nobody wants to go home - a true sign of a great

Canyon Ste Anne

Visited an incredible gorge with John and Betty and Rowan just outside Ste Anne de Beaupre. 

We started with a seated zipline over the canyon that made my stomach flip. Here are Brendan and Betty looking cool, calm and collected. 

The gorge was surrounded by a really pretty trail and criss crossed by 3 progressively less stable feeling bridges.  Kona declined to cross halfway across yhe second one. 

Note the zipline passing overhead!

That's Rob in the middle,  carrying Kona.

After, Canyon Ste Anne we made our way to our final destination; Quebec City.

We finish the trip in camping opulence at a KOA, complete with double water slides, a hot tub and a store with Slush Puppies. Fighting the Ontario Provincial Park reservation system is looking pretty unappealing from now on...