Blogs from Zwolle, Overijssel, Netherlands, Europe

It was another delayed breakfast this morning and we let Wim and Diny get through their bathroom routines before we got ourselves up. We didn’t have to get our own breakfast this morning as they had coffee and croissant with ham, cheese and apricot jam ready for us. We were certainly in relax mode here and before we knew it the time was approaching midday and we had an electric fondue to buy and post back to NZ. Diny knew the best place to buy one and they got the bikes out as the shop, Media Market, was located in the shopping area downtown just a couple of kilometres away. Gretchen was a bit unsteady at first as it has been 3 years (the last time we were here) since we had last ridden a bicycle. ... read more

Since my Polish haircut experience Gretchen has been hanging out waiting until we get to Holland for Diny (Cormac’s mother) to find a hairdresser and to go along and translate for the style Gretchen likes. Today or tomorrow could be the day as our journey this morning will take us south to Zwolle in Holland. I don’t recall seeing Gretchen with a shaggier looking style, the result of the Kotor, Montenegro haircut. The high pressure that has been around for a few days is still here this morning and we have another cloudless, blue sky for the drive. However, before getting on the road we waited for a while in anticipation of the new royal baby being born to Kate and William as we have been able to get the BBC news channel on the TV ... read more

Thursday 6th August Three countries in one day We have a long drive ahead of us today as we head north to Holland to stay with Cormac’s parents Wim and Diny for 3 nights.In doing so we shall leave France,pass through Belgium and traverse a good percentage of Holland before getting to Zwolle.The weather prospects look good for driving and the morning temperature is already in the mid 20’s!!One of the noticeable things about the weather in the couple of days we have been in Europe is the lack of wind which has been keeping the temperature very steady. Google maps gave us two options of highways with tolls and highways without tolls.The BBA tour committe(of two)decided on the second option naturally enough!!The toll road option would have had us travelling on at least 7 separate ... read more

Untitled Monday late night/Tuesday (travel time) Bruce and I caught a late flight (11 pm) from Santorini back to Athens, and as luck would have it, it was late leaving. From Athens Bruce was heading home and I was continuing my trip. Final stop- The Netherlands via Frankfurt, Germany. Because Bruce had an early morning flight (6 am), he only had about 4 hours to sleep. On the other hand, my plane left after 11 am, so I woke up around 8am (sorry Bruce) and got to enjoy the nice pillow-top bed, the tub, the shower, and all the other amenities. This was a top-notch hotel, the best one I stayed at during my whole trip (which isn't saying much really), and by far the most expensive. We had to stay there because of Bruce's departure ... read more