Last Hurrah in Amsterdam then back to the Motherland

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So our final stop on this One European Summer was back to Amsterdam, but this time with Furby in toe. We dropped Furby in the middle of the city as he was keen to get out of Jonesy for a while and head to a backpackers. Between you and me though I'm pretty sure he just wanted free range of the coffee shops and red light district... oh well whilst in Rome!

Suz and I went back to the camp site that we had stayed in previously just on the North edge of town. We hung around for a few days mainly hitting the coffee shops with Furby and getting our daily feed of Febo. Not a lot of culture happened over these last few days.

However we did manage to catch up with my 'third cousin'?? Rrrooooooooxxxaannnneee!

Suz and I spent the afternoon with Roxy just walking around stopping off for a few pints and generally catching up on life. Again it is so strange to meet your long lost relatives for the very first time... actually not knowing what each other looks like and meeting in public like a blind date is half the battle. But to get along so well and not feel uncomfortable at all, chatting away like you have known each other for ever makes it quite magical. We said our goodbyes to Roxy after a walk at night through the seedy district..... we hope to see Roxy again someday.

We also had a couple of large nights out on the sauce with Furby. One such night may or may not have entailed a stop off at a 'herbal' store. A few herbal tablets and small bottles of herbal liquid were bought. A couple of glugs of liquid when we exited the store followed by a few fresh gulps later in the evening and a capsule or two... and let's just say the rest is history. Our memories of this night lay in a sole polaroid picture taken of the three of us and discovered in our pocket the next morning. Speaking of the next morning, whatever was in those things sure knocked us for six........... killer hangovers were had by all. And not only that, today of all days was the day we had to pack up camp for the very last time, pick up ‘the pig’, and venture our way through Netherlands down through Belgium, and France to make a mad dash for our scheduled ferry departure back to Dover, UK.

It was an uncomfortable trip all feeling as seedy and headachy as we did. The ferry trip went smoothly, but the passage back through the UK border, well not so smooth. As soon as they saw the big baby blue van rolling off the ferry fresh from a Summer Trip of Europe, we were targeted. Jonesy was poked and prodded from strangers both inside and outside. The border officers searched him good. And it wasn't just Jonesy feeling the brunt of the law and order. Suz and Furby were interrogated for a good 20 minutes, all whilst Vince was chilling out waiting for them.... pays to be a British Citizen, ha ha! After a few dodgy responses and looks from the 'articulate' Furby we were on our way again.

Last Stop.... 51 Park Hill, Clapham!

We planned to put Jonesy back onto GumTree a couple of weeks before coming back to London and had received a load of interest for the old bugger. We ended up selling him to a kiwi lass, who quite unexpectedly gave Jonesy a sex change immediately after the cash swapped hands. I really do wish we had of just driven him back through Europe and Asia to Singapore then just shipped him across to Darwin and through Oz, rolling into Brissie. Although I expect he wouldn't have made it in one piece. We did end up making a tidy profit on our accommodation on wheels for 6 months. I will get another VW of my own one day, as we both had so much fun with him.

A few highlights whilst in London to say goodbye to everyone and tidy up a few loose ends included; a last hoorah at the church with Scotty and Em dressing up in punk rock; spreading the cheer through East London with Scotty, Em, Novin, H, Marney and Jerry and stumbling on a parked London old school bus and trying to break the record for people jammed onto the front bonnet; dinner and drinks with one of our best mates Kate and Corey; a final dinner at Pepper Tree... the most convenient, speedy, and delicious Thai in London; the disturbed looks from bystanders as Vince and Corey, dressed as 'The Flash' and 'Captain America' rode the tubes to Scotty and Em's halloween party; seeing Corey try to squeeze his massive head into that hilarious Captain America kiddies size mask; one last jam session with Kate and Corey on Guitar Hero, Vince never did manage to master TOOL!

Our time experiencing the highs and lows of the UK and Europe were the best of our lives, we loved every single second of it and are so lucky to have the memories, share the lifelong friendships, but above all share in the fun and laughter with each other!

So then we left, on a jet plane, knowing like hell, that someday we will be back again!!!

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Photos

Last dinbner with the croatia crew
chick at the front in the white is a random though!