Gouda (yes, like the cheese)

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Geo: 52.0103, 4.70983

We drove over to Ed & Anja's place in Gouda, and got to meet their dog, Bandit. We walked over to the heart of Gouda. There was a festival going on (Waterstad), so lots of boats were in the canals, and entertainment in the parks (and canals). Anja took us through the local cathedral, which was huge! It's known for its stained glass windows, which were also huge – and beautiful. Sadly, you're not allowed to take photos inside the cathedral, so you'll just have to take my word for it.

We all (Ed & Anja, Ron, Elian, Shannon & Mike, Ans & Joop, and the 4 of us) had some lunch in a restaurant under a big awning, in a corner booth. Way too comfortable -- could've stayed there for hours. A little ice cream fueled the walk back. We stopped in to the stroopwafel shop (http://vd-berg.nl/web/index.php/vv-home) and picked up a little treat.

(Stroopwafels are lovely confections consisting of a caramel filling sandwiched between 2 thin wafer cookies. The Dutch are fond of warming one up on top of a cup of coffee. You can get them here in the States, but oh, the extra yumminess of a freshly made one!!)

The rest of the group headed back to Ans & Joop's place, while Dejo & I stayed with Ed. We had a ice chat, then some local pizza (Spidi's – tasty!). We went to watch his daughter Michelle in her (final) dance recital. It was a really nice ballet. Was kindof nice to have an hour or so of not needing to translate words. 😊 Just enjoying the universal language of dance.

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Photos

Bandit!
Dejo & I were jonesing for a dog fix, so it was nice to meet this fella

Hook 'em
Many buildings in Holland have hooks at the top, for pulling up furniture & stuff, as the staircases aren't known for their generous width...

Baby on board
They actually sell baby seats like this for the bikes -- babies on bikes all over the place! I'm just sorry I didn't get a good shot of someone talking on their cell while riding.