Well, a whole week since our last Internet connection, but two since I added anything to the blog, and it feels as if we have been on the move for at least two months!
Our departure was mildly eventful, as the plane left an hour earlier than our ticket indicated, but we made it, so no real drama there just a quick rush of adrenalin. The day time flight was wonderful for most of the way with excellent views over South Africa and Namibia. Shortly after Angola, cloud started to form and for the next while we read our books. The desert should have been spectacular but a major sand-storm cut out all sight of it, until we flew over Libya where we were amazed to see what looked like those big irrigation circles one sees in South Africa. When we got to Holland, we checked on the internet and found that they are, indeed, irrigation circles, but massive ones nearly a kilometer across.
Our drive from Dusseldorf to Oss in Holland took about one and a half hours and we were treated to the most wonderful sunset for most of the way. What could be called ‘misleading advertising’, as it was the last time we saw the sun for a week!
The following day we picked up our new home and Pieter kindly drove it home and parked it in front of their house so that we could pack it.
We spent the rest of the week buying groceries and trying to find places to store everything. No problem really as there is an amazing amount of storage space.
The Sunday following our arrival in Europe we drove to Smeermaas near Maastricht where we were to meet up with my sister, Carol, and her husband, Steve, who were staying with their daughter and family. And that is where disaster struck! While trying to stop the new puppy from running into the road, I trod awkwardly on something and there was a horrible popping sound from my ankle. After being almost carried into the house, it was decided that a visit to the local hospital was necessary as everyone was convinced that I had broken something, but five hours later, I was released with a very impressive bandage around my badly sprained ankle.
Of course, this all set us back a day and in the end we only left on Tuesday to go as far as a delightful little place called Le Crotoy on the Picardy coast. We both set our Tom-tom navigation aids and with the help of ‘Jane’ (as our ‘voice’ is called), we managed the navigation without problem. As we approached the town, which is on the Baie du Somme,, we passed a number of places that still had thick drifts of snow piled against walls and hedges from a snow-storm the day before and could only think of all the poor troops who had had to make their way across this dreadful terrain during the war. The following day we took a slow ride on a rather ancient little train which tours around the head of the Somme estuary and across the marshes to another quaint village called St. Valery du Somme which is apparently the port from which William the Conqueror left to attack the British in the famous Battle of Hastings. This was good excrsion for me as I still couldn’t walk with any comfort.
Our visit to Amiens the next day was a compromise. The cathedral is said to be twice the size of the Notre Dame in Paris and I can well believe it. I certainly wouldn’t have missed it for anything as the decoration is spectacular. Their special claim to fame is that they have the head of John the Baptist and it can be viewed – a bit gruesome as it resembles a shrunken head in a glass case on a tray, but, there you go, it draws the crowds!. After spending several hours wandering around the cathedral, we decided that a ‘sit-down’ type of afternoon occupation should be sought. And we found ‘Les Hortillonages’. This is a 300 hectare area, almost in the middle of the city which was previously developed as market gardens. Water from the Somme has been led around individual plots turning each allotment into an island. No longer used to supply the city with vegetables, they are now owned or rented out to anyone interested, and tourists can be taken around the canals on electric boats to enjoy the peace and beauty of the gardens. A few islands have been left to go wild, but mostly they are lovingly tended and are presently a riot of colour.
Our next stop was Honfleur in Normandy, reached by driving over the Pont de Normandie at Le Havre. This is fairly new and curves way up into the air in two loops. Very beautiful to look at, but a bit of a white-knuckle drive as the wind was quite strong at the top.
Our next and last stop with Steve and Carol will be on the Cotentin Peninsula which will be handy for them to catch the ferry back to the UK on Wednesday.
Our departure was mildly eventful, as the plane left an hour earlier than our ticket indicated, but we made it, so no real drama there just a quick rush of adrenalin. The day time flight was wonderful for most of the way with excellent views over South Africa and Namibia. Shortly after Angola, cloud started to form and for the next while we read our books. The desert should have been spectacular but a major sand-storm cut out all sight of it, until we flew over Libya where we were amazed to see what looked like those big irrigation circles one sees in South Africa. When we got to Holland, we checked on the internet and found that they are, indeed, irrigation circles, but massive ones nearly a kilometer across.
Our drive from Dusseldorf to Oss in Holland took about one and a half hours and we were treated to the most wonderful sunset for most of the way. What could be called ‘misleading advertising’, as it was the last time we saw the sun for a week!
The following day we picked up our new home and Pieter kindly drove it home and parked it in front of their house so that we could pack it.
We spent the rest of the week buying groceries and trying to find places to store everything. No problem really as there is an amazing amount of storage space.
The Sunday following our arrival in Europe we drove to Smeermaas near Maastricht where we were to meet up with my sister, Carol, and her husband, Steve, who were staying with their daughter and family. And that is where disaster struck! While trying to stop the new puppy from running into the road, I trod awkwardly on something and there was a horrible popping sound from my ankle. After being almost carried into the house, it was decided that a visit to the local hospital was necessary as everyone was convinced that I had broken something, but five hours later, I was released with a very impressive bandage around my badly sprained ankle.
Of course, this all set us back a day and in the end we only left on Tuesday to go as far as a delightful little place called Le Crotoy on the Picardy coast. We both set our Tom-tom navigation aids and with the help of ‘Jane’ (as our ‘voice’ is called), we managed the navigation without problem. As we approached the town, which is on the Baie du Somme,, we passed a number of places that still had thick drifts of snow piled against walls and hedges from a snow-storm the day before and could only think of all the poor troops who had had to make their way across this dreadful terrain during the war. The following day we took a slow ride on a rather ancient little train which tours around the head of the Somme estuary and across the marshes to another quaint village called St. Valery du Somme which is apparently the port from which William the Conqueror left to attack the British in the famous Battle of Hastings. This was good excrsion for me as I still couldn’t walk with any comfort.
Our visit to Amiens the next day was a compromise. The cathedral is said to be twice the size of the Notre Dame in Paris and I can well believe it. I certainly wouldn’t have missed it for anything as the decoration is spectacular. Their special claim to fame is that they have the head of John the Baptist and it can be viewed – a bit gruesome as it resembles a shrunken head in a glass case on a tray, but, there you go, it draws the crowds!. After spending several hours wandering around the cathedral, we decided that a ‘sit-down’ type of afternoon occupation should be sought. And we found ‘Les Hortillonages’. This is a 300 hectare area, almost in the middle of the city which was previously developed as market gardens. Water from the Somme has been led around individual plots turning each allotment into an island. No longer used to supply the city with vegetables, they are now owned or rented out to anyone interested, and tourists can be taken around the canals on electric boats to enjoy the peace and beauty of the gardens. A few islands have been left to go wild, but mostly they are lovingly tended and are presently a riot of colour.
Our next stop was Honfleur in Normandy, reached by driving over the Pont de Normandie at Le Havre. This is fairly new and curves way up into the air in two loops. Very beautiful to look at, but a bit of a white-knuckle drive as the wind was quite strong at the top.
Our next and last stop with Steve and Carol will be on the Cotentin Peninsula which will be handy for them to catch the ferry back to the UK on Wednesday.
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