Day 13 Docking in Hoorn, Bidding ,Thousand Islands

Day 13 Docking in Hoorn, Bidding in Broek op Langedijk, Realm of the Thousand Islands

We work up docked in Hoorn and the wind and rain was terribly strong.  Several of the girls rode the buses to Broek op Langedijk to attend a museum and vegetable auction.  They saw ladies dressed in traditional outfits for the area.  The visitors were given 50 cents each and then were able to bid on vegetables and fruits and actually left with the items they won.  Some people pooled their money and others didn’t. The girls had had to walk a long way to the buses in the pouring windy rain and were very wet and chilled.  The auction house itself was quite cool and damp since boats were pulled in with the items to be auctioned.  They also looked at a map of the ‘Thousand Islands’ and saw a demonstration of lots of tools used by the locals when farming.  They then went on a boat ride to see some of the ‘Thousand Islands. The boats were covered but because of the heavy rain on the outside and condensation on the island, the girls were not able to see much of anything. The islands were formed by the soil from dredging the canals and the islands are now rented out to people who raise fruits and vegetables on them.  Sue said the islands are smaller than the size of our riverboat.  There are windmills in this area of Holland that are used to signal births, deaths, and dangers such as German raids.  The ride back to the ship was sort of cool since everyone was wet and cold, but the long walk back from the bus to the ship was horrible.  The wind was brutal and everyone was very happy to be back on the ship.  I understand that several people got warm by taking hot showers once they were back on board.

Some of us decided to stay here and relax.  I had the reception lady call me a taxi and the taxi lady took me into town so that I could ship some heavy items home.  Holland no longer has post offices so the lady took me to a little convenience store and luckily they were not really busy.  The man had me put my items on the counter and we decided which boxes I needed to buy and then he had some bubble wrap from a shipment he had received yesterday and he used that to wrap the plates.  I had to have two boxes of different sizes so he taped them together and hopefully they will make it to Dalton without breaking. I also sent Frank’s three planes since they are quite heavy.  I shouldn’t have any trouble packing my clothing and souvenirs now, I hope.  The taxi lady waited on me so she brought me back to the ship.  Since I got a pretty good look at the city, I didn’t feel the need to go on the hour long walking tour in the afternoon.  I have spent the rest of the day mostly in the lounge working on photos, readying and knitting.

We had a Disembarkation Meeting where we were told everything about leaving the ship in a couple of days and tying up the loose ends.  Our group will have to have our large luggage outside our cabin doors by 6 a.m. Monday morning and we will have to be on the bus by 7 to leave to the airport.  Our flight leaves at 11 so we have lots of do before we board, mainly going through customs and taking care of the VAT tax.  Here, they charge a VAT tax of about 19% but when visitors fly out of the country they can get that back, IF they meet the requirements for that.  I hope to get back quite a bit from the purchase of my diamond necklace.  We already got that back at the Delft shop since we shipped those items home. 

There was a city walk of Hoorn but none of our group went on it.  People who did go on it described it as a ‘normal Dutch city’ with some nice old buildings.  I had seen some of it from the taxi and it looked pretty.  I spent the afternoon in the lounge working on photos, knitting, and talking.  It was a very nice afternoon.

We had a Captain’s Farewell Drink and Toast where they served us champagne or orange juice and the Captain gave a nice little speech.  The ship’s personnel were all quite dressed up and many of the passengers were.  I was dressed as always and glad to be comfortable.  Then we had the Captain’s Farewell Dinner which consisted of most everyone having filet mignon and farmer fries (which looked a lot like Lincoln Logs) and Baked Alaska.  The crew brought in the Baked Alaska lit with sparklers and it was nice to watch.

After the dinner we had a Crew Show which had a lot of little skits done by various crew members.  The skits were really cute, but my favorite was the one with the restaurant manager, David, acting as a waiter in an Italian restaurant and he did every thing wrong that was possible to do wrong to his customer!!  That was really a different side to David who is usually quite dour.  Another really good one was when about 10 of the crew did a little skit which involved individual sayings and actions where they barely avoided hitting each other as they performed.  The whole show was quite good and some people stayed after for dancing, but I left.

I was really tired.  All that hard work I did of sitting and knitting had really worn me out!!  Sue finally got warm again after her cold day out so we called it an early night for a change.

Day 12 Resting in Amsterdam, Flowering in Keukenhof

Day 12 Resting in Amsterdam, Flowering in Keukenhof

Today was special – we got to sleep as late as we wanted to this morning, for the first time!!  Some of us even missed breakfast because they slept so late.  I got up about 7 and went to the lounge to get online and upload photos.  People around me were online but I got thrown off after a few minutes and could not figure out what was wrong.  Sue figured out that I had maxed out my megabytes on my first password.  So, I got another one and got busy again.  I got photos from several days loaded onto the blog and then decided that I should go off the ship and look for a ‘brown café’.  I chose 43 photos to load on the blog and left the ship.  I walked quite a ways but soon realized that all the area surrounding our ship’s location is fairly new and therefore will not contain any old cafes.  The wind was so strong, it almost blew my longest scarf off my neck.  I returned to the ship and found that the photos were still loading.  Since it was lunch time, I took my computer to the restaurant and kept them going until they were done.  I did not have time to put captions, but maybe I’ll have a chance later.

Soon after lunch, we loaded the buses for the trip to Keukenhof.  We saw lots of cars, buses and bicycles going our direction and found out that many of them were going to the same place we were. As we neared the park (which was once the kitchen garden of a palace) we started seeing fields of blooming flowers – mainly tulips but also daffodils and hyacinths.  We even saw machinery that was chopping off the flowers so that the bulbs would develop more strongly. The parking lots were full and so was the park, but it never seems tooooooo crowded. 

Daniel had given us maps and explained the best places to go so we took off as soon as we arrived.  There were about 7 million bulbs planted this year and I believe it – the flowers were beautifully arranged in the flower beds and it was all just well done.  Words just can’t do the beauty justice so I won’t really try.  Look it up on the internet and I hope to load some of the hundreds of photos that we took today. My favorite part of the garden was the orchid house, but I expect the others had different favorites. Actually this garden is really created every year for the buyers of masses flowers so the sellers can showcase the quality of their flowers.  They opened it up to the public in 1988 and about a million people a year visit this park during the 9 weeks a year that it is open.  If you ever get a chance, go see it.  By the way, the weather was perfect – sunny and cool until you had stood too long in the sun.

We got back to the ship about dinner time and only had a few minutes to rest before dinner.  It was painful to stretch out and even more painful to stand up again.  Barbara’s pedometer registered 2 ½ miles today so I expect that’s about what we walked.  Seemed a lot farther to me!!!

Dinner was very good, even though Sarah Mc threw chicken at me.  Actually, she tried to give it to me and I tried to refuse it and it ended up in my lap.  It was an interesting transaction.  We had lentils and chicken, then soup, then butterfish, turkey or chicken breast for the main course, and then Dutch stuffed pancakes, fondue or ice cream for dessert.

After dinner, Sue and I went to the lounge to work on photos and the blog and there was a Dutch night for entertainment.  The program directors told us the history of Queen’s Day and then we played games.  The first game was musical chairs and you probably shouldn’t do that with elderly people.  The last two people in the game both fell down when the music stopped and we were afraid they were injured but they seemed to be okay after they were helped up.  They may be sore tomorrow though.  This game was declared a tie.  The next game had three contestants who had to eat a gingerbread cookie hanging from a string without using hands to assist them. It was fun to watch and the winner was the lady whose cookie did not fall to the ground.  The last game involved getting something hanging from the back of your waist into a bottle that was placed behind you.  This game was hilarious to watch and one man won it quickly.  The program directors also gave us different candies from Holland to sample.  It was a nice hour.

I’m about finished writing the blog and uploading photos and there are still many people here in the lounge listening to Keith playing the piano and singing.  Actually, they are mostly talking quite loudly but I think some are listening.

The plan for tomorrow is to go to Hoorn tonight and then take a bus in the morning to get on a smaller boat and view a vegetable auction that is conducted on boats. I think we will also tour the ‘Land of a Thousand Islands’ and then later go on a walking city tour of Hoorn, or at least some of us will.  During the day (Saturday) we will also have a meeting that will explain the process for leaving the ship on Monday morning.  We will be gone from the ship sometime early in the morning evidently because they next group of GCT travelers will be having lunch on the ship to begin their tours. 

I hate to leave but then again, I’m awfully tired and will enjoy getting home again.

Day 11 Alsmeer Flower Auction, Amsterdam Canals, Van Gogh

Day 11 Alsmeer Flower Auction, Amsterdam Canals, Van Gogh

We sailed all night and arrive in Amsterdam.  I woke up at 5 and got on up, dressed and went out to the public area to start knitting my cap.  I knew I would not be getting any more sleep and we had to get up early today anyway.  I talked to a man from Iowa for a while as we waited for the others (and the sun) to rise. 

We had breakfast starting about 5:45 and the buses left the ship at 6:30 to drive to Alsmeer and see the world famous flower auction that begins at 7 each workday morning.  Some of us napped on the way.  We arrived and walked a long way to the entrance and then walked an even longer way inside the building.  This building is larger than 300+ soccer fields and is filled with millions of flowers everyday.  Bidders from here and all over the world bid very quickly and efficiently on the flowers which are then immediately sent on their way to all corners of the world.  The flowers sold here are only the very best of the best, Grade A.  Visitors like our group walk on a special platform above the flowers and the auction room so that we do not interfere with their operations.  There are little hyster like vehicles that men drive all around picking up crates of flowers (that even make quite long trains of carts) and then taking them to trucks to be loaded on planes.  Daniel said that the building is basically empty by 9:30 and that is when more flowers start arriving for the next day.  There were beautiful flowers, MANY of them, but it was somewhat difficult to get a good photo cause they didn’t sit still for long.  Some of us took the longcut and some took a shortcut and got to the souvenir shop first – I’m not telling which cut I took but I bet you can guess!)  There will be several shipments of tulips and other bulbs arriving in north GA at the end of October and not just for me.  After everyone had a chance to place orders and buy souvenirs, we headed back to Amsterdam for a Canal Tour. On the way, Daniel and the rest of us discussed many topics including greeting magpies, cabbage patches versus storks, shooting chipmunks, squirrels and armadillos (it’s dangerous to shoot an armadillos since the bullet will bounce off the ‘armor’ and hurt the shooter, says Daniel), and other important things.

We arrived back, almost to the ship, and met up with the others in our group who chose not to go to the auction.  The canal tour boats were nice and large and had clear canopies over them.  We rode several of the canals, saw many beautiful and not so beautiful houseboats, OLD buildings that are generally 9, 18, or 36 feet wide, went under many, many bridges and just had a nice time.  Again, there was an old city and a new one.  Amsterdam must be booming because there is a lot of construction going on.  Daniel said you can drink the canal water and not die from it.  You will get horribly sick but not die.  Personally, I’ll not be drinking the canal water as it looked quite nasty.  They are always dredging the canals and often pull thousands of bicycles and other things from the canals each year.  Daniel also told us that if we accidently end up in the canal in our car to roll the windows up and stay up – we should be rescued and the car pulled up in about 15 minutes and the rescue will be free.  If we leave the car, it will be very expensive to get the car hauled up.  I think I’d rather pay that hope to survive 15 minutes underwater in the car!!!! We saw the red light district but the city is now trying to close it down because of the current issues of forcing girls from poor countries into prostitution. 

We walked to the ship after the canal experience and it was a cold, windy walk but we made it back in time for lunch.  Our waiters, Robert and Eka, are very entertaining and we are glad they are our waiters. 

We ordered a taxi (a mini van taxi that holds 8 people) to pick us up at 2 so that we could go to the Van Gogh Museum. Barbara from California went we us.  We had a nice long ride but made it there and he gave us his card so we could call him when we were ready to leave the museum.  Across and down the street from that museum is the Coster Diamond museum and showroom.  I’ve decided I like diamonds and thought that perhaps I should get another one since I’m in Amsterdam which is so famous for its diamond dealers.  So, I went to Costers while the others went on to see the art.  When I told them I would like to see the showroom, she had a lady come down and meet me to take care of me.  Naturally, we went up a lot of steps and then across a clear enclosed sidewalk from one of the old buildings to another one.  The showroom was stunning – nice stuff.  I told her I would like to buy something that cost less that 500 Euros and she said they didn’t have anything at that price.  Gee!!  So I asked to see something in that area – so she called ‘up’ and ‘they’ sent something down in a container like the drive thru teller uses.  While we were waiting for it to arrive, I asked the prices of some of the items in the showcase just in front of me – they start at 10,000 Euro and went up.  I quit asking at 40,000+!!  My diamonds had arrived by then – doesn’t that sound nice and fancy – so I looked at them.  They certainly were much smaller than those in the showcase.  Eventually I decided on one that was more than I had planned to pay, but I really like it.  I also like the chain I bought so now I have a diamond necklace.  Guess it’ll be a really long time before I travel again.  Actually, it was not too bad – less than 700 Euros by the time I get my VAT tax back at the airport, if I can remember to do that and I think with this much at stake, I’ll remember!!

Then I went over to the Van Gogh museum and saw how long the line was!!!  Turns out those people were waiting to buy tickets which we had done while on the ship the night before.  The line for those people who already had tickets was non-existent because the man immediately scanned my ticket and I walked right in.  Nice.  I had to go through a metal detector and many people had to go back to store their backpacks, umbrellas, water bottles and so on, but I breezed right through.  Thank goodness.  I soon found the other girls who were of course much farther along than I was, so I started wandering around the museum with thousands of other people (or so it seemed).  I was very impressed with his work and the way it changed during his career.  So impressive and so sad that he had such a short career.  My favorites were Sunflowers and Night.  I plan to research Van Gogh and his paintings later when I have internet access.  We sat for a while at the café, then toured the gift shop, then called our taxi driver to come pick us up.  We had to wait 30 – 40 minutes for him to arrive so of course, we shopped a little more.  He took us around Amsterdam just a little and told us about the city but we soon arrived back at the ship. 

Seeing as there was nothing we HAD to do at that time, which is very unusual for us), we set about resting, reading, napping or whatever.  I wrote the blog for yesterday and the one for today up until lunch.  Dinner was nice as always and we discussed lots of topics including the other GCT guests.  We have named some of them – Gorilla Man, Creepers, Creeper Keepers, Flip, the Sisters, the Romans, Cat Lady (mother of Mittens)  – but we don’t mean anything bad by those names, they are just ways to differentiate people on board.  We have met some wonderful people and made several new friends.  After dinner, we all met in Paula and Sarah’s room so we could view a photo Paula took of Anne Frank’s house that has Sarah R’s reflection in it – it is sorta spooky but interesting.  We then sat around and talked and laughed and lots of people stopped by to see what kind of party we were having so of course we had a group photo taken.  That one turned out kind of bad so we had to have another one taken.  J

Now, we have all gone our own ways and are looking forward to tomorrow.  We have no commitments in the morning unless we want to go on a two hour walk of the Red Light District with no stops for water or bathroom.  None of us are going, that’s for sure.  I’m considering getting on the streetcars and riding around the city and perhaps finding a ‘brown café’ to explore.  That type of café is one that is old, sometimes with beautiful wood details and stained glass windows or it might just be one for the older locals to inhabit that has turned brown on the inside because of the centuries of cigarette or pipe smoke that has accumulated. Be sure to notice that brown cafes do not have anything to do with drugs like some of the coffeehouses have to do with drugs.  Or I might just stay on the ship and enjoy some restful time like the others in our group plan to do.  In the afternoon, we are traveling on the buses to Keukenhof, acres of flowers that will require lots and lots of walking.  The weather forecast calls for mostly sunny with only 20% chance of rain.  Chances are good that we may have one day without rain – that would be nice. 

Day 10 Walking in Nijmegen, Touring Floriade Day

Day 10 Walking in Nijmegen, Touring Floriade Day

We woke up in Nijmegen which is not a tourist city, for a change.  Most of us went on the walking tour of the city and our local guide was formerly a doctor.  He spoke with a very refined accent and I could see him playing the part of Freud or someone like that. 

We toured the older part of the city and it was very interesting.  It has beautiful buildings, interesting streets and wonderful churches.  Each of these cities that we have toured are similar in some ways but very different in other ways.  It’s always pretty obvious that the local guides love their cities.

We disbanded in the square where the old city meets the new city and had about an hour before we had to be back on the ship.  I asked a lady pushing a baby carriage if there was a yarn or wool shop in the city and after thinking for a couple of moments remembered one in the ‘mall’.  I suppose it really is a mall because it is a collection of stores, but the front door to the mall is right on the main street and it really looks like a shop itself.  I went to Popoos and found that it is mainly a hobby shop with all kinds of things for sale but one small corner did contain yarn.  Of course, I bought some – nothing fancy but it is such a deep shade of purple that it appears to be black. 

I then went back to the ship and found that everyone else had returned but no one had done much shopping.  However, needless to mention but I will anyway, Sue found an Apple store and of course, bought something there.

We had lunch and left about 1:30 for Venlo to visit the Floriade, the horticultural expo that is held once every ten years.  Naturally, when we got there, it started raining and raining the entire time and this event is 90% outdoors.  The Floriade is a fairly large expo that contained buildings from many countries with displays of goods (think souvenirs) from their country (Sue and I bought olive forks which Linda later told us were actually brain pickers!!), artistic displays such as sculpture (think concrete sofas and trees wrapped in knitting), greenhouses with beautiful displays (fabulous orchids and thousands of other plants), an amphitheater (where a dance show was given – hopefully it will be up on facebook at some point), and many other activities.  We walked and walked (in the rain) and then boarded a gondola to travel up and over the whole place and it was a nice birds’ eye view.  After a very long day, we were able to get back on the buses and go back to the ship.  During that bus ride I was able to finish knitting the scarf I had begun while in Bruges – now to knit the shroom cap and I sure do hope I have enough yarn.

We set sail soon after arriving back at the ship heading through canals and many locks to Amsterdam.   Again, there was no internet service!!!!

Dinner was a very exciting time for me.  We decided that we should visit the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam on the next day, if we could get tickets.  (We were very disappointed not to be able to get tickets to Anne Frank’s house.)  I used my phone and got on the internet and found we could get tickets so I started that process.  Part way through I had to go get my credit card so I could pay for them.  I went to the reception desk to ask if I could email them to the ship and have them print them out for us – they said yes, of course. After filling out lots of information, the tickets showed up on my computer but the tickets were not emailed to me, I had to print them out from a page on the internet.  I found out the reception desk could not do that after I got up and went to talk to them again!!  I was upset that I may have just wasted 140 Euro (for 10 tickets).  About that time someone noticed a beautiful, bright double rainbow outside the window as we were sailing along.  We kept trying to get photos of it, but decided the inside of the ship was not the place to take those photos so I got up and went to the top of the ship.  On the way out, I heard a lady on the other side of the ship talking about how beautiful the double rainbow was so I realize that it was a full double rainbow.  I got to the sun deck and took photos but the rainbow was so large, I couldn’t get a really good photo of it.  It truly is the brightest rainbow I’ve ever seen.  The clouds between the parts of the double rainbow were much darker that the other clouds in the sky – it was really beautiful.  I stood in the rain making photos and I adjusted my camera to make a ‘panorama’ shot of it so that shot may look pretty good.  Hopefully.  Then I went back to dinner and tried copy and paste to get the tickets on an email to send to the ship.  I thought I got it so I got up and went back to ask them to check, but the bar codes on the tickets had not come through.  Bummer.  Every time I would return to the table, I would gobble up the previous course in between fooling with the ticket problem.  That obsessive nature of mine does cause me problems some times.  Anyway I tried a different method of copy and paste and this method seemed much better.  After dinner was over I sent the email but couldn’t get my 3G to work.  Turns out we were about 25 feet down between the concrete barriers of a lock!!!  After exiting the lock, the email went out and through some strange process the ship was able to ‘replicate their hard drive from the home office’ or something and they were able to print them out.  The bar codes for the ten tickets appear to be legible.  Hallelujah!!!

It was now after 10 p.m. and my feet and legs were killing me – the Floriade really did me in!!!!  I got to bed as soon as possible and found out that I couldn’t go to sleep!!  I was certainly tired enough, but sleep just would not come. I’d have thought that OJ and vodka would have helped me sleep but not.  I think I finally got to sleep about 11:30 and then I woke up at 5 a.m. and knew I would not be getting back to sleep so I got up and dressed.  This is a story for the next day. 

Day 9 Rotterdam, Delft, Kinderjilk

Day 9 Waking in Rotterdam, Shopping in Delft, Viewing Windmills

We woke up on a very wavy river Maas in Rotterdam and the boat rocked the whole time we were docked there.  We had a nice breakfast as always, and then loaded the buses to visit the city of Delft. As we drove through Rotterdam the guide talked about how the city had been destroyed by the Germans because they were a little late surrendering to the Germans during WWII.  Since then they have built the city, mainly in the modern style and is not a particularly pretty city.  It is a very busy city and traffic was terrible on the way to Delft.

The city of Delft is a very pretty city and was not harmed during the war.  We first went to a Delft factory and the owner explained how Delft used to have many breweries until business went bad and those breweries were changed to making china.  This china business did not prosper until these businesses started imitating the china coming from the Chinese.  Then Delft china became very prosperous and now is world famous.  However, the real Delft is quite expensive and is now being imitated by the Chinese!!  That’s how history happens, I suppose. 

The owner explained the process of making the china and all the firings that are done and then about the painting.  I missed the last part because I had already started shopping and didn’t pay attention to the entire lecture.  I found several pieces I wanted and put them in a small basket to protect it while I shopped some more. I really wanted a plate painted in several colors but just could not bring myself to buy it.  That stuff IS expensive.  I did buy my mother a flower vase, one small ‘wooden’ shoe, a magnet, and a small, very small, platter.  I knew that if I had them ship it home, I wouldn’t have to fool with packing it and protecting it, so that was fairly important to me.  When I found out that they would reduce the price by 19% by not charging me the VAT tax I decided that I would definitely ship it.  I mentioned that to the others and Sue and Sarah MC decided that we should all ship all our purchases together and save money.  So instead of each of us paying 32.5 Euro each, we paid 50 Euro total for shipping.  We probably spent more money than we had planned, but we’ll probably be glad.  Others shopped but I don’t really know what they bought, if anything. 

After leaving that shop, some of us joined the walking tour and others went on their own to do a little shopping and not so much walking.  The walking tour was interesting in that we saw lots more canals and the old church and the new church.  Both were very nice and I have a decent photo of the carved king’s sarcophagus which includes his dog at the king’s feet.  The stained glass was beautiful.  I think my favorite part of the town was called the Butter Bridge – it’s a canal that goes perhaps 500 feet but in underneath the brick sidewalk.  So it’s a covered canal and the sidewalk is gently raised over it. 

We then had some special tiny pancakes with a special name I can’t pronounce or spell – sorry about that.  Then we had free time and I bought some ‘cheap’ Delft magnets and I also bought a watch at a shop where they sell very expensive watches and clocks.  I asked the man for the cheapest watch he had and I liked it enough to buy it for less than 30 Euro.  I have now bought myself a necklace and a watch in addition to having my hair style severely changed.  Wonder if I’m having a mid-life crisis?!?!?!  No, wait – it’s way too late for that.  Oh, well.  When I got back on the bus, I found out that Bonnie from Rome, GA had found a yarn shop and bought beautiful yarn.  I tried to get off the bus and get to the yarn shop, over the shouted objections from my FRIENDS, but the GCT guide assured me that there would be a yarn shop in the city we visit tomorrow. 

We got back to the boat and immediately went to lunch and the ship left Rotterdam headed for Kinderjilk – I probably spelled that wrong.  We got there and left the ship by 3:30 for a walking tour that included a boat ride in order to see the 19 windmills.  It started raining about the time we got there and rained until we left, sometimes quite hard.  We did a lot of walking, as always, but toured inside a windmill.  It was interesting and I realize how small the inside is (considering a good portion of it is taken up by large gears that are part of the windmill works) and how large their families often were (up to about 13 children). The different levels of the windmill are connected by very steep steps. VERY STEEP!!  I climbed to the first upper level, but waited there for Sarah MC and Sue to go on to the top.  I climbed down, very slowly, to a lot of encouragement, and was so glad to reach the bottom.  That was scary!!!! The purpose of the windmills was mainly to move water from one canal to another so that it could be moved to the river and taken away from the living areas.  All but one of these windmills are still lived in and there is a long waiting list to be allowed to live in one of them.  The windmills do operate but there was no wind today so they were not turning.  It was a nice afternoon, but my feet and legs really hurt by the end of it. 

We got back to the ship and rested a short while before dinner and the ship left that port headed for dinner. Sue and I dried off our deck chairs and actually sat in the deck for a little while and it was nice. The weather might have reached almost 60 degrees and that is indeed balmy after the last several days.   Again, dinner was very nice and our waiters have gotten used to our idiosyncrasies and so they are not at all surprised when Sarah and I request the alternative – grilled chicken breast.  I also request the vanilla ice cream instead of the fancy desserts they offer.  Tonight, the others had salmon, perch, or some type of pasta along with a soup and an appetizer.  The desserts were tiramisu and some fancy ice creams.  We had a wonderful time during dinner watching the river, riverbanks and the other traffic on the river.  It was beautiful mainly because the weather had turned beautiful. 

After dinner, Linda and I went to the guides to discuss the visit to Nimjagen tomorrow.  This city is not a tourist city and so we may go on the walking tour in the morning, at least for a little while until we find the yarn shop!!!  The others are not sure if they will go or if they will rest up for the afternoon trip to the Floriade.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

We have not had wi-fi for three days now.  I have not been able to upload photos or send the blog, but I hope to be able to in the morning after the yarn shop.  I’ve got to have my priorities in the right place, right???   I have just about knitted a scarf on the trip – it’s about as long as I am tall, but I want it to be a little longer.  Then I plan to make a shroom cap from the rest of the yarn – good thing I bought two skeins of it!!!  I learned the pattern in Bruges – I think I’ve told you about that already so I’ll stop. 

Nite.

Day 8 Veere and Delta Works

Day 8 Walking in Veere and Touring the Delta Works

I slept really well last night until 3:56 in the morning.  Then I couldn’t go back to sleep so I got up, got dressed and went out to the lounge.  I had hope that I wouldn’t disturb Sue, but it turns out that she woke up at 3 and didn’t go back to sleep.  I took my computer and read all alone in the almost dark lounge for a while.  We were traveling through the water very quickly and it was just a really peaceful time.  I stood up to watch up go through a lock and that was when another man came in. Then other people started filtering in about 6 or so. 

Some of us met at breakfast at about 7 and I had my usual fruit plate with lots of bacon and hot tea.  Then I went back to my cabin, put my bed back down and took a nap until 9. It was a wonderful nap.  I was on the shore by 9:30 with the rest of group to take a walking tour of the village of Veere.  We had to walk across two other riverboats to get to shore and that meant a trip up steps on one of them and down steps on another one.

Insert photo of ships

We walked to the top of the dyke and then on the pathway on the top for quite a ways to the edge of the town.  We saw lots of pretty doorways, buildings, cobblestones and lace curtains in the windows.  Our guide told us lots of interesting stories about the village and also told us about the flood of 1953 – that was a really terrible flood for this region.  We went down a non-car street that is the main tourist street of the village and saw more beautiful buildings, flowers and nice shops.

The rest of the group went back to the ship and planned to return to the village after lunch to shop more.  Since I planned to go on the optional trip to the Delta Works, I had to do my shopping before returning to the ship.  I went into several stores and in one of them found just what I wanted.  I try to buy a place setting of china on each trip so that I have a variety of them. I had considered getting a Delft place setting but knew that would be very expensive.  In one of these stores, I found a very inexpensive set that I just love.  I also found an apple baker and a mug that I just had to have. 

Insert photo of dishes

I got back to the ship and found the girls in the lounge where the silversmith was giving a demonstration and his wife was collecting money hand over fist selling what he had made.  Thing is, nothing was cheap.  People were spending hundreds of dollars at a time.  I talked myself into and out of quite a few things, but I ended up not overspending.  I did get Rachel and my Aunt Martha a windmill necklace (sorry about spoiling the surprise, Rachel) and then I walked away.  However, I walked back again.  He really made beautiful things and I finally got myself what I really wanted.  It was expensive, but I do really like it and might actually start wearing necklaces again so that I can wear it.

After several of us spent our retirement on the silver jewelry, several of the group went back to town for their afternoon entertainment.  They had a very good meal, asparagus soup and cheese sandwiches, tomato soup and ham and cheese sandwich and a ham salad.  They sat in the sun for lunch and some of them think they actually got some sun.  They went to some shops and some of us bought souvenirs (sheep) and went to the pastry shop and got bolus (sticky buns). They came back to the shop where they held a bolus party.  After the paper, most of them were worn out and napped. 

The rest of us stay on the ship for lunch and then I went on the Delta Works optional trip.  It was, thankfully, a short bus ride.  We watched a 15 minute movie about the Flood of 1953 and the man next to me snored the whole time.  Then we watched a 25 minute movie about the building of the Delta System and I slept through about half of it, so I don’t have a total understanding of the construction process.  We then rode the bus to the actual dams.  Here is a short description of the process.  After the big flood, they built several huge dykes across the areas where the North Sea enters Holland and by doing this they created huge freshwater lakes which no longer flood.  In this area I visited today, they built two islands, one of them three miles long and to connect these islands to each side of the mainland, they built a system of 62 dams that can be lowered to block the North Sea from entering this huge waterway.  The dams are kept open almost all the time except when there are fierce storms that would cause floods. These dams have been closed only about twenty something times since they were finished in 1986.  They are all lined up in long rows and are true miracles of engineering and I’m very glad I got to see them. 

Insert photo of the dams.

We then rode back to the ship and we gathered in the lounge for the Inner Circle Party (for people who have made three or more trips with Grand Circle).  They met in the front of the lounge and the rest of us met for talking in the back of the lounge.  One of the Inner Circle members told the group about her most memorable trip – it involved taking two pills during the night only to wake up and find out that she had taken one pill and one earring!!  She said that about 36 hours later, everything came out okay!!!!!  One couple is now taking their 23^rd GCT trip – that’s a lot of money but I’m sure they have enjoyed them. 

Daniel then gave our port talk telling us about tomorrow when we visit Rotterdam, which is where he was born and raised. While some people go to Rotterdam, others will head to Delft to see all about Delft Ware, and who knows, we might even do a little shopping. We will also be sailing to a place with 19 windmills – and I am really looking forward to that.  It will be a busy day, as usual.

Dinner was typical.  We start about 7, after one of us races to the dining room to make sure we get OUR table and dinner ends after 8:30.  That’s a long dinner, but we have a cold appetizer, a hot appetizer, a main course, dessert, coffee.  Whew!!  Sometimes some of us even have a little wine, just to help with digestion of course.  Tonight we had haddock, pork wellington, potatoes, sponge cake, ice cream and lots of other stuff.

Insert photo of food or menu

The weather today was the best so far – mostly sunny blue skies until about 6 p.m. when it started to rain and it has rained ever since.  It was very windy and cold at the Delta Works but it wasn’t too bad inland where the ship was docked.  That didn’t sound right because the ship is docked on water but it is away from the North Sea and is somewhat protected by the land.

Day 7 Terneuzen, Ghent, Zeeland I have not

I am barely on the internet and it is day 10 so I will upload days 7, 8, 9 while I have the chance. I have not loaded any photos yet.

Day 7 Floating in Terneuzen, touring Ghent, Cultural Zeeland

(We were told that we will have to internet service today or tomorrow so I know you will be getting this later, but that’s the way it has to be.)

We woke up parked in Terneuzen, along with quite a few long barges, and breakfasted early since we needed to be on the bus to drive to Ghent.  The ride was only about half an hour and Daniel entertained us with stories about the Netherlands and Belgium.  One comment he made was a Dutch saying of “Behave normally, that’s crazy enough!” 

We arrived in Ghent and it was immediately apparent that it is quite a large city and has been a powerful city for many years, hundreds of years, based on the very nice and large buildings and churches.  The three bus loads of GCT people went off with three local guides and we walked around the city for about an hour or so.

Insert photo of guide

One of the first memorable things we saw was an outdoor urinal for men right on the side of the street!!

Insert photo here of urinal

We saw many of the typical straight up, tall houses and shops all along the streets.

Insert photo of houses

The streets (and sidewalks mostly) are cobblestones, some arranged in patterns but mostly plain.  They are redoing some of the sidewalks and making new cobblestone walkways. 

Insert photo of cobblestones

We crossed quite a few bridges over canals.  Again, the buildings are built into the side of the canals usually.

Insert photo of canals.

We saw a castle and the guide told us how death and torture took place there.  She even told us about how when people were executed they were given a choice of whether to die by having their body boiled in water or oil!!!!

Insert photo of castle

I noticed that Sarah MC has a habit left over from her teacher days and I call it her ‘herd dog instinct’ because she trails along at the end of the group making sure that none of the students, or seniors, got lost or left behind.  It’s so interesting to watch. After about an hour we met back up with Daniel on the square with the cathedral and shops. 

Insert photo from Sarah with high up photo

We could stay there and shop for an hour or go back to where we left the buses and visit the market, or flea market, that was taking place.  Most of our group stayed near the square but I walked back to the market and found some old Flemish tools that I think Frank might like.  I found some old planes and a handmade long screwdriver.  If he doesn’t like them, I’ll give them to some one else. One of the planes is very narrow and the blade is strangely shaped to create a decorative design. I do hope they won’t weigh my luggage down too much, but at 2 Euro each, I just couldn’t pass them up.

Insert photo of tools

Amazingly enough, we’ve only had a very few minutes of rain so far today.  Of course, that may change before the day is over but it’s been nice and sunny, quite cool but sunny and we’ve all enjoyed that very much. 

We had lunch on the ship. It was mainly buffet but Sarah MC and I had hamburgers and fries.  The others had ‘strange’ foods that they enjoyed a great deal.  Dessert was ice cream with raisins and/or apple stuffed pancakes.  The servers were all dressed at Dutch sailors since we are now in Holland.

Insert photos of food and maybe servers

The activities for the afternoon include blog writing, reading, napping, walking though the city of Terneuzen (a typical Dutch city in which the ship is parked for the day) or touring Cultural Zeeland on the bus (which is where Linda and Sarah R are right now). 

Linda and Sarah R came back from their optional tour and they gave us a short report for the blog.  Their first stop was a windmill that has been in operation since 1720 and is still producing all the grains for the town of Axel where the windmill is located.  The grain is evenly divided among all the bakers of the town in order to prevent competition among the bakers.  They would not even allow the visitors to buy any to take out of town!!  The second stop was a presentation of local traditional costume. The man and woman doing the presentation got Daniel to help them and they dressed him in a man’s and a woman’s costume.  Linda and Sarah said it was hilarious and there are photos that support that. They then went to a small restaurant and had a small traditional Dutch pastry called a bolus.  They really enjoyed it.   

Insert photo Daniel in costume here

Shortly afterward, we had a stop ‘port talk’ about next day’s activities and then we raced for the dining room.  Last night, another group got our table and said it was their table.  We made a plan and sat in the back of the lounge so that we could get to the dining room first and claim OUR table.  We were successful.  We had salmon, beef tenderloin and grilled chicken along with shrimp cocktail, soup, and apple crumb and rum ice cream/cream sauce. 

Insert dinner photo

We had a Dutch Language lesson in the lounge after dinner and Daniel did a good job entertaining us by trying to teach us Dutch words and phrases.  Needless to say, I will not be speaking any Dutch any time soon.  It sounds like a difficult language to me.

Our plan for tomorrow is to wake up in Veere after traveling most of the night and then walk around the city during the morning.  We will return to the ship before noon to see a demonstration by a silversmith onboard.  Then some of us will return to see more of the city, some will stay onboard to do whatever is desired, and I will go on the optional tour to see the Delta Works, which is the system developed to help prevent flooding.

Today the weather was very very nice most of the day.  We had about five minutes of rain on the way back from Ghent and then it rained for about 15 minutes during dinner.  Otherwise it was mostly partly sunny.  Everyone is doing well and having a good time. 

Day 6 in Antwerp

Day 6 in Antwerp

I slept fairly well and got up about 7 in order to go to the lounge and try the internet.  It stopped last night, I guess everyone got on at one time or something.  I was able to upload photos on the blog for Day 5, so check it out when you can.  The internet was just flying at 7 and I wish it would stay that way but it won’t.  We met for breakfast at 8 and enjoyed the buffet.  They had all kinds of breakfast foods and evidently it was all good. 

We then had a meeting for everyone on the ship to discuss the optional trips and today’s city walk.  There are four optional trips available but in our group no one is doing the Zeeland trip, only I am doing the Delta Works tour (to see how they prevent flooding here), we are all do the Delft tour (yea, shopping for Delft china!!), and none of us are going to the Hague.  The rest of the time we will be on the ship or visiting the towns and villages and cities (including Amsterdam). 

Then we got warmly dressed and met on the dock for the city tour of Antwerp. As we stood beside the ship, I thought I had made a huge mistake not bringing scarp, gloves and wearing cuddleduds because the wind was brisk, think overpoweringly cold.  However, as we walked we were shielded by buildings and I warmed up.  Our guide was a man named Paul who really thought he had a sense of humor – Maybe he does.  This city has been destroyed several times by different armies, but there is an old part of the city wall left that is now called a ‘the castle’.  The city has a system where you can belong and use a city bicycle anywhere in the city and just leave it when you are done and then get another when you need one. 

We walked about the city past the Meat House also called the Bacon House because of its appearance.  We went to Peter Paul Reuben’s studio and heard about how he painted some of his pictures and his students painted others so that he could just sign his name to them.  We then went to the Cathedral which is being renovated, but it is still beautiful. 

We have returned to the ship and some of us are resting, some are kindling, some are ipading and then there is me, who is writing the blog.  Right now the internet is fast so I’ll try to load more photos.  I’ll be back in a while.

Day 5 - Bruges, Atlantikwall, Antwerp

Day 5 – Bruges, Atlantikwall, leaving for Antwerp

Last night, I took TWO sleeping pills and then I slept very well.  I did have a nightmare about my blowing up a bank but otherwise, it was wonderful.  I feel much better today.  Sue and I woke up about 9:30 or so and went to breakfast.  We ate with the other six who were still in town and then Sue and I set off on a mission. Sue bought more chocolate and then bought a box at the post office and mailed some things home.  Then I bought a fan to have on the riverboat because that noise is helpful when I go to sleep. Next door was the chocolateir shop that one of the ladies recommended so we went there.  I bought chocolate – lots more than I should have probably, but the piece I tried was wonderful!!!! So, of course, the next stop was the post office again.  We mailed more chocolate and souvenirs home.  We’ve spent a lot on postage, but at least we don’t have to bother with it anymore or wonder how much space and weight it will add to our luggage. 

We then walked to the church with a Michelangelo statue.  The church was beautiful and I’m really glad we went.  We also got to see the catacombs that are protected by glass.  While we were in the church, we heard the rain and found out later that it was also hailing!!  I have missed snow and hail while here in Bruges!!  Dang it. We wandered back a new path and returned to the hotel.  I’ve spent time typing today and yesterday’s blog and uploading photos – that takes forever – and we are waiting on the trippers to return so that we can leave for Antwerp.  Linda thinks she may have lost her phone so she’s searching for that.  I think I’ll not be having lunch, but I just happen to have a little hunk of chocolate with nuts with me so I expect I’ll survive. 

Phyllis and Sarah MC got up early in the morning and left at 7:45 to tour the Atlantikwall which was the fortifications Germany set up to protect its western front. After a hour long bus ride, they viewed examples of bunkers, buildings, restored period furniture, equipment and weapons. They walked around listening to an audio program that told them what they were seeing at each site.  From there they traveled to the fishing village of Damme where they rode a boat back to Bruges.  The boat ride was very nice and they had a beer to make the trip more pleasant while they saw lots of mama and baby ducklings.  The weather was clear and warm.  There were lots of numerous stairs and low entrances to the various buildings.  They were both glad they went to this historical site and enjoyed the trip very much. 

About 30 minutes after that bus returned we left Bruges on a very crowded bus.  There was so much luggage that we had to put some of the large luggage inside the bus with us.  This was another hour or so bus ride to Antwerpt and Daniel talked about the history of Belgium and Holland.  Those of us in back kept watching Paula to see if she was going to fall out of her seat as she appeared ready to do – she kept trying to take a little nap until she would suddenly wake up again.  She never did fall out of the seat but there are other bus rides to come so there is still hope.   

We got to Antwerp in terrible traffic and then we got to the boat landing.  I have never seen so many tour buses in one place!!!  There was a large cruise ship here and at least one more riverboat and we had to walk across the other riverboat to get on to ours.  I didn’t expect the boat to be so fancy.  There is a lot of gold and crystal in the common areas.  Our rooms are located on the top floor right next to the reception desk so we are pretty much right in the middle between the lounge area and the dining room.  I think we are in a perfect location.  We had sandwiches, fruit and drinks when we arrived and then had an orientation meeting about safety and procedures, then supper at 7.

 We also got treated to an unusual sight.  A fireboat/tugboat put on a water display and they do this whenever a large ship leaves the port.  It was very impressive.

 It was all quite fancy.  Looks like they will be taking very good care of us on this boat.  Our cabin is plenty roomy and we have a balcony also.  Sue and I both got unpacked and got everything put up before the meeting began.  I also went up on the sun deck and as I walked by the wheelhouse – I guess that’s what I call it – I hesitated.  The man inside saw me looking uncertain and asked what he could do to help me.  I explained that I would like to tour the wheelhouse and he graciously invited me in, showed me how it all worked, then took my photo sitting in the captain’s chair.  Turns out he is the captain.  I really like how nice he was about it all. 

It’s now after 9 pm and we are back in our cabins and Sue and I are about ready for bed.  We had a very nice but long day and we have another long day tomorrow so we will hit the sack soon.  We will have a walking tour of Antwerp in the morning and then we can come back to the ship for lunch or we may remain in town for longer (possibly for shopping????).  We will set sail from Antwerp about 5 tomorrow evening so we do plan to be back on board by then.  I’m thinking that since Antwerp is a major city dealing with diamonds that my shopping may focus on getting me a diamond or two.  Maybe a photo of a diamond or two.  Time will tell.

Day 4 Bruges, Flanders Fields, and Oudenaarde

Day 4 – Bruges, Flander’s Field and Outaarade

I did not sleep well last night and I think I kept Sue awake also.  I just can not get my sleeping straightened out.  Some of the others are also having trouble sleeping while others are doing great.  I guess a 6 hour time change takes time to adjust. 

We met for breakfast and then some of us went on a carriage ride.  It was a half hour ride and mainly covered the same ground as yesterday’s walking tour but it was a nicely different perspective.  The clip clop of the horse’s hooves and the motion of the carriage was nice.  We stopped half way through for a break for the horse and got to see lots of swans and ducks.  We also took a ‘few’ photos, as usual.  I got lucky and got horse slobber on my coat when he turned around and pushed at me.  I’m always sooooo lucky.

After the ride was over, some of us left on foot for the church that has the Michelangelo statue while I headed back to the room to charge my phone and then left for the church.  Turns out the church was closed for a funeral to take place.  It took a lot of walking for us to learn that.  After more walking and shopping, I ran into part of the group on the way to get Belgium Fries but since I had a Belgium Waffle in my hand, I didn’t join up with them.  I asked the concerige about where I could buy a small oscillating fan to help cool the room and found out they would loan me one.  Great.  When he brought it up to the room, he also explained the thermostat and how to use it.  I think I may sleep better tonight.  Course, it’ll be the last night in this hotel, but still . . . one night of good sleep would be nice.  He also told me a place I may able to buy one so that we can use that on the riverboat. 

We loaded up the bus for the ride to Oudenaarde and the bus was full.  It took about 1 ½ hours to get there but we went through beautiful countryside.  I did a lot of knitting on my scarf using the Brioche pattern, but made a major error in it – I decided to leave it alone to show that it was handmade.  We arrived at the American Cemetery in Flanders Field. It is a wonderfully maintained place and just very nicely done.  We learned about the designing of the cemetery and the connection to Charles Lindbergh who fly over and dropped poppies on it.  The man in charge is a very nice looking American, former Navy, and he is posted here.  All American military cemeteries around the world are maintained my former American military people.

We then rode another fifteen minutes into the city and again, it is a beautiful city.  It has been a wealthy city for centuries because the commerce of the city has been tapestries.  We had a demonstration of how they are made and how the old ones are being restored.  Both processes are very time consuming, expensive and intense.  We then went to the city hall and toured their collection of restored tapestries.  We were all very tired of standing up by the end, but it was very interesting.  While we were there we saw a bridge being raised so that barges could pass underneath it on the river.  That town is a few kilometers from the ocean and the rivers are very important for commerce.  Bruges used to be a major trading area but the river silted up so now the canals are maintained only for the tourists. 

We went to dinner in a family restaurant.  We had Flemish Stew with warmed apples/applesauce and chocolate mousse.  Of course, we also had Belgium fries. 

We started home and I decided the since I had made another mistake in my scarf to rip it all out even though I had about one foot done.  The rest of the ball of yarn had become a real mess and I despaired of ever getting it unraveled and put in a neat ball, but Sarah MC worked very hard on it and got it all fixed up.  Paula had one end of the yarn wrapped up in a ball and I had the other end of it wrapped in a ball, but by the end of the bus ride, it was all nice and neat.  Maybe I’ll start again in a day or so.  Daniel talked to us all the way to the cemetery, city and dinner, but he agreed not to do so on the way back. 

When we returned, we sort of started getting ready to check out of the hotel in the morning.  We are all very tired and our feet and legs and backs hurt, but it’s not slowing us down too much.    I prepared all my clothing for the next day in case I couldn’t sleep again during the night so that I could leave the room without disturbing Sue too much.  I also had a long conversation with Frank who led me through the process of putting photos up for all to see.  When I have a little more time, maybe I’ll be able to actually put the in the blog.  Hopefully.

Right now, the plan is for Phyllis and Sarah MC to leave at 7:45 on a side trip to the Atlantikwall and return to the hotel at 2.  The rest of us are going to have a lazier morning and be ready to get on the bus at 2:30 for the hour long drive to Antwerp and the riverboat.  Bruges has been absolutely wonderful, but it’s now time for a new adventure.

I've about decided that most of the photos will have to be posted on Facebook.  So go check for them on mine or Sue's accounts.  If you are not yet friends with us, friend Sue Killcreas or Melanie Wilson. Mine is my photo with my mother in front of a Christmas tree.  I'll keep trying to get them on the blog but we'll see.

our hotel room

and this

Hopefully the real link to the pictures

https://picasaweb.google.com/10685279122

Photos of our trip

Link to pictures

Photos

I think this is the link for the photos.  There are only ten photos up yet, but we are trying to get them all showing. 

https://picasaweb.google.com/home

Day 3 Walking and Floating around Bruges

Belgium Day 3 – Wednesday in Bruges

I have an important addition to make to yesterday’s blog.  Some of the girls saw snow flurries yesterday while we were wandering around in the town.  I knew it was cold enough but I didn’t get to see the snow.

This morning, we made it to breakfast at 8:45.  It was a nice buffet type breakfast in the hotel bar.  Then Sue and I toured to basement of the hotel to see the artifacts from hundreds of years ago when a church was on this site.  There were quite a few broken pieces of pottery and there were also large parts of oak that were used in the construction of the moat around the town.  We also saw part of the town wall from long ago. 

Then we met up with everyone else for a walking tour of the city.  Guess where we toured first???  That’s right, the basement of the hotel!!!  We broke into two groups and Annie was our guide.  She was quite good but she really told us a lot of history of the city and the country.  She told us so much that after a while I tuned her out – I just couldn’t absorb any more.  We walked quite a ways through the old area – down cobblestone streets and by many churches, over bridges over the canals and through courtyards.  The tour lasted 1 ½ hours and it was a good one, just too much information.  We then went on a boat ride on the canal with a tour guide who had a most unusual tone of voice – it was very singsong and boring sounding.  We saw many beautiful buildings, many swans and ducks, some swans sitting on nest to hatch their young and we really enjoyed the ride on the canal.  Each time the tour guide would walk to a new spot and wait for everyone to catch up with her, she looked for me in my green cap and Sarah MC (nicknamed Queen of Sheba by the guide).  When we were there, she knew everyone else was also there.

Flanders Stew and Ham/Cheese Sandwich

Fries

After that, Daniel took us to a lace shop and we were addressed by a man who has made lace by hand for many years.  He explained the difference between the different types of lace and showed up how to make lace using bobbins.  It’s not a hobby I want to take up, that’s for sure.  And then we did some shopping, first in the lace shop and then in several other shops.  We had a nice lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches, cheese on bread and roasted asparagus.  We had very nice Belgium Fries with the Belgium mayonnaise.  Then, more shopping.  I was able to get Frank and Rachel a set of beer glasses that are held up by a wooden stand and the gift also includes some of the Kwak beer.  They wrapped it very strongly and I went to the post office to mail it home.  They sent me back to the shop to get it put in a box and cushioned some more.  Then I got it mailed.  The postage was not quite as expensive as the gift but at least I no longer have to handle it myself and that’s a good thing. 

The weather started out quite cold and partly cloudy and then it turned quite a bit warmer.  It stayed warm for about five minutes and then cooled off and began to rain.  It was windy the whole time.  I was able to find gloves in a very small shop but all the larger shops (and I went in quite a few) have changed to the ‘summer selection’ and no longer sell gloves.  Sure does not feel like summer to me!!!

We went back to our rooms and napped or knitting or surfed the internet or just rested and then met back with the group to walk to dinner.  We took over a whole little restaurant (there are 43 members of this group) and had shrimp, Flemish Stew, mussels, chicken, ham and then sorbet or mousse for dessert.  It was a nice meal and Sue and I sat next to Bill and Barb from Sedona, Arizona and discussed all the traveling we’ve all done and lots of other stuff too. 

We got back to the hotel and Sarah MC called a meeting so that we could decide what to do when tomorrow.  Looks like we’ll meet for breakfast about 9 – 9:30 ish, then take a carriage ride, see a Michelangelo statue, maybe shop a little.  We are all planning to go on an optional trip tomorrow to see Flanders Fields and a city named Oudenaarde before returning to the hotel about 9:30 tomorrow evening.   We will remain in Bruges until about 2:15 Friday afternoon when we will leave for Antwerp and the riverboat portion of the trip.

The pool at the hotel

After the meeting broke up, I went up to the top floor and scouted out the pool.  It looked really nice so I decided to try it.  I put on my swimming suit and swam (really floated) between ten and twenty laps and then returned for the room.  Hopefully that will help me sleep better tonight.  Sue spent my swimming time uploading photos to Picasa so maybe you can see some of us.  We did put some photos and even one video of the boat ride up on Facebook today.  If we get some photos uploaded on Picasa, I’ll send you that address.  We only got three loaded but they may be there.  Look in the first album, Belgium, April 18.  This may be the address to it, but I'm not sure.  Someone, try it and then email me to let me know.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/myphotos