Tuesday 30th July – August 4th 2013

Tuesday 30th July.

After our day out in Paris, we all decided on a rest day at “home”. The day turned out to be the coolest for the week and this gave us the opportunity to start packing up for our departure the next morning. We played the last few games of our Bocce tournament and it was no surprise that Dean won the day. Unbeaten champion of the game and gracious winner.

It ended up being a quiet day, each one finding their own level of activity and the only day we didn’t use the pool.

That evening we went into one of the local towns to find a place to eat, heading back to Houdan, it was still early and we drove to the address of a restaurant we found in one of the brochures we found in the house. Unfortunately the place had a change of ownership and it was now a kebab takeaway, so we wandered the local streets to find an affordable eatery but apart from one which was fully booked, the others were way above what we thought was reasonable. So we settled on the Kebab shop and ate in and had a quite enjoyable meal. Not quite the French meal we had anticipated but it was too late to go driving all over the countryside looking for other options.

The next morning we all got up early, finished packing, tidying up and said our farewells, Willy and Dean were being dropped off at Paris’s Charles de Gaulle Airport by Martin and Ewoud, while the rest of us were heading north to visit Brussels on our way back to Holland.

We had an easy drive north through the French countryside before reaching the toll road that took us smoothly most of the way towards the border of Belgium. Around lunch time we reached Mons and decided to stop and find something to eat. We found a small Chinese restaurant and decided it was well priced and convenient. We ordered 2 mains and 1 rice between the 4 of us and it was enough. After a quick walk up through the shopping street to the church we headed back to our car and made our way back to the motorway heading for Brussels. I had programmed the Tom Tom to the nearest carpark to the square, so we weren’t really sure what to expect when we got there, but as we drove into the small streets we were glad we were in a small car and not the motorhome. As we turned into one of the streets we spotted a car exiting a carpark on the side of the road and we quickly decided that we could park there and as Manneken Pis was close by it was perfect.

We found the small statue/fountain easily and after taking some photos walked towards the Old Market Square, taking a detour we found another square crowded with people, buskers and lined with takeaway shops and cafe’s. Unable to resist a sit down with a coffee and waffle we found the perfect place to people watch and amused ourselves watching the passing parade of locals and tourists.

After a long sit we then walked to the old Market square and were impressed with the sight, when you walk in to this square, your head is spinning and you don’t quite know where to look or admire. Such an amazing square.

Then it was time to have a beer  and walking back to our car stopped at a atmospheric pub and all had a drink, (when in Belgium it’s the thing to do of course).

We debated about whether to stop somewhere for dinner but came to the conclusion we should just head back to “home” and have a snack there when we got there. Arriving around 8 it was still very light and warm and we decided to order something from the local shop called “Quickly”. Family members will know it well, it does great Indonesian/Asian food as well as local “delicacies” as croquettes, frikandels, loempias and Patat. The last dutch treat for the year.

The last few days spent in Holland we enjoyed the use of a family members car to get around  and had the freedom to visit Dordrech again on the friday, where we did some last minute shopping.  Saturday we drove to Radio Kootwijk to visit cousin Tonnie and Remko, had a lovely lunch with them, a walk to the old radio station building and then a sad farewell before driving back to Martins to pack our bags and spend our last night together.

Sunday we all rose early, Martin and Ewoud were driving all four of us to the Airport, our flight was that day, but Astrid and Chris’s two days later. They decided to stay a couple of nights at a hotel near the Schipol airport so they could visit Amsterdam for a day and to make it easier for the family so they wouldn’t have to drive through the traffic again so soon.

So again the sad farewells to our Dutch relatives, but time to fly home to our family, see the grandchildren and start saving again for next year.

Until next time……