Netherlands - Round The World Tour 2003 T-39

pre-departure

Broek of Langedijk

Sunday 2nd February

With the excitement of Paris slowly fading away, we arrived today at Hans & Wanda’s house. The original plan was to drive up here yesterday but the weather was borderline with lots of slow having fallen and the stress levels were rising rapidly back in Kerkrade for fear of our having to brave the bad road conditions. The stress and tension was relieved only by the decision to stall our departure until this morning. So be it.

Seeing Hans & Wanda again has been a treat. Stephan is now 15 – with all the trappings of that age. Mouse (muis) is no longer Mouse. Indeed Denise is almost 20 years old and no longer the schoolgirl that we once knew. A confident, modern, young lady has replaced little Mouse. Still a lovely child but definitely no longer Mouse – and she was not slow to let us know this either 🙂

Having recently relocated to Peru for 6 months as a part of her schooling requirements, Chantal is the only family member that we were unable to see face to face. Since she and I have already exchanged a few e-mails, however, this was less of a blow. The marvels of e-mail communication bring us that much closer to those in far away and distance places.

Diner for this evening was Chinese take-away. In and of itself, this is not particularly noteworthy. Those of you who know me well enough, however, will understand how difficult this was for me. I don’t each Chinese food. I also don’t eat warmed up food, cheese, onions, pasta and a whole host of other things but Chinese food in particular has never held an appeal for me. It must be said, though, that I did very well and managed two helpings of Peking Duck (I will eat most any meat) and some white rice. After all, if we are going to places like China, I have to learn to eat foods that I might not like. And I never let on that I didn’t really like the idea of Chinese food. As if this wasn’t enough of an accomplishment, tomorrow evening we are apparently eating the warmed up leftovers!

Sandy still is not feeling 100% but the cold and flu symptoms are fading more and more. She is still coughing a little and that is what is causing her the most grief.

Tomorrow, it looks like we are going out and about with the cameras. Windmills and quaint, classic, Dutch villages are apparently on the agenda.