Jack and Robert went to summer camp this Saturday at a place called Boreatton Park. Took 4 hours to drive up there, and even longer to get back. Traffic was bad and the rain was so heavy that at times we could hardly see the car in front and some of the roads were closed due to flooding. Very strange to drop Jack off and not be able to call and see how he is doing.
I went Scuba diving yesterday with Tony and Emma at Wraysbury. It was a fresh water lake dive and the visibility was next to zero. We did 2 dives to a depth of 8 metres and saw a bus, VW Combi and occasionally, each other. Going to go again on Wednesday night with the hope that the visibility will be better.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Amsterdam again
Back to the Dam again. This weekend Jack and I visited the land of tulips again. Leaving London on Friday night we were to meet up with Tony Cojones in the Dam. Unfortunately, he missed the flight from Gatwick, so headed to Heathrow, only to miss that flight as well. Jack and I stayed in the luxurious NH City Centre Hotel.
Tony finally made it to Amsterdam on Saturday morning, so we met him at the station and caught the train to The Hague. A pretty city and we watched rowing races outside the Binnenhof in the centre of town before finding some lunch. We then visited the Mauritshuis museum where we saw many masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Steen and Frans Hals. A quick trip out to the Peace Palace where the flame of peace was out (not a good sign) and we had to scarper to Rotterdam to find a room to sleep in.
Rotterdam was hosting the North Sea Jazz Festival and so rooms were at a premium. We ended up staying at Hostal Mafkees which boasts 126 beds in 1 room. We counted over 150 and with 24 hour reception and no curfew, there were people coming and going at all hours. This didn't bother me as much as the warthog with a mucus problem drinking a slurpee in the next bed. This man could snore for at an Olympic level. The beds were so close together I could extend my arms and touch the ones on either side and the temptation to hit the human buzz-saw with a well aimed pillow was almost overwhelming.
In the morning, after a quick breakfast of bread, jam and coffee, we went for a walk around the city. A stark contrast to Amsterdam, Rotterdam seemed deserted. Maybe it was the rain, but we really didn't take to the city at all. After dodging the rain for a while, we gave up and jumped on the tram back to Centraal. After working out that trains back via The Hague were cancelled due to lightening hitting the train track, we caught a train via Gouda back to Amsterdam.
Sunday night Tony headed a back to London, actually making the plane this time, and we stayed at a local hostel. This hostel was far more civilised with only 5 beds to a room, real mattresses, pillows and blankets, and no snoring beasts.
Monday we hired bikes after Jack nagged me, but took them back after we got soaked from the rain and Jack scared the hell out of me with his crazy riding. The bike was too big for him and his method of stopping was to run into me or anything else that presented itself.
As well as getting soaked, we managed to see Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh Musuem and the Rijksmuseum before heading back to the airport. We were supposed to be catching up with Janneke and Mo, but they were using the wrong phone number and by the time I called them, it was time to head to the airport.
Another good trip and while I would like to see more of The Netherlands, I will be in no rush to head back to Rotterdam.
Tony finally made it to Amsterdam on Saturday morning, so we met him at the station and caught the train to The Hague. A pretty city and we watched rowing races outside the Binnenhof in the centre of town before finding some lunch. We then visited the Mauritshuis museum where we saw many masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Steen and Frans Hals. A quick trip out to the Peace Palace where the flame of peace was out (not a good sign) and we had to scarper to Rotterdam to find a room to sleep in.
Rotterdam was hosting the North Sea Jazz Festival and so rooms were at a premium. We ended up staying at Hostal Mafkees which boasts 126 beds in 1 room. We counted over 150 and with 24 hour reception and no curfew, there were people coming and going at all hours. This didn't bother me as much as the warthog with a mucus problem drinking a slurpee in the next bed. This man could snore for at an Olympic level. The beds were so close together I could extend my arms and touch the ones on either side and the temptation to hit the human buzz-saw with a well aimed pillow was almost overwhelming.
In the morning, after a quick breakfast of bread, jam and coffee, we went for a walk around the city. A stark contrast to Amsterdam, Rotterdam seemed deserted. Maybe it was the rain, but we really didn't take to the city at all. After dodging the rain for a while, we gave up and jumped on the tram back to Centraal. After working out that trains back via The Hague were cancelled due to lightening hitting the train track, we caught a train via Gouda back to Amsterdam.
Sunday night Tony headed a back to London, actually making the plane this time, and we stayed at a local hostel. This hostel was far more civilised with only 5 beds to a room, real mattresses, pillows and blankets, and no snoring beasts.
Monday we hired bikes after Jack nagged me, but took them back after we got soaked from the rain and Jack scared the hell out of me with his crazy riding. The bike was too big for him and his method of stopping was to run into me or anything else that presented itself.
As well as getting soaked, we managed to see Anne Frank house, the Van Gogh Musuem and the Rijksmuseum before heading back to the airport. We were supposed to be catching up with Janneke and Mo, but they were using the wrong phone number and by the time I called them, it was time to head to the airport.
Another good trip and while I would like to see more of The Netherlands, I will be in no rush to head back to Rotterdam.
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