Lots of trains

Today was the day to leave Holland, very sad, we had such a lovely time.
Thanks Ineke and Gerry for all your help planning the Dutch part of our holiday...it was fantastic. Loosdrecht was a lovely quiet place to stay.
Our trip back to London was by train, several different types, so Jason lots of pictures for you!!
The first train was from Schiphol Airport, Holland to Brussels. It was a Thalys- really really fast train...its amazing how fast these trains go and so smooth.
I think the Thalys is a really nice looking train, this one could do with a bath, they must hit a lot of bugs !!

Although there is supposed to be an internet connection on the trains there really isn't. So it was back to old technology, a good book and watching the scenery flash by.

We changed trains in Brussels and had about an hour to walk around the station and feel we had visited a tiny bit of Belgium.

The next part of the journey was on the Eurostar to London arriving at St Pancras station.

Last part was on the London underground, love the tube but it was a bit hot.

Then it was back to Jos flat and dinner in a nearby pub.

This is two trains joined together.

This is me getting a bit frustrated with the internet connection.. 

Lovely food while we speed through the French countryside.

Chris reading while we were under the English Channel....it only takes 20mins but always really glad when we come out the other side..

This is a picture of the train once it reached London, very dirty ! 

We are now at St Pancras station with all the other Eurostar trains.

Getting ready for the Olympics next year..

St Pancras it a very nice looking station and they have several statues around, I especially like this one,
its huge.

Last part of the journey of the tube.

Bangers and mash at a nearby pub.

A Bike Ride in the Forest

We chose to ride again today as we enjoy this the most...this time we were in the forest.
The weather was still fantastic about 27c today :-) even got a bit of a sun tan !

The forest was so shady and cool.

The leaves are just starting to turn but there are still plenty of green leaves around.

Unidentified mushrooms.

The different bike paths were identified by these signs that looked like mushrooms

A different style of path.

We stopped in a little town called Lage Vuursche which has many pancake restaurants .

Of course we had to try them...this was Chris's mango and caramel sauce pancake.

Then it was off home to try and ride off all the extra calories !!

Bike ride to Bunschoten-Spakenburg

We had a very pretty bike ride on Wednesday through farm land to Bunscoten-Spakenburg, a small port on the edge of the freshwater lake, Eemmeer. The weather was lovely and warm, I can't believe it but everyday it gets better and better.
This picture shows the type of landscape that we rode through, the grass was so green and the sky so blue.

We stopped for a late lunch in the village square, so lovely sitting in the sun :-)

A typical bike path...not sure of the exact translation of the sign...if any one can help out that would be great :-)

In the distance we could see a huge wind farm.

This is the harbour at Bunschoten-Spakenburg with some old boats , typical of the Zuiderzee.

I tried the kroquetten which had been suggested as a local dish to try, they were very tasty.

It was lovely to see several ladies in traditional costume. I didn't get a picture but Ineke sent me these pictures that she took a while ago. I love the little lacey hat.

This isn't us but hopefully very similar, on a typical bike path.

On the way back we crossed the canal in a small ferry

Chris with our bikes.

Windmills, windmills and more windmills....

After visiting Delft we drove just south of Rotterdam to a place called Kinderdyk. A great place to look at windmills...19 altogether in a very small area.
These windmills were built here to pump the water out of an area of agricultual land that is below sea level.
There is a much more detailed description in the link above...

This windmill is having its thatch repaired.

We hired bikes and rode around which was fun.

Delft

Yesterday we had a lovely day exploring the pretty town of Delft and looking at a Delft pottery. After Delft we drove to Kindedijk for the most scenic display of windmills !! more of that in  the next post.

The first stop in Delft was one of the remaining potteries that still hand paint their designs. We had a tour showing how it was all made which was very interesting. As blue is my favourite colour I was in my element !

This is the artist that painted my bowl !! The paint looks black before it is fired.

There are two styles of pottery the blue and white and the coloured version shown below.

After the pottery we explored the town of Delft.

I loved the really narrow canals lined with houses.

Not sure what happens when you walk out these doors !!

Lots of shops selling the pottery.

Everything is so beautifully clean in Holland, the parking stations look more like car sale rooms !
At the moment I feel the need to scrub my house from top to bottom !!...sure that won't last.

More Bike Riding

Before Jo went home we just had to introduce her to bike riding in the local area.
The bikes are so comfortable and easy to ride.

During the bike ride we met and patted two Golden Retrievers !!! Ellie would love it here as dogs are allowed so much more freedom....unfortunately I don't think she would like the plane flight !

Later in the day we explored the area some more.

This is a bike track we really love with water on both sides

This is lunch on our balcony before we took Jo to the airport....still sunny :-)

Unfortunately I gave Chris my cold and he is feeling pretty sick in this photo :-(

This time we rode through farm land...just stunning and looked even flatter..

More windmills!

We found more pretty villages to ride through.

and of course more 'rope' boats !!