Bonjour Mes Amies

 We are finally in France (thank you Jesus) and out of the cold, damp countries of The Netherlands and Belgium. Not a very pleasant start to our trip, but I appear to be on the mend and not hacking up a lung anymore. Kirsty has got the bug now, but hopefully not as bad. 

We cycled to Dinant, Belgium and stayed at a place by the river. Except for being cold and very, very damp, it was nice. The four young men who showed up about 11pm to set up camp and drink, talk, smoke dope and eat something only added to the cultural experience we were having. Oh, and no toilet paper. 

We then cycled to Givet, France where we stayed at a place run by the Beverly Hillbillies. We were introduced to filthy toilets and once again, no toilet paper. As it was cold and damp still, we booked the next train to Verdun, France. Three train changes later we arrived and are going to stay here four days to rest up and decide where and what we are going to do next. The Meuse has not lived up to its up-and- coming status we had read about. So… who knows, stay tuned. 

Below are more pictures from The Netherlands and Belgium.

Delft canals

 

 

Gouda cheese

Our one sunny day so far, just outside Maastricht.

 Maastricht is a city of old and new. 

Not sure this name would work in the USA.

Camp dinner.

The following pics are all in Dinant, until the sign for Givet.
 

 

Here I am spreading the word for Ka'u coffee from the Big Island of Hawai'i.
 

More to follow my friends, peace!

Cycling about in Europe

 Here is our first update, a bit late but it has been a wee bit challenging the first week. This is a short update to let you all know we haven’t fallen off the edge of the earth just yet.
 

We left England from Hull, taking the ferry to The Europort, just outside of Rotterdam.

We cycled to Delft, about 35km away. It took us many more hours than we had anticipated due to the challenging way in which the cycle paths are laid out.

As you can see from this picture of the map we were using, the cycle paths are connected by junctions. Easy peasy to go from one to another. Or not. We found that the signs were missing at times leading us to ask WTF over and over again. 

Backtracking and going in circles adds many kilometers to the journey. Sometimes what looked like the shortest way wasn’t. So we struggled on. 

 This cycle path goes directly to the front door of IKEA, with a large bicycle parking lot in front. The Dutch don’t wear helmets here and the adults all seem taller than 6 feet. Also, the Dutch are raised to ride bikes from early childhood so they drive very fast, even through crowded streets and everyone magically doesn’t end up in a heap!

The Dutch have an extraordinary system of cycle paths here and it seems as if most people ride bikes instead of cars. Unlike the Italians who don’t follow road rules and thus require one to look left, right, backwards and forwards before crossing the street, the Dutch do follow the rules but you still have to look all ways because there are car paths, cycle paths, and pedestrian paths, and at controlled intersections, all have their own lights. And, mopeds can ride in cycle or car lanes willy nilly. A saving grace is that they drive on the right side of the road here!

Here we are in Delft, leaving soon for Gouda.

 

Damn signs!

Gouda cheese.

More Gouda cheese.

Some Dutch food.
 

Not Dutch food.

There are about a billion bikes in this country!

Anyhoo, we have both been sick this week and cycling in the wind and rain hasn’t helped. I am taking something a Dutch pharmacist recommended so I don’t get walking pneumonia. Did I mention the rain? Well one thing you can take for granted here is the wind, and the other is the chance of rain. 

More pictures from this week when I feel a bit better. 

Needless to say, we have had it with the fickle weather and took a train to Maastricht today (Monday) to a warmer locale. Soon we will be in France and all will be right in our cycle world.

Peace my friends!

I Was In A Bar In Roundstone With A Galway Hooker

Truth be told, I was having a pint of Guinness with my misses, so no worries. We were in Ireland to visit our good friends JP, Nicola, William and Molly in Westport and to attend a wedding of two of Kirsty's long-time friends, Aisling and Eoin.

Just a few pictures from Ireland and to tell you that we are going cycling in Holland, Belgium, France and Germany for the next few months.

 O'Dowds is the place to go to have great crab claws, a pint and superb brown bread while in Roundstone, Connemara!

Nice view of the harbor across from O'Dowds.

 Stopped off at one of my favorite beaches, Doolin, to admire the view and the anemones. The weather has been fantastic here in the west of Ireland, much to everyones shock!

I didn't want to be kneecapped by the official photographer, so no photos of the wedding! Suffice it to say that it was a very moving ceremony. Aisling and Eoin are wonderful folks!

My beautiful bride at the reception wearing her Hawaiian bracelet from her good friend Dot.

Peace my friends!