Today we left Rene's Vogue magazine house. We have had a really good 2 nights with Rene and Magda and John. Thank you for the company and the hospitality. Rene and Magda were in Australia in Janualy 2014 and we hope to see them again in Australia. Our Gypsy holiday saw us back with Rob and Jolanda in Vlaadingen. Starting to get into the mood for Tour de France - got my t-shirt and cap from Rob. So what better way to get in to the mood than go for a cycle ride. ...

Visited Paleis et Loo in the rain - typical summer day in Holland. An old palace dating back centuries, Queen Wilhemina was the last royal to stay there, she died in 1962. Had a good look inside the palace with the old paintings and portraits and decorations. As a house - too big and only had 1 toilet. Also would not see the kids for days - not a bad thing. Got some great ideas for our backyard - we can have a scaled down version of the gardens and a small wa...

This morning we left Rolf, Petra, Maaike and Kim's house, we were picked up by John and Magda and driven to Rene's house. It was a really long drive and we needed several toilet stops - I never thought it would be so uncomfortable for the entire 2 mins it took to go round the corner to a different street in Moordrecht again. After a coffee and a special decorated cake, John and Magda took us to Delft. Delft has a large uni there and the Royal Delft porcelaine fa...

Lazy sleep in Sunday and breakfast. To Oma Nathan's house and saw lots of old photos - see the photos. Then on to Maduradam - Holland's sights and famous buildings all in miniature. Weather was not perfect but we enjoyed it still. Home for spag bol dinner by Rolf - such a good kok. Walked the dog and met 2 black pugs - Bonkey and Banjers - Mariska still cracks up about the names.

Visit to Volendam, very touristy fishing village - much like Lorne back home. On the Ijsslemeer, a large lake which was formed when they dammed a part of the sea and is now freshwater. It was called the Zuiderzee prior to the damming. Had our fill of poffertjes with lots of butter - Petra style. We then dressed up for a photo in traditional Dutch costume - some of us probably should not have done it. The Volendam traditonal clothing was originally unique to th...