Ameland 06.07.15 Today we leave early in the morning at 9am. Yvonne & Simon pick us up to take us to their home in Friesland, island of Ameland, village of Hollum. This is in the north of Holland and the furthest north we would go, all the way from the southern hemisphere. It is a 4 hour journey by car & ferry. On the way we drive over a 40km long dike that was constructed & finished in the 1930's that enclosed part of the Zuiderzee into the Iselj...

TDF stage 2 passes through Rotterdam from Utrecht to Neeljte Jans. We were in Neeljte Jans 2 weeks ago and it was a very windy place out over the gates protecting the dikes from high tides. We got to Rotterdam by train and made our way to where the course loops around so we would see the peleton go by twice. We found a good spot just past the turn point and staked it out for 3 hours waiting for the race to arrive. We had a surprise when Yvonne and Simon from Am...

Utrecht 04.07.15 Another hot day. Too hot to go to Efterling - a theme park. Everyone was going to the beach. I decided not to miss the opportunity to see my first Tour de France. My cycling friends in Australia convinced me. Took the train to Rotterdam and then to Utrecht. Not many people on the train, thought I might be lucky & there wouldn't be a big crowd. Dutch trains are very comfortable, double deckers, air-conditioning & WiFi as well. ...

Paris 03.07.15 Last day in Paris today. Check out of hotel @ 10, leave bags to come back later. Metro to see Notre Dame. Queue line moves quickly and we are inside. Interesting to read the history of something nearly 1000 years old. We have coffee in a corner Cafe next to the church. It gets to 12 noon & we listen to Quasimodo ring the bells while the gargoyles watch. By now we are metro experts & can change 3 lines to get back to the hotel. Pic...

Paris 02.07.15 Charlie died today before the vet saw him. No more suffering. We started the day with breakfast at 9 am. Then we took the metro to the Champs Elysee halfway between the Arc de Triomph & the Place de la Concorde. This was my pilgrimage to the last stage of the Tour de France. Now I have a better idea of the incline up to the Arc and the cobblestone they ride on. The girls were impressed with the shopping on the Champs Elysee. After...