maccamusings

Not a lot of time to write at the moment, so I am relying on pictures to tell most of the story.

Aff and I ventured to Holland last weekend (as you do), to see Claire and Alec's home in Dordrecht (just east of Rotterdam). There was some urgency for this trip, as Claire and Alec only have another week or so before they move to Bristol.We were very keen to see where they have been living for the last 10 months before they left, so wasted no time booking our flights (from Milan to Amsterdam). Claire's orchestra also had a concert on the Friday night, which we just managed to get to, arriving in Dordrecht no less than 20 minutes before kick off.

I can't say Holland was ever high on my list of places to visit, but I am very glad I got the chance to see it. It really is quite different to anything I have seen. The stories are true, the country really is as flat as a table top. They keep the place pretty tidy as well. Everything looked so sparklingly clean - an observation that was probably somewhat enhanced by its contrast with Italy, and in particular, Genova, which has more of an "order in the chaos" feel to it (kind of like Queanbeyan is to Canberra - both have their charm).

We spent Saturday riding bikes around Dordrecht, and some nearby windmills, and sampling some Dutch beer afterwards in town square. Sunday we spent in Amsterdam (only 1 hour train ride away), where we managed to fit in a visit to the Vincent Van Gogh museum (very good), and a 75 minute canal tour, and yes, more sampling of Dutch beer (and yes, we did take a sneaky peak at the infamous red light district - again, the stories are true).

Enough writing. Time for some pictures.

First, the obligatory picture of windmills (just north of Dordrecht):