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Well some more good news

After a day or paperwork, even after only a week you still have things to do and in our case to chase Norwegian Airlines for compensation and also sort out who will repair the hole in the TV room after they mended the central heating water leak and Trevor our builder will take charge. 
The other guys were quote a silly amount to fill in a hole and they have added many other items for a sum of almost £3K which I think is downright ridiculous.
We had a visit from Joanne and the kids who are preparing to move down to Taunton and we hope that goes well and we will miss them very much but there lives are their own decision.
We had to leave early to get to Guildford as they have been repairing a major route in Weybridge and causing hours of traffic jams, if only they worked at night it would take far less time and reduce congestion. However I attended my review meeting with my Oncologist to find out the results of the recent CT Scan and Blood test and all were good which is bloody excellent news indeed.
So next blood test in three months and then another CT Scan in approx 6 months which might be in late October or early November.
The an evening of string to sort out the photos from the trip,

Going home today

Well after a nice breakfast in the Hotel we left Ypres and headed to Dunkirk where we were
 due to visit Castorama to get a new plug for one of the sinks we purchased many years
ago in France when rebuilding the house and of course the obligatory wine.

With both items on the list accomplished we headed to the Port to connect with our DFDS
ferry back from Dunkirk to Dover. The ferry takes about two hours and we paid extra to get
fast track which means you are pretty much the first people off the Ferry and so with a bit of
luck you can off quick and so it was from starting the car engine on Ferry to hitting the A20
was max ten minutes.

Due to Noels recent health problems we have not been on DFDS for a couple of years and
were pretty much disappointed in their service and particularly the cleanliness of the ship and
I was so annoyed I have written the following email to the Customer service department.

“Attention Customer Service

We have just returned from a round trip on the Dover -Dunkirk route and were
very surprised how the service has deteriorated since we last travelled with you.

Outbound

Only one car check desk open and so waited nearly twenty minutes to check in.
Further along P & O were checking in much faster and had more desks open.

Thought the premier cabin was in poor shape and not clean.

Return

Check in a bit faster and we boarded ok.

The code provided by check-in for Premier lounge was incomplete and so we had to
loate a crew member to find out what to do.

The floor of the lounge was not clean and there was no fresh milk for tea.
We were informed that MILK in the Coffee machine was actually cold milk but when
you pressed the button steam poured out and the milk was quite warm.
The resultant cup of tea was appalling and neither my wife or could drink it.
Perhaps the Hot water machine needs a clean.

The floor of the lounge was quite dirty with biscuit pieces and other foodstuffs,
origin unknown.

The Danish pastries were on an open top tray and surely these should be in a
protective container for health reasons.

The steward was there for a few minutes only and then disappeared for the rest of
the voyage until the ship was berthing when he came to collect the empty cups
from tables which in certain cases had been sitting there for more than 90 minutes.

The toilet facilities in the lounge are in dire need of refurbishment whilst the cleaning
of them was poor. According to the cleaning chart on the wall the last clean was at 05.25that morning and now the time was 14.20. The notice said the toilets should be cleaned/checked every two hours and fully cleaned every 4 hours but clearly this did happen- see photo attachment.

To make matters worse the so called peace and quiet of the lounge was disturbed by
two rather noisy children who were running around the cabin and often screaming,
I know it’s the parent responsibility but if there had been a steward on duty
surely he should have taken some action.

Finally why don’t you follow the check in procedure used by Eurotunnel
for checking in which normally takes less than a minute rather than
use the current manual system which slows the complete process down.

So let's see how they answer. But we got home in good time and and it took about
one hour forty minutes which is quite good for this journey.

Well that's the end of that trip which we both enjoyed very much and now looking
forward to getting my scan results and then next our annual caravan in France in
a few weeks time, Its all go!!!!!

Giethoorn to Ypres

It is about 280 miles from Giethoorn to Ypres and so we had the motorway and kept the speed at around 80 where we could and apart from a stop to pick up some sandwiches and a loo break we arrived at our destination after about 4. 5 hours later which is not bad considering the distance.
The Dutch motorways have an excellent road surface unlike the Belgians which do not ,and as soon as you cross the border you can tell the difference

We are staying in the Ariane Hotel where we have stayed once before and thought it nice and its handy for getting to the Menen Gate where they hold the service each evening at 20.00 which is what we plan to do tonight.
However as soon as we arrived at the Hotel we had a cuppa and changed the ferry trip date and time as we have decided to come back one days early rather than risk getting delayed and Noel missing his important consultant appointment on Wednesday evening.
So following a brief rest we walked down to the Menen gate where already people were beginning to gather but the weather was grey and slight rain in the air, but as we were there at about 7.30 pm and the event not scheduled until 8 pm we found a little bar and availed ourselves of a glass of wine for Noel and and a small beer for Jennifer.
At 7.50 pm we left the bar and walked the twenty yard's to join the already quite large crowd of people who arrived and there were schoolchildren and just about every age and many Brits and so it is not possible to get a good view. Its a shame they don't erect some large TV screens to enable those people at the back and also those with height challenge to enable them to see what is happening.

The event only takes about ten minutes and for the amount of people there it goes so quiet and when they last post is played there is a moments silence and then the background noise starts to rise and people wipe their eyes and start leaving.
The gate is covered with the names of all the fallen in the first World War and its emotional to see so many wasted lives due to politicians and war mongers, is there a difference I ask myself?. So after the service we walked back in the light rain to the Hotel and went to the restaurant for an evening dinner. One has to remember that in France and Belgium on a Monday night many restaurant are closed and so the Hotels do well. The Arianne has a very good restaurant and so I went through my performance regarding 'No Garlic and Onions or strong spices' anywhere and this meant I ended up with a nice plate of  fish which was excellent.
And so to bed

Next stop is Giethoorn

We skipped breakfast as we were still full from last nights food and decided to have a banana each and then departed for the two and a half hour drive to Giethoorn which had been recommended to us because if it like a Venice , with lots of waterways etc, but more of that later.

We decided to come of the Motorway as we were running rather early and found for a lunch a delightful bar- restaurant on the shores of a lake and so we sat outside in the sun and Noel had the smoked salmon sandwich which was massive and Jennifer  had a ham and brie with salad and they were both excellent.
We then continued on to Giethoorn where we arrived at about 14.00 hrs and not being sure if the Hotel would accept us this early but they did and then off we went down the road for a one hour boat ride through the waterways  and under the many bridges.

The area was largely caused by the digging of peat for many years and so the water drained in to it and then the reads began to profusely grow and so thatched houses became the norm with many of the houses in the centre of town being reached by boat only as there are no roads. Not sure we would like this and then we heard on the intercom from our tour guide that the village has 2700 residents but hosts 1.5 million people per year and all of then go for either a boat ride with a cruise operator or you can rent a boat and boy did we see some very bad driving  with boats hitting each other and going backwards and sideways and all over the place and causing chaos. There are also 1500 boats available to rent and in the busiest time of year there can be a boat jams for hundred of yards which is quite ridiculous really. The strange thing was there were no life vests available for anybody and not sure what happened to H & S in Holland??
We did a tour round for a while and then returned to the Hotel. Why they call this place the Venice of Holland I can't really say except it has water and bridges and is nothing like Venice at all.
We had dinner in the Hotel restaurant which was very good and chatted to a couple of ladies who visiting like us and we then went to the bar for a ten minute sit after dinner and then adjourned to bed as we don want to be late tomorrow as we have a long journey to Ypres in Belgium 

Moving on to Delft

We departed the Hotel after a good breakfast and decided that we would go via Schwenigen again and perhaps spend some time there looking around. Well when we go there it looked like the world and his wife had decided to visit and there was no car parking available and there were people everywhere including a large group of 40 odd skateboarders who screwed up the traffic until the cops arrived on the scene and took control.
We departed south along the coast line and eventually arrived at our hotel which was outside of town, and largely chosen for having own car park as most the Hotels in town have street parking. The Hotel was called the Shanghai Hotel

and we could see why when we arrived as the main restaurant was Chinese and it was obvious that evening there was a Chinese wedding to take place. We were both both a bit peckish and looked at the snack menu and they wanted 16.50 Euros for a burger and fries and so we walked 150 yards down the road to a Mcdonalds where you order by a big screen and they deliver the food to your table, very sensible and the total for the two of us was 12.50 Euros.
We had an afternoon rest and and took a taxi to the Market square which was absolutely packed with people and bicycles sitting drinking and enjoying the evening sun .

We walked around the old town for a while  and  then stopped in the main square and had a quick Chardonnay before heading off to our booked restaurant called Buenos Aires, yes it was an Argentinian Steak house and buy was it good.

Jennifer had her steak with a mushroom sauce whilst Noel carefully explained about the no Garlic and Onions etc and they went out of their way to ensure there was no problem. Along with the steak we enjoyed a bottle of Malbec which was also very good and then took a taxi back to the Hotel. The bed in the Hotel was a typical had Chinese bed but somehow we enjoyed the nights sleep.
We noticed that as there was no air conditioning or windows in the corridors there was a smell of Chinese cooking which thank heavens did not impact upon the room but would not stay there again.

To the Dutch bulb fields at kuerkenhof

Needles to say Noel was little slow of the ground this morning and having been up pretty much all night decided to have a small lie in whilst Jennifer went for breakfast.
We left the Hotel at about 10.40 and took the direct route to the Kuekenhof Gardens where we arrived at 11.10 and already the place was buzzing with loads of coaches and cars.There were

lots of tour parties from all over the globe and quite a few of 'follow the flag' groups as well.
The gardens are quite extensive and cover a large area and so what with Noel's knee problems and perhaps not being apple to last out for the day we had pre-arranged the hire of a invalid electric car which came in most useful as it meant that noel could cover all the park without having to worry about knees and stopping frequently.

We spent about three hours in and around the park and it is well organised with lots of bars and restaurants and ice cream places . We first went to overlook the growing fields and the colours of the tulips were quite amazing and so beautiful when you see so many at the same time. The park was very busy indeed and its strange that whilst I have never driven or used a electric wheelchair type thing people just ignore you and walk directly in front of you and stand up close to the wheels as though I did not exist, This I found very strange because I have always given space and right of way to people in these contraptions.

There was lots of art all over the place and of course the usual large cows and also elephants as well and I thought they would look good in our garden.
Following a  light lunch we departed and drove across some fields (on the road of course) by passing more and more tulips and then we ended up by the coast which we drove around for a while and then back to look at Leiden which is a big university city  and then via some back roads where we came across a couple of old barges, pone had been converted in to a historic museum and the other in to a back packers establishment.
Following a tour of Leiden we returned to the Hotel to re assess our plans for the next few days as we leave for delft tomorrow which is not far away, about an hour or so, and so we shall take the slow route. We had thought of forgetting delft but it was to late to cancel the Hotel but that's not a problem as the weather for this weekend is supposed to be very good indeed compared to the 9 degrees Centigrade and a very strong chill wind.
We shall go down and eat again in the Hotel rather than trail around and although there some good restaurant in this town it is vital that Noel does not have another night like last night.
I took a lot of photos today of the bulb fields and other stuff but it would take ages to upload them from the Hotel and so I will load all photos when I get home.
Bi for now

Go North young man

Following a slow start to the day as it was still raining quite a bit, it chucked it down yesterday when we arrived at the Hotel, but this morning it was mostly windy.
We stopped at the supermarket opposite for some water and milk supplies and then followed most motorway via Antwerp, Rotterdam and the Den Haag to Scheveningen which seems to be a very nice place to live with lots of nice big houses and it looks like some big hotels and casinos.

Jennifer small Steak sandwich

We went down to the sea side where the wind was really blowing a gale and the temperature was about 6 degrees Centigrade so not to good for hanging about. We drove along the front and eventually came close to the end of the promenade road and we saw a clutch of cars and hoped it would near a place where we could eat, and thank heavens it was.
The place was virtually empty and way we had lunch there, huge portions and Jennifer had the steak sandwich, which is totally the wrong description as you can see from photo and Noel had the hamburger and fries which was very good indeed. So no need for a large dinner tonight!!
As we drove out of town you were struck by the number of bicycles everywhere and also the lovely tree lined roads with really large and great houses, cant be cheap.
Back on to the motorway to our Hotel the Hilton Garden Inn near Leiden where we plan to spend two nights when visiting the bulb fields.
We decided to have a quiet evening as Jennifer may have caught a cold which the grandchildren have had for  the last few days and so an early night will be called for. Although we know have sun its still a bit cold and it is due to go up to 14 Centigrade tomorrow, lets hope so otherwise it might be a bit miserable in the bulb fields.
Noel spent the evening catching up with the Blog and planning out tomorrow and also the next few days. We went to the restaurant in the Hotel for dinner only somehow the instruction for NO GARLIC was overlooked and  so Noel had rather an eventful and unpleasant night. 

An earliesh start and we are off

The sun was rising and we both got up early as the cleaners were due and we had to leave for Dover by 11.00 latest. Luckily Charlotte and her team arrived at about 0930 and so we were able to hi the road on time, The journey down to Dover was quick almost 1.40 minutes and of course as the port was quiet we gor pulled in for a security check. Not sure what they were looking for but a guy put some cloth on our four door handles, and then did the same for the next three cars, and then wandered in to a little room and then two minutes came back and said we could go.

We checked in with the DFDS little office after waiting about 15 minutes, why they don't use the Eurotunnel  auto check in beat's me, but anyway P & O also does it the same way, probably due to the old reason of jobsworth..

A brief two hour crossing and we were pretty much the first off and leaving Dunkirk Port is quite easy and then catch the Motorway North to  Belgium which took about 35 minutes through very boring and attractive views until we left the motorway to a place called De Panne where we planned to stay the night.
The Hotel where we stayed was the ARA Dune Hotel and I must say its a very nice Hotel perhaps 40 rooms and the furnishing and general ambience was great. For dinner we had booed a table in the main restaurant and the food was pretty damn good, Jennifer had the Rack of Lamb loaded with Garlic, not for Noel, Noel had the steak and chips a'la nature, nature, in other words just grilled and nothing on it and it was really excellent, even the accompanying chips were also good and together with a few sips of house red it was a pleasant meal.
We retried to the lounge for a while and then adjourned to our bedroom where Noel watch the Barcelona- Roma game and then the end of a film before closing our eyes in a very comfortable bed.

We are off again tomorrow

Well we have decided that a trip to the Dutch bulb fields would be a nice thing to do whilst Noel is waiting for his recent medical test reports and so rather than hang around and get nervous, a trip to Holland appears to be the answer,
So tomorrow we head off to get the DFDS ferry to Dunkirk and then spend the night in a place called De Panne in Belgium, just a stones throw from Dunkirk and then the Thursday we travel slowly North and stay in a Hilton Hotel not far from the bulb fields. 
We have already booked our tickets for the bulb fields and also you have to book car parking as well and just hope the weather will not let us down. When we booked this the weather looked a bit iffy but now its showing that it could be quite good, we shall see..
So wish us luck and will update this blog as we travel.