The Purple Penguin

Joe was off to Brussels for Fosdem then off to do some office visits and ended up in the Paris office. So he asked me to come visit him and spend the 14th in Paris. I completely missed the relevance of 14 February in Paris until I looked at the calendar.

So left work on Friday and off to Paris, arriving quite late Friday night. So late that it was straight to the hotel and to sleep. We had made plans to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower and see the sights but I was still recovering from a nasty cold and climbing the tower did not appeal. So we walked. It was a lovely day, but very very cold, so we ducked into several places just to warm up! Window shopped and looked at buildings and Joe took loads of photos (which will probably be online soon!) Had a wonderful huge lunch. But really didn’t do much more than that.

One of these days we will plan our trip to Paris and actually go do the tourist things!

So we went off to the Destinations show on 5 February to see where we want to go for the next trip. The idea is Borneo but we also looked at Costa Rica. Got loads of information and just generally had a look around. But this year may be limited to short hops over the channel due to new house and busy work schedules! We shall see.

And at work. Dreary grey day in London and stacks of work on my desk, but on the plus side there are scones in the kitchen.

Got up yesterday and had breakfast before strolling to the train station. Leaving at 11.40 is awkward – to late to just go and too early to do anything else. But we got an earlier train and got to the port and on the ferry. Settled into our room and went and had a lovely lunch. Travelling by ferry is nice, especially if you have a cabin, but it is much longer than the train. We went out on deck and Joe took photos as we left. Then just napped. We did manage to get home about an hour earlier than I expected us to, so that was good.

Now to plan the next trip . .  .

Slept in as we weren’t in any hurry. We had decided on the late breakfast, which was a champagne breakfast at 10.15. The early breakfast on Monday was mad as that’s the one everyone goes to so they can get into the park bright and early. Got up late, got our bags packed, and checked out before going to breakfast. Had a leisurely breakfast while discussing how we wanted to go to Amsterdam. We had a few thoughts about going to Delft or the coast but in the end decided to go the motorway the whole way. We went through Rotterdam, Delft and Den Haag just in case we decided to stop.

The drive was pretty straight forward and we decided the weather wasn’t nice enough to go to the coast and we couldn’t be bothered to try to stop (read that as I couldn’t be bothered to try to figure out how to get into Delft and Joe couldn’t be bothered with seeing lots of art). So we headed straight for the airport and car hire drop off.

Then back to Amsterdam by train and tram. Finally found the hotel. We can open the door but can’t get to the far side of the room without crawling over the bed! We decided to do the canal boat tour and to do the daytime one rather than waiting to do the evening cruise. Shall have to do that one next time! It was lovely pottering along and seeing Amsterdam from the canal. Then Joe took me off to a little bar that Olly had found. Very very good food. We had far too much to drink and a very nice meal. Now in the art bar updating the blog before heading off to sleep. We’re off home tomorrow.

Kathleen awoke far too early (it was after 7!) still hoping to get into hte park and that the Python would be fixed. However, after explaining we were going back to Amsterdam she did calm down a bit. So we packed the bags, checked out of the hotel, put the bags in the car, and went back for our champagne breakfast. One has to say that champagne and coco pops don’t necessarily mix (duh). We then decided to head the quickest route back to Amsterdam. There was a few interesting sights on the way we tried to take photos of but we didn’t stop. We got back to the airport about midday, returned the car, headed to the main airport building, where we got our train tickets and strippen cards (these are cards that you can use on the trams in Amsterdam, buy them in blocks of 10 or 15 and much cheaper than paying for individual journeys on the trams; plus it’s easier to get on and off some trams because you can’t pay with cash. You can buy them from the newsagents at the airport.) Once in Amsterdam we got to the hotel, which was not quite where we thought it was, we had to purchase a map to find it! But we were not far off. We checked in to a much more typical Amsterdam hotel room where you can’t open the door because the bed is in the way. We then walked back to the entrance to the Voldelpark, next to the casino where we took a boat tour of Amsterdam. After which we went to a brown bar where we had dinner, a couple of very nicely done steaks. After which we retired for a drink before going back to bed.

Is a nifty park! I woke up at 7 but we couldn´t go into the park until about 9.45, so we had breakfast and a bimble and an update of the blog, then headed into the park. The nifty rollercoaster, Python, was shut. Joe looked rather relieved but I was disappointed. It stayed closed all day as well (mentioned it at the hotel and they even checked to see if it would open tomorrow, but probably not). So we rode Pegasus which was fun. Then just worked our way around the park stopping for rides every now and again. After lunch we headed back to the hotel and got Joe´s camera. He took about 120 photos of the park. And we got to ride Roc which is a very nifty rollercoaster.

Efteling is larger than it appears, we missed several things and probably need to come back. But it was a very fun day! Off tomorrow to head back towards Amsterdam; not sure what we´ll do on the way. May stop at Delft but we´ll see.

So, ignoring the pokes at 4 in the morning (he fibs, I didn´t wake up until 7!) and ignoring Kathleen bouncing off the walls and annoying the people next door (they never said anything and I wasn´t up until 7!) We headed for breakfast about half 8 (I´d been awake since 7!). Allowing Kathleen to drink coffee may not have been a good idea at this time. We then did a few bits and pieces before heading to the park about 9.45 (like the blog, cause I´d been awake since 7). Kathleen´s inbuilt rollercoaster radar led us straight to the biggest one in the park where after hanging around until 10 when the rides opened, two blokes come along, took the sign down, and replaced it with a big closed (well, the sign was in Dutch but it was pretty obvious).  So Kathleen headed us off to the next rollercoaster. And that was the start of our day in the park.

Dutch keyboard! Nothing is in the right place! That´s my excuse for any typos.

We pulled in to park at the wedding party and met up with another group parking. They said “so you´re from Belgium!” We said from the UK and they said “so you went to Belgium and drove from there?” So Joe asked why and they pointed out we´re driving a car from Belgium. Interesting. So the Dutch probably now think drivers from Belgium are slow and awful.

The party was great fun with people from at least 9 countries (that´s how many we counted after a few drinks) from all over Europe and as far away as Canada and Australia. There was a band which was great fun (lots of swing) and fabulous food. We were in a huge marqué tent in the middle of the countryside and the weather was beautiful though quite cold. It reminded me of Lost Vagueness at Glastonbury – elegance in a field and people dressed in everything from jeans and wellies to ballgowns and high heels. Very lovely.

After a good night´s sleep we had a leisurely start to the day. Had breakfast then a short walk around Staphorst before getting in the car and heading out. We drove scenic routes – all along a canel to start on a little tiny road. Then off into the forest. Stopped at a pancake house and had far too much to eat (it was lovely). Arrived at Efteling around 4ish and checked into the hotel. As we drove up Joe just laughed – the hotel is a fantasy castle!

We can see the park from our window so I spent some of the afternoon watching the pagoda go up and down. Had a lovely dinner and are now just waiting to get into the park and play!

Had a very nice evening in Amsterdam. Met up at the art bar where Joe and I went for a drink and he uploaded some photos (it’s the panoramio site). Had another drink then off for an Indonesian meal. Got a selection and had loads of wonderful food and conversation.

Up late this morning (we are on holiday!) and breakfast at the hotel before a slow stroll to the station, going through the flower market where hordes of tourists take photos. Train to the airport to get the car and for the first time I’m driving in a country where I can’t read the signs! So we took the easy way to Staphorst via the motorways and it was much easier than I expected. Found the hotel with no problems at all. Neat little motorway motel and finding the reception was harder than finding the place!

Once settled in and eaten lunch we headed back out to find out where we should be this evening. That’s when Dutch roads became very interesting – only just two cars’ width wide and bikes having right of way – a few cyclists take this to mean they can just shoot out into the road without even looking, swerve around the road without looking, and make turns without indicating or even looking! Most however value their lives and at least look!

It was easy to find the location as there are wooden signs with ‘Party!’ painted on pointing the way. So once we’d figured that out we went for a drive in the area. This part of the Netherlands is very lovely, with sailing lakes and wildlife. Except Joe decided we didn’t need the binoculars. But we did get some lovely photos and had a nice drive.

Now to get ready for the party!