Winter holiday

In February 2012 we made a trip to Holland to see family and some friends - unfortunately we didn't have time to do everything and see everything, but we did have fun and it was a good break for both of us.

We had not had a 'holiday' since coming to France, apart from our initial rushes around the countryside to look at the area, and apart from a couple of days in between just to have a break and do something cultural. The weather was a concern, as the week before we left we had snow and very cold overnight temperatures. Luckily it was safe enough to travel, although on our way up there was still plenty of snow throughout inland France.

some interesting rocks in the Gard/Lozère region

Millau Bridge

Our route took us via the Millau Bridge - we have some great shots of it - but Wouter had given me the camera and said 'just keep clicking' - that meant I didn't actually see much of the bridge travelling over, but at least the pics turned out ok!
Our first overnight stop was in a town called Chagny in the Bourgogne, very close to Dijon. The town had a lovely feel about it and the countryside around there is just stunning.
Day 2 and on our way north to Stoumont (Belgium), just south of the town of Spa. We stayed here in a friendly B&B - the guy is mad about racing and does all sorts of racing tours. While there we visited the museum 44, which focuses on the local battles in the surroundings during WWII. We also took a quick visit to Spa and saw some interesting buildings.

Just south of Spa

Day 3 we arrived in Voorschoten to grey, damp weather and 10 degrees, which seems to be the weather we have when we go to Holland.... From there, we made a trip to visit some friends in the Hague, had a family party, made a walk along the canal, and Wouter made a trip to a mill by bike with his brother. We were treated to some nice meals - actually everywhere we stayed the food was great! A good combination of Indonesian meals and typical Dutch fare.
It was interesting for me to discover the difference between the meer koet and the water hoen:

Meer koet

Water hoen

We spent a couple of nights in Nagele with our friends, and took quite a few small trips to see the surrounding villages and nature reserves. The area of Schokland is a protected reserve for plants and animals. This signboard shows how people used to pass each other on the narrow walkways years ago - loopplanken.

a live demo!

old port walls in the background

lighthouse at Urk

                                    

pole marking a buried ship - there are many in the area

Wouter and Tineke eating herring and loving it!

Next we made our way across the centre of Holland to the town of Bennekom. One of the main reasons for our visit was to see Tante Ada, who is a very young 95 years old!

Tante Ada with Wouter

 A visit to the Krüller Müller museum in Otterlo was amazing - one of the reasons we came back to Europe was to be able to see wonderful architecture and works of art and for both of us it was a great feeling to be able to do this in such a wonderful setting.

We made a trip around the country-side and one of our stops was at the castle of Amerongen. With little time to visit the castle itself, we were content to have a small walk around the grounds and check out the former stables (now a shop and cafeteria).

The nearby towns of Wageningen, Rhenen, Ede were also interesting.

Carrying young trees along the dyke

The river Rijn from Wageningen

Going over on the ferry - great fun

lower part of the church in Rhenen

On the road between Rhenen and Amerongen we saw some old tobacco houses - painted in typical black and in an old barn style - formerly used for drying tobacco grown in the region.

flour mill at Wageningen

an old farm building that caught Wouter's interest

The next stage of our trip was based just south east of Rotterdam. From here we made a long afternoon of travelling firstly to Delft, to see the town centre. As it was Sunday, there were few things open, but it gave a good opportunity to see the wonderful buildings and take some photos free of people.

along one of the canals

the square with town hall on the right

we found our way to the old weighing house - now a café and very atmospheric

A busy afternoon at Gouda was also interesting, with a small market of snacks and trinkets in progress, as well as seeing the famous buildings of the square. 

town hall

Weighing house

interesting carving

On our way home we stopped at friends for the night and then another stop in Mayenne to break the long journey. It was nice to see more of France and we completed the loop and arrived back both tired from the travelling. The thought of all the work to be done in the garden due to the lovely weather here was also rather tiring, but that's a story for another day!

For anyone wanting to read our past adventures when we were first in France, please check out the previous blog:
Back to Europe

SPRING 2012

  GARDEN

Spring has arrived in Cambieure. There is so much to do in the garden before the sun bakes the earth to a hard crust. It's hard to believe that just 4 weeks ago we had -13 degrees and a week of snow! The temperatures of the last few days have reached 27 degrees and the sky is clear and sun brilliant.

Planted before winter, the peas, onions, garlic and broad beans are now surging ahead with spring growth. The broad beans have flowers and soon the stems will need to be secured. It's a race to remove all the weeds before we can no longer pull them out of the ground.

Fruit trees have started budding or flowering and the birds are busy gathering nest material and singing at the tops of their voices - such a cheery sound.

  HOUSE

In the house, work continues on the bathrooms - one large bathroom split into an ensuite for us and a private bathroom for one of the guest bedrooms. Anyone familiar with building and renovation will know that most of the work is behind the walls and preparation.

Before work started

Hallway space to be blocked

You can see from the pictures above that we bought quite a colourful house! The space in the hallway is directly to the left of the shower and will be included in the new guest bathroom.

To start, Wouter had to remove all the fittings, wall tiles, mirror, and the wall beside the shower (to the hallway space). Imagine the dust....

Removing tiles

Plumbing in place, shower trays in, wall marked

The next job was to get the plumbers in to place all the holes, waterlines, etc for the new layout, fill in the old shower tray with concrete (this forms part of the base for one of the new showers). Then, a doorway had to be made in our bedroom wall and temporary door to prevent dust and debris going throughout the house.

One window removed and blocked, temporary door to our room

Making wall between shower and loo

Evening walls in preparation for tiling

working on centre wall

While the plumbers were in, we also installed a sink/vanity unit in one of the bedrooms - the ensuite for that room will be completed later. Another job was to remove the water cylinder from our wardrobe and place it upstairs alongside the others. This will allow us to change the room later. The electricians have been in to complete the wiring, so now it's on to the next stage for us.

Check out the new look on the La Prade website:
La Prade