Wednesday 13 May. Amsterdam

The weather was not very promising today but in the end it only drizzled on and off, so was not a bother. 

A canal boat tour is a must in Amsterdam and I think I got the best views of the city from the boat. As in Delft, there are canals crisscrossing the city and it was very enjoyable to sit in the boat and look at the sights as well as people going about their lives. I saw that people really do park their cars right on the edge of the canals, with only a few centimeters to sidle along to the driver’s door.

The average person has at least three bikes so they are parked all over the place, or else threatening to run you over if you put a toe into a bike lane. The riders are fast and aggressive. The everyday bike is for going to work and parking in a public place where it could be stolen, so it’s a cheap one. The cargo bike is for shopping (I think) and carrying kids. People can carry 3 or 4 kids in them. Then there’s the good bike for longer trips, picnics etc.

My ticket was for the canal boat and also the hop on hop off bus so I set off in the direction of stop number one. Fortunately I was under cover along the back of the station as it started to rain. What a good time to stop for a coffee in one of the cafes there. By the time I’d had my cuppa the rain had stopped and I could continue on to the HOHO stop.

I stayed on the bus and did the whole journey round so that I could get a feel for the city, then remained on again until stop 3, Gasson Diamonds. A free tour was included in my ticket so I joined that. We saw diamonds being cut and were given a talk about how diamonds are valued - carat, clarity, colour and cut. The guide took out a number of examples leading up to a top quality diamond worth somewhere around A$80,000. He also brought out trays of rings for people to try on. I just looked and fortunately didn’t feel at all tempted. 

After Gassons I had a little wander around that area before returning and joining another bus. I had been to the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum years ago so I didn’t bother to revisit them and time was passing anyway. So back to stop number one and a return walk behind the station. Every time I’ve been near here there have been huge barges going by, bikes zooming on and off ferries and huge activity at the station.

I’ll aim to get there early in the morning as the station is enormous and I have to find my platform.

Rembrandt’s house

Tuesday. 12 May. Amsterdam

It’s been a terrific day today, on a small group tour (8) to Rotterdam, Delft and The Hague. Rotterdam is considered the modern city in Holland because it was pretty much totally destroyed in the war. It is also the main port and centre of business. We loved seeing the cube houses, designed to be like an urban roof with space on the ground. The Markethall is an office and residential building with a market hall underneath. Really interesting architecture but I wouldn’t fancy living in those cubes.

Our second stop was the Delft factory. It displayed the history of Delft as well as the manufacturing process. I had time for a cup of coffee out of a lovely Delft cup and saucer, but I had to give them back.

We then went to the centre of the city of Delft and had a good long stop with time for lunch. William of Orange was assassinated in Delft during the war with the Spanish. He is buried in the New Church (old though), which is the second tallest church in Holland. Delft was also the home of Johannes Vermeer. It is such a pretty place with canals around every corner. I took a lot of photos!

Last city was The Hague, where we saw the parliament building, which is being renovated at the moment. We also saw the Peace Palace, which houses the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial body of the United Nations. Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest Americans in history, donated the money for the building. He was a philanthropist who gave away 90% of his fortune to charities, foundations and universities.

We were dropped off by the waterfront, just behind the central station so I had a little look at the activity there.

 

Sunday 10 May. Manchester

A fine day for a drive and I was up and out early. My sleep was disturbed by an alarm going off somewhere in the area and the birds started at 4.30, as they did yesterday. However I’m not complaining about them because they’re lovely. They’d be lovelier still if they woke up at 7.00.

As I was leaving my room I found a little bag of snacks outside the door. The hotel keeper had said she would do this as I wasn’t staying for breakfast. The hotel is without  a chef and so can’t do meals at the moment and she is short of other staff too, poor thing. An hour do so down the road I stopped to sample the goodies and tried a chocolate croissant, from a packet, that bore no resemblance to a croissant. There was also a can and I was amazed to discover that it was a can of still water. The label said they use aluminium cans because they’re totally recyclable.

Most of my journey south was on the M6 as I had to return the car by 2.00 and couldn’t dilly dally on the slow, scenic roads. I called in to a “Services” stop expecting a dirty, unpleasant, Greasy Joe’s sort of place and was very pleased to find a clean, bright venue with all sorts of real food and even a “farm” shop. Had a good cup of coffee and a nice piece of rhubarb cake.

As I’d made good time on the road I was able to detour to Stockport before returning the car. Fortunately Stockport is very close to the airport. I wanted to see the mural that is made of plastic bottle caps. It was fantastic and I was able to go right up and have a good look at it. There are quite a few of these murals now but this was the first.

Am now tucked up in the Ibis Hotel, just across the road from the airport. It only took me 5 minutes to walk here from the terminal where the shuttle dropped me off. And what luxury, a lift instead of stairs. The downside is absolutely no atmosphere or coziness.

Saturday 9 May. Corbridge

My main task for the day was pretty straightforward - find a laundromat and do a load of washing. The one very close by was a commercial laundry but would do it for £25. I felt I could do better elsewhere! Couldn’t find any in Corbridge but Google offered one in Hexham, only a couple of miles away. When I got there it was closed so Google offered me another one in Hexham and tried to take me the wrong way down a one way street. This has happened a couple of times and I suspect there are lots of changes in these narrow streets. I eventually found the address but had to ask in a petrol station where it was. Turned out to be down a driveway, next to a car wash and not in a building.

I loaded my washing, paid by card and pressed start, then sat in the car and read my book for half an hour. When it was finished I moved it into the dryer and repeated the procedure. 15 minutes later it was almost dry so back I went and hung it on hangers in my room to finish off.

Today has been miserably cold. My weather app said 8 degrees but feels like 1. I’d have said even less when I was standing listening to a volunteer guide tell us all about Corbridge Roman Town. This town predates Hadrian and his wall. The Romans came here looking for lead and found it. It was a fort for a while and then after the wall was built became a town where the soldiers from the wall used to have a bit of R & R.

The ruins that we saw were huge granaries right beside the Roman road, where grain could be easily unloaded. The big open area was a forum with shops around the edges. You can see where the walls of the shops were. Another interesting spot was a deep chamber with stairs leading down. This was a vault where people could pay to keep their valuables safe.

The biggest find here was a wooden box with spare parts for soldiers uniforms. People knew from carvings and murals what Roman soldiers’ uniforms looked like but they didn’t know exactly how they were made. The contents of the box had rusted and virtually mummified the pieces within and from this archaeologists could work out all the parts of the uniforms.

I was still freezing cold when I got back into the car and headed for the nearest cafe and a bowl of pumpkin soup.

Friday 8 May. Corbridge

Today I travelled about 80 miles north, avoiding the motorway so that I could see the countryside. It takes a lot longer to get to your destination but is so much more interesting. My destination was Birdoswald Roman Fort, a part of Hadrian’s Wall.

It amazes me how much they can learn from ruins like these, and wandering through the fort gave me a very “Time Team” feeling. There is a big, square perimeter wall with a number of gates in it. The part that has mainly been excavated is the granaries, long storehouses with raised floors which could store up to a year’s supply of food.

I noticed that many of the visitors had walking poles and backpacks. There are walking paths all along the wall and I saw people disappearing into the distance as they walked through a field beside the wall. It looked like a pleasant walk here but some sections would be a nightmare, if not downright dangerous.

On my way to Corbridge I saw a sign to a Roman Army Museum so of course I turned off for a look. There were all sorts of examples of army paraphernalia but the thing I liked best was a film about Roman army life which included a lot of aerial footage of the wall. I was surprised at how much is left and amazed at the construction, in all kinds of terrain, of this 4.6 metre high wall. 

I have been so lucky with the weather and today was no exception. It started to rain just as I was getting my luggage out of the car and the heavens opened a couple of seconds after I stepped inside the door. Just made it!