So long, farewell....
Trip Start
May 31, 2006
1
18
20
Trip End
Jul 08, 2006
Leiden, Netherlands
Friday, July 7, 2006
Tony was up early this morning to replace the brakes and fix the gears on Christine's bike before we left (nothing changes). It was funny watching out the window as Chris tried out her newly fixed bike with Dad looking on.
The trip has been great - and I have remained relatively unscathed. I meant to keep a tally of falls and other Gayle-type incidents but there have been to many to catalogue. I am pleased to report that there was only one serious fall. That was at Kenilworth Castle when I missed the bottom step of a stair case in the gatehouse and fell, with great noise and force onto both my hands and knees. The knees are still bruised, one of my feet was a bit mangled, but we were more worried about the building itself. We were sure it was going to be in ruins the next day. Tony said the place shook to it's foundations. My shoulder's survived as far as I can tell. Funny, but a year ago my shoulders would have been the least of my concerns in terms of this incident. It's interesting how your perspective changes.
I did manage to find the only sticking up cobble in all of Utrecht (and trip over it) much to chris' amusement.
Most of the other incidents have involved bicycles in the Netherlands - I keep stepping out in front of them or standing where they want to go (and they don't stop.) Sander had to yank me out of the way a number of times. There were also some incidents with traffic in London and I have no real excuse there - they drive on the same side of the road as us. And of course the dutch snacks were a near-death experience.
But the adventure isn't over yet. We have a day in Hong Kong tomorrow. We're not sure what we'll do yet, but I do know one thing...it will be hot!
