Trial Separation
Trip Start
May 02, 2012
1
12
18
Trip End
May 21, 2012
Where I stayed
Valkenburg, Limburg, Netherlands
Monday, May 14, 2012
Sue and Wally took the train to Maastricht with their bags of dirty laundry – they had already determined that Valkenburg had no Laundromats, but Maastricht had. The Laundromat they found turned out to be not self-serve. The lady at the counter said she would do it for them, and have it ready tomorrow morning – not good, since they are leaving for Paris tomorrow morning. In the end, the lady offered to have the laundry ready for pickup between 5 and 6 pm. They returned to Valkenburg, and Wally took the train back to Maastricht to pick it up – thank goodness the trains are efficient.
The rest of us took the train to Maastricht, changed for Roermond, then for Venlo, and finally took a shuttle bus to Floriade. After our ten days of experience in the country, we found that we could navigate all of these stations and changes smoothly, both there and back, and were quite pleased with ourselves. It helped that we weren't dragging bags. Floriade is a World Horticultural Exposition, held only once every 10 years in the Netherlands, and we felt we should take the opportunity since we were here. One day wasn’t enough to see most of the exhibitions and pavilions, but we saw enough to be impressed. There were pavilions representing many different countries, and gardens and displays with themes of relaxation and healing, horticulture as an economic driver, the environment, education and innovation. Flat Toos and Ron were especially interested in the market garden displays and thoroughly enjoyed their day.
Today was sunny, and started off cool, but warmed up so that by mid-afternoon both Peggy and Sue were able to strip down to short sleeves, and Ella took off her gloves. Caroline, on the other hand, has been dressed for summer since we arrived in Holland – we are assuming she is either very warm-blooded or completely insensitive.
We all met up back in Valkenburg for a last dinner together on a sidewalk cafe before we go our separate ways tomorrow. We will miss each other, but are looking forward to getting together again for Paula’s wedding next year if not before. This blog will continue, representing the remaining five of the Simons’ siblings and the two outlaws, as we continue our invasion of Europe.
Comments
AmazIng as always !
Safe travels to all!