Ending our last full week - August 1 through 4 ...
Thursday
Another rainy day, so we decided on some indoor entertainment. We would catch a bus at the nearby corner and see where it would take us. So we went to the bus stop and read the schedule posted on it. The bus stops here at 13 after every hour. Hmmm. It's about half past.
So we cross the street and see about the one that comes from the other direction. Same times. Hmmm again.
OK, since we're out here and ready to go we decide to walk to the train station, a 15 or 20 minute walk, where all the busses come and go all the time. Since we don't care where we're going we'll be sure to get the right one there.
The weather is just in-between. Not warm anough for a jacket, but too cold for without one. Not raining enough for an umbrella, but too much for no umbrella. So as we walked we took off and put on jackets, and opened and closed umbrellas.
When we got there we started looking at the schedules, and a man came and was looking at the same posted schedule we were looking at. Daddy thought the man might be able to help us, so he asked if the man spoke English. He seemed to speak a little, so we tried to tell him what we were doing. As he began to understand what we were doing, and that we weren't trying to panhandle or annoy him his English improved amazingly.
He insisted that we take the bus he was taking, all the way to Rotterdam, and then we could either take the same bus home or return on the train. So we went with him, and he got off about half way to Rotterdam and wished us well. He has a son who lived in Chicago for several years, and he has been to the states many times.
At the Rotterdam bus station there was a huge shopping mall, so we walked around in it for a while, and eventually we came to a McDonald's, so we had lunch.
Then we had to try to find our way back to the bus station, which was difficult since we had gone around in circles in the mall. I was delighted when again I was able to know the way back to the busses. Daddy was so sure I was wrong he nearly turned back and went the other direction, but just then I saw the busses so he was willing to follow me to them.
On the ride home I tried to get a picture of a certain tree I had seen on the way out. That didn't turn out so well, but you can see the attempts and all the others we took on that trip here.
As we were walking home from the bus I saw a tree just like it. I'm not sure what it is, but I want one. We also saw one of Lucien's sculptures.
We got a phone call from Lucien late in the evening. It seems the real estate guy was to have come with the inspector earlier in the day, to look at Lucien's father's house. Last time he went in he had left the front door open, so we were to go around the corner and take a look.
The doors were locked, but there was a bright light left on inside. So Lucien phoned the guy renting a room in the house and asked him to turn it off. We watched across the alley as the upstairs light went on, the downstairs light went off, and the upstairs light went off. I was talking to Lucien in Finland as I watched, and told him what I was seeing. So now he can relax on his island and not have to worry.
Friday
We took the waterbus to the other side of Dordrecht and walked back to this side, taking whatever side streets caught our fancy, and taking pictures of anything that looked interesting, or amusing.
I'm not sure, but I think we went through skid row, as well as many old shopping areas and residential areas.
We managed to find that same McDonalds from a third direction, and again it took us a long time to be sure it was the same one.
I guess Dordrecht isn't a very big city, if we find ourselves in the same spot no matter which part we start at.
Now that we have learned to work the busses, and the boats, and the trains, it's getting close to time to work the airplanes and go home. Not for a while, though. Carmen is going to show us Amsterdam on Monday, and who knows what else we'll find to do in our last few days here.
Today's pictures are here
Saturday
It was a rainy morning, and Carmens's friend Anita came to visit. We played with the puzzles for a while and then we decided to go to Rotterdam on the train and check out the outdoor market.
Near the train station there were an assortment of interesting buildings. The ones with the tilting squares are apartments. I don't know what they are like inside. The one with the yellow pipes is the library.
We bought a few things, and some food, then we stopped at the library roof to have something to drink and relax for a while. I got some pictures of the contrasting old and new buildings.
Then we walked to the harbor and I got some bridge pictures, then back again to the train station.
When we got home the girls took us out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. It was very good.
The rest of our pictures are here
Sunday
Looks like another lazy day for us. Daddy went to church this morning, although I don't think he got much out of it. He says he's pretty sure the sermon was about the prodigal son, but I don't think he knows if the minister was for or again' him. Probably for.
After church we sat around drinking coffee and eating little yummy things that I have never seen in the states, but maybe now that I'm aware of them I'll see them. They are like flat small round waffles, with syrup in between the two thin layers.
As I write this it's almost 2:30 in the afternoon, and nobody shows any sign of wanting to go anywhere or do anything.
I've decided I don't want one of those trees I saw the other day after all. I finally saw one close up, and the branches that looked fuzzy and nice from a distance are actually made of stiff small leaves, with very sharp points. I still think they look nice, but I don't like their attitude.
Daddy's on the roof above me, where he sits for a while every day, eating grapes that grow in the greenhouse on the roof. They are getting sweeter every day, he says. The grape vines are actually growing in the ground, but Lucien encouraged them to go up the sides of the big door and into the greenhouse. Pretty neat trick, I thought!
We are becoming aware that we just have a few more days here before we head for home. So we have to be sure to go everywhere and see everything while we still can. I really want to be sure to see the Anne Frank house, so that along with a few other things is on our schedule for tomorrow in Amsterdam.
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