Day with Victor

Victor (my cousin) picked me up from my hotel at 9.30. We headed off for a small village called Hellevoetsluis. I had heard of this little town from a friend and was curious to see it. We eventually arrived at about 11 am after being caught in one of Rotterdam's famous traffic jams. Hellevoetsluis is a quaint little fortified village. We wandered around the city walls and the old harbour. It was very quiet with little more to do so we headed off to another nearby fortified village, Brielle. Brielle, was quite a bit bigger and there was far more activity. We wandered around the town and found the Sint Catherijnekerk. It was on a site that has had a church since 1280. After a little more wandering in the warm sun we decided to have a drink at a cafe (Victor sitting in the sun and Ann in the shade) overlooking the canal and harbour. Very nice. From there we headed into Rotterdam. Although John and I have been to Holland many times and travelled through Rotterdam often we have never actually visited the city. Rotterdam was bombed during the war, so there are very few old buildings. There are, however, some incredibly interesting modern buildings. We again did the obligatory wander around and after an hour or so it was time for a well deserved cold ale (even I had one). Then off to dinner at the funky Sushi Qube before heading to the old Holland America harbour, where we sat and watched the sunset over Rotterdam and the Erasmus Bridge. A perfect end to a fantastic day. Thanks Victor.