A Day in Son

My cousin Anja and her husband Jan picked me up from Breda.  Jan drove us back to Son via some beautiful little dutch villages.  Unfortunately it was raining quite hard so we couldn't really get out and wander around.

We then spent some time at their lovely home, with their daughter Wilhemijn, before heading out for a wander around Son. 

Son is the village in which my mum was born and raised.  We first went to the OudeMeer (Old Lake), which was so water sodden that it was impossible to go very far.  Then off to the Sonse Bergen (Mountains of Son - they are really very small sand hills).  And finally we wandered around the spire of the old church in Son (the church was burnt down many years ago), and the graveyard and park behind the church.  Unfortunately it really was too wet and rainy to fully enjoy it all.

Later in the day Evert Jan joined us for a drink.  In the evening we had a lovely homemade dinner before heading back to Breda.  On the way we stopped by the Van Gogh "Megaportret", which is a copy of the van Gogh self Portrait, made up with stones, flowers and various natural materials.  It is in Nuenen, which is where van Gogh spent many years, and which also has the van Gogh museum.

All in all a truly fantastic day.



http://www.vangoghbrabant.com/nl/megaportret

Not so Quiet Day at Home

Today was Marie Louise's Birthday, so we were expecting family from about 2.00 pm.

I spent some time in the morning checking on mum's progress (she required surgery), and I am happy to say all went well and she is again safely at home.

Back to the birthday.  It was a very hectic and noisy (van Moorsel's are not known for their quietness) afternoon and evening.  Marie Louise was thoroughly spoilt and she had a lovely day.

For me it was a great opportunity to catch up with my cousins and their families.

Below are two of the younger members of the family, Jeano and Milou, myself and Robert Jan, and finally the birthday girl and her niece Sanne.

We we finally in bed at 12.30 am!

Quiet Day at Home

Today was a washing and rest day.  I rang home to find that my mum was in hospital.  Her heart had been racing.

I headed into town to do some grocery shopping for dinner.  It was Marie Louise's last day at work so a celebration was in order.  I also spent some time trying to work on the Blog, without too much success. 

Visit in Eindhoven

Today was another family day.

I caught the train to Eindhoven and was met at the station by my cousin Hannie.  Our first stop was to visit her mother (my dad's sister).  My aunt has not been particularly well, but I am happy to say she was in fine form on this day.  I was able to show her several photo's her brother and his family is Australia, which she really enjoyed.

We had a nice lunch together and Hannie then drove me back to her house where we spent a few hours chatting.  We headed out for a stroll but the weather looked a bit ominous so we returned home.  The picture below shows a typical dutch bungalow and the second one is a footpath indicator in front of a house where the jewish occupants were deported to Auschwitz.  Apparently these plaques are being installed in many towns in memory of those that were deported and killed.

Hannie drove me back to the train station and I caught the train home.  It was my turn to cook dinner as Marie Louise was working late.

Leaving Bath

After packing all our suitcases (a bit of a challenge after the shopping) we headed back to town for a final wander around before being picked up by taxi.  We had the same driver as when we arrived and he drove us to Bristol Airport via Lower Weston, Culvery Wood, Chew Magna and Winford, which was a scenic drive.  We arrived in plenty of time.  The airport security at Bristol was particlarly strict.  I had left my toothpaste and some sun cream in my suitcase and spent quite a few minutes while my case was checked and then put through the screening machine again. 

Once again we had a quick and comfortable flight arriving on time in Amsterdam.  We caught the train back to Breda, and had a quiet evening chatting with the family about our trip.

Bath - Day Three

Our first stop was the Jane Austen Museum.  It was very near our accommodation.  The house is at No 40 Gay Street and is a Georgian town house build between 1735 and 1760 by the two John Woods.  This house is very similar to the one where Jane Austen lived for a few nmonths following her father's death.  Jane wrote two novels about Bath, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. 

She did very little writing in the 5 years that she lived in Bath as the family fell on hard times after the death of her father.  After a wander around the displays we headed back to town to do a little more shopping!! Marie Louise really is a bad influence on me!!

We walked back to the Circus for another look at the spectacular architecture and stone work.  We then headed to the Assembly Rooms which we were lucky enough to be able to view, as there were no functions.  They really are very impressive, but unfortunately not easy to photograph.
In the evening we headed to the Thermae Day Spa where we spent three relaxing hours in the Steam Rooms and the Roof Top Pool.  Thermae Bath Spa

Bath - Day Two

Up earlyish and into the old town again.  We decided to make use of our City Sightseeing tickets and re-did the city tour, taking in once again the beauty of the Pulteney Bridge and of the Royal Crescent (designed by John Wood the Younger) and the Circus (designed by John Wood the Elder).  Both are fine examples of Georgian architecture and of Bath stone.   We then wandered back into town and did a little more shopping, before our High Tea in the Pump Room.

Bath was also in the middle of the Fringe Festival (altough it wasn't particularly well advertised), and we found a display of beautiful photographs by various photographers in the Octogon.  I particularly liked those by Susannah Critchley.

We then re-did the Skyline Tour, which is lovely, and then headed back to our B & B, before heading out for dinner at Jamie Oliver's Italian.