14 miles

I know it has been ages since I have blogged. Here is the low down:

I have been to Antwerp. Shopping was totally lovely. I need to lose weight. Europe is not great about fluffy clothes and it seems that they might actually be worse than the U.S. about sizes. I toured the Cathedral there which had several paintings by Paul Rubens. Gorgeous and very awe-inspiring. The stained glass was spectular. I want to return to tour again after I read a book about the Cathedral. I am a history buff too.

I biked about 7 miles to a small town called Dishoek. I climbed a dune and walked on the beach which did wonders for my feet. Biking in the Netherlands is awesome. All the bike paths are well-marked. When I was on shift for two weeks, one shift told me about a bike map with all the numbers. I purchased one for 5 euros. Very good investment.

I also spent a weekend in Amsterdam. Very busy. I only walked around looking. I wanted to get my bearings and my first feel of a big European city. The weather was gorgeous. From Amsterdam, I went to Maastricht, which is a small town on the southeast side of the Netherlands. I did not get to spend a lot of time there. Weather was just nasty. Also camera's battery died and I did not have my charger. The battery is a Lithium one. I actually have a backup battery but did I bring it? NO!!!!!

Middelburg had a local Mussel festival. I actually met up with some people from the labs and learned how to eat Mussels like a local. By the way, I have loss some weight, but the food is way good.

Last Saturday, I took the train at 7:30am to Amsterdam. I went to the Rijsk Museum. Unfortunately, the major portion of the museum was closed, but what I did see really makes me want to return one day to see the whole museum. I saw Rembrandt's "Night Watch". Quite lovely and they had some great pieces from Asia. Remember the East Indies Company was Dutch! I shopped for a pair of Birkenstocks. Just love them. They have been very helpful for my feet. I will purchase more. I somehow stumbled across not knowing it was going on: the Amsterdam Gay-Pride canal parade. I could not believe the number of people lining the canal. I saw nothing too racy. The music was quite good. I did take pictures. I also went to 2 English bookstores. It sounds funny, but it is unnerving not to be able to read signs, papers and books here. I had a pizza for dinner and returned to Middelburg at 9:30pm. Long Day.

This weekend saw me metting more people from work at a local bar and eating some Chinese. I probably won't go every week, but every once in a while I will go. Then yesterday (Saturday), I biked a total of 14 miles (hence the title of this post) to Oostekappelle. Why do you ask? Because our fearless knitter heard about a yarn store. Was it worth it? Ummmm 10 balls of a cotton/linen mix for 4.50 euros a ball later, you tell me. I had a great gyro wrap for lunch. Some of the best food I have had since arriving in the Netherlands. One of the other tables ordered a salmon salad that looked divine. Then I biked to the beach and boy was it crowded. Plan for today is to clean and catch up.

Where to next: I am thinking about next weekend returning to Antwerp to sightsee some more. I did not do a lot. Then I signed up for a tour of Middelburg through a social club at work. Labor Day weekend, I will be in Copenhagen. Flight already arranged and hotel reservations made. The backpack I ordered and sent to the other Americans U.S. house hopefully will have arrived by this trip. I will be going to Sommerflugen, but I will only purchase for myself. Sorry folks but I don't have tons of room to take stuff back and I have heard it is better to order via the internet. I may even have my purchase shipped back. Then last weekend in September, I will be catering to the client. Hey I get to represent her on 2 continents now!!! Eat your heart out Lynn! You won't steal the client!!

Oh yeah work has been hectic and I am making progress on my projects. I hope you all are well. And I do have my pictures posted and will send links to those who have e-mailed me. Please pass them on. But warning there is the canal parade in the August Amsterdam folder!!!