Dutch Bulbfields

Day 1

What a ridiculous time of day to be getting up for work! My alarm was set for 3:15am but I was already awake. I never sleep very well before such an early start, I think because I'm worried about oversleeping! I arrived at work at 4am, drove round the yard and couldn't find my coach. I must have had my eyes shut because I drove past it twice before finding it on the third lap! All our passengers arrived in good time and after two more pick ups, we were on our way to Dover.

It was an easy journey down to kent with a flying visit in the services en route. We checked in at port in good time and sailed on our booked ferry at 1015 to Calais. We'd told the passengers that the most civilised way to travel on the ferry is to pay for the first class lounge or have a silver service breakfast in the brasserie, to find out once we had boarded ship, that we were on the only ship on the fleet to not have either and so they would have to suffer the riffraff!

It was 1pm local time when we disembarked and with a good journey, we had a 4 1/2hr drive to our hotel, just north of Amersfoort, Holland. We stopped at services for a 45min break before ploughing on again and didn't make bad time, arriving at the hotel at 1830. I was exhausted! Everyone checked in while I unloaded the luggage. Passengers disappeared off to their rooms. Then I was informed that the hotel was fully booked and they didn't have a room for me!! I wasn't impressed! After stamping my feet and making some phone calls I realised I was fighting a losing battle and had to go with it. After dinner, which was very well received, I was shipped out to a hotel a 15min drive away where I had a lovely room which I didn't appreciate because I crashed out and slept a solid 9hrs until morning!

Day 2

At 7:15am, a taxi, laid on by the hotel, picked me up to take me back for breakfast with my group and the hotel I would now be staying in for the duration. Everyone was pleased to see me and said they had felt sorry that I had that to deal with after such a long day driving, but I was feeling bright as a button now and ready for another day, but no one had best try to fight me today!

Today we are off to Keukenhof, also known as the 'Garden of Europe'. It is the worlds largest flower garden, situated near Lisse, south-west of Amsterdam. According to the official website of the park, approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted every year, covering an area of 32 hectares.

Keukenhof is sited on 15th century hunting grounds. Jacqueline, Countess of Hainaut's Castle, (which is the source of the name 'Keukenhof'), used it as a source of herbs for the castle kitchens. Rich merchants took over the grounds after the death of the Countess. In the 19th century, the Baron and Baroness Van Pallandt assigned the landscape architect Jan David Zocher and his son Louis Paul, to design the grounds around the castle. The gardens were established in 1949 by the then-mayor of Lisse. The idea was to present a flower exhibit where growers from all over the Netherlands and Europe could show off their hybrids, and help the Dutch export industry (the Netherlands is the world's largest exporter of flowers). 

Keukenhof features a variety of different gardens and garden styles, with many displays of individual countries and doesn't contain the picture postcard views of long fields of tulips which many visitors expect.

 

However, there are many tulip fields in the surrounding area and if you are lucky enough to be in the area at the time of year the tulips are showing colour before harvest (about a 10 day window), then a drive around the countryside would be well worth it. Today however, we are too late in the year to see this sight as harvest has already taken place.

This afternoon there is the Parade of Flowers and it finishes at Keukenhof. From what I understand, it is similar to our harvest festival and is a celebration of a successful flower crop. I can imagine it is quite a sight. Due to the parade, there are a ridiculous number of coaches here today, I'd hate to guess how many hundreds. You can hardly move just inside the main entrance to the garden but it eases off slightly as you go further in.

I hate being in crowds of people like that, so after a hot dog swiftly followed by an ice cream, I went for a kip on the coach. It's going to be stupidly busy watching the parade as well and all the roads will be closed until it's finished so I hate to think how long it is going to take us to get out of here! I hope the passengers are enjoying today more than I am!

I was right! Still too many visitors at the parade! The Annual Flower Parade follows a 40km route from Noordwijk to Haarlem.

(Image taken from Google)

The parade is comprised of about 20 large floats and more than 30 decorated luxury cars, interspersed with marching bands.

(Image taken from Google)

It was estimated to take about 50 mins for the parade to pass Keukenhof and I was expecting a real street party atmosphere as it came by, largely due to the high volume of spectators. This was not the case. No matter how hard the street entertainers, bands and people on the floats tried to get people involved, there was no clapping, cheering or waving. People just stood almost in silence and took some photos! It was quite disappointing really, although the floats were magnificent.

(Image taken from Google)

The parade was nearing the end when everything came to a stand still while sirens went through the parade. There had been some sort of accident which had brought everything to a stop while it was dealt with. It was about 20mins before things were resumed and the last of the floats passed us by.

We found out there had been 60,000 visitors to Keukenhof today and the section of parking I was in had 1,000 coaches! Needless to say, we weren't quick in leaving! It took half an hour before I could even move my coach out of the bay into the queue because there was a delay in opening the roads. 

(Image taken from Google)

Once I was in the queue for the exit it took another half an hour to get onto the road! Once we were out, we had an easy journey back to the hotel, although we had to push our dinner time back by half an hour because we were so late.

I was relieved to be handed a room key when we arrived at the hotel along with a plate of Belgian chocolate truffles and chocolate coffee beans. I did think that they would have put my case in my room though but no, fetch your own Neen! We had a nice, although quite basic meal and I had complimentary wine from the manager as way of apology for not having a room for me the previous night. I think I should be having complimentary wine all week! Our hotel is in a lovely position, next to a marina on a lake. It was lovely to watch the sunset from the restaurant.

After taking a photo I went straight to my room after another very long, yet successful day.

Day 3

This morning, I have let everyone have a lie in, because I want one! I got up at 8am and went for breakfast half an hour later, where I was greeted by one of our group having a tantrum because someone was sat in 'his' seat and what was I going to do about it? Nothing! I was going to do nothing! There were plenty of other seats available either with or without company and I really couldn't see what all the fuss was about!

We left the hotel at 10am, today's destination, Amsterdam. We had arranged for the group to go on a boat trip if they wanted to. I dropped them off at the end of the Daamrak and walked the 'boaters' over to the pier. The boat trips around the canals of Amsterdam is one of the best ways to see the city and the commentary is always very informative and the guides, usually, in good humour. They paid their money, got on the boat and I waved them off. Then I had to take the coach out of town to park and catch the tram back in.

Although I have been to Amsterdam before I have never been here for long enough to be able to go for a look around and neither had my courier. First we found a little street/canal side cafe where we had coffee. My courier couldn't understand the menu and I had to explain it was the cannabis and magic mushroom menu! She was horrified! That amused me! 

Coffeeshops in Holland are allowed to sell small amounts of cannabis and are strictly regulated and taxed. Furthermore, coffeeshops must not sell to anyone under 18 and they must not sell more than 5g to any customer. Hard drugs are strictly prohibited.

We walked on and came across the red light district. My courier was wearing stupidly high heeled shoes and was struggling to walk on the cobbles and so was looking at the ground. When I told her to look left and she saw girls in underwear in the windows of individual rooms, set out like shops, beckoning men inside and touting for business, she was dumbstruck! Her reaction was hilarious! Considering she is well travelled and supposedly quite worldly, I was surprised at how prudish she was being.

Amsterdam is one of the greatest small cities in the world. From its canals to world-famous museums and historical sights, Amsterdam is one of the most romantic and beautiful cities in Europe.

Amsterdam is also a city of tolerance and diversity. It has all the advantages of a big city: culture, nightlife, international restaurants, good transport - but is quiet, and largely thanks to its extensive canals, has little road traffic. In Amsterdam your destination is never far away, but get a bike for an authentic local experience.

We had another coffee before catching the tram back to the coach and going to collect the group. We were due to be picking up at 4pm. All the pick up bays are marshalled because it gets so busy and at 3:58pm, with me missing 2 people, the Marshall told me to leave, I had been there long enough! So the courier was thrown off the coach and left to wait for our remaining passengers on the side of the street. Little did I know, the two lovely ladies I was waiting for were on a city sightseeing bus over the road but the doors had jammed and they couldn't get off! So when they saw me drive away they had several moments of panic! I drove round the block and came back to pick them up. They were so apologetic but it wasn't their fault and I had been moved on early. Some of the passengers had made them feel quite uncomfortable for being late and my lovely ladies were still fretting about it at dinner, wanting to buy me a drink for the inconvenience and worrying what others had been saying. I managed to put their mind at rest without taking a drink from them. There was no need when the hotel was still giving me free wine to try to compensate for not having a room for me!

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their day, once again, and we had another nice meal. I disappeared straight after dinner and slept like a log.

Day 4

Another lie in this morning and no dramas at breakfast! I drank too much coffee and was having a severe caffeine rush. Luckily it cleared before we went out at 10am for today's excursion to Volendam.

I told the group that I had arranged a visit for them this morning on the way into Volendam and that it was a surprise! I had booked them in at cheese and clogs. We arrived at the cheese farm, which is very well set up for coach groups, where we received a very warm welcome from the owner. Everyone was ushered into a room where they had a short cheese making demonstration before going through to the shop for tasting and buying!

There were more than 20 different kinds of cow, goat and sheep cheese to try. A lot of my group were buying cheese and soon, the coach locker was half full of the stuff!

From there, everyone moved on into another little room for a short explanation on clog making and the opportunity to buy clogs. Some of my passengers bought clogs, I think with the intention of using them for plant pots! Everyone got back on the coach while I was taken back into the shop and given some free cheese. Very nice cow cheese with herbs, yummy!

We then moved on to the pretty little fishing village of Volendam. The sun was shining, it was a beautiful day and we were going to the right place to have a long leisurely lunch by the harbour and to sit and watch the world go by. Only problem was, the rest of holland had the same idea making it quite a challenge to drive round the harbour to the coach park, avoiding shop canopies and street side displays as well as tourists in the middle of the road who can't hear my coach 2 inches behind them!

Volendam, the old fishing village at the IJsselmeer, offers costumes, music, and of course fish. The village is characterized by countless little houses around the small fishing port.

The first thing you should do on your trip to Volendam is to wander through the streets and enjoy the town’s lively atmosphere. Walk along the dike, churches and old center. After that, maybe have your picture taken in Dutch traditional costume. The traditional costumes are sill worn on folkloric events. Thirdly, you should ask for the Volendam ‘Palingsound' (‘eel sound’) Some of the most famous Dutch singers and musicians were born and bred in this small fishing village.

Everybody had said what a beautiful little place this was and how they had enjoyed a relaxing day. On the journey home I took them for a bit of a scenic drive before arriving back at the hotel shortly after 5pm. There was a little fuel station next door to the hotel so I went to see if I could fit under the canopy and ask the owner if he minded me filling the coach. He was chuffed to bits and probably put more fuel in my tank than he had sold all week! He gave me a coffee while I was waiting and some chocolates then asked if my water tanks needed filling and gave me another coffee while I waited for him to do that. I made his day! The coach was now ready for tomorrow's journey home.

Dinner this evening was the best meal of the week, although I've enjoyed every meal which has been served. Once again I disappeared after dinner and went to bed. There is no chance of a lie in tomorrow!

Day 5

We left the hotel at 8:30 this morning, homeward bound. We don't have enough time today to visit anywhere because once again, we are chasing a ferry. We had a quick stop at motorway services then for our second comfort break we called in at P&J's Chocolate Factory which is just outside of Oostende. The passengers seemed to prefer stopping here rather than another motorway service area. There is a little coffee shop and lots of Belgian chocolates were bought. I was given a free box of chocolates for taking my people in.

Our next stop was Calais Port. We were the only coach at passport control so we sailed through that very quickly and checked in on time for our booked sailing at 1520hrs. We were driving past the French customs area where you don't usually see a soul, and a man jumped out in front of me and told me to park at the side. Then he saw my passengers in the front few rows and said, "you have all old people?" To which the answer was yes, although I prefer to say 'further progressed in years' than old! The French official quickly changed his mind and sent us on our way, we weren't going to be searched after all!

We had a smooth sailing on the most modern ship on the fleet, 'Spirit of France' and arrived back in the UK. We had a relatively easy journey back to the midlands and arrived half an hour before schedule at 2030hrs.

I have thoroughly enjoyed this tour, as well as all the group. My passengers have been lovely and I have enjoyed working with this particular courier again. I can't pick out one day as being any better than the others, it has been brilliant from start to finish, although a bit hectic and tiring at times. In my opinion, this tour has been a complete success and I have brought home some very happy people.

Easter in Bruges

Day 1

Today I am off to Bruges. The alarm went off at 5am and an hour later I was on my way to work. I had a lot to do this morning before the passengers turned up. Because it's Easter, all of our passengers are given an Easter egg from the company, so I had to fetch them from the office and hide them on the coach, along with the hot cross buns which we would serve for breakfast on our way to meet the ferry, as well as loading all my usual kit and doing the various vehicle checks. For this tour I am working with Sharon. I've not worked with her before but when she arrived at the coach, we hit it off straight away.

The first of our passengers started arriving on feeders at 0630. I didn't really see any of them because I had my head in the locker loading luggage. We were early to leave the yard and went to pick up the remainder of our passengers from the second meeting point, before setting off down the motorway for Dover.

We were booked on the 1255 ferry. We had a lot of time in hand and I was hoping to get an early ferry. Sharon started making coffees and after about 10 cups, the coffee machine packed up! I hadn't even had my coffee! The most important person on the coach and I'm deprived!! Although a lot of people weren't able to have a drink, the hot cross buns went down well and it wasn't long before we stopped at motorway services for a comfort break where my caffeine levels were brought back to normal! I rang the mechanic to ask how to fix the coffee machine but I just didn't have the time to do what he was telling me. It was more important to get to port and on a ferry.

Back on the road and having an easy journey until, 3 miles from port, we came to a stand still. It took over an hour to do those last 3 miles! We didn't know at the time but one of the trains on the channel tunnel had broken down and so the freight were being transferred onto the ferries from Dover. Operation stack should have been put into action but it wasn't, resulting in trucks in both lanes who couldn't get into port, meaning no one else could either!

We checked in 10 mins before our booked ferry was due to sail which meant we had missed it with the cut off point 30 mins before sailing. So we were on the 1355, one hour later than planned. I wasn't too concerned. We should still be in our hotel for 6pm local time. There was only a short drive on to Bruges from Calais.

So while we were on dockside I actually had the chance to talk to the passengers and see who we had on board. We have 45 on and I'd say about 20 of them have travelled with me before and of them, there are about 10 who I know quite well. It's always nice seeing familiar faces. Finally we see our ship coming in to dock, 'Spirit of Britain'. They are quick to unload and equally as quick to send on the police and an ambulance! This wasn't good! There had been an 'accident' which had to be dealt with before loading too many vehicles. The coaches were the last vehicles to load and they packed us in like sardines. Now feeling hungry, we went straight to the drivers room for lunch. I had pork steak. It wasn't until I had finished my lunch that I realised that we still hadn't moved out of port. Finally, we set sail an hour late, so we were now 2 hours behind schedule. What should have been an easy day was turning into a long stressful one! We now weren't due to our hotel until 7pm.

We landed in Calais, got back on the coach and pedal to the metal all the way to Bruges! Sharon has been very good today at turning negative situations into positive ones. When she had to  say the coffee   machine wasn't working it was followed up with "but we have hot cross buns and we'll be stopping soon!" And when we were just getting off the ferry at the time we should have been checked in and in our rooms at our hotel she said "we are running later than planned but we're all safe and we will get there!" It's enough to make people just stop and think before complaining and keep the mood on the coach very happy and relaxed.

We arrived at Bruges. Coaches are usually banned from the centre of Bruges in an attempt to preserve it, which is even more important with it being a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so it was my first time to drive into the city. We checked into the hotel and Sharon very kindly took my luggage while I took the coach to park for the night.

I parked up and had a quick check down the coach to find a very nasty surprise! Coach toilets are only for weeing! Not only had someone done more than a wee, they hadn't managed to flush either! After I'd gained control of myself and stopped wretching, the offensive matter was dumped at the toilet drop before parking for a second time and walking back to the hotel.

We had a set menu dinner in the hotel this evening, which was good considering how late we had arrived, it meant that people didn't have to go looking for food in a strange city they hadn't become acquainted with yet. The menu was basic but the food that was served was very nice. The complimentary Kia aperitifs went down very well, as did the included wine!

After an early start, no one stayed around for long after dinner and had an early night. I've got a nice big bed to myself so I slept diagonally across it all night so as not to waste it!

Day 2

After a really good nights sleep, I got up late and appeared for breakfast shortly after 9am. I was quite surprised to see that not many of our passengers had been to breakfast yet. After breakfast I went down to the coach park to attempt to repair the coffee machine.

I spent 2 hours checking fuses, swapping pipes to feed through a different pump and getting soaking wet in the process! I did get it working although not as it should! The water from the handbasin in the toilet needs to be running in order to get water running from the tap of the coffee machine! A bit of a gymnastics act is needed to do this and I don't envy Sharon trying to serve drinks from it on the way home on Monday! But it's better than nothing! 

An English driver from another company was parked next to me. He was a proper know all! He came over interfering, trying to tell me what was wrong with the coffee machine and how to fix it, until I told him I had to feed through the other pump. He obviously had no idea and disappeared! 

At 1pm I went to pick up my passengers. This afternoon, we were booked on the paddle steamer from Bruges to Damme.

It was only a short 35 min cruise up the canal but it was a lovely day and everyone seemed to really enjoy it. 

I had to drive to Damme to pick the group up, but first they had an hour in this pretty, tiny village before heading back to Bruges.

There wasn't a lot in Damme, but especially with the weather being good, it was a nice place to sit out and enjoy a drink.

I did come across a random statue. There was no plaque, or anything to say its relevance or reason for being there!

We headed back to Bruges, driving through the suburbs and seeing where the 'normal' people lived. It was a nice relaxing afternoon. I parked the coach then Sharon and I had a beer before getting changed for dinner. 

We met up again at 7pm and headed off aimlessly for somewhere to eat. We ended up in a very nice little restaurant, sat on the street side under heat lamps on Burg Square. Firstly we ordered a medium Kriek each, these were a little larger than I remembered!

Sharon ordered Moules Provençal and I had schnitzel! Then Sharon forced me into having pudding! I had Damme Blanche (vanilla ice cream with hot chocolate sauce and cream) while Sharon had a big fat chocolate waffle!

By the time we payed the bill it was dark. We had a nice walk back to the hotel. The city looks a different place at night time, all lit up. 

By the time we got back to the hotel, with a full tummy, I was feeling tired. I was off to bed. All in all, it had been a good day.

Day 3

This morning I had to be up early. I had breakfast and walked down to the coach where I had Easter Eggs to put on the seats for the passengers. After feeding the parking meter with €25 worth of shrapnel to be able to exit the car park, I went to fetch the group. Everyone was pleasantly surprised by their eggs and some were quite excited!

Today's excursion is to Brussels. It's not a city I enjoy driving around. I find it difficult to get my bearings here with no river or landmark to navigate by. Also Brussels is full of tunnels. Some a coach can fit through others are too low, but none are height marked so you just don't use them! 

I dropped everyone off by the central station which is close to the cathedral and the Grand Place.

Sharon and I went for a walk and after she had spent so long on the coach talking about the Manneken Pis, I had to take her to see the Jeanekke Pis! 

Then we went and sat on the Grand Place and had a coffee. I really wanted a beer! It's not the same sitting in a street side cafe in Europe drinking coffee! It should be beer!

After coffee I was dragged into the Musee de Ville, which is a museum of Brussels through history, tapestries and paintings, and the outfits of the Manneken Pis. 

Embassies, tourist offices, but also workers, sportsmen, artists, bon vivants, associations,... wish to honor Manneken Pis with a suit or costume. It was worth going in just to see the costumes!

When we came out, we took a walk down to the Mannekin Pis, then found a frituur and sat on a wall with our chips like classy English birds do! We went back to the coach and had an hour quiet before the passengers would be returning.

We left the centre of Brussels and Sharon had asked if we could have a drive by the Atomium.

The Atomium is a building in Brussels originally constructed for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by the engineer André Waterkeyn and architects André and Jean Polak, it stands 102 m tall.


So being the helpful driver I am (snigger!) I changed my route so we could drive past the Atomium and the Royal Palace.





We were only 2 miles from the motorway when we came across a road closure with diversion. Panic! Where is this going to take me? Will it put me in a tunnel? Sharon! This is your fault! Aaaaargh! It all turned out fine and we were back on track within a few minutes. More luck than judgement! 


On the motorway on the way back to Bruges, there was a duck with a least 10 ducklings running around the middle lane. Cars were braking and swerving all over the place, I don't know how there wasn't an accident. Sharon got quite distressed about it so now wasn't the time to joke that all the cars stopped on the hard shoulder, which there were many, had pulled over to remove dead duckling from their radiator grills!


We got back to Bruges, dropped everyone off, then the rest of the evening was our own. 


We went for dinner in a nice little Italian I know just off the main market square.





After we'd eaten we went for a drink in the Druids Cellar Irish Bar and then onto another pub just off the market square, in search of chouffe coffee. We couldn't find anyone who'd heard of it let alone served it, so we made do with Kriek! I had a fit of the sneezes and told Sharon that the hops in beer can bring on hay fever and that's why I was sneezing! She believed me! Beer can cause hay fever! Haha!


We went back to the hotel quite early, it had been a long day and I was feeling tired. I need a good nights rest tonight because we have another long day tomorrow.


Day 4


Today we are heading home so the luggage needed loading onto the coach. On the way back to Calais today we are due to go to Ieper and I thought it would be a nice idea on the way to call in to Tyne Cot Cemetry. There are a lot of people on the coach who have not been to Ieper before and so I assume they've not been to war graves either.





A few people got very emotional at this visit because of close family involvement in the Great War. It is a very moving experience to visit these places and it gets me every time. Tyne Cot is a memorial to 12,000 men, 8,000 of which are unknown. I'm not going to say any more about it as I have spoke of Tyne Cot in a previous blog. Everyone appreciated our visit here. Another of my brilliant ideas well received!


We moved down the road to Ieper. I told the passengers of the brilliant little bookshop to visit, where I went to buy another poppy badge, and the best chocolate shop in town. It's the best because it gives me presents!


The weather today was gorgeous. We sat in a street side cafe for coffee before going to buy ice cream. None of our passengers saw us having coffee but they all saw us with big fat ice creams! We went and bought our chocolates and went back to the coach to catch up on our neglected paperwork for the weekend.


We left for Calais and got on our booked ferry. Another of our drivers was on the same ferry and he said there had been no squashed ducklings on the motorway, so Sharon was happy!  The drive from Dover to Henley is the longest ever on the way home, it never seems to end! All our feeders were in place waiting for us and our passengers went safely onward home. 


I've had a brilliant weekend and I've really enjoyed working with Sharon and I'm looking forward to our next one together. The end of yet another successful tour! 

Mechelen and Oostende - Day 2

  Feeling fresh and ready for another day, I was the first to breakfast. I had a good intake of coffee and enjoyed the walk in the sunshine to fetch the coach. 🌞

Today we are going to Brussels. We have a nice leisurely start, leaving the hotel at 10am. Was anyone surprised when 'Sparkles' wasn't on the coach in time? Not really! And we left him behind! 😊 (I love doing that!)

I've just realised that I've not introduced Sparkles! The lad who had left his passport behind and chased the coach to Folkestone, Ben, thinks he looks like the hot guy from Twilight! So, mates being mates, his mates have nicknamed him, much to his disgust, Sparkles, because Vampires sparkle in the sunlight!

Our first visit was to Duval Chocolate Factory which, from the outside, just looked like another house in a row of terraced houses. I had to double park to drop the group off and then go away to park, so I didn't get to go in. The only good thing was they were only having a tour and so I wasn't missing out on making my own chocolate! 🍫 Bless him though, Doug thought of me and brought me some chocolate 😋

Our next visit was a brewery which specialises in making sour beers and was on the other side of the city, definitely not at the posh end! 😧 I struggled to get the coach through and we didn't fit up the road to the brewery, although they had put cones out for the coach to park! There was nowhere to pull over to let the group off safely so I did what everyone else seemed to be doing and just stopped, blocking the road, telling everyone "2 minutes" and waved, when they honked their horns!🙋 Very unprofessional, I know!

From here we went into the centre of Brussels for free time. I planned my route to use the major looking roads on the map but OMG! There must have been an easier way! Nevertheless, the group were dropped off and went to explore with their maps of good pubs in their hands and the coach was parked, still straight! 😄

I went for a little walk. I have only been into Brussels once before and that was about 6 years ago, so I was behaving like a tourist! 📷

All of these photos were taken in the Grand Place before heading off in search of the 'Jeanneke Pis'. Everyone has seen statues of the peeing boy. Well apparently, the original 'peeing boy', the Mannekene Pis is in Brussels and it came about when, hundreds of years ago, the king visited Brussels and a little boy needed to wee, so he did, in front of the king! The 'Jeanneke Pis' is the little girl version!

By now I had met up with the lads. We had a snack in the friterie, chips! Then headed for the Delerium Village! Delerium is a very popular, large Belgian brewery and we went to the Delerium Tap House where they have 14 real ales on tap and 2500 in bottles! Yes, 2500!!

Each floor had a different style bar, notice the 500 tequilas on the menu!

I'd like to come to Brussels when I'm not working. I've been introduced to all these wicked bars and beers and I think it would be a lot of fun with a group of friends. It's still a pig of a place to drive round though!

At 10pm we were due to be leaving. Sparkles and his mates had been told they'd be left behind if they were late! They were cutting it fine but they weren't last. We were missing one of the older couples who had never been late and so we were hoping they were just lost and nothing more serious. They weren't answering their phone and there was no sign of them. At 1015, a lady on a push bike came over to the coach and said, "are you waiting for Pam and Ken? They are lost! I told them I'd let you know they are on their way and now I'm going back to get them!" I'm not sure you'd come across such a helpful random person in London! So after a few more minutes we were relieved to see them come round the corner and we would soon be on our way. Why is it though, when people come back late, instead of getting on the coach and rushing to their seats so we can go, they have to stand at the door and tell you a really long winded story of why they are late! "Yeah alright! Get on!"

The journey back to Mechelen was very quiet. Most were having a quick kip so they were ready to go to the pub when we got back! I parked the coach and joined them for a drink. Doug was drunk! Paul had unknowingly bought an 11% beer for Doug which definitely had an effect! 

After a couple of beers I headed back to the hotel and had another really good nights sleep. 

Mechelen and Oostende - Day 1

Wahoo! The touring season has started! And I'm off to Belgium with a group who I took last year and have requested for me again. Must be gluttons for punishment!

The group are all members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the purpose of this trip every year is to sample the Belgian beers, so I'm in good company!🍻🍻

I had an early start this morning, leaving the depot at 0445hrs to travel to Northampton and take a break before picking up the first few of the group at 0700hrs. 😴 I was met here by the group organiser, Doug, his lovely lady friend, Janet, and his two sons, Kevin and Carl. Seven o'clock came and I was told we were just waiting for the third son, Michael, who I hadn't met before. I was told Michael was always late and if you wanted him there at 7, you had to tell him quarter to! Nevertheless, they told him 7! So when he turned up at 0708hrs he said, "did you notice I'm 7 minutes early? If you'd wanted me here at 7 you'd have told me quarter to!" That's when he was told if he was late again, he'd be finding his own way! So we left 10 mins late and set off to collect the rest of the group.

We arrived at the next pick up to learn that 2 of the younger lads had woke up late, rushed to the pick up point and realised they hadn't brought their passports, so they rushed home with the intention of catching up with the coach at the first services.🏃🏃💨 When I did the safety announcement I also asked that everyone could put their hands on their passports. It's always been a rule with this group, if you forget your passport, you don't come, because it's not fair to hold up 40 people on the return journey while 1 struggles to get back into the country without a passport. At this point, Michael, who had made us late from the first pick up point, came and asked to get his luggage out to check for his passport! He didn't have it! So he was left behind, again with the intention of catching up with the coach, after someone had delivered his passport!

So finally, we were on our way, 25 mins late, with a train to catch! We had an easy journey down to the M20, with no sign of the lads chasing us, although they were in contact on the phone. 🚌 We had to go to the Eurostar station to meet them so they didn't have to pay extortionate parking prices for the weekend. I disagreed with us doing this. It meant our crossing time was being jeopardised because we were not going to be arriving at the channel tunnel terminal until 30mins before our crossing. That's cutting it a bit fine for my liking! It also meant that the group would not have time to use the services to get coffee and breakfast before getting on the train and so we would have to stop as soon as we arrived in France. And I was in serious need of a caffeine fix! ☕️☕️☕️ 

But we did make our 1120 crossing to France, 🚇 unfortunately without Michael! From here on, it should be smooth sailing.......she says!

We stopped at the services after getting off the train and I got my free coffee and breakfast! ☕️🍳🍞☕️ Then we got on the road, heading for our first brewery visit in Ninove, Belgium. The journey should have taken just under 2 hours but the traffic was horrendous and it took us nearly 3 🚗🚛🚙🚕🚌🚕🚗🚗🚛🚚🚌🚗🚗🚑 Despite us arriving so late, the owner of the brewery was very welcoming and hospitable, telling the group not to leave thirsty! They had a bit of a guided tour and lots of sampling 🍻🍻🍻 while I tried to get a quick kip 💤💤 After an hour and a half we were on the road again for the final time today, to check into our hotel, which for the next 2 nights is the Holiday Inn Express Mechelen. It is on the square in the very centre of the city. 

It is a 10 minute walk back to the hotel from where the coach is parked for the night and on my way back, I bumped into Doug with about 8 others and was invited to join them for a drink. Well it would be rude not to! A lot of research is done before this trip, into where the best bars are with the largest beer menus, so I was quite surprised at the relatively low choice of beer at the first bar we went to with only about 50 to choose from! It was a funny little place. Everywhere you looked was chickens! Whether they were ceramic, plastic, cuddly toy or dead and stuffed, they were everywhere! 🐓🐔 There was even Cock Art!

We stayed there for a short time before moving on to the next bar where we would be having dinner.

A lot of our group were already here eating when we arrived and the place didn't seem to be as 'quirky' as the bar before. The girl came to take our order and I very quickly ordered a bottle of Kriek (cherry beer) and steak and chips, which pushed the rest of them to hurry up and make a decision! I was starving!

While we were waiting for our food, I was looking around and there was a really cool chandelier made from green wine bottles. Apart from that, there was nothing about the place that really caught my eye. The rest of the group were more than happy with about 100 beers on the menu though!

My dinner was lovely and the beer went down very nicely but it was now getting on for 10pm (9pm British time) and I had been up for nearly 19 hours. Now that my tummy was satisfied I was really starting to feel tired, so I left the group and went back to the hotel where I slept for a solid 9 hrs!

😴😴⏰

Kent Castles - Day 4

I had the biggest breakfast ever this morning so it was a good job that the porter was keen to do all the luggage handling, with me just counting and telling him where to load it all! 

We had a slightly earlier start this morning, leaving the hotel at 0930hrs. We avoided the motorway on our scenic journey through to west Kent on this very clear, fresh, sunny autumn morning to our destination, Hever Castle.

There have been three main periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the castle dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse and a walled bailey. In the early 1500s the Bullen family bought the castle and added a Tudor dwelling within the walls and so it became the childhood home of its most famous inhabitant, Anne Boleyn. It later passed into the ownership of Henry’s fourth wife, Anne of Cleves. From 1557 onwards the Castle was owned by a number of families including the Waldegraves, the Humfreys and the Meade Waldos. Finally, in 1903, William Waldorf Astor invested time, money and imagination in restoring the Castle, building the ’Tudor Village’ and creating the gardens and lake.

Hever Castle is now a tourist attraction, drawing on its links to Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, its mazes, gardens and lake.

There is an annual events programme with assorted events including jousting tournaments and archery displays in the summer months and an annual patchwork and quilting exhibition in September. The castle has also become the venue for a triathlon. The Castles to Country Houses exhibition contains a collection of 1/12 scale model houses ranging from the medieval to Victorian periods.

The castle offers three floors containing antique furniture, Anne Boleyn's prayer books, instruments of torture, and a large collection of Tudor paintings. There is also a museum of the Kent Yeomanry. The remains of the original country house timbers can still be seen within the stone walls of the fortification, while the gatehouse is the only original part of the castle. It has the oldest working original portcullis in England.

The grounds of the castle include a yew maze, planted in 1904. There is also a water maze, opened in 1999, the object of which is to get to the folly at the centre without getting wet, while in the children's adventure playground there is a tower maze. The castle gardens contain a wide range of features including an Italianate garden, rose gardens, a herb garden, and topiary.

When we walked through the entrance, down the drive through the trees and around the corner to the sight of the castle standing proud in glorious sunshine with a back drop of the blue sky and surrounded by trees in their autumn colours, I can only describe it as being like a Fairytale. It is a very impressive building in a stunning setting, which was the climax at the end of a successful tour.

We had an easy journey home, all of our feeder vehicles were in position and waiting for us when we pulled in the yard. The transfer of luggage went smoothly and before many minutes, all passengers were in the back of a mini bus and on their way home. I have had a very enjoyable few days and I am not looking forward to the mundane day to day work of school runs and university sports until I next go on tour, which as far as I know, will be at Christmas. So this is me signing off until then. Keep safe everyone. x