First Impressions

I am slowly suffering through the jet lag. Was going to write last night but after only about 2 hrs sleep in the previous 32, I pretty much ran out of steam! Hettie and Koos picked us up at the airport which was a wonderful surprise. I thought we were making our way from Amsterdam to Boxtel by train so to be able to do that by car was very nice! We sat first in the airport for a coffee before heading out. Amsterdam airport is one of the largest and busiest airports I have been in, and trying to find where Koos and Hettie left the car proved to be a small challenge. My Dad is 72, Hettie is 77 and Koos will celebrate his 80th birthday while we are here. It was like herding cats. Older cats. And each cat knew the best way to go and they each went different directions a few times. Luckily for me they moved slow and I could gather them! Lol!

Our first stop was Hettie's house in Utrecht. She has the most beautiful garden. It seems very popular here to have a courtyard garden and they are fantastic! There is no grass to cut just cobblestones or patio stones to sweep, and potted plants to tend. Koos has the same as does his daughter Marie Christine. We went to visit my cousins Antoon and Teene on their small farm just outside of Boxtel. Dad rode his bike out and I went in the car. They've loaned me a bike for the duration of my visit so dad and I rode home together from there. I had a chance to admire their ponies and their house that Antoon built himself. We ended our day having a lovely Thai dinner at Marie Christine's and then meandered home. I was ready for bed but managed another hour. My bedroom window faces west and at 9 pm the sunshine was still beating in the window. It was still quite light when I fell into bed at 10 pm but was dark behind my eyelids so it was all good!

Things I learned today:
The dutch like to build things out of brick and mortar and don't like to have lawns to cut.
Sitting and trying to follow conversation that are primarily in a foreign language you don't speak is quite exhausting
When the dutch say their English is nein good, they don't really understand nein good. My Dutch is nein good. Their English is generally outstanding!

Must run! More to come.

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