6 People 6 Months

We found a gorgeous little village to park up in for a few days! We all needed a break from being on the road and from having to pack up all our gear every day. We drove a good 8 hours the day after we said goodbye to Daniel and Glen. Josh had done some research on the place he knew had a river for kayaking and some good bike paths. We didn't quite reach it that night but thought that it wouldn't be long the next day before we reached our destination. Ha! We were rather wrong about that and it ended up being almost a whole other day driving there. There was a roadblock because of a cycle race and so we didn't get to our spot till dinner but it was well worth the wait! The village is a tiny one but all medieval and in that yellow/creamy coloured stone I mentioned in the last post. Not a modern building in sight - though inside the old ones it has all been done up nicely. There was even a sweet little library where we got some schoolwork done yesterday m

Mont St. Michel We have spent quite a bit of time on the road as you would expect and these are generally rather nice times with everyone reading or colouring in or listening to audiobooks. Poor Josh is the only one who is having a stressful time of it trying to navigate the signs and directions. Though luckily for us all I am slowly getting better at reading a map! We've been mostly travelling old-school style - not gps! Everyone in their traveling spots. Pretty cozy really. And no seat belts! The scenery has been very beautiful. There seems to be a mono-crop of wheat - though of course, this is very nice to look at growing. I like it how the paddocks don't have fences - it helps to feel like we are included in the scenery a bit more. Wheat fields in the north The week we spent with Daniel, Glencora and Jella has been very enjoyable. We visited lots of old towns, some castles, and a special abbey - Mont St Michel - which was built on an island

On our way through Belgium we stopped in the city of Ghent which has a canal running through the old part of the city. While I made lunch, Josh pumped up our inflatable kayaks, then we carefully lowered them into the canal. It was pretty stinky and there was quite a bit of rubbish floating around in it. I did feel lucky that we were in this century though as at least the spouts that were pointing out of the buildings leaning over the river weren’t spewing sewage. There didn’t seem to be any rules as to who was allowed on the river as there were many motor boats chugging up and down filled with happy punters all sipping wine. We soon came across scores of these boats laden with people as we paddled closer to the famous ancient part of the city. We were having a lovely time drifting down the stream towards the hoards of tourists sitting with their legs dangling over the edge of the canal. I was feeling sorry that they weren't where we were - in our cosy boat piled with kids

So sorry it has been a long time since I have written anything on this blog. Yes we are still alive and surviving alright! It has been quite some time since we have had a internet connection hence the delay. Libraries are not prevelant in France it seems, or if there is one it opens at odd hours. Today the one in this town opened at three pm and there has been endless hassles trying to get internet going on our devices. Arrgh. Well, nevermind. I'll tell you a little about what we have been up to in the last week. Last Saturday morning we started out towards Belgium. We were sad to say goodbye to the friendly, English speaking Dutch – the land of uniformly tidy houses, great roads, matching tree plantings, cobbled streets with no concrete patch-ups and the cheapest diesel we’ve seen so far in Europe (though it’s surprisingly almost double the price of New Zealand fuel!). One thing we were glad to leave behind is the gaping lack of public toilets! There were har

 After leaving Nancy on the first night we saw her we decided to pop down the road to find the local freedom camping sight which eneding up being in Leerdam instead of Goringchem (about 20 mins away) which was just fine really cause the drive was exquisite.  The road takes you along the top of the dyke with old farm houses, farmland and wetlands on either side.  We found our camping site on the outskirts of Leerdam which turned out to be only a five min bike ride to the city centre where we are now - at the library doing school work and I'm writing this blog. This is our camper parked at the river for the night. The girls exploring the river where we parked up. We all woke up fairly cheery this morning and enjoyed eating our first breakfast in the camper. We even managed to do a wee bible study and pray together which is a routine I want to establish now that we are on the road. It helped the day to start off well and got us talking and laughing together

On Sunday we went with Klaske, Mael, Ellie, Debbie and Daniel to a local swimming hole - a man-made lake. (The lake was made by scooping out all the sand to make bricks for housing.) We were so surprised when we saw a long row of vehicles parked on the roadside even before we got to the lake. We were still thinking with New Zealand brains - a lake with a few people having a picnic. But no! There were rows and rows of bikes after the cars, a fenced off area to the lake and then the biggest surprise of all - hundreds of people all wearing tiny bikinis sunbathing on the lawn in front of the water or on the sand around the corner. I know that doesn't really sound surprising but it came as a shock really because up until that day it had been between 10-14 degrees C and I think in New Zealand not that many people would be wearing a bikini this early in spring and most people would usually just go to the beach or lake to sit around and eat, play ball, maybe read - but stay covered up unl

    The Windmill in Gorinchem Spring smells wonderful in Holland. There are wild flowers growing in every available space and the green that brilliant type that only comes in spring. The bird life is remarkable too. I don't think I've ever seen so many goslings and ducklings in my life! Yesterday on the way to our camping spot I spotted at least 20 in one small pond! I was secretly wondering whether I would feel that special type of energy one gets from the earth when spring arrives after a dreary winter and seeing as I haven't had to go through the winter here would I feel it anyway? But I'm pleased to report that yes, I have greatfully received that lovely energetic boost. We have spent the few days exploring a sweet wee village called Goringchem (pronounced Hor-a-kim with a roll on the r) where Josh's Grandparents lived since they immigrated to the Netherlands from Indonesia. Debbie (Josh's mum) and her siblings all grew up here i