We arrived back at Martins home in s’Gravendeel after visiting Drachten and Enschede. We had bought some new foam for 2 seats in the camper and Ewout thought it would be a good idea to use the old foam to make back rests and cushions for the narrow bed that we use for a couch. So on the Thursday while we were trying to work out where to buy the fabric from, Ewoud looked it up on the internet and it seemed that the shop two houses up was indicated as a place to buy furnishing fabric. Now we have been to Martins house many time and walked past this decorating shop but did not realize that it would be selling fabric. So Ewout, Ewoud and I went to have a look, and found that they specialized in curtains, bed linen and carpets. We asked about fabric and after being shown the only couple of rolls they had, I noticed a stand of samples for 1 € each. We picked out 2 pieces that looked almost the same and the lady came over with a left over piece of another colour that would go together and we were set. 7€ to cover the cushions and enough to make a curtain for each side of the camper, saving the wear and tear on the blinds. We were able to borrow Ria’s sewing machine so we hopped onto our bikes to go to the craft shop nearby to buy the thread needed to sew it all together. I had my phone in my hand and didn’t need to take my bag so without much thought I slipped it into my pants pocket with a sample of the colour of the fabric so we could try to match it.

We also intended to go to the supermarket to get some items for lunch and after doing our errands we returned to Martin’s home, I went to look for my phone and had the most awful feeling, nothing in my pocket, searched my bag in case I had put it in there not thinking. Gone! We quickly retraced our steps but no sign; it is only a couple of hundred metres to the first shop but nothing. We rode to the supermarket to look and ask there but no success. So now someone has a nice unlocked, smart phone and I am left feeling sad and foolish for doing such a silly thing. Well we have reported it to the police if it is turned it in and to get a report so that we can claim it on our travel insurance.

So then onto sewing the cushion covers.. I must say they turned out rather well, a mix of caramel and dark burnt orange they look good and work very well to make the bench into a couch. We think it has a touch of Moroccan look about it but it works.

Friday we packed ourselves up again and left Martins to travel to North Holland to visit our friend’s Gaby & Renko for the weekend.On the way we were able to visit cousin Simon at his home for a little while as it had been 2 years since we had seen him. He made coffee for us and we spent about an hour talking about what we had been doing, the family and hearing about Simon’s life. Unfortunately he has not been so well and has had some troubles but it was good to see him. So we had to say goodbye and take to the road again we had many kilometres to travel and we have found that getting around Amsterdam anytime can be difficult. There are many road works and with the weekend coming up many cars are on the road. As we were taking the west ring route around the city we became caught up in a traffic jam as they are working on the roads so we decide to get the next off ramp not knowing where it would take us and so I reprogrammed the tom tom to take us another way and we ended up going a long way around past the wharves and warehouses finally finding another main road heading under the river and to North Holland.

We arrived at Gaby & Renko’s about 5pm after a couple of stops, one to empty the camper toilet at a dump point and then we had a short visit to a small town of Medemblikwhere we found a place to park by the harbour and we took a short nap.

We drove into their driveway and it felt like we only saw them last week it was so nice to see them. That night we had a lovely time seeing their photo’s of their holidays this year in Nepal and hearing about their adventures.

It was a wet and miserable day on the Saturday so we had a quiet day with Gaby & Renko, looking at our trip photos, exchanging trip stories, talking about the music we both liked and doing “stuff” on the computers. A relaxing, easy day.

On the Sunday it was decided that we would ride our bikes into the village and see the Weringerwerf Motor festival and be there to see the ride out when a lot of motorbikes, trikes and older cars go for a procession drive out through the district. It was interesting to see all the different types of motorbikes and all the “characters” who rode them. It was a nice thing to do for the spectacle of the drive off and then we went for a bike ride further north to the beginning of the Afsluitdijk which is a large dyke and motorway from North Holland to Friesland.We ended up at a Fish Café for lunch and enjoyed Kibbeling (small pieces of fried fish) and patat (chips) with salad for lunch. After lunch we continued riding along the North Sea and then eventually back to their home about 5 p.m. We decided to leave earlier than planned as it was a long drive and we didn’t know how the traffic would go and we had made a plan to leave the next morning for France, Disney Paris and the “Tour de France”.

It was a good drive back to s”Gravendeel, we had good free flowing roads and arrived back about 7.30 to find Ewoud and Martin on their bikes, they had seen us driving up the road as they were about to go for a bike ride and decided that they should come back to let us in the house. So while they went for their ride we had some dinner organised some of our things, and did a load of washing to be ready to leave the next morning.

Monday finds us on the road again heading for Disneyland Paris, we weren’t worried about being their early as we had planned to arrive after 10 pm and park in the area outside the car park overnight which costs nothing and then to pay to park for the day in the official car park where you can stay with a camper for the day and night for €20 with access to showers and toilets.

It ended up being a very long day, we encountered traffic jams between Brussels and Mons which was a long detour and very slow with a lot of traffic. Then after that we had a few other traffic detours with road works so it became much longer and as the day was a bit hot we were getting very tired and annoyed. We eventually found a place to stop for a while in a town by a river and had some dinner and a bit of a break.

Then it was back on the road for the last couple of hundred kilometres to our destination. We arrived just after 10.00 pm and pulled up to the side of the car park behind 5 other campers who were doing the same as us. Sleeping in the car park and then moving into the car park for the next day’s adventure into Disneyland Park and Studio Park.

We had some thunder and rain overnight and it looked like being a grey wet day for our visit, and after Ewout decided to leave his hat and sunglasses behind we set of for a long day’s adventure. It turned out to be a very sunny, warm humid day and although it was so warm we had a great time seeing the sights and going on some of the rides even though there was sometimes a long wait. We did think that we would return to the camper for our lunch but as it ended up being a longer way back than we thought we opted for a light snack for lunch and continued seeing as much as we could for the day. We had at first thought we would get a 2 day pass for the “Disney” parks but when we went to pay it was much more expensive that we had anticipated. We ended up getting a ticket each for €68 for a one day pass to the 2 parks. The Disneyland park opens at 10 until 9.00 pm and the Studio 10 until 7.00 pm so we wanted to make the most of our day and after spending a while in the Disney park we walked over to the Disney studio park until it closed then went back to Disneyland for a bit until we were too tired to do more and then it was back to the camper to rest. We were exhausted and after a bit to eat we climbed into bed to sleep very soundly.

Tuesday.

We leave the carpark of Disneyland and head towards the Loire Valley where we plan to stay the night before heading to our first stage of the Tour de France. Unfortunately the tom tom is set for the “quickest” way to our next stop but we encounter major traffic congestion going into Paris because of road work and by the time we realize we have made a mistake it is too late to find another way around.So it is slow going along the road to the Paris ring road and then onto the main motorway to the south-west. Another headache start to a day on the road, but then we decide to take the fastest option to get out of the area as fast as we can and join the toll road. We have a good clear road ahead and get to the place where we want to go and find ourselves a nice campsite near the Loire river and have a nice place to park for the afternoon and night.

More on the Tour de France to follow