A Friend's Visit

Today was busy... again.  I haven't run out of busy days yet.

At 13.50, met Katy at the entrance of the train station.  She took the Intercity from AMS through Schiphol and Rotterdam to the south.  Before picking her up, I had dropped AW off at Sweed's place to pick up his bicycle.  Of course he hung around there for a while before heading back home.  The moment we met, Katy had to go to the WC, then pick up money, then buy 2-second glue.  We drove to our place first for the WC, then to an ATM, then to the DIY wholesale warehouse for the glue.  Then we went to town and spent two hours wandering around at an easy pace.  It was sunny and very humid.

One of the sites we dropped by was the Begijnhof ('Be-gayn-hof'), which is a medieval institution -- nunnery -- with its own apartments and herb gardens.  It was founded in 1267 at another spot, and moved to the present location in 1535.  Today, no more nuns, but only single women and widows may live there.  This is to preserve the character of the place.  People are allowed to admire the gardens, which is what we did.  This wannabe thistle was so pretty, but there were other beautiful blooms as well.

As agreed with AW, we were back at our place at 17.00 sharp to pick him up, after which we drove to the Chinese restaurant next to Bouvigne Castle.  By the time we were properly settled with our first plates of food, the rain came.  I wondered if it would stop after dinner so we could still view the castle.  While we were busy with various dessert dishes, I looked up the train schedules to make sure we got her back to the station on time.  Guess what?  ALL trains to AMS via Rotterdam were cancelled due to track repairs!  She could have gone back via Den Bosch and Utrecht, but I was not about to leave her at the station here and simply trust that she would be attended to, so we made the snap decision to drive her to AMS ourselves.

Before doing that, though, the rain had stalled and we checked out of the restaurant and made a quick stop at the castle next door.  She took some shots and I was happy for her that the sky had lightened a bit to make it all worth her while.  Then back in the car and off we went, and it rained heavily again on the way, and by 22.00 she was back at the hotel, where AW and I made our quick WC stop before driving back home.  It was a terribly busy two days!

Still found some time, upon reaching home, to finish post-processing and labelling yesterday's shots.  Katy and I agreed up to the last minute that we had a whale of a time!  AW and I found ourselves a little somber about the Donkey, though, as we had both hoped he would hang on till January 2023.  We'll now have to buy a good 2nd-hand one in this financially challenging time, and thankfully the garage already has one within our price range, and they will make sure it is in top shape, if I know them.  Nevertheless, an unexpected turn of events.

Thanks, Katy, for treating me/us to two fabulous dinners!  So so happy you enjoyed yourself!  And that, ladies and gentlemen, was what it was all about.