Home Again, Home Again

Other than a slight delay on our flights, we made it back safe and sound to Columbus about 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 3.  We started in Amsterdam at 6:30 a.m. their time (11:30 p.m. here) so were up nearly 24 hours, but we got through it just fine.

The trip was everything I thought it'd be, and more.  As usual, we met some very nice people (although we really missed our traveling buddies Ray and Mary Lee).  A pair of sisters, one (Farryll) from Louisville, KY and the other (Lizzie) from Portland, OR caught our attention and we particularly enjoyed having dinner with them.  Farryll and I share an affinity for bourbon (just like ML and I), and that made for some fun times.

The weather had its moments - some days were cold and rainy, and others were sunny and showing hints of spring!  Of course we were prepared with rain jackets, but walking around outside in a cold rain is never fun.  There was more sunny weather than bad weather, so I consider it a victory.

Cheryl celebrated her 70th. birthday while we were gone.  She was enthusiastically serenaded by the "Backseat Boys" - our waiters - in a somewhat offkey, English-is-my-second-language kind of way.  It was well-intentioned and plenty of fun.  I wish (but won't) I will look as good as she does at 70, and her usual joie de vivre shined through as she ended up knowing tons of people's names.  I struggled with remembering Farryll and Liz!

The cities and shore excursions visited ranged from great-to-see to pass-next-time.  The American Cemetery was particularly moving and reinforced my belief in “never again”. Of particular fun was "King's Day" celebrating the 65th. birthday of their King.  The Dutch locals obviously used it as an excuse to party, but the weather was great on that day and the energy and vibe in the air were palpable.  We really enjoyed this day of walking around Dordrecht and Rotterdam.

Amsterdam was the highlight for several reasons.  We saw the Anne Frank house which is a heavy experience - how could (can?) people do such things to each other?  The canals and houses were beautiful and we enjoyed two canal boat rides.  

Best of all was seeing our daughter Jennifer and her family, husband Dave, and children Ava G. and Niamh (Gigi).  They flew over from their home in Nottingham and joined us for our last day-and-a-half.  The girls were cute as hell and particularly well behaved. Love them all very much.

While I like the atmosphere in Europe, particularly France, I love the experience of seeing it on a Viking (or similar) river cruise.  Great food, plenty of shore excursions, and a chance to dip one's toe into history all made for a great experience on this trip.

I feel like I always close with the saying "there's no place like home", but it is so true.  I picked up a particularly useful saying from Viking and it goes like this . . . "No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow", attributed to one Lin Yutang.  

My pillow never felt better.  See you again on our next excursion and thanks for following along.

Comments

  1. MarianMay 8, 2023 at 11:22 AM

    Your trip blog captures your experiences so well. Thanks for taking the time to post--and letting us join in (vicariously!) on the fun.

    ReplyDelete

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