Heyy Kate and mel hope your having a good time. tom x

Hi good to see you both lookin so well - nice pics up to now - especially of Doris the bite!! only you two could think of naming a SPOT!! Why dont you use the spare pancake (leaving an even 8 ) to put over said spot and put a bit of sellotape on to hold it !!(good advice coming from an nhs employee isnt it !! sacary really !! All mad here as usual - Tom at James's school on work placement looking after reception children - he says they talk too much ah, but he's enjoying it really. James meanwhile was off to another school today for a sports event - throwing wellies!! bean bags and frizzbees !!! sounds good to me .they came 10th out of 13 schools - but James wasnt bothered as you can imagine. Blog is good reading- especially the map reading -gave us a good laugh.... do you have to read the map upside down in the direction that you are going like I do ?? quite a skill!! anyway look forward to hearing of the adventures in Amsterdam ....you have got to get a pair of clogs or if the euros dont stretch that far get a pic of some. Happy adventuring be good eat well and have a great time xxxx spk soon > Lots of love Anne Alan Tom and James xxxx

Hello Amsterdam!

What's happenin' travellers!? You sound like you're doing really well and that bowl of pasta must have been a God send! I'm impressed by your pictures of Paris, good effort there. Spain won Euro '08 by the way, if you didn't manage to catch it (I can almost hear Mel chanting 'Torres,Torres...')

I hope life on the move isn't as tiring as it sounds! Still lots to see and do. Hope the weather stays good for you too! It's been awful here for a few days but the sun has got his hat on this morning.

Good luck! Have a great time and I'll comment again in a few days...

FF!

x

Grrrr this stupid thing has just deleted a massive message that I just wrote!!! :( ah well, start again...

Helloooo!!!

Apologies for the very delayed message but I have been trying the track down the internet for the last few days and i have finally found it at my Grandma's, woop! Well it sounds and looks like you are having a wonderful time...and i must say i am impressed with the lack of tricky situations that you have encountered...still time though :P. Keep up the good map work...you didn't need me there to lead the way afterall, not that i'd be much good. Amsterdam hey? Woop! Buy some cloggs! and watch out for the millions of bicycles!

I'm missing you loads already...especially on saturday when i didn't receive my weekly text off kate telling me how she was having the worst day of her life in work EVER...ha. Errm...i don't have much news really. I'll leave the wimbledom and news updates to others because i'll probably get it all wrong. Spain have just this second scored though, woop. Ooh we went to the Kgv 'wannabe' prom on thursday which was suprisingly good...it wasn't very dancy but the lads were all in suits so it seemed quite special :)

Hope this finds you both fine and dandy! Take care...and enjoy yourselves

lots of love xxxxxxx

hellooooo :)

hope ur having a AMAZING time and havent got lost yet-i loved ur blog about when u both said the place was in opposite directions! lol

miss youuuuuu :(

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kate and Mel have now arrived in Amsterdam but have no internet access so no blog tonight. They are staying in what they describe as a wendy house with 2 beds and deck chairs. They are very amused by it. I don't know what they are living on but they only spent 6 euros each yesterday. The Kate I know must be starving. The weather leaving Bruge today wasn't good but In Amsterdam is really nice. I wish we could say the same. I'm watching the Euro Final now and I am sure Mel will make Kate watch the match.

Hopefully they will find an internet cafe tomorrow and keep us updated.

Bye for now

Neil

hi girls just showing irene ur pictures have u arrived in amsterdam yet? Phil has been to manchester today 4 his 2nd audition but unfortunately didn't get through as a solo but simon and louis se d they cud use him in a boy band so watch this space!!!!!! take care for nowe and speak to u soooooon luv sue and irene xxxxxx

Oops, it's Emma G btw =D x

Howdy-do you two =D hope you're having a fab time wherever you are off to next! Am a bit foggy on the whole Wimbledon thing so I can only tell you that it is currently consisting of a lot of people playing tennis.. and I think I saw one of the Williams sisters playing a match for 0.3 seconds before I flicked over. Anyway, happy back-packing! xx

Just read the latest update and viewed your photos - your Mum and me are well impressed. Melissa, how's the journal coming along - there's a book in this!!

Amsterdam tomorrow, hope you have more luck getting in to Anne Francks' house than the last time we were in the city!! oh, by the way, stay away from the 'red light district' - mind you, I forgot that you're going to Hamburg, and in that place you can't avoid the 'reeperbahn'!! you'll just have to go through that city with blindfolds on!!

You'll survive - keep chargin'

Lots of love, Mum and Dad. xxxxx

hi girls i've got 2 say how impressed i am by ur latest pictures! u've even managed 2 take some scenic one's as well!!!! u both look healthy so that means u must be eating well. when's ur next move? keep the pics coming and keep smiling x x x x

Bonshore my courageous fellow travellers,I too have been annoying the French this week. They just don't get my dodgy accent, even when I shout. Hope you are having more success with the natives. At least the Belgium's are less grumpy than the French.Enjoy yourselves and splash out on a Big le Mac on me.Love Uncle Tim and Aunty Sharon

First hot meal since Weds......it's Friday...... well, sounds like it's not been too much hardship.... maybe home made meals will now be viewed with a different hue.

OK. News from UK. Sharapova is out of Wimledon! Andy Murray has won the first two games in straight sets and is through to the 3rd round. There's a Nelson Mandela 90th birthday party/concert being held in Hyde Park in London...... is that something you're interested in????

From overseas, Hilary Clinton has shared a flight with Barack Obama.... again something you're probably not interested in, but it may impact on you in the future, so perhaps important.... she's backing him and advocating his election to the US presidency! Who's Obama I hear you say?????!!!

European Football. Spain in the final playing against Germany

Back to Wimbledon, Roger Federer is still in as is Serena Williams.

Is that enough update for now??

Oh, other home news, jenny's on pee patrol at Glastonbury! I might have been tempted to pay for the ticket rather than work.. .. what do you think? It's started to rain there. It's been raining here for what seems like days.....!!!

Talk soon hopefully! Love mum