19 - 22 July - Europe - Holland - Delft

Friday morning dawned bright & clear so after breakfast & getting the twins settled we headed off to the station for the train to St Pancras station to meet the Elliott contingent. We all met up successfully and were soon on the Eurostar heading to Belgium.
After successfully negotiating 3 train changes in Dutch we reached Delft where we were met by Lesley's twin sister & older sister. It's lovely meeting all the family that we have heard so much about over the years.
We trundled our way through lovely cobbled streets, typical Dutch architecture & charming cafes to our lovely hotel ...... Hotel de Emauspoort. R had found it on the Internet on recommendation from Helen ( Lesley's niece) and its absolutely charming.
A quick shower & stop at the wine shop & we were off to Claire & Ian for a lovely meal. Delicious food beautifully presented. We were made to feel most welcome & it was a lovely family occasion.

20 July - Delft
A great breakfast from the hotel set us up for the ' Cultural tour' of Delft ably lead by Claire. The weather was a bit overcast so it was a bit cooler which is nice. Delft has much to offer in terms of scenery ( typically Dutch), art & culture & cafes. We had an interesting morning, one of the highlights being visiting the wine cellar that Claire can call on to deliver a personal selection at any time.
Frequent stops for coffee, cider & food were necessary as well as visiting the shops that Lesley's nieces work at.
The craft & flea markets were in full swing as were the fruit, veg,fish, cheese ... Yummmm .... & meat stalls. Everything looked absolutely delicious oh and the hand made chocolates looked sensational.

As it was Claire & Ian's 30th Wedding Anniversary this week we had organised dinner out at their favourite Resturant. Claire had pre organised the menu so as we arrived we were seated at a long table ( there were 12 of us ) in a private alcove & handed a menu. We all opted for the wine matching per course - the whole meal was an absolute experience. Each course was served with a description of which region it came from & the characteristics of the wine that accompanied it. The whole evening was amazing.!!!

21 July - Delft
After 2 late nights we had a leisurely start. Our party was split today with some cycling to Leiden whilst the others went via water taxi to the Royal Delft
Porcelain factory. Helen - who works there as a guide in the holiday season showed us around. The AV introduction is very well done and the displays interesting - I even managed to find something to buy there!
The non cycling contingent then caught the train to Leiden which is a gorgeous student town about 30 km away from Delft. We settled into a cafe on the canal whilst we waited for the cyclists who took much longer than they expected. The weather was sunny & warm so nobody minded sitting chatting & watching the world go by. The cyclists had travelled via the Hague & a few 'cafe stops' so had certainly seen the sights. After a late lunch we hired a open boat & skipper for an hour and had a guided tour of the town. It's basically a university town with the facilities spread out through the town. We are seeing everything at its absolute best in the sunshine with abundant pots & displays of usually red geraniums and hollyhocks. The cyclists set off to return to Delft ..... Arriving back about 9pm tired & sore. Nothing that a beer & Italian food could not cure though.

22 July - Delft
As there had been a fault on the railway line on Sunday we built in some extra time to ensure we got our Eurostar connection in Brussels. Claire very kindly came with us to Rotterdam which made the process much simpler.
Our departure from Brussels was uneventful, we had lunch and then just outside Lile the train 'ran out of power' so no air conditioner, not able to open windows or door as we were in the middle of 3 tracks & the heat climbing. We must have waited for 30 mins for something to happen, getting hotter & hotter. Eventually another engine was sent to tow us back to Lile where after about an hour & half we were able to disembark. It was nearly 40 degrees inside and people were fainting like flies. By then we were bathed in sweat ... literally dripping off our faces & arms.
Eventually water was offered , the medics able to attend to the patients & we were good to go. 4 hours late we arrived at St Pancras having been unable to fulfil our evening baby duties :( Fortunately none of us were catching an international flight !!!!!!