Earthlings, Angels & Aliens

Today was our last ride.  The forecast was for rain between 10 a.m. through 2 p.m.  And as it turned out as we came into this small town as it started to spit and we just found a restaurant with big umbrellas before the down pour happened. We ordered a couple of espressos and drank them (dry) watching the rain from under cover. As others from our group showed up they literally rode their bikes right under the umbrellas. We asked if we could eat our bagged lunch there - no problem!  A group from B.C. knew of a brewery that was setup in a church in this same small town, so once the rain ended we rolled over to the cathedral and had a flight of their prize winning beers. When we staggered out the sun had come out and it was clear skies all the way back to the boat.   Fantastic trip. Tomorrow we find our BnB and explore Amsterdam. 

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then here's an essay. We boarded the Fluvius and have a great room. Food is three squares a day, they provide food for a bagged lunch.  First day was 57km. 2nd Day 38 and today 38km. The rural areas of Belgium are amazing. Today we sailed into the Netherlands. I hope you enjoy the pictures :-) Our test ride. Fortunately they ride on the same side as we do. The corn, which is everywhere, is very tall. Strawberry vending machines at a strawberry farm. Delicious. Wooly cows. Moo! A street in Antwerp Countryside early morning. Greenhouse. All the plants are in their own little pot. Belgian hops. A corn harvester. Narrow road. Ferry crossing. We were excited to see the Fluvius pass locks. Perfect timing. A walk in town. A 10 story museum. The city actually owns the tower of this cathedral. They use it as a lookout. Early morning sail. Decalcium calcium duct - Y E S! Canadian War Cemetery. The Dutch used to flood the low area to defend it.  I was ...

Sitting on our WestJet flight WS18 for Heathrow I extract our SIM cards from our cellphones and gather up all our Canadian currency and place it in a ziplock bag along with our housekeys. I then pull out another ziplock bag and distribute some British pounds and our newly minted Oyster cards between Myra and I. Oyster cards are an all-in-one transportation ticket for travelling in and around London. Upon arrival we once again bypass the crowds standing around the luggage carousals as we have only carry on and stop at Sim Local, the first of many kiosks selling SIM cards. Once installed we check our phone numbers and text each other a hello.  Myra shows me the instructions on how to get to our overnight accommodations. Yikes! Like, spray painted street numbers? How rough is this neighborhood? Maybe we shouldn't have gone cheap cheap on our room. The Oyster cards are really amazing: a single tap, gates open, and on we go.  My apprehension continues to mount as the our particular...

Hello and welcome! Count down to Tuesday's (2023-09-19) departure has began.  Our first leg is from here to Calgary and then on to Heathrow Airport in London, U.K. via WestJet. The plan is to pick up a SIM card for the UK and one for the EU at the airport when we arrive; all the apps require data it seems.  We'll get a chance to try out our Oyster cards on the local transit system which will hopefully get us within walking distance of our Airbnb. Citymapper and Trainline apps will also be put to the test.  An overnight rest and then a long train ride through the Chunnel to Brussels the following day. We're packing light - no checked luggage, and hopefully our carry-on will fit in the overheard compartments. In the meantime we are getting in shape (Ha!) by cycling around the Meewasin trail almost everyday. Its about 18km with some good hills and valleys. Most of our cycling days in Europe will be at least 34km and as many as 57km. I'm so thankful we upgraded to ebikes!! ...