We were supposed to be cycle touring around Europe for the past 6 weeks, but falling off my bike on the first day put a stop to that. So a change of plan found us driving to Amsterdam. We spent a lazy few days there with Paul, Pam and Kat taking in the sights. It’s an interesting city with it’s many canals, wonky buildings and scantily clad women on display in windows.
Paul, Pam and Kat were adamant they weren’t going in a coffee shop. I soon fixed that as I steered them into a dark, moody bar with the sweet smell of marijuana floating around. On our right, some dudes with dreadlocks lounged around looking cool. With caution we descended down some rickety old stairs into the smokey depths below. Immediately in front of us was a room full of young people, shrouded in a haze. We wandered past them and into another room. We sat down on some cushioned seats and soaked up the atmosphere.
“I feel so bloody old in here.” Paul announced.
“I find it best not to look at anyone else,” I replied, “that way I don’t compare myself to them.”
We ordered some drinks while Mike rolled up some laughing Buddha. Drinks were cheap here at only ten euros for three bottles. We were all sitting there with huge grins on our faces when Paul suddenly disappeared into the room full of young people. Clearly he was no longer worried about being the old guy as he laughed and chatted next door. Coffee shop experience complete!
We tried to get my bike fixed in Amsterdam, but the cycle shops did not have the parts. We would have to go back to England to get it sorted. Mike and I were in two minds about continuing our cycle tour, so we looked online to see if there were any housesitting jobs in Holland. Turned out there was one in The Hague, just 2 hours south of Amsterdam. We stopped there on a cycle tour a few years ago and thought it would be a nice place to explore. We emailed the couple, fully expecting the job to be taken. They already had someone lined up, but their circumstances had changed. Apparently their housesitters said they couldn’t arrive until after they’d left to go on holiday, and had to leave before they got back. This didn’t sit well with the home owners, so they were delighted when we contacted them.
We stopped in The Hague on our way back to England to meet Maggy and Peter. Maggy was originally from NZ and Peter is Dutch. We were really impressed with their house. It was massive and built over five levels. As we walked in the front door there was a feeling of spaciousness as Maggy led us through the large entrance hall through to a modern kitchen which was fitted with the finest quality appliances. The kitchen led to a designer garden of white pebbles and box hedges with an entertaining area at each end to capture both the morning and evening sun. Peter made coffee and as it was morning we headed to the back of the garden where we met Jeep the border collie and Fuji the fat cat. Maggy showed us the animals morning routine. First of all the cat gets brushed, then does her push ups against the wall. After that she runs up three trees where she gets a treat at the top. After Fuji has done her tricks it’s Jeeps turn. Maggy showed us a handful of tricks. One: Maggy sneezes and Jeep brings a tissue from the box for her to blow her nose. Once she has used the tissue, she gives it back to Jeep to put in the bin. Two: Jeep rolls himself up in a blanket. Three: Jeep weaves in and out of her legs. We were both impressed with how smart he is.
After the animals routine, Maggy and Peter took us on a tour of their house. We walked back through the kitchen and hallway and into the lounge dining area. The lounge had double doors which opened up onto the back garden, and the dining room off the lounge hosted a large dining table which seated ten.
We then wandered upstairs to the first level where Maggy and Peter have their bedroom and a study each. On the second floor was a massive bedroom that we would use, as well as three other bedrooms and a bathroom. The next floor up was an attic which had been converted to a cool bar and cinema room.
It was a beautiful old house built in 1929. Maggy and Peter were only the second owners of it. The original owners had paintings by Mondriaan hanging in the lounge (worth a fortune). During the second world war people were hidden in the house from the Germans. When Maggy and Peter were renovating it, they found a hidden cupboard full of shoes. Apparently the shoes were removed and hidden so the people hiding wouldn’t make any noise when moving about. It was a bit creepy really.
We then headed back to Bournemouth to visit the grandchildren and get my bike fixed. It was good to spend more time with Eddie and Jessica. Mike enjoyed his cuddles with Jessica and I taught Eddie the naked dance. We finally got my bike fixed just in time to head back to Holland for our housesit. This was our second time crossing the English channel in just under three weeks.
Maggy and Peter were great hosts. They were there for our first night, to hand over the animals routines etc. Maggy cooked an amazing dinner and Peter kept topping us up with wine. I drunk too much and started showing Maggy my youtube videos while Mike quietly cringed in the corner. Despite all that, they still left their house and animals in our care and went off on holiday the next day.
We had a great three weeks house sitting for them. We managed to get a lot of steps on the fitbit walking Jeep and loved watching him do tricks. He is so well behaved and really smart. As well as the tricks mentioned above, he can also ride a skateboard and catch a frisbee.
The weather was pretty lousy for a lot of our time there, but we managed to get a few bike rides in and visited some museums. It was sad to leave Jeep and Fuji, but that’s the only downside of housesitting.
We spent the last four days in De Panne on the coast in Belgium. It was a relaxing time, walking along the beach, and drinking my favourite beer – WestMalle tripel. I’d looked everywhere for some decent Belgium beer glasses to bring back, but they only sell them individually – not boxed up. It was a sunny day as we sat outside a bar in the square, sipping on a Westmalle Tripel, when a van turned up delivering boxes of beer glasses. I went in to ask where we could buy some. The van driver gave me directions to a place about 600m away. I thanked him then walked outside to tell Mike. On my way out, the owner of the bar ran up to me and whispered, “We’ll give you one of those boxes of glasses.” I was ecstatic. They were exactly what I had been looking for and they were free! We gave them a nice tip.
Anyway we are back in England now. There are new adventures for us tomorrow as we embark on our next housesit.