We’ve come to Rotterdam to visit Mum’s cousin P and her family, including my great aunt and great uncle. We stay with P and her husband M, who have given up their room for us. My great aunt E and great uncle C prepare feasts for us to eat at their house near P’s home.…
It’s school holidays and my sister’s kids love camping. So when Paul suggested we go camping at Tin Can Bay for a night, it seemed only natural to take my two oldest nephews along for the ride. Tin Can Bay is about 230km (140 miles) north of our home. If we were on a road trip,…
The rain has finally eased off so my uncle and I can finally head out for the bike ride we had planned for yesterday. This is one of the things that’s been on my must do Holland list for years. I have always loved knowing that my uncle loves to cycle and enjoy listening to…
It’s my first full day back in Holland and the weather has turned foul. I was going to cycle to my uncle’s house about an hour from where I am staying (with another uncle and aunt). Thankfully my aunt offers to drop me off. As a migrant child, my family in Holland have been an…
My cousin shows he is a gentleman. He wakes early to take me to a cafe for breakfast and then walks with me the fifteen minutes to the Metro station so I can find my way to the airport using the cheapest option. At exactly 10am I am walking through customs, just as he said…
The train takes an easy hour to reach Lisbon. I have instructions to get off at a certain station but I decide to get off earlier. It’s a glorious day for a walk and the train is the worst way to see a city. Walking is the only way. Besides, it’s only 2km (1.4 miles)…
We arrive in Portugal late in the afternoon. The next day it is raining so it’s perfect for me to sit in my aunt’s lounge room and work. My first impressions of Portugal will have to wait until my third day in the country. But what a lot of impressions I get. Like the rest…
My grandmother is with us now. We were going to stay a few days in Seville but have decided to head to Portugal to see my mum’s sister (and my grandmother’s daughter). Along the way we make our final stop in Spain: Huelva. The town from which Christopher Columbus set sail on his second and…
We arrive in Seville just before dark. Our apartment is a gorgeous space inside the old palace walls. I do some work while Mum goes for a walk. Later, I join her to see a little of the city. We walk around taking in the atmosphere of this lovely city. There’s a plaza at the…
We’re heading for Seville today because my grandmother arrives from Holland tonight. It’s only a couple of hours drive and Seville is Mum’s favourite city in Spain. So it’s tempting to just drive straight there. But Mum says “why don’t we just take a quick stop in Cadiz while we’re passing anyway”. And with that…
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