DELFT

THURSDAY 21^st

We packed everything away first of all, then walked over to Lidl and picked up 3 boxes of wine for 27 euros (would have cost £42 at home), then set off for Delft just 26 miles away. We found Delftse Hout Vakantiepark fairly easily, passing a huge Ikea on the way. We were not too impressed with the site, it is the most expensive we have stayed on, not the cleanest, and no spaces in the campsite itself. We were given a pitch outside in the camperplaats, but charged the same price as if we had been inside! At least we can walk in to use the showers and toilets, but the slots are very small and the entrance horrendously congested with a barrier and the entrance/exit only wide enough for one vehicle.  Needless to say we followed a Dutchman up to the entrance only to find a motorhome trying to come out, so we had to reverse back on to the road and move out of the way first.

FRIDAY 22^nd

It was raining a bit first thing so we took our time getting up. We bought city shuttle hop-on/hop-off tickets to go in to the centre of Delft. It turned out to be a cross between an overgrown golf buggy and an Indian tuk tuk, just taking 6 people, but as there was only the 2 of us we had plenty of room. We felt every single bump in the road and nearly flew out of our seats a few times. We were dropped off in the centre square and the first thing we saw was the New Church to investigate. Somewhat of a misnomer as it goes back to the 1500’s but is still newer than the Old Church. William of Orange is buried in the crypt there, as are all the members of the royal family since then. It has been fantastically cleaned inside and made to look very new, some restoration work is still going on. The stained glass windows were gorgeous to look at. From there we strolled along little streets alongside the canals to the Old Church which was also beautiful but in a much plainer way. Everything there is geared around the painter Vermeer, who, with his family is buried in that church. After some more strolling we found a small coffee shop which we had been given vouchers for so piled in for our free cuppa and a sandwich. It was in an old warehouse and was selling all ethnic clothes around the walls, quite different. Eventually, more wandering brought us back to the square where caught the shuttle back to the campsite. We have been a bit disappointed with Delft, whilst it is one of the oldest cities in Holland, it is certainly the most run-down looking.

William of Orange's mausoleum

Beautiful ceiling in the New Church, all wood

Outside the Town Hall

New Church

Town Hall

Wonky spire of New Church

Tomorrow is our last day, and we need to do some cleaning up before heading to the port on Sunday morning for the ferry home. We hope you have enjoyed reading about our travels and maybe given some of you ideas for yourselves.