The Road Beckons Once More

Sarah wants to go travelling again. Me, I could live without it this time.

For one thing, Koninginnedag will be here in a couple of days. We were in Istanbul last year and missed it, so Eloïse doesn’t really have a memory of it. The weather here has also been beautiful over the last few days. The garden is in bloom, the grass is lush and the Vondelpark is awash every afternoon with people picnicking and lazing around. I see these as good omens for a pleasant Koninginnedag, not in the last place because of the feelings of relaxation they engender in me, the beholder.

But, as I intimated, we won’t be here this time.

We’ll also miss the Giro d’Italia, as it passes through the Netherlands. The first three stages will start in Amsterdam. The first, a time trial, will start and finish within walking distance of our house. We have the unique opportunity to witness every single rider individually pass by in front of our nose. As a bonus, traffic will be at a minimum those days and obviously won’t be allowed anywhere near the route.

But, as I mentioned, we won’t be here for it.

Tomorrow, we hit the road and drive through Germany and Switzerland en route to northern Italy, where we’ll spend the two week May school holiday. We’re bound by these scholastic hiatuses now, forced to migrate at the same time as all of the other herded sheep, after decades of scoffing at them for being mugs who had dug their own graves. We weren’t wrong, of course. It’s just that we have since grabbed a shovel and carved out a plot of land for ourselves, too.

I’ve updated the car with the 2010 Audi navigation DVD, so we have the latest maps for the trip.

We won’t make Italy tomorrow; at least, I’d be very surprised if we did. If we get as far as Lucerne, I’ll consider it a commendable achievement. So, who knows where we’ll spend tomorrow night?

The day after, though, we’ll enter the land of great food and all of my gains from disciplined dieting and a strict exercise regime will start to unravel.

Sarah has planned everything, so I couldn’t even tell you where we’re going, although I do know that we’ll end up in Venice and will be skipping Milan.

Hopefully, we’ll have some Internet access along the way and I can blog about what we’ve seen and where we’ve been.