An entry in the TFS Travel Journal.
We got down to breakfast so late most everything was cleaned out, but we scraped something together. Set off and rode mostly back the way we’d come the hot day, but it all looked new (and much cooler) to us. Biked part way with some others in the group, including Philipe our guide, which made it all the more amusing when we got quite confused due to some misleading directions.
Arrived just in time for our 11:30 tour of Kasteel de Haar, a neo-gothic monstrosity of several hundred rooms built in the early 1900s by a Baron who married into the Rothschild family (he was old line Roman Catholic, and neither side was too happy with this union). When we arrived, there were three weddings going on (probably since the castle is only open one month per year, and today is the last day), one in the church, one in the castle, and another a bit later in the castle. By the time the first wedding procession got inside, we had only partial time for our tour, but still saw some impressive, grandiose furnishings, tapestries, architecture and carvings.
Biked on to Montfort, passing through much farmland (never have we biked with so many aromas throughout the day, and seen so many collections of just a few animals — goats, sheep, dogs, cats, cows, horses — per farm/household). Also saw some mailmen and other delivery people using mopeds and bicycles.
Stopped for lunch in Oudewater (a town known for its association with witchcraft owing to the reliability of its scales), and had an omelette (though it was what we call fried eggs back home) and a cheese salad (though it had very little what we call lettuce back home) sitting in a lovely square in the town center. We then walked the town, excitedly finding a “Best of Tina Turner” cassette for the upcoming drive time.
Biked on and on, enjoying the omnipresent bike paths, finally completing the 63km and arriving at this lovely hotel. As Milton was fighting some virus which so far has infected only his throat, we relaxed in the room ’till dinner, which was a fabulous pate and a sea bream (something like a trout) salad to start, followed by a calves-rib and a salmon entree and a dessert of pink grapefruit terrine w/pear sorbet. Good, but not memorable. Back up to the room so Bruce and Gail could email their son and we could recover from this beautiful, sunny day.
Now, as regards our group: A total of 16, plus two guides. The guides are Michelle and Philipe (who both have great accents); she’s from Zimbabwe, but now lives winters in South Africa and summers in Burgundy; he looks like a skinny John Cusack, is from England, now lives in Paris, and is a fun guy.
Bruce and Gail are from San Francisco and have four kids. Gail was a health care lawyer, but busy with the kids now. Bruce is a high school math teacher with a bushy salt-and-pepper beard (he looks a bit like Richard Dreyfuss) who knits sweaters in his idle time, as we’ve seen. Since she’s not comfortable enough on a bike, they’re riding a B & R tandem!
Charlotte and Michel are from Lowell, MA and have a 23 yr. old son. Her family recently sold the two New England newspapers they’d owned for over 100 years, and he teaches High School physics and used to be a member of the Canadian National cycling team. (He’s from Quebec and at times sounds a bit like Pepe LePew). Wayne is in his 60s and is a lobbiest living in Alexandria, VA., with two grown kids. Voluble guy, but a tendency to say moderately inappropriate things.
Colleen from Princeton used to be a gemologist before the two kids arrived. She’s now (as Wendy masterfully ascertained) going through a messy divorce and is “an emotional wreck” (and not a great biker, either, having not really been on one in too many years). This is the first time she’s been at all on her own in 8 years.
Ronnie and Julian are from New Jersey and have a 19 year old son. She teaches High School French, and he’s a lawyer in Manhattan at his own small firm, and is the only guy who shaves less than Milton. John and Charlene have three kids, have been married 43 years and are from Indiana. They bike impressively well, though he got heat exhaustion today. She’s originally from Texas and still sounds (but doesn’t look) like Dolly Parton.
Joanne and Eileen are middle-aged NY career women both in the advertising world. Joanne is divorced and hadn’t taken a vacation in 15 years. They’re pleasant enough. Last are John and Debbie, who are always last. They’re from Montclair, NJ and have three grown children. They’re perpetually getting lost or having alleged bicycle mishaps, and snipe at each other as they ride or after arriving. She’s annoyingly inquisitive all the time, and writes postcards maniacally during the trip (which must be factually correct, hence the endless questions). He’s non-descript.
Then there’s us, the all-around stars of the group.
All in all, the group is fun to be with, and all meal-time iterations seem to be working well, but a week can be a long time with so many shared experiences. . .