Thursday 14th May 2026

Woke around 0815 with back ache. Sat up in bed for a bit...Aki brought me a mug of tea. Got up and breakfasted on fruit and yoghurt. Did some exercises before vacuuming. Aki made hummus. Grey day...threatening rain. Tinned mackerel for lunch. Sun came out in between the showers over the course of the afternoon. Aki cooked a carbonara for dinner. Watched some telly...the fast paced "The Bear", and a recent small screen adaptation of "Shogun"...the former was very impressive, the latter a bit silly and OTT. The News followed by bath and bed...

Wednesday 13th May 2026

Woke around 0815. Aki already up, readying herself for Rowing Club. I took a mug of tea back to bed for a bit. Eventually rose and made a fruit bowl with yoghurt and granola, inspired by some of the breakfasts we'd enjoyed in Rotterdam. Did some exercises. Sat about listening to music until Aki got home for her lunch. Cullen skink from a tin. Popped out between hail storms to buy some odds and ends ahead of making this evening's dinner. Cooked a chicken tray bake with apple, mustard and cider, with roast sweet potato and vegetables, washed down with a glass of cider. Left Aki to tidy up, and set off for Stoke Newington in the car...journey was delayed due to the fact that the Arsenal Ladies had a game on at the Emirates. Got to the theatre late and joined the auditionees in the Tuerk Studio...about 12 of us, taking it in turns to read for Henry VIII, Cromwell, Dr Butts, and young Wyatt, in an adaptation of Hilary Mantel's "The Mirror & The Light". Enjoyed myself. Found Kathleen from No.49 sat in the bar...had a brief chat before Amanda, the AD, sat down with us, and they complained about having to negotiate the changing moods of Bianca, who has been directing "Clydes", which opened this evening. I thought it politic to excuse myself before the interval, and the risk of being collared in the bar by Bianca...awkward! Drove home. We watched the final 20 minutes of "Get Back"...the episode ended with George walking out on The Beatles. Enjoyed Michael Portillo as he investigated Japan by rail. Bath and bed...

Tuesday 12th May 2026

Woke around 0830 with back pain...not too bad, as I think I managed to sleep on my back for most of the night. Aki got up to put the washing on, and receive a work phone call. I hung out the washing...nice sunny day, but a chilly north-westerly wind. Porridged. Aki cycled off to tai chi. I pottered about, finishing my unpacking, and catching up with my blog. Aki briefly returned, before cycling off again, to the fishmonger's on Essex Road. Light lunch. Walked over to Waitrose to do a shop, then drove Aki up to Helen and Martin's to pick up some tomato plants. Aki cooked sea bass for dinner, with pearl barley and vegetables...very tasty. Watched some more of Episode 1 of "Get Back"...really enjoyed watching the embryonic Get Back song in creation...started out as an anti-racist protest song following Enoch Powell's "Rivers of Blood" speech! Bath and bed...

Monday 11th May 2026

Woke around 0830. Got up and took a shower before we headed downstairs for breakfast. Packed our bags, checked out, and left our baggage with reception, then took a final wander about the locale...popped in to the World Trade Centre, which has recently been re-furbished and re-configured. Impressive modern feel. Walked across to the Markthal...Aki keen to buy herring and onions for lunch on the train later. When we came out it was pouring with rain, so we took a tram to Beurs and walked up to the famous department store for a coffee...basically, it looks like a big John Lewis's. 

Walked back to the hotel to pick up our baggage, and walked to the Central station to get the Eurostar back to London town. The waiting room is rather pokey, and requires people to cram in to a lift to descend to platform level to meet the train...mad! Journey was OK...in fact, we arrived at St Pancras about half-an-hour earlier than expected! Walked round to York Way to catch a No.91 bus home. Unpacked. Cooked up some pasta for dinner, with pesto sauce and fried mushrooms. Sat and watched episode 1 of the Beatles documentary, Get Back. Bath and bed...

Sunday 10th May 2026

Bad back woke me around 0645. Sat up for a bit before nodding back off. It was 1000 when I woke again. Aki boiled the kettle for tea. Wandered through the city centre...most of it looks a bit like Milton Keynes, sadly. 

Eventually happened upon a cafe for brunch. Continued our amble, which took us through the MuseumPark, past the mirror ball of The Depot, to the Remy Koolhaas's Kunsthal. 

Paid to get in for a leisurely browse...really enjoyed the Flowers Forever exhibition, which took in all sorts of different tangents...politics, economics, art, botany...it was never dull, as there was always something interesting around the next corner. 

Took a break for a beverage in the cafe, then took in some smaller exhibition halls before walking down to the Maas. 

Had dinner at Loos Grand Cafe...food was great, but the loos were a big disappointment! Had a wander around the marina, then walked slowly back to the hotel...

Saturday 9th May 2026

Woke around 0600…bad back. Sat up for a bit before managing to get back to sleep. Woke again around 0900. We decided to try the hotel breakfast. Buffet style…but very good. Aki enquired about moving to a room with bath instead of shower so that she can more easily bathe whilst keeping her injured knee dry…to my surprise the request was granted, and we moved to the room next door. 

Headed for the central station and hopped on a train to Delft…only a ten minute ride. Very comfortable seats…we realised we’d been sat in first class. Wandered around the streets bordering the canals in the town centre. Had a sit down at a cafe in the market square and enjoyed a coke before heading for the rendezvous point for the canal tour. 

There were about 40 ladies of a certain age all dressed in purple, sporting red hats…they turned out to be the internationally renowned Red Hat Society…there were loads of them roaming the streets! They all piled onto one boat and headed off, looking like a cargo of tulips from Amsterdam! Wandered across town to the Vermeer Centre...a museum of sorts, though containing only reproductions of the great man's work, in the former St Luke's Guild House, of which Vermeer was once head. Enjoyed a couple of modernist re-interpretations, and re-created a Vermeer with Aki as my muse. 

Wandered the streets and crossed the charming canals, and then made our way to the old Armoury, which now houses a steak restaurant. I enjoyed a very tasty, chunky fillet steak...Aki had the schnitzel. A waiter managed to soak a patron in lager at the next table! He took it all in remarkably good stead. 

Wandered down to the southern harbour for a beer on a barge bar, and watched the boats coming and going. Also paid one final homage to Vermeer, finding the spot from which he had painted his View of Delft. Took a train back to Rotterdam. Wandered north of the central station and found a bar in Provienstraat, an area that managed to survive the Nazi bombing campaign...sat out on the street for a beer before walking back to the hotel for a much needed bath!

Friday 8th May 2026

Woke at 0545 with back ache. Sat up in bed for half an hour before nodding back off. Woke again at 0900. Got up and made tea before limping across the road for breakfast at Served, a modern cafe serving breakfast bowls and sandwiches in crusty flatbread. Popped back to the hotel room to pick up a backpack, then headed for the metro…took the E line to The Hague. Took about half an hour…we pottered along through verdant open country and satellite villages…quite a lot of new housing developments going up. It all looks very calm and civilised. Alighted at the Central station…browsed in The Hague tourist information store at the station and picked up a few silly gifts emblazoned with The Hague moniker. 

Walked to the Mauritshuis…a magnificent C17th mansion built by a local slave trader and sugar plantation owner. It now houses a collection of Dutch Masters…Vermeer’s breathtaking View of Delft, Rembrandt’s self portrait, and the main attraction, Girl With a Pearl Earring. Got to see the delicate Goldfinch, too. Wandered up to the Mesdag, stopping for coffee and cheesecake on the way, and gawped at the Freedom Palace, now housing the International Court of Justice…a small group of protesters had gathered around a banner calling for the release of Venezuelan political prisoners...from whom, it wasn't clear. 

Hopped on a tram to Sheveningen and walked along the Prom. Ate fish and chips in the Herringhouse near the fishing harbour. Caught a bus back to the central station, then metro back to Leuvenhaven. Wandered around the dock looking for a harbourside bar, but couldn’t find anywhere; walked back toward the hotel, stopping for a beer at Grace, a large brasserie with tables on the street. Could barely walk by the time we got back to our room!