Day 4 and 5 (April 12 and 13)

Day 4:

Already I am starving for the attention of animals. Yesterday I creepily went up to someone’s yard where there was a dog, and while I pet it a few times I saw that there was a toddler and sister or babysitter watching me. I smiled and waved, but I'm sure they think I'm a weirdo. There are a couple pit mixes or bull dog mixes down the lane who I am determined to make friends with. They barked one time when we biked by, but I can tell they aren’t actually mean. I also saw a girl feeding the horses that are just across from the campground, and I stopped on my bike to watch for a minute. She definitely saw me and instead of going over and explaining that I just miss MY horse, she probably thinks that a crazy lesbian was checking her out.

Today we went to Alkmaar, a beautiful town a half hour south of Oudkarspel. 

We walked down one street that was lined with all the delicacies of a good Dutch town. Cheese, chocolate, beer, and more cheese.

As I was walking around taking pictures, I heard someone say something to me. When I turned around with a dumb look on my face, the guy said again this time in English: why don’t you take a picture of us? So I did.

Cheeky dutchman!

Day 5:

This was an easy day of bike fixing, cleaning, lubing, and one panicked moment when a client said they were waiting at the train station in Chiusi, Italy and one of our associates wasn’t there to pick them up yet. It worked out. I biked to the video store to get a movie, Moneyball, which was good. (I mean, I’ll watch anything with Brad Pitt)

That is something that I love. Bikes are used all the time around here for transportation. (And yes I do have at least one friend who uses her bike all the time just for that reason.) That is their main function here, with the occasional rogue race biker. And there are bike paths everywhere, so you don’t have to worry about traffic or waiting for lights, you just go!