THE END.

Before we knew it we were by the beach in Scheveningen on LF1 (click here to read my first thoughts on the place). For anyone who has read my blogs you’ll recognise the name! You’ll probably also know that it’s not so far from where I used to Au Pair. Thus for old times’ sake I dragged my sister on a detour right into the centre of The Hague in order to reminisce on my memories there (here's a little summary of the city as seen by me). A quick sprint through the fountains of the Spui and a cycle around the station's lovely zebra clock made it a fun farewell as we caught the coastalroute back to Noordwijk. Nice to finish the trip with familiarity. 

Thanks Soph for doing it with me!

They really couldn’t have placed our final photo-point better…the Noordwijk lighthouse was right at the end of the town’s boulevard. With a snappy photo on a dying phone we’d finished it. The following days were spent being utterly spoilt by our family friends in the impressive Dutch summer before flying home. One of my first memorbale experiences in NL had been in Noordwijk so it felt right to finish the adventure there. 

They say fortune favours the brave... in so many ways on the trip it felt like it didn’t- our daily bike failures made sure of that. With time, however, we've come to realise something. Actually we couldn’t have been more fortunate. We had three weeks full of challenges, experiences and beautiful sights…not to mention a fantastic music festival AND we made it back in one piece. I mean really, what’s not to be thankful for!? 

The best bit? We’re the only Brits on-record to have done it and certainly the only ones to have done it on such old bikes!

Back in Britain

I know I haven't been blogging for a while but don't worry I've not vanished... 

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Here I am in beautiful Warwick.

Honestly though I’ve been back in Britain for a good few weeks now so what have I actually been up to? Sharing is caring so I’ll keep adding to the bullet points...

• A trip to UCL, the university that my twin attends, was long overdue. Apart from the prison-esque accommodation the grounds were great. A great location too, not far from the British Museum which I visited for the first time with a friend. A must see.
• A lovely home-made pesto with spaghetti for all the sisters was a thoroughly enjoyable evening. At home a couple of days spent with my brother ensured I’d caught up not only on my family time but my cooking too. 
• A trip to Warwick University for a long weekend didn’t disappoint. Nice to spend time with my best friend, enjoy the beautiful countryside in the sunshine, go to an outstanding Noah and the Whale gig and bake for the fun of it. An all-hours snapshot of Uni life.   
• A sleepover at a friends’ was full of laughter and chatter.  
• Celebrating my twins’ end of exams in London was followed by an afternoon of football at Vicarage Road which I will never forget. Absolutely phenomenal. The result? Watford are going to Wembley with a shot at the Premier League! A lovely affordable South Indian lunch was had with all the siblings in Wembley before the big match but for Watford it wasn't to be.
• It was great to have a cafe catch up with a youth leader and friend. Followed by another cafe coffee catch up with a different friend. 
• A successful application for a job as a waitress with a London agency also meant a good number of shifts. I even got to serve at FC Dortmund's Champions League after-party underneath the dinosaur at the Natural History Museum- not bad, shame they lost! 

In truth most of my days have actually been spent in my room. I've found and booked campsite spots, budgeted, done what seemed like endless amounts of route planning and organised the 3-week itinerary. Why I hear you ask? The Ronde van Nederland is my answer. A just over 1300km cycle tour around the Netherlands is what I've been busy with. With everything finally sorted all that needs to be done now is...well... it.