A quick summary of the weekend; on Saturday we tootled over to Ravelston Woods, where we took a stroll along leafy paths while Louis scooted and/or walked his Tiger bike along behind. His first off-road experience! Holly found a tree with droopy, springy branches and had a great time launching herself into the air with it. Sunday saw Louis expanding his nap-time roll-call with Cat, Bear, Big Dog, Little Dog and Holly's pink ballet rucksack. This (Monday) evening before bedtime, he spent a few moments catching up with the celebrity chit-chat in Heat magazine.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
The White House
A few pics I missed, from the gap between us returning from holiday and Niall and Laura's wedding. John started to paint the house, with a little help from Holly and Louis. Louis also got his first golf lesson, and the weather was (for a short while) nice enough for the kids to have dinner in the garden.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Niall & Laura Get Married
A grand day out. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll spare you too many more of mine at this stage. Suffice to say that although Louis wasn't on top form thanks to another coldy cough, Holly did a great job as flower girl, and this Millar family went home tired but happy.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Tour de Paisley
Bizarre event of the week was Lance Armstrong's sudden appearance in Paisley, announced at very short notice via Twitter. I took the day off work and went along. The rain was tipping down and I barely got a glimpse of the man - my group were unceremoniously dropped when the road rose - but I managed a brief handshake at the end. An enjoyable, slightly surreal day out with a fun vibe. More on my Twitter feed, and on Google News.
First Day
Today was Holly's first day at school. Lastnight she chose a uniform and laid it out ready for the morning. She took the whole thing in her stride, helped enormously by meeting her pal Eleisha in the playground. She participated enthusiastically in the introductory "treasure hunt" before the parents were sent away, and even popped her hand up to volunteer the fact that she could write her name. She ended the morning full of smiles and stories and new pals. What a wee star, we're so proud of her. More pictures to follow from John Lodge's camera in due course.
Going Dutch - Chapter III
We pick up the story on Tuesday, when we took the car (our only car trip of the entire holiday) to the Hoge Veluwe National Park near Arnhem. They have a fleet of 1700 white bicycles which visitors can use for free, and a network of cycle paths to ride them on. The centrepiece of the park is the Kröller-Müller museum, but we bypassed that in favour of visiting the surreal inland dune system, bizarrely set amid a forest of Scots Pine. Wednesday was rainy, so we went swimming and then had a wee outing to the centre of Voorschoten, followed by - you guessed it - beer and ice cream at the Vlietland Pavilion. Thursday we took the train into Amsterdam, and bypassed the city's more adult attractions to spend much of the day exploring the Vondelpark and its manifold kid-friendly spaces, including a paddling pool which was a great hit. We rounded off the day with a stroll along the Prinsengracht and a pause for ice cream and beer before the train back to Voorschoten. The sunshine continued on our final day, and we returned to Wassenaar beach for more sun, sea and sand. Not to mention, of course, the ice cream and beer at the end of the day. The homeward ferry journey was even better than the outward, with a better view, a quieter cabin, and two kiddies who relaxed and slept well after a spot of dancing in the bar to the ship's resident band. A fantastic trip to a fantastic kid-friendly location, and good weather to go with it. When's the next one?
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Going Dutch - Chapter II
Friday, and after a morning of pottering and visiting our hosts' allotment to pick some vegetables for tea, we visited the local swimming pool where Holly and Louis' confidence in the water grew further. On Saturday we cycled into Leiden to visit the market and sample the local beer and ice cream. In the afternoon, we headed off to Wassenaar beach, part of the continuous coastal dune system that forms the Netherlands' North Sea shoreline. Our longest outing yet, it was a beautiful bike ride through the (protected) dunes, and testament to the Dutch passion for two-wheeled travel that we could ride the whole way on safe, quiet "fietspad" paths and lanes. Sunday was a day of pottering - we cleaned out the guinea pig's hutch and headed back to Vlietland to find that swimming was "not advised" due to the proliferation of blue-green algae in the water. Disappointed but determined, we hired a rowing boat instead, and then headed to the Pavilion for beer and ice cream, establishing a pattern that was to continue for the duration of the holiday. Monday found us exploring the coastal dune system again, this time finding ourselves at a rather splendid pancake house in the middle of a wood in Meijendel, just in time for lunch. Suitably stuffed and worn out, we stopped at a playpark in Wassenaar on the way home before collapsing on the settee. That's it for Chapter II, stay tuned for the next instalment...
Going Dutch - Chapter I
We've just returned from our summer holiday in The Netherlands, full to the brim with sunshine, insect bites and photos. We drove to Newcastle and took an overnight DFDS ferry to Ijmuiden, just outside Amsterdam. From there is was a short drive to Voorschoten, a sort of suburb of Leiden, university town and birthplace of both Rembrandt van Rijn and the Leyden Jar, if you like that sort of thing. The kids were great on the ferry, and took to sleeping in the bunk beds (eventually) with only two tumbles by Louis. First job on arrival was to hook up the bike trailer and explore the area, and we headed straight to Vlietland, a man-made lake for swimming, boating and picnicking. The kids took to it straight away, and much splashy fun was had in the shallow, safe waters. The next day, we went straight back to Vlietland, where the water had turned green. We thought nothing of it, and in the afternoon headed out to find the goat farm our hosts had recommended. We didn't find it, but returned in good spirits for a spot of evening trampolining. Next day, and having consulted Google, we found the goat farm but were dismayed to note they didn't like packed lunches. Undeterred, we hired a rowing boat and lunched on the canals before returning to feed the goats, pet the rabbits and - in Holly's case - ride the horse. She loved it, and really looked the part. It was a scorching hot day, so we returned to Vlietland to cool down. Louis fell asleep in the trailer, but was soon up and splashing with Holly, whose confidence in the water has come on in leaps and bounds. There's video of that too, to follow later. Back home, Louis clambered onto Holly's bike with a happy but determined look in his eye. That's it for Chapter I, and we're only three days in! Watch this space...
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