It is a small world

You might remember our rowing escapades from the Taylormade photography blog a few months ago, well at the airport in Hong Kong we met up with part of our rowing crew Amanda and Ian. They had been Beijn to see their son Kurt row for Australia at the world titles and to his credit, he and his crew came a very credible 5th. So we started our holiday by bumping into Craig Smith and we ended our trip meeting up with these guys totally by accident.

HOME!!!!!!!!

WERE HOME!!!!!
We touched down this morning at Sydney Airport after a great flight with Qantas. Juanita was there to collect us with a big bright happy smile. It was great to see her again after 7 weeks, she did a wonderful job looking after Taylor-made and we are very lucky to have her. She even had organised her mum Adele to tidy our house as well. Thank you so much Adele it was unbelievable to come home to a clean house.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks as I will be posting more pictures from our incredible adventure.

Disney Land Hong Kong

Disneyland is just great and the kids are having a ball. Our Hollywood hotel is just beautiful and the food is incredible. The only problem is the rain that is heavy some times. It is still hot though. The girls have been on the magic mountain roller coaster ride a few times and for them that would be the pick of the rides. I went on it once and that is enough for me. I did like the jungle boat cruise with the fake animals and special effects. Last night we were treated to a magical fire works display that centred over Cinderellas castle and we will be going to that part of the park today and fly for HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tonight.

Hong Kong

We have arrived safely in Hong Kong and will be doing some shopping today as our tour of the island has mysteriously been cancelled. No matter though as it is pouring with rain. We had a ok flight but we all are sufferring from jet lag. If we have time tonight I will finish of blogging for Holland and show some pics of Hong Kong.
We are all keen to get back home but have Disneyland tomorrow.

Auntie Unnie and Reinier

Yesterday we had a great day visiting my Auntie Unnie, her son Reinier and his wife Coos in Zuid Laren that is two hours drive from Den Helder. It was so lovely to meet my Dads sister Unnie again and it was great to see her in such good health and looking fantastic. She lives in a wonderful apartment, which has a great view of the farming land that surrounds the town. Zuid Laren is small tourist town with lovely shops, cafes and markets.
My cousin Reinier is Sheppard who has a flock of about 600 sheep to take care off; the sheep are used to help preserve the conservation of an area of land that the government wants to keep in the same state as the 1600’s. The sheep eat and spread a plant called header that is a deep purple. Reiner also mentioned that this plant was a reason for Van Gogh to also paint in this area. He is helped by six trusty Australian kelpie dogs, that he has trained, his most experienced dog Dipper gave us a great show rounding up the sheep using only instinct and whistle commands. It is like they have a mental telepathy, he loves them so much the all live in the house together. I also had great treat because I got to ride on his quad bike, which was very cool. Reiner lost the use of his arm in a motorcycle accident 20 years ago and to his credit he has not let his disability stop him doing what he loves. His wife Coos is such a great support for him and as he says his the best thing that ever happened to him. It was lovely to meet her and fantastic to make contact with Reinier again after so many years. His dream is to work with Kelpie dogs in Australia and I truly hope he gets his wish.

Rudi's Art Studio

Rudi my cousin lives with Carol in his father’s artist studio that is very cool. Rudi who is also an artist spends a couple of hours each day creating wonderful paintings that are colourful and dramatic. He is working on a series now that is represented by different countries. He works with large canvases that he builds himself to the dimensions he likes and paints in oils using brushes, pallets and almost anything including his hands. When the work is completed he varnishes the canvas and then completes the commission with a frame, which he also makes himself. The high ceilings in the studio make the space easy to work with large canvases and they have painted the walls in bright colours that I think help with inspiration. The studio overlooks part of the maritime harbour and is close to some cafes and the movie complex.

Dutch Beach Day PJ edit

We all had a great day at the beach yesterday, the beach is just a few hundred meters from my aunties home and although you do not associate Holland with the beach it was really nice to be by the water. Taylor, Dillon and myself made a large sand castle and did some sun banking. It was good to be able to continue my tan from Italy. Paul Jan and Roya ventured in to the water as locals they are more used to the water temperature but it was a bit cold for the kids and me. Paul Jan also took the kids crab hunting and managed to find a few large ones plus a bucket full of North Sea ocean life. If he were left on a desert Island he would never go hungry.

Wind Mill Village

Roya was kind enough to show us a Dutch village that features the only traditional working windmills in Holland. It was very cool to find out how they work and what they produce. I took a tour inside one that makes peanut oil. We were also treated to a presentation that explained how different cheeses are made and we also saw how they make clogs. Trudi and the kids bought a few souvenirs and we all had our photos with the large Dutch clogs. Later we had some lovely apple and cinnamon pancakes. We had a fun day and it was nice to get a further insight into Dutch culture.