Monday 6 July

Today was a quiet day. Anita has to work a few hours each day all this week, so we will potter around doing a few small activities here and there.

We had breakfast, then coffee! Emma did a flute practise. Piet and Shirley went the the supermarket and then we had lunch.

When Anita came how from work, Emma, Chris, Rosemary, Shirley and Anita biked into town to the VVV (tourist info) by the new Leiden Centraal Railway Station to get information about places to visit. Biking in Holland is very different to biking in New Zealand and a lot safer. Cyclists don't need to wear cycle helmets!

The first thing you notice is that there are special roads, lights and bike parks just for bicycles. And of course there are bikes everywhere. The second thing you notice is how considerate the cars are towards cyclists on the road, by law any car, truck, bus is liable if they have an accident with a cyclist. 99% of the cases are in favour of the cyclist unless the cyclist was drunk or some other reason.

Some crossings are shared but mostly there is a crossing for cycles & light motorcycles and a separate crossing for pediastrians. At crossings there are separate buttons and lights for pedestrians and cyclists. And at one crossing we saw a third set, higher up, for horses (the rider pushes the button)!

Waiting for the green light at a cycle cross, Voorschoten

Rosemary is having a lot of fun with our new digital camera, experimenting with angles and compositions. Everywhere we go she is trying something different. Here are a couple of Rosemary's snaps.

The staircase in Piet and Anita's 3-storey house, from the ground floor

Emma sketching