Eliot's Travels

In the afternoon, we packed our last bag and realized we were stuffed and even overfilled. We'd have to repack later. Mom and I cleaned the kitchen, the carpets, and the bathroom downstairs. We emptied the refrigerator and the cabinets and finished the last bit of laundry we needed to do. I popped my advil every 6 hours so that I could function. Biking home wiped me out; I was so achey.

At about 3:45, we all ran out to the antique store and to walk around the square one last time. I decided that I wanted to get an antique Delftware tile for a keepsake. Mom took the boys out walking, while I shopped. I found a great 1660s-1670s tile of two young boys playing with hoepels (hoops). What a treasure to remember our time in Delft. I booked on home to meet the Rottsvast (property management company) agent for checkout at 5.

Denis showed up about 5:10 for the walk through. It's funny because he pointed out marks or scuffs on the walls (what I would consider normal wear and tear), but didn't notice the wallpaper pulled off the wall where the baby gate had been. He wanted to make sure we wiped out the oven and refrigerator. I definitely got the idea they wouldn't have anyone come in to clean behind us. Interesting.
Gina invited us over to dinner for our last night. Mom wasn't back when I finished with Rottsvast and I had no way to get in touch with her. Since we were taking the bus, we had to work within the every 30 minute bus schedule. I decided I had better make my last delivery and headed over to Lucie's house. I was quite proud of my bike-carrying abilities: bottles for recycling, a printer in its box, plus 2 bags of groceries and office supplies. Lucie was also getting my bike, so I would be walking home. I ran into mom on the way out and told her we'd take the 6:15 bus to Gina's. We'd need to bring the extra food (3 bags worth), her vase and the tulips with us on the bus. Sounds like fun!

I gave Lucie the quick lowdown on the bike, its front seat, and the printer and said my good-byes. I was at the station at about 6:08 and realized I didn't know what bus we needed to take. So I booked over to the apartment building and arrived as mom was coming down. I sent them on their way and went upstairs to get the bus number. We ran to the bus station. The bus heading the other way left after we got there, and I was sure we had missed its opposite. Eliot asked "what will we do now?" and I said "we'll cry." I was so ill and could barely walk.

There was no way to get to Gina's by walking with all the stuff we had and two little boys (it's a 25-minute walk) and the next bus was 30 minutes out. We considered bailing but we had all that stuff and we hadn't said good-bye to Ap and Gina and family. Luckily, the woman next to us saved me and said the bus was coming right now. Thank goodness. Mom moved the fully-loaded stroller through the back doors (she's getting good at this) and I took the boys in the front. We were on our way to Gina's.

posted by Whitney @ 11:48 AM