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Playing the tourist – windmills, clogs and cheese

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on July 14th 2023. Earlier this week we left our mooring at Weesp and made our way through Amsterdam on the River Ij. This big commercial river goes through the industrial heartland of the city, and it provided us with a different perspectiveContinue reading “Playing the tourist – windmills, clogs and cheese”

The many faces of Amsterdam

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on July 8th 2023. We have spent the last week or so moored at Weesp, a delightful town about 16 kilometres outside Amsterdam. It’s ideally situated for day trips into the city, either by bike or by train, and we experimented with bothContinue reading “The many faces of Amsterdam”

Gallery

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on June 23rd 2023. Many of the Dutch people we have met over the last few weeks have told us that the Vecht river is the most beautiful waterway in the Netherlands. It’s not a particularly long river, running for just 40 kilometresContinue reading “Gallery”

Nostalgia

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on June 16th 2023. We recently set our alarm clock, a rare event in our lives these days as we seldom have to be anywhere by a set time, and left Olivia Rose at 7.30am to cycle to the largest flower auction inContinue reading “Nostalgia”

All alone in the Netherlands

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on June 9th 2023. One thing that has struck us as we cruise around the Netherlands is how many houses there are. We knew that it was a densely populated country but hadn’t expected that the smaller rivers and canals would pass throughContinue reading “All alone in the Netherlands”

Lifting bridges and cheese auctions

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on June 3rd 2023. I seem to have gone overboard on the videos this week, but there has been so much to see and it is a good way to share it with you. We’ll begin with our final day on the RiverContinue reading “Lifting bridges and cheese auctions”

Paradise found

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 26th 2023. I sat on deck, closed my eyes and listened. In the distance I could hear a cuckoo calling. Close by, hidden in the reeds, a coot was clucking in shrill annoyance at a duck that had strayed too closeContinue reading “Paradise found”

Crossing borders

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 19th 2023. Looking back for a moment, we left France on May 2nd and cruised into Belgium, crossing the border almost without realising that we had done so. By chance my eye fell upon a sign for the Douanes, the FrenchContinue reading “Crossing borders”

A week of wonder and despair

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 12th 2023. Belgium may be renowned generally for beer and chocolates but in the boating world it has a reputation for boat lifts. In our first week in the country we were fortunate enough to have the Strepy-Thieu funicular vertical boatContinue reading “A week of wonder and despair”

Guided tour to Olivia Rose part 2 and Belgian flower power

Hello and welcome to The Olivia Rose Diaries on May 5th 2023. As you can see from the picture below we are finally on the move! This shot was taken on our first night, moored up outside a marina at a little town called Péronnes on the Nimy-Blaton canal in southern Belgium. And without furtherContinue reading “Guided tour to Olivia Rose part 2 and Belgian flower power”