Wed Feb 8

Wednesday
February 8 - Den Haag

Not long
back in from a long day doing the rounds of meetings etc. We left home at 9am and returned just after
5:30, carrying shopping and still carefully walking the now melting icy
streets.

We are
getting to know so much about our newly adopted city by walking the
suburbs. Today we walked (this is for
the information of people reading this who know or want to know about the city)
from our apartment on Van Elkemadelaan in Benoordenhout to an agent in
Hubertus-Park on Badhuisweg, then to an agent in Frederik Hendriklaan in
Statenkwartier - got a bit lost but found our way there eventually. We then had time before a viewing, so bought
some things for lunch and went off to our friend Isabelle’s apartment for a hot
lunch, and then she accompanied us on two inspections. We then took a tram ("thank
goodness!" sang my feet) to Java Straat in Willems Park and met with
another makelaar.

The final
part of the day was heading on foot into Centrum and firstly having a well-deserved
beer or two in a cafe then to my 'home away from home' - Hema, where I bought
four coffee cups (we only have two - and we have a dishwasher) and a serving
spoon (our flat owner thinks a ladle is all you need - weird!) plus a couple of
wooden spoons for cooking. Oh, I nearly forgot, an egg flip - how in God's name
do you call an apartment furnished without one? We're dining at home this
evening on chilli prawn pasta and salad followed by a French crème brulee -
yum!

Still no TV
or internet - possibly another eight to ten days! Shit!

PS Dinner
was great (love Chef Rene) and following
that we went through an envelope of places recommended by a makelaar just down
the road - he had put them in our mailbox.
We have a short list of eleven we will discuss with him in the
morning. Some appear too good to be
true, and of course we don't have the net on to double check locations
etc. I turned down looking at a
perfectly good house yesterday purely because it was opposite a school. Any teacher reading this will immediately
agree with my decision.