weird words

St. Ives is a very pretty place and of course everyone else thinks so, too, so it's teeming with tourists, but not horribly so. It's just very full. Parking is only possible outside the town which I think is absolutely fine, but it's a bit on the expensive side. They could probably pedestrianize more of the area around the harbour - at least during the summer months when they already restrict parking in several streets.

But yes, very very pretty, especially in the evening light:

( Pictures )

Not a sign of global warming.

Hamamelis/Witch-hazel/Zaubernuss blooms in winter.



Lovely smell, too.

When we left the house, the sky was still blue and the sun was out. On the motorway we realized that we were travelling towards a big mass of dark-blue clouds full of rain or maybe sleet.

When we arrived at our destination - that one Dutch city where all Rhinelanders go to buy stuff on a Sunday - the hail was pouring down.

Last time I was there, we also ended up being soaked. Here is a mix of old and new pictures:

( Venlo )

As is tradition around this time of year, we went on the motorway and visited family in Hesse. ( Text and pictures )

This time there we didn't go for the sights and while I had wanted to take the kid to the very famous castle, we of course didn't. You don't mess with tradition.

Edited for spelling picnic the German way.