Rotterdam, The Netherlands...

It was turnaround day in Rotterdam. We were up early and decided to head out to tour Delft. I did a jaunt across the Erasmus Bridge to get a shot of surrounding scenery and the ship before leaving Rotterdam... Being adventurous, we took the Metro subway to Central Rotterdam connecting to the train to Delft with very little problem at all. Delft is a popular tourist destination in the Netherlands, famous for its historical connections with the reigning House of Orange - the Royal Family, for its blue pottery and for being the home of painter Jan Vermeer. After arriving at the Delft Train Station and getting our bearings we headed off to explore the old town. Crossing a canal into Delft proper we spotted a windmill in the distance and headed in that direction. This windmill is actually the last standing windmill from the many that once stood in Delft. Built in 1679, this mill was used as a corn mill and was created in stone to replace the old wooden version. In the old town center, you can find several different inter-joining canals that are lined with beautiful trees and typical Dutch architecture…this morning was a great time for canal reflection shots. We continued to meander the streets passing the Prisenholf Museum and the Old Church making our way to the Nee Church in Markt Square. A main attraction of the church is to climb (which I climbed in 2019) the bell tower for unparalleled views of Delft – unfortunately, it was not in the cards today, it was Sunday, and the tower is closed due to ongoing church services. Another building located on the Markt Square, the City Hall stands out as a fine piece of architecture. The square is loaded with shops and restaurants…we stopped for coffee and a delicious pastry before heading to meet our friends Mirelle and Philip at their bar. We also got to meet their new puppy, Sammy.  As with many cities in the Netherlands, Delft has a network of canals that is a true pleasure to walk around. Just before arriving at Cafe de Koepoort we met Mirelle on the road, she was heading to the market and later joined us at the bar. We had a nice reunion with Philip and sat outside along the canal. The weather today was gorgeous…sunny and a high of 86 degrees, warmest day since we left Fort Lauderdale. We walked with Mirelle to see their allotment garden, plots of land where city dwellers can get a taste of nature with small cottages and gardens. Mirelle has a beautiful garden filled with roses. Phillip picked us up at the garden and returned us to the ship. We had a great day reconnecting with friends. Later in the afternoon, we had a number of visitors dockside…  A group on environmental protesters camped out alongside attempting to block our sailing.  They didn’t succeed, once our loading was complete, we were off to Dover, England.   The highlight of our pending departure was spotting two wonderful friends' dockside to see the Zuiderdam off, Hermann & Ria Hazenberg, so nice to see them, even at a distance! With the stellar weather it was a beautiful sail away from Rotterdam.