Journey: Arnhem – Zwolle – Kampen – Giethoorn
The mind was willing but the body tired, fortunately Rosie needed to be at the train station for 7am so it forced us to get up and organised, though we still enjoyed a slow start to the day with Ben bringing us second breakfast in the form of pain au chocolate 😋 We also managed to send two bags of stuff back with him to reduce our van weight…Ernest and my belly continue to grow
Leaving camp around 10 our first point of call was the pet shop where we stocked up on amazing hypo allergenic food – the manager was so helpful and knowledgeable making sure we got the best for our pups. We spent a small fortune on easy to digest proteins (deer, lamb and insect!), but it’s cheaper than vet bills and currently all the pups are well again, so it’s worth it 😊
I’m not sure what’s wrong with my mind of late but I recall my Popa saying I’d lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on and it’s so apt for this weekend. In the last 3 days I’ve ‘lost’ my phone, Fitbit, circus ticket, water bottle, knife and left my bag behind and although I got all bar the water bottle back…this morning I left the van keys at the pet shop and my jumper at the lingerie shop 🙈 I’m a walking calamity going from one panic to the next. I’m obviously too relaxed at the time to worry about belongings 😂
With the dogs happy we went for a potter around Zwolle, it’s a lovely town, lots of pretty old buildings and the centre is all on an island, so it’s nicely contained. This is a little sidetrack but I will tell you anyway – I generally hate shopping but it was pointed out twice at the acro convention that my basic granny knickers were bigger than my shorts/leggings and kept poking out- my pole friends will know this to be true to 😂 It’s a strange thing but as a dog groomer I never wanted to wear nice undies as the dog fur would get ingrained in it (and weedle its way into your boobs – plucking Barney’s fur out of your tits was never highlighted on the job description 😂🤢). However I used to love buying posh pretty matching sets and owned a couple of sets that were still in the tissue paper never worn (bar the odd photoshoot then carefully wrapped up again). Instead of bringing them on the trip, my mind told me…oh it’s only camping the granny knickers will do – I still have issues with self image, a lot of women do. I’m also not very good at treating myself (although I love spoiling others) and I’m having to reprogram my brain – if the pretty pants make me feel good then just wear them, it doesn’t have to be a special occasion, these little things can start your day off on a happy note, and I’m sure the dogs will appreciate me pottering about the van feeling nice 😊 #rememberyouareworthit
Anyway enough about pants. We then drove on to Kampen, which is a smaller version of Zwolle and almost as nice. The fun thing we spotted here was that small groups had golf balls and putters and we obviously putting their way around the town. It looked such a giggle with them calling out to strangers to dodge their balls and laughing as the cobbled streets took their ball ofcourse. If we had discovered how to join in we would have.
Our camp for tonight is Giethoorn – a very popular pretty thatched house town that doesn’t allow cars in. We’ve been warned we must explore early as it’s hugely popular with Chinese tourists (a TV program was filmed here). Since arriving I’ve been in bed, reading and attacking the epic chocolate stash Heike brought me. Tomorrow I will be healthy again but today I needed to recharge and rest.
SofaWolves 