Sailaway - The road journey from the UK to Carloforte, Sardinia, begins in the Netherlands.

I - The road journey from the UK to Carloforte, Sardinia, begins in the Netherlands.

Log Entry Thursday 13th April - A trip to the City Zoo, it was amazing, one word fantastic!

Log Entry Wednesday 12th April -- We take the car and drive north to Zanns Schans, or Zanns Museum.

This park was a cultural centre and yet another great day out looking at the Dutch, traditional way of life - the pictures speak for themselves.

We knew that cloggs were traditional but had not realised the effort that went into making them, nor the different fashions available.

Log Entry Tuesday 11th April -- Back into Amsterdam again, more things to see!

Today we make our way to the "Wester Market" in the north west area of the city. Amsterdam has so much to offer you really do have to be selective and plan well, you could actual spend weeks here if you were to visit every recommended attraction.

The city has so much to see, we find just every day life very interesting as we make our way around.

This guy was making a living, playing his trumpet to the sound of the nearby church bells as they chimed. He had a very novice way of collecting change from the crowd high above him on the roadside?

We visited the Tulip and Cheese Museums, crossing "Prinsengracht, Keizergracht and Herengracht" waterways as we make our way around.

The number of churches, museums and attractions are unbelievable, no one could visit them all, but great to see as many as possible?

We made our way to "Anne Frank's House", unfortunately I had not done my homework, the entrance was by pre-booked online tickets only? We were told that the doors were opened at 1500 hours to "cued visitors" - it was only 1130 and the cue was already about 200 meters long? We gave that a miss!

The attractions in the "Dam" centre were mixed, old and new, you could have spent the full day in this area alone.

It is never to early or late to visit a coffee shop, even our simple purchase was made a fun experience by the staff.

We did stumble across an interesting Market, the sellers offering both new and second hand goods, in fact every thing one may need?

Log Entry Monday 10th April -- Back into Amsterdam, and a river cruise tour.

We make our way back into the city of Amsterdam, public transport is so easy, one tram from the site takes you straight through the city centre. We do have to walk across a bridge over one of the canals to catch the tram, it is amazing how busy it is?

We take the tram down to the "Heinekenn Browery Experience" a busy tourist event but not our cup of tea!

We are looking for one of the adjacent river cruise companies to show us the city from the water!

What an amazing trip it was too, very educational, and not heavy on the feet/knees!

We see some of the on going required repairs to keep the waterways in great condition, at least I (Kevin) find that interesting? A trip well worth doing!

With Peter off to Bruge, we begin to look a little further at our site, it is extremely busy, with the exception of the tent section usually full according to the staff.

The site offers all options for campers and numerous different types of chalets for rent, the site seems very busy with the younger generation, the sweet smell continuously in the air and the "behaviour" gives an indication that they are smoking more than tobacco - still it is legal here and no trouble being caused.

There is even a small farm yards foe the kids, along side their play area to keep them busy, the site is well laid out and the staff are clearly focused on customer satisfaction..

Log Entry Saturday 8th April - We meet up with our friend Peter from the USA.

Peter is only here on business for a couple of nights, he then has to move on to Brussels.

We settle into our first campsite of the trip, all good, still a little chilly but our electric heater keeping us very comfortable? We have had a day or so to get used to the transport system and the local area, we have no intension to drive into the city centre, especially with this transport system, and so cheap compared to the UK?

With "Google Maps" in hand we head into the centre and find Peter's hotel with ease, about 18 months since we last saw each other.

Peter joins us exploring the city, and of coarse we have so much to chat about, lots to catch up on - what a great city Amsterdam is.

The days passes so quickly, before we know it we are looking for somewhere for dinner, a place easily found, a good choice too, the day goes very well!

Log Entry Thursday 6th April. We leave Newcastle (UK) arriving in Amsterdam 0930 hours on the morning of the 7th April.

Our first step in our drive back to Sailaway in Carloforte, Sardinia, the trip bring back memories of the "Drive to Turkey Experience" hopefully the same great experience lies ahead?

The trip down the River Tyne is a first for us, disgraceful when you think how many years I have been associated with this area? The trip itself educational, seeing the Tyne Valley from a different perspective.

Very pleased to see we still have a fishing industry today, not sure how large as it appears most of the vessels could be out at sea?

Tynemouth, seen many times from the land, more fishing vessels returning from the nights work, the next ferry making it's way in.

We awake and head up on deck as we pass through the huge offshore wind farms, Holland and Amsterdam only just visible in the distance.