Paula's long holiday

Paula is enjoying a long break after her final exams, preparing for a summer job in France, and her university study in Delft afterwards. She planned a trip to our house in France with 3 of her friends; but unfortunately one had to drop out due to illness at the last moment. So three girls took the night bus to Grenoble to spend a week chilling, hiking and cooking. It was "Alps-light", as the other girls are not used to long hikes or more challenging outdoor activities (like Via Ferrata or cycling up Alpe d'Huez). Paula took them to Lac Lauvitel and Refuge de la Lavey, which are two of the most beautiful spots in the area. They all really enjoyed the stay, and are planning to come back!

A few days later Paula joined another group from school for a mountain bike outing in Brabant. One of her classmates drove, they rented bikes, and did a tour of some 30 km. And there are many more events planned......

 Paula and Kelly in Bourg d'Oisans

 Kelly and Paula on an "Alps-light" hike

 A rest in the valley of Lavey

 Kelly and Paula in Lavey

Sarah and Kelly cycling near the house

Paula on the MTB in the Loonse en Drunense Duinen 

Nice single trail riding

Flat tire repair training

For her Silver International Award Dorien organised a 3-day 2-night bike trip, like Paula did 2 years ago (see post of 25 June 2012). Together with 4 friends they planned a route starting in The Hague, going north along the coast, then crossing to the east, passing north of Amsterdam, and ending up in Utrecht. There they took the train back home. They did some meticulous planning, a training ride and flat tire repair training with Piet. In the end they took off during the long Whitsun weekend, and had great weather all the way, despite a heavy thunderstorm during one of the nights. They had to put up tents, cook their own dinner and find the route, which they all did without any problem. Their companion from the Award organisation looked disappointed at first, thinking girls are whining softies, but in the end he had to admit that this was a fun group to supervise! Dorien even managed to fix two flat tires, all part of growing independence...

Dorien is having fun at one of the campsites 

 A beautiful spot at the edge of the IJsselmeer

They enjoyed this spot, and took most of their pictures here

Prom and hockey

The end of Paula's secondary school life was celebrated with a Prom, an American-style party, which also seems to be common in The Netherlands nowadays. All the kids dress up in suits and dresses, and even Paula joined in. She wore a dress for the first time since she was 5 years old.... The party was held in Madurodam, the miniature town in The Hague. For some unknown reason the parents were also invited, but had to leave at 10 pm. We had some speeches, dinner and left. Early in the morning Piet picked up Paula, for the start of her real holiday. One of the first things she did was go to Amsterdam with a few friends. And next week she will go to our house in France for a week, with 3 other friends.

In The Hague the world championship hockey is being played these weeks, and we took the opportunity to see some matches. The football stadion of local club ADO and the area around it has been transformed into a hockey temple. We saw an exiting match between Belgium and India, with the Belgian men scoring the winning goal a few seconds before the final whistle. The final match of the day was between the Dutch ladies and Japan. With 15,000 spectators in the stadium (unique for a hockey match), beautiful early summer weather and an easy win (6-1) it was perfect end to the evening. 

Mary and Paula ready for the Prom

A unique picture: Piet in a tuxedo and Paula in a dress

Paula and friends at Madurodam

 Paula meets Gandhi at Madame Tussaud in Amsterdam

 The Dutch ladies team at the start of their match against Japan

 Piet, Dorien and Paula are "orange" fans

Final score

Done!

Paula spend the last 5 weeks studying for het final IB exams, and these are done now! Although the results are not expected before early July she feels pretty good. There is no doubt that she will pass her degree, the only uncertainty are her final marks. As there is no selection for her study she can really relax now. She will spend the whole summer in France, but most of the time she will be working in the local restaurant, to build a financial buffer for her future student years.

Beau's best friend Jim has retired. He was getting quite old (23 years) and the only thing he seemed to enjoy were his easy rides with Beau, and spending time together in the outside paddock. As he was suffering a bit from old age ailments his owner decided to move him to a horse retirement home, in the green open area east of The Hague. He was taken there by all people involved, including Mary, Paula and Dorien. There are large pieces of land with different groups of horses, and Jim was put with some other equine pensionados. Mary and Paula came back a few days later to check on Jim, as he had suffered a bit in his new herd. He is doing fine now.

Beau hasn't noticed so far, his brain is apparently unable to process Jim's disappearance. A distraction was a jumping event at a nearby stable, with Dorien. They decided on relatively low jumps, as it was the first time for us. Beau obviously liked it, and the second round he was really racing around the course. He made no mistake, and could pick up two rosettes at the end. Everybody was very pleased, and is looking forward to the next opportunity.

 Paula studying in the front garden

Beau acting as lawnmower in our front garden

Dorien at the start a practise ride for International Award

 Beau and Dorien at the jumping competition

Paula and Jim at the horse retirement home

Cross country

All three ladies are very active with Beau, and are improving their skills continuously. Beau is in good shape, and they have slowly been increasing his workload. Paula and Mary are coaching each other at the stable, and all three are doing a lot of outdoor rides as well.

This weekend they registered for an outdoor cross in nearby Madestein park. Dorien was the lucky one (together with Beau of course). They loaded Beau in the trailer and drove over. After a warming up they had to complete a jumping course as a test, and then they could start. Despite the short distance, the foul weather (rain and wind) and Beau's somewhat erratic ride they had a lot of fun, and are keen to repeat the exercise. They drove Beau back, cleaned him up and had to go home for study and other chores.

 Beau and Dorien during the cross country ride

Beau and the girls afterwards - and a lot of grass to eat

Piet is still spending a lot of time in London - the Tower Bridge

Easter break in France

We drove out early morning this time (allowing Paula another evening with friends, and Mary a horse riding lesson). On the way we picked up Coline in Dijon. She is a friend of the girls who has been in our village several summers visiting her grandparents, and they have kept in contact on Facebook. As she is in between studies and looking for friends who enjoy the outdoor life she combined an entry exam at Grenoble University with a stay with us. Their main activity was building a tree house, and it remains amazing to have a 16-year old and two 18-year old girls enjoying this type of activity. In the summer it will be completed, and used for overnight stays.

The rest of the time was spent in the garden, doing some cycling and a first ever visit to nearby Briancon, which has a lovely old part of town on top of a hill. The planned reconstruction of our terrace wall had to be postponed (again), and we were promised that it would be ready before the summer holidays. Paula spent time studying, but managed at least one outdoor activity every day. Piet got some serious training rides in for La Marmotte early July, including 114 km ride in the Vercors, without a single flat stretch. As always the break was too short, and on Sunday morning we drove back home, to Beau and his 13th birthday celebration.

Dorien and Mary in Briancon

Lunch in Briancon

Mary and Dorien walking in the outskirts of Briancon

Paula and Coline on Col du Lauteret

Coline and Paula in the Via Ferrata of St. Christophe 

Paula studying in the garden

Catching up

It has been an extremely busy period for us, and it is time for a catch-up. Mary has been taking care of the renovation in her parents flat, doing her part-time job, acting as secretary for a horse riding club, and managing the Lambregts household. The end is in sight, as the flat is nearly ready: the bathroom, floors and walls are done. Mary’s parents are very happy to be close to us, and we all drop by regularly.

Paula has been ending a phase in her life; she had her last day of secondary school. Her year group organised a whole week of activities, and Paula has turned up on horseback (on Beau), as the Mad Hatter, and as a castaway. This was mixed with many social evenings, as her friends will spread over the world to go to university, and many she will not see any more after the summer. She also completed her pre-Uni course at Leiden University, with a distinction for her research project.
After long deliberation and several introduction days at different universities Paula has decided to start an Applied Earth Science Bachelor program at Delft Technical University, which is a small town next to The Hague. She abandoned her long term dream of becoming a vet, due to the very limited flexibility of the study, and your working life afterwards. Early May Paula will start her final IB school exams, and on the 23rd of May it is all over! In addition she has been taking driving lessons, passed her theory exam, and is preparing for her first test.

Piet has been extremely busy in the office, running a project in Rijswijk and London, and having 7 consecutive weeks with flights back and forth to the UK. In two months he has been only 3 days at his own desk in The Hague, trying to keep his regular day job running remotely.

As you can imagine we were ready for a long Easter break in France!

 Beau and Dorien are jumping without saddle, stirrups and bridle

Paula and Beau on the way to school for stunt week

 Paula (the Mad Hatter) and Charlotte (the Cheshire Cat) at stunt week

 Paula's group at the diploma ceremony of pre-University in Leiden

Find Wally (or Paula): the whole pre-University crowd