RommelGans

Cinque Terre

Meet the bread lady, last minute decision to go to Cinque Terre, long day in the throng of over tourism.

The Bread Lady

We had read about the Borgo bread lady on the HGV owners group on Facebook. She drives into the resort around 9am, and she sells bread and pastries out of the back of her car. She probably has a full bakery and makes the rounds in the morning. We got a couple croissants and some focaccia (which was still warm!) for a total of maybe 7 euros (Village Bakery in Flagstaff charges that per ‘croissant’ – hardly seems fair), so that was a good start of the day.

As we were waiting for the bread lady, we heard that there was rain in the forecast for Thursday so we decided to not stay back and go to Cinque Terre today. The only issue is that I have no clue about what is even there, and by the time we were finished with our breakfast it was already 10:30. We did not let that hold us back so we hopped into the car. The DeNiros had told us that the best Cinque Terre experience is to park in Lerici (pronounced LEH-ree-chee, not luh-REE-chee) and take the hop-on-hop-off boat to the villages.

Alternate Plans

We found the parking in Lerici and walked to the water. The guy at an info booth was very helpful in telling us all about the boat service. The way we understood the situation, this boat would be going back and forth every ten minutes or so, but as it turns out there are just 5 of them over the course of a day, and it takes like 2 hours to get to the last of the 5 Terre. If we wanted to see all 5 of them, there was just barely enough time left to get on the boat, drive that to the end, and then just stay on the boat to get back. This would get us on the last boat back into Lerici at 7pm, but we would not be able to stop at any of them. We were simply too late to see all 5 of the Terre, so we had to make a choice where to stop. It took a lot more discussion than I need to write up, but we decided to just do two stops – first at Riomaggiore (the first of the 5 Terre), take the boat back to Porto Venere (pronounced Porto VEH-neh-reh, not veh-NEE-ray, and it’s not even one of the Terre), walk around, take the last boat back to Lerici.

The next boat out wouldn’t leave until 2:30 so we had plenty of time to get some lunch. As we were walking into the restaurant we found the DeNiros already sitting there. Seems like we are in synch with these guys, and they invited us to join them for lunch. They obviously went through the same discussion as we did, and to make a long story short we decided to join their plan for the day – take the boat to Rio Maggiori, walk to Manarola, find something to eat, take the train back to La Spezia, taxi back to Lerici. Lunch was a pizza diavola (spicy salami) and cold beers, very tasty. Don’t remember the name of the restaurant but there are like two dozen of them right on the water in Lerici,

Over the Water

We got one-way tickets to Riomaggiore, which meant switch boats in Porto Venere. K DeNiro (the daughter, who has adopted us as siblings) was able to get off the boat again to hop into a store and buy a bottle of cold wine. This was some sort of dare for her because her dad (M, our tour guide for the day) had told her ‘no’ and that means two different things to them :). Good for us because everybody got a cup of wine on the next leg on the water.

We arrived in Riomaggiore, onto a TINY dock, more like a little path outcropping of rock that juts out of a super steep rock face of the Italian coast. I thought I had the whole arrival on video with narration, but forgot to press ‘record’. It looked REALLY harrowing though, that cannot be the safest way to disembark in the world.

The walk into the village was very idyllic but at the same time we were walking into town with about 7 million of our closest friends. It’s kind of amazing how you can be in this super nice place that the entire world wants to see, and you end up being rustled through these places like cattle. You don’t get an authentic experience, everything is SO expensive, the locals look at you with this peculiar mix of disdain and utter disgust, and it seems to be a sport to confuse the hell out of the tourists, or at least make them feel like every question is fucking stupid. For sure food for thought when we get back to FLG, because I am not always too willing to be gracious to visitors to our town.

Over the Land

Our tour guide (M DeNiro) had been to this place before, so he took us to the footpath to the next town over, which is called Manarola. We got to the path where we were stopped by a guard. Turns out that you need a ticket. M says ‘but this used to be free’, to which the guard says ‘that was more than ten years ago’ in a not-so-friendly tone of voice. It took more time than I need to write down, but we ended up getting train tickets to Manarola. You can only buy a full ticket to walk to all 5 of them, and we didn’t want to spend 17 euro per person for a 10 minute walk.

It also took WAY more time to actually get there, but we did end up getting to Manarola. We tried to get into K’s favorite restaurant there, but we had to find another place. We had some Tennant beers there and some bruschette. Walked around some in Manarola and took the train back to La Spezia. We were lucky enough to find a van for a taxi, and we ended up back at the parking in Lerici with no issue. K DeNiro rode back with us to the resort, and we got back I think it was around 10 or so.

All in all, today was a wonderful day. We got to see really pretty coastal villages, and actually walk around in a place that you normally only see in pictures. I’m trying not to think of the overtourism and how that ‘ruins’ our experiences, because at the end of the day our experience was not ruined. We were in a wonderful place, with some wonderful company. Not going back here, but I am glad we did go and spend it exactly the way we did. Thanks to the DeNiros for taking us in, we had a great day!

Arrive in Borgo

Breakfast at the Anglo American hotel in Firenze, drive to the HGV ‘Borgo alle Vigne’ resort in Tuscany, lunch in town (Selvatelle), groceries at the Conad (yes that is really the name of the store), spritzes at the pool.

Ciao Firenze

Our swanky hotel had a wonderful breakfast buffet with fresh pastries and passable (although very greasy) bacon. Checked out, walked to the Avis that was about 5-10 minute walk from the hotel. They gave us a bright red Fiat 500, just like we ordered, a tiny little Italian car.

Google maps initially told us the trip was going to take 45 minutes, but it ended up taking close to two hours to get to the resort. I think the 45 minutes is highway miles, we were routed through a fantastic scenic route through the Italian country side. The Fiat is a fun little car that handles surprisingly well, although lacking some serious zip. I guess we’ll just have to take it easy. We pulled into the resort around noon-ish

Borgo alle Vigne

The last turn from the town of Selvatelle, the road winds up the hillside towards the resort. As you turn into the property, there is a black wrought iron gate that opens to a small parking area. The property itself is very small with a handful of small buildings and a larger building that has the reception at ground level and guest units one level up. A white gravel footpath leads down the hill, and it feels like it is designed to fill you with anticipation of all the relaxation ahead as you walk down the path.

Our room was not yet ready, so we drove into town to get some lunch and groceries for the room. The resort guy (we are calling him ‘Italian Oscar’ because he looks like our Spanish friend Oscar) recommended a local restaurant called ‘Carlo’ where they apparently have really good pizza. Funny because when we walked in, the first thing they said was ‘no pizza for lunch’. We had some sort of charcuterie plate and ice cold beers, and it was a very tasty lunch.

The grocery store is called ‘Conad’ and it is a good size supermarket. Sara was very excited to FINALLY go into an Italian store, she’d been wanting to do this ever since we got to Italy. Got some basic supplies, most importantly Spritz ingredients.

The DeNiros

As we were checking into the resort, there was a group of 5 Americans ahead of us. One of the ladies had a big Patriots (the football team) tattoo on her leg, and for whatever reason I remembered that I had seen that tattoo when they walked by the place where we were having drinks in Florence. I mentioned something about seeing them in Florence, and we chatted for a while at the reception. Went our different ways, and ran into them at the lunch restaurant. Went our own way again and ran into them again at the grocery store. Ran into them again at the resort pool. Seems like we are having the same vacation here, and because one of them reminded Sara of Robert DeNiro, we are now calling them ‘the DeNiros’.

Spritzes at the Pool

We settled into our rooms and filled our hydro flask with Aperol Spritz and went down to the pool. The water in the pool was nice and cool, and as the air was cooling down we spent a wonderful evening in Tuscany while enjoying a phenomenal view.

The plan for tomorrow is to stay at the resort and just relax.

Rome Day Two

We woke up VERY early (4am), which was of course expected due to the change in time zone. The hotel’s breakfast buffet was your typical European style buffet with lots of choices of breads, pastries, jams, cheeses, eggs, ‘bacon’, etcetera, etcetera. We both found something to eat, and we both had yummy coffees. Today’s planned activity: a guided tour of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum/Palatine Hill. The tour would start early in the morning, so we started walking right after breakfast.

Walk to the Colosseum

Selfie with a view of the Colosseum from the Via degli Annibaldi — View of the Colosseum from the Via degli Annibaldi

The colosseum is about half an hour walking distance from our hotel. The picture above was taken from the “Via degli Annibaldi”, the street that leads to the stadium. This was basically our first view of the colosseum as we were walking toward it from the hotel. As you get closer, where we are walking is actually a few stories above the street level entrance of the stadium.

We found a couple of stairs that seemed to be closed off, but some people had pushed the fencing open wide enough for us to be able to walk through. We were not really supposed to walk down there but there were actually stairs leading down and we didn’t know how else to get down there. It wasn’t hurting anything and hey we’re stupid tourists right… We had some time to kill before the tour, so we walked around the Colosseum a bit.

Start at the Forum

Tour guide leading us into the Forum — Following the tour guide into the Forum

Our guide was an archeologist, and he had a ton of information to share with us. The tour setup was really cool – you get this little radio with a single earbud, and the tour guide has a microphone on his end. You hear their voice loud and clear, well as long as you stay relatively close to them. Much nicer than walking around a cacophony of screaming tour guides. Came in handy a few times too, as we were stopping at the same spots with other groups a number of times.

We started up the Palatine Hill to visit the Forum first. This is important because you need separate tickets to see the Forum and the Colosseum, they are NOT on the same ticket. So many spots at the Forum with SO MUCH history. I could have easily spent the whole day there and read all the signs, maybe even get an audio tour and listen to all the detailed explanations of all the things there.

There’s one of the oldest churches in the world there, there’s an excavated Roman mansion that we basically ran through, lots of ruins with signs next to them. I feel like we really only skimmed the very surface of the Forum, I would love to go back there and spend maybe a whole day there.

Panoramic image of the Forum — The Forum from a high vantage point

On to the Colosseum

After the Forum we made our way to the Colosseum. Initially, we had booked tickets to go into the catacombs of the Colosseum. A few weeks before the trip, we had gotten a message from the tour company that the catacombs part had been canceled. Our guide told us that the city had imposed limitations on the number of people that they allow to go into that part of the stadium. He said that normally he would take 3 groups a day down there, and this year the last time he had even been down there was back in April. It’s a good thing that these sites are preserved, but we were REALLY looking forward to that part of the tour.

Selfie from the Colosseum arena floor — Colosseum at ground level on the Arena floor

Our guide took us through the whole place, and we got to see everything above ground there. We were on the arena floor itself, and we walked up the stairs to one of the outer rings to see it from above. It is a very double thing because of the violence that was part of its history, but at the same time it was SO cool to finally be there.

Selfie from the Colosseum upper ring — View of the arena floor from the upper ring

Panoramic view of the Colosseum arena from the upper seats — View of the entire Colosseum from the upper ring

At this point we had basically seen all there is to see at the Colosseum, and the crowd was again getting to me. We were also getting a little (meaning a LOT) hungry. I really wanted to go back to the Forum, because there was so much there that we had not seen. Unfortunately we didn’t hold our own tickets (the guide did) and we would not be allowed to return there anyway. Lesson learned about visiting this area: tickets to the Colosseum and the Forum are separate. The tour guide left us there to explore the Colosseum. I felt like the tour should finish at the Forum, because I felt like we would have been able to explore that a lot more than the Colosseum.

Time for Lunch

So lunch it is. Instead of sitting down at the first place we ran into, we decided to walk a few blocks away from the Colosseum and find some food in a less crowded area, off the beaten path so to speak. We walked around a bit and found a place called ‘La Folia’, where we had beers and food. Sara had a Caesar salad, and I had some lasagna.

Lunch at La Folia near the Colosseum — Tasty lunch in a local place (“La Folia”) near the Colosseum

The food was nice enough, not spectacular. As we walked back to the hotel, we passed some places that looked a lot nicer. Can’t complain though, we had a good meal after a great tour of the Colosseum and the Forum.

Almost Forgot Dessert

With our bellies full, we went back to the hotel for naps and post-nap drinks and appetizers at the hotel’s rooftop bar. Spritzes all around and more focaccia. As we were on our second (or maybe it was our third) Spritz, we decided we were in the mood for some gelato.

In preparation for the trip, we had found a YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/AplinsintheAlps) that had recommended a bunch of things to do in Rome. Can’t find the actual video itself right now but there’s one where they list some of their favorite food places in Rome, and one of those was a gelato shop called “Come Il Latte”. It was a bit of a walk to get there, and when we did, it looked like a little hole in the wall. OMG though, the gelato was out of this world. The best I had ever had. Stole the picture from the internet, I was too busy eating my stracciatella to think about taking pictures myself.

Come Il Latte gelato shop — Inside “Come Il Latte” gelato shop – SO worth the walk

Apparently, what you should look for is a gelato place that keeps the ice cream in covered containers. The ones that show the gelato in big heaping mounds have to put ingredients in there to keep the gelato from melting in the Italian heat. The ones that keep their gelato covered don’t need to do this, so it is less diluted with preservatives, and will taste better anyway. They are generally also less brightly colored, so less artificial chemicals in there just for the sake of making it look good.

Nightcap

Back at the hotel we decided to get one more drink to cap off a wonderful day in Rome. Back in the room around 11pm, hopefully a full night sleep.

Walking the streets of Rome is SO awesome. The hotel doesn’t feel like it is quite as central as much the Waterloo is in London for instance, but ‘stuff’ is still close enough to walk there. The GPS is taking us through lots of back streets though, and this part of the city doesn’t feel like it was planned very well, so it feels a bit like a maze. It is hard to get familiar with the layout of the streets and where they are in relation to each other. Good that we do have a GPS, so we always find what we are looking for.

First Day in Rome

We were SUPER excited to be in Rome. Our travel was uneventful (just the way we like it) and we were all checked into our hotel, read all about our travel day here. Having settled into our hotel room, we decided to walk into town and go explore this afternoon. We had deliberately not taken the nasty food on the plane, because we wanted to enjoy some real Italian food. It was about lunch time, and we were both very hungry.

Let’s Get it Started

The hotel is close to some major sights in Rome, and lots of places are within easy walking distance. Before we left Flagstaff, I had kind of figured out a little walking tour that would ultimately take us to this famous place called ‘Piazza Navona’, which is a large square with a bunch of restaurants and three beautiful fountains. On our way over there, we would walk by the famous Trevi Fountain, and also the Pantheon.

First stop: food! As we were walking toward the Trevi fountain, we passed a ton of places where people were eating all kinds of food. We didn’t feel like really searching for a place that would be off the beaten path, and we were REALLY hungry. We decided on pizza and sat down at the first available place that was moderately busy but with plenty of available tables.

You would think that when you travel all the way to Italy, that even mediocre pizza would be better than most of the stuff that you get in the US, but as we found out the hard way: it is definitely possible to get TERRIBLE food in Rome. Our pizza was bland, and not tasty at all. It is not even worth mentioning the name of the place. If we ever make it back to Rome, we will avoid restaurants near tourist places like the plague. We knew this, we had been warned about this, we should have known better.

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi fountain was super super SUPER busy. You get this impression from the movies that you can enjoy a relaxed stroll around the area, stop by the water and throw a coin over your shoulder. Nothing is further from the truth. You will have to share the area with about 75,000 of your closest friends, many of whom have no problem simply shoving you aside to get a better selfie.

Selfie at the Trevi fountain in Rome — It almost looks like we are alone here

We did go into the crowd to take some pictures close to the fountain, and it was great to be there. I had to get out of the throng of people within minutes. The sheer amount of people there (and their obnoxious behavior) was just anxiety-inducing. You get bounced around and shoved aside by all the people trying to get a good spot for pictures. To me it felt a little like a scene in a movie where someone steps on a beehive, the sound of the bees gets overwhelming, and the camera angle gets all ‘swarmy’. I never like being in large crowds, but I actually felt a panic come over me, that had never happened to me before.

This place is definitely one of those places that you have to see when you visit Rome, but you have to be prepared for this mass over-tourism. Oh and whatever you do, stay away from the food there!!

Pantheon and Piazza Navona

Next sight was the Pantheon. The fountain in front of the building was surrounded by fences and apparently under construction, so no chance to see that one. There was a massive crowd in front of the Pantheon. It was SO COOL to walk past this building and see it in person, I cannot wait to go in there and see what it is all about. As it turns out though, you can’t just walk in and visit. Sara found the website where you get the tickets, so we’ll get those and come back later this week.

The facade of the Pantheon — The inscription on the facade of the Pantheon

Walking past the Pantheon is the Piazza Navona, a very famous square with three beautiful fountains and lots of restaurants. Unfortunately, all three fountains were surrounded by fences and they were under construction. We found out later that 2025 is some sort of anniversary year and the city is renovating many (if not all) fountains. Great for Rome next year but sucks for us. We were looking forward to admiring these beautiful fountains, but alas. I’m actually not sure if the picture below was taken at the Piazza Navona, but that’s what they looked like all over the city.

Fenced in Fountain — Fountain under construction

We did sit down at one of many restaurants for drinks, a place called “Tucci”. Very friendly waiter who knew a few Dutch words. By the way, this is where it helps to be friendly to the guests, because now we knew a place with a friendly staff that we will go back to if we’re back in the neighborhood.

The travel had finally caught up to us and we were both almost falling asleep while having our drinks. We decided to go back to the hotel for naps.

First Proper Meal

After the naps we went up to the hotel’s rooftop bar where we had Spritzes, Negronis, and this amazing Focaccia appetizer. This place has a fantastic atmosphere with a great view, the wait staff is super friendly, and they have all the drinks you’d ever need and a nice selection of appetizers. We’ll definitely make this part of our daily routine.

The rooftop bar at our hotel in Rome — Cheers!

Appetizers are great, but we were meal-hungry at this point, so we walked to a restaurant that was recommended by the hotel staff called “Osteria Il Riposto”. The placemats had some handy cooking tips for Roman pasta sauces.

Il Riposto placemat with cooking tips — Handy chart to help build your pasta sauce

The waiter was super friendly and let us pick three meals for us to share. We decided on Ham/Melon, Bruschette, and Cacio e Pepe. All three were delicious, exactly what we had hoped for.

Cacio e pepe at Il Riposto — The Cacio e Pepe at Il Riposto was delicious

After dinner we walked back to the Trevi fountain to see if it is less crowded at night, but it was just as busy as it was earlier in the day. On our way back to the hotel we had some gelatos that were amazing.

Impressions of Rome

It is just fantastic to be in Rome. I’ve dreamed about going there for so long, and it is so great to finally be here. When we first arrived at the airport, I was a little disappointed in the attitude of Italian officials (not so friendly, impatient, almost rude) but the staff at our hotel and the restaurants that we have been to so far are great. Summer in Rome is fucking hot and humid, so you walk around all sweaty and sticky.

The double thing is the sheer number of tourists. I guess it’s just a sign of the times that so many people can afford to go places, and everybody wants to see the same famous places. What is not so nice about that is that it seems that the average tourist is less than respectful of the places and especially other tourists. Especially when it gets to be REALLY crowded, you get shoved around a lot. Just forget about your own personal space, that just doesn’t exist.

I’m on the fence whether I want to come back to Rome. If we ever do, we’d probably schedule it off-season, like in November or something. I’d rather walk around with a jacket and not have as many people surround me. Also, I’d probably try to go more off the beaten tourist path. Also, stay away from restaurants too close to the touristy places. If they have a guy trying to pull you in, and he’s handing you an English menu, keep walking!

Travel Day to Italy

Our 25th anniversary trip to Italy starts today! Travel to Rome was a breeze, and our room was ready when we arrived

Today’s the day!! Our trip to Italy starts, and we are both very excited about it. We’ve been preparing for this trip for months, even years.

Leg 1: FLG – DFW

We got up very early to catch the 7 am flight out of FLG airport to Dallas. Our friend Marcy was nice enough to pick us up from the house and drive us to the airport. We decided to check our bags to Rome, so we don’t have to haul them around everywhere. All we have to worry about is our brand new matching little backpacks.

Boarding our flight from Flagstaff to Dallas — FLG Airport

It was a beautiful day in Flagstaff. As per usual there was no trouble getting through the security check, and we made it to the gate with plenty of time. The FLG-DFW flight was right on time, and it got us to Dallas without any trouble. Our travel day got off to a GREAT start.

Selfie on board our flight from Flagstaff to Dallas — Boarded our FLG-DFW flight

Courtesy of our credit card perks, we have access to airport lounges, and we found one close to the departure gate in the Dallas airport. So nice to sit in a comfortable chair rather than the airport benches with snacks and drinks close by.

Leg 2: DFW-FCO

The flight from Dallas to Rome left right on time, and we had an uneventful flight over there. We had booked the window and aisle seats. The strategy is that you leave a middle seat open, and hopefully on the travel date nobody will have claimed that seat. If it works, then you have 3 seats for two and you have some room to stretch out. This strategy hardly ever works out though, and inevitably someone will walk up to our row, pointing at the seat between us. Usually, one of us will take the middle seat, and the stranger is usually very happy to inherit a window seat. This time though, neither one of us felt like taking the middle, so we traveled with a stranger between us.

Having arrived on time at the Rome airport (full name “Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport”), we found our way to the baggage carousel. After the monitors said that our flight was all done, the carousel was about empty, and our bags were nowhere to be found. The “customer service” guy (a lovely Italian fellow who likes to keep his communication very short and brusque, with no eye contact) did a quick check of our baggage tag and waved us away, saying that our bags were unloaded and are on the belt. We went back to the belt, and to our great delight both of our little roller bags came out of the chute.

On to the trains we go! It’s always fun to figure out transportation, I always enjoy that part of traveling. It took a while to figure out, but we eventually found the ticket machine and got our tickets to the “Leonardo Express” that would take us to the “Roma Termini” station.

One thing we both noticed is that the “service” staff at the airport were not the friendliest. First the baggage claim guy, and then this woman by the train ticket machine. Very little eye contact, and you get a bit of an impatient attitude like you’re especially stupid for not being able to figure it out yourself. We do understand the sentiment (tourists can definitely be SO stupid and obnoxious), but it’s not so nice to be on the receiving end when you need some help.

We decided that it’s probably a cultural thing, we’ll probably run into lots of that sort of attitude, and not to let that spoil our excitement. We had our bags, we had our tickets for the train, we had directions to the hotel, we are ALL SET!! We’re in Rome baby!!

When in Rome

The Roma Termini train station from the train — Arriving at the Roma Termini train station

The Leonardo Express took us from the airport to the “Roma Termini” station in about half an hour, with just one stop on our way there. We were surrounded by all sorts of tired-looking people, all filled with anticipation.

From the station it was a 20-minute walk to the hotel, and we arrived there around 10am. Given the early time we were expecting to just leave our bags and walk into town, but to our surprise, our room was ready for us. We were able to check in and put our stuff away. It was nice to be able to change into some fresh clothes, because it was HOT and very humid in Rome. We would have been miserable walking around in our travel clothes.

Towel swan in our hotel room in Rome — Towel swans in our hotel room in Rome

When Sara booked the hotel, she must have mentioned that this trip was for our anniversary, because the hotel had made us very cool towel swans.

Our hotel, the “DoubleTree by Hilton Rome Monti”, was very nice. Super friendly staff that was very helpful and patient. The lobby has nice comfy furniture and a few tables. You could easily order a coffee and sit there for hours with a book. From the lobby, you walk into the restaurant where they have a breakfast buffet in the morning and full dinner service in the evening. There was a coffee shop where you can get coffee (obvs) and pastries, but also alcoholic drinks. The breakfast buffet was awesome, we ate there every day. For lunch and dinner, we usually found something in the city.

Then there is the rooftop bar, which we visited just about every day. Our standard order was the focaccia bread appetizer with some sort of light cheese spread, and of course Aperol Spritzes, our drink of choice for this entire trip.

Sara at the rooftop bar at our hotel in Rome — Negroni and Spritz at the rooftop bar. We just finished the Focaccia

Herinnering

Daniël heeft mij gevraagd om ook mijn steentje bij te dragen aan deze blog.

Eerst heb ik de verslagen en herinneringen van Frans, Loek en hun kinderen doorgelezen. De uitnodiging, de voorbereidingen en de reis is natuurlijk een hoogtepunt geweest voor Loek en Frans. Ook voor Daniël is het een herinnering om voor altijd bij zich te houden. Het is ook mooi om te lezen dat de trip voor Loek is betaald door Frans, An en de de kinderen van Loek en Frans. Klasse!

Het jaar 2019 heeft een hele grote impact gehad op ons allemaal. Ik heb bewondering voor Dan, Marco en Joyce hoe ze het enorme verlies hebben hebben genomen en hoe ze er verder mee zijn omgegaan. Respect!!

Ab.

Herinnering aan 11 juni 2019

Mijn ouders gaan naar het LUMC voor de uitslag van de testen van 30 mei. De diagnose wordt ze plompverloren verteld door een onbekende arts zonder enig blijk van mededogen. Mijn vader heeft longkanker stadium 4 met uitzaaiingen, geen genezing mogelijk alleen levensbesparende behandelingen. En een goedemiddag nog. Voor ze het weten staan ze buiten, beduusd met zoveel vragen.

Ik bel ze op de dag. Ze hebben een afspraak in de middag als ik werk maar ik kan natuurlijk niet wachten! Mijn vader vertelt het me. Ze wilden me vragen om langs te komen maar die boodschap alleen had duidelijk genoeg aangegeven dat het slecht nieuws was. Hij vertelt dat ze verder ook nog weinig weten. Het zal ze allemaal in een vervolggesprek verder verteld worden op 21 juni. Pas over 10 dagen!

Ik ben natuurlijk langs geweest maar ik kan het me vaag herinneren. Volgens mij wel, het kan niet anders. Waarschijnlijk waren we alledrie gewoon de weg kwijt…

Uiteindelijk heb ik volgens mij dik een week aangezien hoe mijn ouders de weg kwijt waren. Toen heb ik de longpoli gebeld en mijn beklag gedaan. De vervolgafspraak kon met welgeteld 2 dagen vervroegd worden.

Het bizarre is dat deze situatie zo ontzettend anders was dan wat mijn ouders van het LUMC gewend waren. Vijf maanden eerder kreeg mijn moeder ook een uitslag, één die aanzienlijk vriendelijker en doortastender werd verteld.

Dit is onze 1e ervaring met de manier waarop het LUMC omgaat met genezing versus dood. Het is geen prettige ervaring. Het zal ook niet de laatste zijn.

Herinnering aan 30 mei 2019

De herinnering aan 30 mei 2019 knijpt al een week of wat de strot dicht en brengt me vrij regelmatig tot tranen.

Mijn moeder lag in het LUMC waar zij herstelde van een kijkoperatie waarbij een longkwab was verwijderd. Het was de laatste stap in het traject van chemo’s, bestralingen om longkanker te genezen. Ze herstelde in rap tempo, mede dankzij haar ijzersterke wilskracht. Ze had echt zin om beter te worden!

Mijn vader had sinds kort last van kortademigheid. Op een scan was te zien dat er heel veel vocht in de longen zat. Op 30 mei ging ik met hem mee naar het LUMC voor een serie testen om de oorzaak te achterhalen. Konden we gelijk buurten bij mams. We dachten zelf aan een verwaarloosde longontsteking.

Zoals altijd was het fijn samen maar die dag had zoveel meer… Het begon met in de auto stappen. Mijn vader raakte in paniek door ademtekort. Ik pakte hem bij de schouders ‘pap, probeer door je neus in te ademen en door je mond uit te ademen’. We deden het samen, zo bijzonder, en al snel was het goed.

Naast de gebruikelijke plagerijtjes (een hulpbehoevend papa’tje rondrijden in rolstoel is natuurlijk voer voor plagerijtjes: ‘ga jij maar hier (in de hoek) zitten’, racen natuurlijk), was het zo bijzonder dat hij zich door mij liet steunen. In de middag werd roze vocht afgetapt (hallo alarmbellen). In eerste instantie gaf dat een enórme opluchting maar later koude rillingen en een flinke huilbui. Ook toen mocht ik hem steunen. De arts besloot om hem een nachtje te houden ter observatie.

Mijn moeder was zó snel hersteld (in 2 dagen i.p.v. de gebruikelijke 7-10) dat ze naar huis mocht. Ze wilde er níks van weten dat ik haar meenam en regelde dat zij in ziekenhuis mocht blijven. Daar lagen ze dan, 2 verdiepingen van elkaar verwijderd.

Aan het einde van de dag reed ik weg van het LUMC, mijn beide ouders daar achterlatend. Voor wat ik me toen kon voorstellen, was dat toch wel het slechtste scenario denkbaar.

Kater

Kater. Dat is serieus de enige titel die in me opkwam toen ik las ‘Enter title here‘.

Het is tenslotte min of meer een katergevoel dat op het moment overheerst als ik denk aan Frans en mijn pa (Loek), hun avontuur in de States, de kanker die na die reis mijn vader kwelde en die uiteindelijk Frans nekte, net als An. Jezus!
Het leest zo snel weg: Pa kanker, Frans kanker, An kanker. Frans mocht geen bejaarde worden, nauwelijks een week later was dat ook An niet gegund en nu zit Loek aan de chemo.

Zo eenvoudig zit het natuurlijk niet.
2019 Was eigenlijk gewoon een kutjaar. Ik heb het hele gebeuren, alle miljoenen lezers weten natuurlijk wel waar ik het over heb, vooral door de ogen van mijn vader proberen te zien. Zijn broertje waarmee hij een heerlijke band had -zoals ik dat met mijn broer heb- werd immers ziek en verliet deze aardkloot nog voordat we 3 keer goed met onze ogen hadden geknipperd. Ondraaglijk voor Dan, Marco, Joyce en An. En alsof het nog niet genoeg was mocht laatstgenoemde zelf ook niet lang meer leven.
Wat kan je dan als neefje doen? Geen moer, behalve een beetje steun en een luisterend oor bieden.

Zoals ik al zei heb ik alles met name door Loek’s ogen gezien, want je zou haast vergeten dat er achter de broederband die Frans en mijn pa hadden al een complete geschiedenis zat: Keten in de slaapkamer, ouders in de zeik nemen, over meiden praten, stiekem roken en zuipen, verliefd worden, trouwen, kids krijgen, afscheid nemen van ouders, zus en broer, keten in de USA en opa worden.
Een levensloop die ik waarschijnlijk ook met mijn broer exact zo mee ga maken als God dat wil (behalve dat keten in de USA)! Vandaar dat ik mij, eigenlijk automatisch, heb verplaatst in mijn pa.

Zelf heeft die ouwe ook kanker en ondergaat hij momenteel chemotherapie. Hoewel de vooruitzichten goed zijn maak ik me toch zorgen om wat komen gaat. Corona gooit namelijk behoorlijk wat roet in het eten. Vanwege Loek zijn gesteldheid kan ik dus mijn bloedeigen vader (en moeder) geen knuffel geven en gaat al het contact digitaal en via de telefoon. Te idioot voor woorden als je erover nadenkt, maar alle voorzichtigheid is geboden op het moment.
Dit komt bovenop het verdriet dat mijn pa nog steeds heeft vanwege het verlies van zijn Hermano en vandaar ook dat ik me zorgen maak. Vandaag zou Frans jarig zijn geweest.

Mijn vader vindt een selfie op zijn tijd wel geinig. Deze foto vond ik als laatste foto samen op mijn Iphone. Ik denk overigens niet dat dit hun laatste foto samen was.

Een zeer klein eerbetoontje aan 2 geweldige kerels!

Frans, gefeliciteerd met je verjaardag.
Pap, van harte met je broer. Stay Strong!

Wout.

De Heenreis

De reis gaat beginnen!!

Kijk ons daar nou staan: blije bekkies op Schiphol….

Met heerlijke saucijzenbroodjes…..

Frans:

Reizen naar de Verenigde Staten is voor mij normaal gesproken niet heel bijzonder omdat ik dat al jaren doe, maar deze reis was er natuurlijk een van de buitencategorie, dus ook ik was gespannen en opgewonden op een heel plezierige manier.

Bagage soepel ingecheckt……nog even een laatste peuk op Schiphol Plaza met Loek die daar een selfie van maakt (zie vorige foto)…….dan door de douane (die op Schiphol toch wel goed georganiseerd blijkt te zijn) en vervolgens even de spanning laten weglopen met een bak koffie en een saucijzenbrödchen (zie vorige foto).

Nu maar wachten totdat de boardingprocedure begint….

Het vliegtuig wordt getankt en geladen……. En dan…….het vliegtuig in…….wachten totdat iedereen is ingestapt en op zijn plaats zit……deur dicht……taxiën naar de juiste baan…….de kriebels in de buik nemen toe…..permission for take off…..en daar gaan we de lucht in voor een vlucht van ruim 11 uur naar Los Angeles, USA!!!

Loek:

Voor zover ik me kan herinneren werd ik vóór het boarden nog uit de groep passagiers gepikt om te worden gecontroleerd. Ik werd behoorlijk grondig gefoullieerd en zacht in de billen geknepen. De foullieerster was geen onaardige vrouw, maar ik liet me niet intimideren, dat spreekt. Geen gedonder onderweg naar mijn neef, verdomme nog es an toe

Ergens onderweg op de heenreis…..

op zo’n 11 kilometer hoogte kijk ik naar mijn broer. Alleen de Engeltjes, die wel erg dichbij zijn zo hoog in de Hemel, hebben mogelijk een vermoeden waar hij is met zijn gedachten, ondertussen misschien luisterend naar het fantastische nummer: “A whiter shade of pale” van procol Harum. Of misschien wel de “Radetsky Mars” van Johann Amedeus Stolcenberger…

Maar ondertussen proberen onze zoons ons en onze vlucht te volgen, gebruik makend van de verschillende tracking systemen. En ze houden via Whats app constant contact met elkaar:

Wout: heeft 1 van jullie het vluchtnummer bij de hand? KL 601? Ik kan de vlucht lekker de hele dag volgen op mijn werk. De krasse knarren zweven boven Groenland….
Steef: slik
Wout: Ja, slik, ja. En onze neef slaapt overal doorheen…Zzzz
Daniel: Mogge mannen. Net wakker. DL 9378. Dat is het Delta vluchtnummer.
Wout: Oké, vandaag de hele dag KL 601 zitten volgen. Straks die van jou ff checken.
Daniel: Is denk ik dezelfde vlucht, 601 is het KLM nummer.
Daniel: Ze landen 4:17 in PHX (Phoenix). Dan gaan we een burgertje doen bij In-n-Out onderweg naar huis.
Steef: Vertroetel ze maar lekker.
Wout: Weet jij toevallig een goeie site of app waar ik de vlucht kan volgen, Dan?
Daniel: Delta.com en klm.com hebben allebei een flight tracker, en ik heb net gezien dat KL601 en DL9378 dezelfde vlucht is. Zo te zien zijn ze net het Amerikaanse luchtruim ingekomen.
Wout: Flightstatus www.flightstatus.com. Gelijk de goeie link
Daniel: Joh lijkt alsof ze een uur vertraging hebben? Zie ik dat goed? Nee wacht effe Delta en KLM zeggen allebei nog steeds ongeveer op tijd.
Wout: Nu nog 2 uur en 12 minuten naar LAX (Los Angelos)
Steef: Oké!!! Hahaha, ik zit ff met mijn moeder te eten!
Wout: Eet ze! Ah heerlijk.
Daniel: Groettos aan Henny. Ze komen rond 11:40 lokale tijd aan in LA, dan gaan ze om 14:50 de lucht in en dan komen ze om 16:17 aan in PHX, die vlucht is DL5799.
Wout: Dus dan is het hierrrr… Bijna 1:30 snachts.
Steef: Als die ouwe maar op pvb is dan is alles oke…
Wout: Pvb??
Steef: Plaats van bestemming….
Daniel: Eeeeen ze zijn geland in LAX.
Wout: Echt??? Haha lekker. Waar zie je dat nou?
Daniel: Delta zegt dat ze geland zijn.
Steef: klasse!!
Wout: Zie het nu ook. Heerlijk idee.

Frans:

Heerlijk idee……..dat dachten wij ook toen we in Los Angeles uit het vliegtuig stapten…..de werkelijkheid was een tikkeltje minder heerlijk…..

Nadat we het vliegtuig hadden verlaten werden we als een kudde koeien richting de douane geleid. Daar aangekomen sloeg de schrik ons om het hart…….er stond een gigantische onafzienbare slingerdeslang rij van mensen te wachten. Het aantal beschikbare douaneloketten leek ruim voldoende om de wachttijd niet al te veel te laten oplopen, ware het niet dat van de beschikbare loketten er slechts enkele bemand waren. Dat werd een lange lange lange periode van stilstaan, stapje vooruit, koffer naar voren duwen, stilstaan, stapje vooruit, koffer………

Eindelijk door de douane, op zoek naar de bagageband voor onze koffers. Daar aangekomen bleek, na een tijdlang te hebben gewacht, dat onze koffers er niet op stonden. Gloeiende gloeiende pook in je r…… de paniek begon langzaam toe te slaan…. koffers verdwenen…..totdat we ergens in de verte een stem hoorden roepen: “passengers coming from Amsterdam with KLM…..pick up your luggage here”. Pffffffffff…….we liepen leeg als een ballonnetje, pakten onze koffers en gingen eindelijk op weg naar de gate voor de vlucht naar Phoenix. Eitje dachten we……todat we erachter kwamen hoe gigantisch groot LAX airport wel niet was. De overstap gate bevond zich in een gebouw ver van de gate waar we waren geland. Het werd een voettocht die in werkelijkheid misschien 10 minuten heeft geduurd, maar waar in onze gedachten geen eind aan kwam. Aangekomen in het gebouw waar de overstap gate zich bevond hebben we nog even moeten zoeken naar de plek waar we onze bagage moesten afgeven, maar uiteindelijk konden we, uitgeput maar opgelucht, plaatsnemen op een van de banken bij de gate. We hadden het gered en we waren op tijd voor de vlucht van Los Angeles naar Phoenix.

Ondertussen gaat de conversatie tussen onze zoons hieronder verder……

Daniel: Man…. Vluchtje van maar 11 uur, die zullen even lekker de pootjes strekken.
Wout: Dacht het wel ja… Wat een zit. Wat zal dat laatste vluchtje dan een genot zijn!! Ga je ze wel in de Mustang halen, Dan?
Daniel: Ja, wat dacht jij dan, natuurlijk.
Wout: Hahaha gaaf man…
Daniel: Dakkie omlaag en gaan door de zon van Arizona – ik denk wel dat we het dakkie omhoog gaan doen op de snelweg, tis veel te heet vandaag.
Wout: Ja in LA is het nu 27 graden volgens Google… Hoe warm is t bij jou?
Daniel: Flagstaff momenteel 27, PHX 37!
Wout: Jezusss. Hier 16! Haha.
Daniel: Is ook goed te doen….
Steef: Nu nog een klein stukje voor de mannen.
Daniel: Ja tis bijna gedaan.
Wout: Zijn de mennekes nog niet online????
Daniel: Ik heb geprobeerd te bellen maar er wordt niet opgenomen.
Wout: Oh jee….
Daniel: Ik ga over 20 minuten rijden. Joh alles is goed.
Wout: Ja vast wel Misschien netwerk probleempje ofzo.
Steef: Ze laten ze vlgs mij express uitstaan ivm data roaming of zoiets.
Wout: Hoe lang is het rijden?
Daniel: 2.5 naar het vliegveld PHX
Wout: Zo, flink stukje. Doe voorzichtig en geef de pappies een dikke knuffel!
Daniel: Als je van ze hoort stuur ff een bericht op whatsapp. De verbinding tussen hier en PHX is slecht.
Steef: Doen we.
Wout: Is goed, enjoy the ride!
Daniel: Jullie zullen aan het pitten zijn maar ik stuur een bericht zodra ik ze heb.
Wout: Ik laat m’n telefoon lekker aan dus als ik wakker schrik reageer ik!
Steef: Ja graag! Ik ga d’r in!
Wout: Truste broer. Rij ze Dan! Later!
Daniel: Okee slaap lekker.

Daniel: Ze zijn er hoor.
Wout: Yes!!! Superblij mee!!!! We hebben zo snel mogelijk contact. Ik ga nog een paar uurtjes slapen. Iedereen een dikke knuffel! Gelukkig veilig aangekomen. Tot later. X

Frans:

Tot zover de conversatie tijdens de vlucht(en) tussen onze zonen.

Tja, daar waren we dan, veilig geland in Phoenix en opgewacht door Dan.

Hij stond ons met een big smile op te wachten en was ook erg blij dat we veilig waren aangekomen. Al pratend liepen we door de aankomsthal richting de plek waar Dan zijn auto had geparkeerd. Nou ja….auto…..ik had zijn bolide al op een plaatje gezien, maar om de Mustang lijfelijk te aanschouwen was toch wel even een dingetje…zak maar zeggen….wat een schitterende machine!!

Even een peukie gedaan (dat mocht toch wel na zo’n 15 uur vliegen) en toen in de Mustang op weg naar Flagstaff. Dan stelde voor om bij “In-n-Out” (ergens in Phoenix) nog even snel een burgertje te doen en daar waren wij het uiteraard wel mee eens. De magen knorden dus iets eetbaars konden we goed gebruiken.

Snelle hap bij In and Out in Phoenix

Zo, dat was lekker zeg. Fluks weer in de auto gestapt en verder ging het, richting Flagstaff. Onderweg, ergens tussen Phoenix en Flagstaff, zijn we ook nog even gestopt bij een uitkijkpunt van waar je een prachtig zicht had op de omgeving.

Sunset Point, ergens tussen Phoenix en Flagstaff

Van daaruit zijn we in een keer doorgereden naar Flagstaff, waarbij Loek ogen tekort kwam om de omgeving in zich op te nemen. De temperatuur was behoorlijk hoog (ver boven de 30 graden Celsius), de lucht was strakblauw en de zon scheen onbarmhartig op ons neer. In de verte zagen we ineens rookpluimen de lucht ingaan en dichterbij gekomen bleek dat er iets in de brand stond.

Eindelijk, na zo’n twee en een half uur rijden, kwamen we aan in Flagstaff, bij het huis van Dan en Sara. Moe maar oh zo blij dat we er eindelijk waren.

Loek:

Ja, dat was me het dagje wel! De bedden die Dan en Sara voor ons apart hadden gezet zagen er behaaglijk uit en het was dan ook geen wonder dat we een gat in de dag sliepen….