Schiedam 2026

My time in Holland flew by, as it always seems to do, but here’s a quick recap.

I set off on Monday, 16 February, for the drive to Hull Port. Managed to get the best car parking space available. Of course, being me, I was early (🙄) - 1 hour wait to book in, followed by another hour before I could actually board the boat! 

When on board I found my cabin, dropped off my luggage then found the Costa and finally ate (only I can drive all that way and not find a bloody service station!). After eating I raided the duty free shop and bought myself some Chloé Love Story perfume (who am I?), then I found somewhere comfy to sit and started to write… had a whole chapter done before I finally went to bed!

Tuesday morning I was picked up by Fina and her lovely dad. Quick stop at home to drop off my case, then we went out for lunch at “our café” (the one we always go to at least once when I’m there lol). Had my usual smoked salmon 😋😋. Exhaustion overcame me, so I had a short rest before Guus came home, then it was a Chippy tea followed by cake and an early-ish night.

Wednesday started with a quiet morning, with me enjoying my coffee and cigarette in my favourite Dutch spot; before my fuck it year continued with me upgrading my cabin for the trip home and paying my share of the AirBnB for Sligo in April. We then travelled into Rotterdam and, after a shopping spree, we met with Fi’s workmate Lisa and went to the cinema to watch Hamnet, which was as good as they say it is! Followed this with a KFC before going home again.

Thursday we had a rest day because damn I needed it lol! The fact it had snowed helped with that decision so I spent the day in my new ‘Better latté than never’ jogger suit which was sooooo comfortable! Ended the day with sushi for tea.

Friday was spent similarly to Thursday: resting, talking and writing. I love days like that - no expectations to go anywhere, just spending time doing normal things. We had the most amazing Italian food for our evening meal… so amazing that I didn’t get a photo of it 😱!

Saturday we went shopping in the morning, had lunch at Soof again and, after packing my things again, we had an afternoon of reading and writing.

Sunday was a packed day: we started off visiting Fina’s parents, then to a birthday party, then to the port so I could get the boat back to England. 😭

The bigger cabin was amazing, to the point that I didn’t feel as claustrophobic. I treated myself to a buffet meal and an Eton mess for my evening meal, then went to the ‘Sun Deck’ for a breath of fresh air. (Why call it the ‘Sun Deck’ on a boat that only sails at night is beyond me, and as you can see in the photo it was more of a ‘Fog Deck’ lol).

Finally arrived at Hull, drove to my sister’s for a coffee and chat before making it back to the place that I live. As I said: a week is never enough…