Because of rain we didn't have much chance to see Dordrecht yesterday so before leaving town this morning we got on the bike and toured the Old Town. Very interesting old houses and small streets, but the best thing for us was that a festival of antique ships and boats is due to start tomorrow and the participating vessels were already in town and tied up to the wharves. Some were relatively small yachts and fishing boats but most were large cargo vessels once fitted for sail, dating from about 1880 to 1910. The showstopper was a huge sloop, in beautiful condition. To get it all in the frame of a picture I had to get far enough back that the details don't show, but this ship must be at least a hundred and fifty feet long. The largest single masted boat I have ever seen. The steel boom must be 90 or 100 feet long. I would not want to be in the way of an unintentional jibe. Like all Dutch boats now, even the small ones , all of these vessels are built of iron or steel.
Before leaving town we stopped at a bike shop located only a couple of doors from our B&B. We bought waterproof seat covers , and new leg warmers for Sandy since I stole her previous ones. We also bought a beautiful leather Brooks handlebar bag which I have wanted for a long time.
We finally did get on the road to Breda. It was a beautiful day for riding , finally , with sunshine and temperature in the high sixties.
We had time in Breda to walk to the nearby famous park, see the castle where William of Orange made his headquarters until he moved to Delft where he was murdered. We also visited the 12th century Cathedral , Protestant since the seventeenth century , which was where all the kings were buried before William of Orange.
Our B&B is a townhouse which has been a guest house since it was built in the 1890s. Our room has a comfortable sitting room and a curtained bed enclosure. We have only been a handful of places on this trip so far but we're sure seeing a wide variety of accommodations.
The pictures are mostly boats and ships in Dordrecht, but there is also one which if you look closely you will see is a selfie.
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