Wednesday - the Magic of Pottery the Allure of Laundry

Today's tour starts with a quick trip through Delft to the porcelain factory where we are treated to a tour of the factory that cleverly ends right in the shop where you can purchase those lovely vases you just saw.  Ah, the wily Dutch!

We've decided that today is a laundry day, so we opt out of the tour for a direct route to Leiden, where we will meet the boat.  Though it's windy and cool, we follow the canal into Leiden, then cycle through town for a bit of sightseeing.  We find the library and purchase some internet time for a few guilders.  Email checked, we then have a leisurely lunch followed by a short cycle to the boat, which is just docking.

We retrieve our dirty laundry and hike down to the local Laundromat.  This particular shop is semi self-service.  They do the washing for you, but you handle the drying.  The dirty laundry weighs 20.45 kilograms (around 45 lbs).  It's worth the 20 guilders to have clean clothes!

Don't Forget to Boil Your Panties

When the Laundromat guy was loading the washer, he asked what temperature we wanted: 40 or 80 degrees C (104 or 176 deg. F). Even at home, hot water washing is generally no greater than 110 deg. F or so, but he explained that the Dutch typically wash in very hot water - particularly their underwear.  I guess they figure hot water is cheaper than bleach.

Dinner tonight is not bad: tomato soup, salad, baked chicken, fries, and ice cream.

After dinner, we teach the kids how to play Train Wreck, a domino game.  I know, too exciting for words.

Tomorrow is tulip day, so it's early to bed.