Daag en Tot Ziens, Delft! (Goodbye and See You Later)

Canal at Moslaan, Delft last week

Feeding the ducks at this canal is a favourite pastime

In Delft Square where feeding the pigeons has been a therapeutic enterprise

The bags packed, the countertops wiped, the garbage taken out, the taxi booked, the toddler fast asleep, and the adults bushed.

Past the midnight hour but we are still tying up some loose ends in the packing and cleaning department.

It's been a hectic week, to say the least.

And an emotional week, at that.

As I washed the last dishes and cleaned the shelves, it dawned on me that we are leaving for good.

Who knows when we will come back. I felt a lump in my throat and for a moment, almost lost the battle in opening the floodgates.

Some great memories to be had here. There were some painful ones such as the time when Sadia fell off the bed during the second week after we first arrived, and hubby was away at class.

But mostly, we have only fond memories of this place. Delft is a wonderful, unassuming town to live in. I can strongly vouch for that.

Delft's picturesque setting and quaint lifestyle are some of the attributes that induce us to fall in love with her.

Like any ordinary person, it has its share of flaws and foibles like the hash joints, rowdy drunkards bellowing from the alley below, and the crazy drivers speeding on the narrow canal roads.

In the end, the upsides trump the downsides hands down.

Dank u well, Delft for your gracious hospitality and letting me grow alongside you. It's a worthwhile learning experience.

And we plan to meet you again, sometime in the not-so-distant future.

Our second week in Delft, September 2006

Second week - September 2006, when the same canal was still full of moss

Sadia at home, just mastered the art of crawling