*
Last week I drove up to the Netherlands for a
couple of days with one of my friends, who’s a few years older than I am – OK, to
be honest, we can say that we’re both gray-haired grannies, just to cut down on
the suspense! She’s been retired for a while, meaning that with all the
economic austerity programs here in France, while prices have been rising,
pensions have been staying flat, so purchasing power is at the best, stable,
but in reality, has plunged or at least slipped down for many people. As we were trying to get the most out of our
vacation budgets, she suggested that we stay in a youth hostel for our first
night of our trip in Delft.
Well, I must admit that this was something I
had never done. Having been insomniac
for most of my life, sleeping in the same room with other people, some of whom
I don’t know, was part of my definition of hell on earth. Hearing them toss and turn, snore, and even
worse, having them hear me toss and turn and trumpeting away! But what the heck
I figured, why not give it a try, so I booked us two beds in a room with eight
beds plus a bathroom – and then spent days wondering if I had made too rash of
a decision.
Thanks to Joséphine, my GPS, (those who live in
France will recognize how I am referring to it as my guardian angel), we
arrived almost right to the door, as the hostel was on a canal in a small
pedestrian road. We rang and Carola, the owner/manager unlocked the door for us
and showed us into the little dining room/lounge, and then showed us our room –
four bunk beds with linins provided and a full bath. It was Spartan but clean! There even was a
roof patio, but because of the cool weather, we couldn’t use it. We settled in, and took advantage of the
fully equipped kitchen to heat our pizza and crack open a bottle of rosé wine
to go with it. Life was suddenly looking much better.
There was only one other person sleeping in our
room, so objectively this probably won’t happen again if I chose to stay at a
hostel in the future, but what a great experience! And at only 23 euros per
person to spend the night right in the middle of Delft, within walking distance
of everything and just a few doors away from the Vermeer Museum, this was a
true bargain. It was not the best night I had ever spent, but I made it
through, and probably wouldn’t have slept much better in a regular hotel at
several times that price. We made ourselves breakfast the next morning, went
sight-seeing in town and took off to our next destination, the beautiful Keukenhof
gardens, where I had booked us a B&B in the outskirts of Amsterdam.
So I’d say that whatever your age, trying
something new, and here it was simply a hostel for myself, is great fun! No,
it’s never too late. Your “best by” date is just fine. We both felt like two
“little old ladies from Pasadena.”
For those looking for a “home away from home,” as they say on their business card, here are the Hostel Delft contact details: Voldersgracht 17, 2611 Delft – info @ hosteldelft.nl
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