On the 3rd day, we met our friend Joop at the Delft train station and went to have a coffee at a local pub. It was raining quite hard this day, but we managed to venture out and tour the Old Church (Oude Kerk - circa 1246) and New Church (16th or 17th century?). John and Joop also began a quest to find Vermeer's home. Unfortunately, Vermeer's home had been demolished (and his body interred in 1675), but from the looks of the town, I can only imagine that it was little changed from his time, so, at the least, we may have been able to see some of what the painter saw. We then took the train back to Rotterdam, took a short walk around the city, stopped by Joop's place and then had a wonderful dinner at a new restaurant nearby.
Joop explains to John about the sad demise of the old Kattendracht District (the area where sailors once went when they came into port). John was introduced to a fine young lady there by his Greek shipmates when he was 16.
The Flying Cuttlery
View across Rotterdam Harbour (ps'd in watercolor)