We’ve been lucky with our walking tours and day trips in ALL my travels. Out of Amsterdam, we booked trips to Delft and The Hague. Because they’re near each other, we thought we’d book a combination day tour. Typical of me to prep and read up on the city or town attractions, dripping with excitement over the sites to see. Unfortunately, we had the worst tour guide ever. Lazy, inattentive and with absolutely no regard for making the tour worthwhile for the client visitors. We breezed through many of the sites riding the tourist coach, getting off only 3x in places where we were given an hour or so to roam — unguided — on our own. 🙄 Had we known, we could have just hopped on a train, skipped a few sites and DIY’d it. We could have covered more, lingered longer AND saved ourselves the frustrations.

The Royal Delft Factory and Museum was our first stop. A young lady from Royal Delft welcomed and escorted us through the factory and museum. The highlight was watching this lady artist do her stuff in this earthenware factory that’s been around since the 17th century. It was a good and educational tour, but no thanks to our Tour Guide. By the time we were done, this tour guide who must not be named was waiting, a tad dazed and reeking of alcohol. We were seated up front and I could smell him. His spiel by this time is slurred, and we had to strain to understand what he was saying. Still, we were excited that we are now headed for the city square of Delft — the birthplace of Jan Vermeer and the former royal seat of the House of Orange. Much to see right within this square. There is the 13th century City Hall, rebuilt in the 17th century in the Renaissance style. Then there’s the gothic New Church right across the square from the City Hall which is by no means “new”, dating back to the 15th century. Now the royal mausoleum of the family of William I of Orange, the Church has a tower one can climb up to for a panoramic view of the entire Delft. Between these 2 historical landmarks are quaint shops and cafes. Perfect for people watching if one has the time.

I must say this Tour Guide Who must not be named should have taken the time to guide us around this Square. But no, he simply instructed us to go explore on our own and to meet him back in the parking area where the bus would be waiting in an hour. He could at least have guided us the first 15 minutes before leaving us to explore more on our own. After all, he stayed right within the square, claiming a table and drinking more beer. Oh well. From the square, we rounded up a corner and chanced upon a lively Saturday Market which could have interested the others in our group. But no, this mister is far too busy downing bottles of beer. 🍺🍻🍺

If you think that’s bad enough, let me tell you about the last segment of the tour. We hardly saw The Hague except for an hour we were forced to waste in Madurodam, a miniature theme park which featured scale models of famous landmarks in The Netherlands. I’m sorry but this hardly excited me. I am willing to concede it’s a matter of personal preference but seriously, I would have preferred more time spent in The Hague’s more interesting and historical spots. Instead, we had a 5-minute stop at the Peace Palace and a “drive through” the many embassies in this city. Yes, a drive through of the embassies. I was hoping to see the iconic Protestant Church, International Court of Justice, the Maurithuis which houses Jan Vermeer’s “The Girl With the Pearl Earrings”, and other celebrated works of Rembrandt and other notable Dutch masters. Zilch.

Did I even manage to take photos of The Hague? Just one. And this was taken from a moving bus. So frustrated. But I’d stop ranting at this point. We’ve been lucky with our other plans. Can’t win them all.