After four days of exploring Scotland, it was very hard to leave, but as it was, tickets for the ferry from Newcastle, England, to Amsterdam in the Netherlands had been booked. 

The drive from Perthshire to Edinburgh went smoothly, then we drove to Newcastle to take the ferry.

After check-in, we went to the top deck to enjoy the view, then after the ferry set sail, we had dinner, worked for a bit in our cabin and then went to bed.

After arriving in the Netherlands, we drove to Utrecht, a quiet and pretty town which is home to the famous Domkerk Church.

I had earlier accepted an invitation from a friend, Denis O'Dwyer to visit him in Brussels, so we drove on to Belgium. Denis published Colours of Bahrain, a book featuring the work of leading Bahraini artist Abbas Al Mosawi, last year. (More info at coloursofbahrain.com).

Ali Mushaima