The boat cruise included free beer, wine and soft drinks and came with a wacky commentator who was really informative and had an amusing way of telling us the story behind “this big green thing over here” and the like.

The cruise was pleasant, and everyone on board was being sure to have a good time – it was our last night together. After the cruise we got out and wandered to Dan Murphy’s – one of the nearby pubs (we were in the centre of town) for a few parting drinks.

And share drinks we did, grateful for the company we’d been in over the last few weeks. After a while Antoinette and I left the group for a romantic stroll back to Hans Brinkler’s. We wandered out into the Leidseplein square and stopped to see some amateur breakdancers and then wandered down a random street leading out of the square hoping it would magically turn into something familiar. It didn’t so we wandered another block over and headed back towards the square, lapping up the atmosphere and savouring the fading moments in each other’s company.

We decided to catch a cab and bailed up a driver who looked at us strangely and said “it’s just down that street there and to the right”. Right. It was the last time we would walk hand-in-hand, with out steps synchronised, towards what had become our home.