‘Like what?’

‘Well, when we got to the Netherlands, I told them that sixty per cent of the country’s land is below sea level and that it’s the Dutch engineering – the windmills and the dykes – keeping the land dry.’

‘But, that’s true.’

‘I know – that’s what I’m saying. I’d lost all credibility. Apparently, the windmill thing sounded too far-fetched; they thought I was making it up.’

‘Did you do it again – the waterfall thing?’

‘Nope. Learned my lesson. Besides, I’d already pulled it off successfully. I had my story to dine out on.’

‘Or walk around on.’

‘Exactly.’

‘You enjoyed it then, running tours?’

‘I did, mostly. But I think if I was ever going to do it again, it would have to be more like this. A handful of people, a few destinations. Not fifty people and ten countries in fifteen days. That kind of travelling gets old, really fast.’

‘I’m loving the pace of this trip,’ he added.

‘Me too. For one thing, I get to wake up when my body says it’s time.’

‘Yes – no alarm clock. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have to wake up to an alarm clock on a weekday. I was at school, then college, then straight into work. I’ve never even had a real vacation before – a few trips in the US – short ones, but nothing like this – and you know I’ve never left the States before now.’

‘You’re setting a high bar for yourself, first international trip and all this.’ I spread my arms wide to indicate our surroundings, which were getting prettier as we walked.

A friendly bark sounded behind us and we turned around. There was a tan-coloured Labrador, regarding us with his (her?) head cocked to the side. I looked for a collar – no collar.

‘Hey there,’ I approached slowly. He (she?) didn’t seem aggressive, but I was careful nonetheless.

‘Are you lost?’ I had reached the dog and held out the back of my hand for him (her?) to sniff. The dog obliged and then started licking it.

‘Actually, I saw that dog in the square; she was part of a pack. She must have followed us,’ said Josh. He walked over and squatted down beside her, patting her head. The dog nuzzled his hand and panted in what seemed like a happy way. I liked dogs, but I’d never had one and wasn’t too sure how to read them.

‘How do you know she’s a she?’ I asked.

Josh looked at me with an amused look on his face. ‘No balls.’

‘Oh.’

I was mildly embarrassed because Josh had said, ‘balls’. What was I, in primary school?

‘I hope that’s not weird, or anything,’ he added.

‘No. Why should it be?’