To provide you with nice backgrounds my friend Marjolein and I went to the old city of Delft. After the initial rain we had sunshine which makes a photoshoot so much nicer. Even if it is only a simple black and white striped jumper. The trousers and jumper are part of my Turin/Max Mara outlet loot.
Let’s go straight to the start of the day.
Below: Marjolein and I met in café Doppio which has this view. Doppio is an Italian coffee restaurant, which means really good coffee.
Below: Doppio displays this statue of Hermes (a Greek god of commerce, eloquence, invention, travel and theft who serves as herald and messenger of the other gods). Odd but beautiful.
Below: Marjolein looking very seriously as the sun was in her eyes. I love the combination of blue and green.
As I was taking Marjolein’s picture, an older man got off his bicycle and offered to take a photo of the two of us. He said he did this the whole day. This could be my next career after retirement haha.
Below: When will I learn to sit up straight? You will see me in all pictures with high heels, but I brought my sneakers for comfort as you see below. I am no fool.
Below: Walking from the parking garage to Doppio gave me time to shoot a few sights of Delft. The weather was still grey at that time. (I spot a cat in the first picture.)
Below and above: There was a great big fair going on in the market square, ruining all photos. Just my luck. I cut off the lower bit of the building above but couldn’t avoid the wing of an attraction below. Delft has a lot, really a lot, of churches. I think I climbed the church below when I was early twenty. Only made it to the first platform where a good looking student was behind an information desk. We had a great evening together (grin). Those were the days.
Below: Of course it is also the town where the Delft blue porcelain comes from. I thought this “thing” in one of the little streets was quaint.
Below: There were some nice Delft blue objects in this shop.
Below: This is what I saw.
Below: I always like sitting on a fence or something like that. Lovely houses.
Below: The trousers have a drawstring and elastic in the waist. So comfortable.
Below: Ahh… another church. Below you see the back of this church.
Below: And this is the front of the same church.
Below: A “walking” photo. This outfit is like wearing PJ’s. Even more comfortable when I am wearing my sneakers (obviously). But as you can see, the colour white doesn’t do me any favours.
Below: Marjolein thought the silver colour of the shoes and the silver colour of the chairs would make a good match. Only we couldn’t get a right angle to shoot.
Below: Close-up of the shoes WITH the chairs.
Below: Cat! Yes another cat crossed our path.
Below: The sign says: For the art. And the colour of this lamp changed from violet to blue, to yellow. Nice.
Below: Marjolein read the reviews of this lunch place, Kek, all being very good. They did not disappoint. Just in case it was going to rain again, I was wearing my Weekend Max Mara raincoat from a few years ago. This coat will last me for the rest of my life, timeless and elegant. In the red bag are an umbrella and my sneakers.
Below: Wearing my black with red bracelets from Klára Földi (Strawberry bags) and red with gold earrings. Plus red lipstick. All to compensate the white of the jumper.
Below: This used to be a convent, but Prince Willem van Oranje confiscated it and lived in it (16th century). He also got killed in it. That’s what you get for stealing. It is now a museum with exhibitions and you can also see where the bullet that killed Willem van Orange hit the wall. The “Delft blue” bench is a modern addition.
Below: The garden of Prinsenhof.
Below: Close-up of the bag, leaning against the statue of Willem van Orange (nickname Willem the Silent one)
Below: We saw many grand old buildings, but the trees kept being in the way. Don’t get me wrong: I love trees in a city. A city without trees is not one I want to live in. But they did block my camera view.
Below: On our way home we passed a window with costumes. In Delft blue haha. No idea whether it was for rent or for sale.
Below: If you prefer being a queen from the old days, that is also possible.
It was a fun day. Many thanks to Marjolein for her patience and her willingness to take so many photos. Guess what… we didn’t buy anything.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday: did a photo shoot with Kitty at a very nice place, a castle. Although we weren’t allowed to really shoot inside we still got nice photos and next week’s post should be good. The weather was cold but sunny and the castle served lunch as well. Perfect.
Sunday was a wet, wet, rainy day. And it was the day Selina was visiting me. She lives in London and as a native speaker she edits all my blog posts for free, which I highly appreciate. (Now you know why last week’s post wasn’t edited for English mistakes.)
As Selina has several friends here in the Netherlands, she was over for a couple of days. Such a shame it was this weather. We decided to go to Teyler’s Museum which is always lovely. See my post on this museum (and the fuchsia maxi skirt). After the museum we walked a very short distance to a restaurant for lunch. It wasn’t very good but one look outside convinced us to stay and lump it. However, we couldn’t stay there all day and spent an hour going in and out of shops trying not to drown. Shops of course, are dangerous for me. Sure enough, I tried on snake print leather boots which I liked a lot. Had to order another size.
Then my husband phoned and said: “It is beastly weather, are you sure you two want to stay outside? If you prefer to spend the rest of the afternoon at home, I will pick you both up with the car.” Sweetheart. We accepted his kind offer and had a good yap, yap, yap over tea at home and in the early evening dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Selina really knows how to use chopsticks. Very skilled. It was lovely to see her.
Below: Selina in Teyler’s Museum. She is an avid pattern mixer and lover of quirky socks.
Monday: work, fitness, physiotherapy. Nothing special.
Tuesday: same boring story: work. The only interesting thing was my visit to the shoe shop to pick up the snake print boots in the size I ordered. That was fun. Spent a good few hours in the evening trying outfits with them. I like them best underneath a longer skirt. Otherwise they get overwhelming.
Below: The new boots. They are leather but not snake, just snake print.
Wednesday: it was very wet again. I know it is good for nature and I know we need rain but it is hard not to get “depressed” (using this word here but that is of course highly exaggerated). I did blog “work” and had to go to the “breast cancer bus” for my 2-yearly check-up. Always great how they squeeze your breasts (NOT). But it is for a good cause.
Thursday: work.
Friday: work and the jaw physiotherapist (ahhh).
Greetje
I love your outfit! Did you notice in the one photo with the two ladies eating in the restaurant behind you, the one was also wearing a B&W striped top? What a great bunch of pictures and a neat town! I don’t blame you for having sneakers with you (and those are some awfully cute ones, too), but those metallic pumps are beautiful! And the snake-print boots – I NEED some of those! The Delft pieces in that shop window are so unique! Where else do you find mama and baby rhinos in Delft or three fish in a teacup? I’m sorry the weather didn’t cooperate, but the photos turned out just gorgeous!
Ruth
VogueFauxReal
I am so glad you enjoyed my post so much. Really motivates me to continue. I am blogging for 7 years now and sometimes I think “shall I stop?”, but this doesn’t happen often haha.
And no, I hadn’t noticed that the lady behind me was wearing a striped top too. Very much the rage.
Greetje
Oh, Greetje, those boots made me gasp out loud! They are amazing!! As always, I love seeing the scenery that you shoot in. I think you look lovely in white so please stop making disparaging comments about it on you! (stern voice). 🙂
Have a great week!
Very pretty. I love delft and picked up earrings and a pendant while visiting a few years ago.
Good on you. I love to buy something you use when I am on holiday. Such items always bring back happy memories.
Greetje
Delft looks beautiful.
I actually found you looked good in the white. I think it was the pops of red you added and the stripes on the sweater.
Ron is so thoughtful.
I can’t wait to see how you style those boots.
Suzanne
http://www.suzannecarillo.com
Thanks dear. It wears so nicely. As I said it is like wearing PJ’s. Apart from the pumps of course. I wore the boots today with a long black pleated skirt and a white/black top.
Greetje
Beautiful photos of Delft! I love your very chic outfit – the red bag is fabulous! And those snake print boots are amazing!
Emma xxx
http://www.style-splash.com
Thanks Emma. It is a very simple outfit but I think because of the quality of the items, it indeed looks chic. The jumper is like a waterfall, it hangs so nicely. Very pleasant and not too expensive in that outlet.
Greetje
That sounds like a great day. My grandma had the blue and white porcelain. So chic. Cute cats. Your outfit is super chic. Thanks for sharing the nice photos. I love these brick houses and streets. Font memories.
I just bought a Weekend Max Mara blazer and am eyeing a raincoat on eBay. Great quality! Love this simple, yet sophisticated outfit on you. You’re looking great these days.
I know, I am very fond of their level of quality as well. Thanks for the compliments, I feel very good indeed.
Greetje
Love reading your blog on a Sunday morning. Loved the red bag!!
I am so pleased that you enjoy my little blog. Comments like yours are big motivators for me. The red bad was a find in the city of Rome, years ago.
Greetje
In English Willem de Zwijger would be referred to as William the Taciturn too
Oh thanks, I didn’t know that. I just translated it literally.
As always, I enjoy your location photo shoots. Those snakeskin boots are amazing! I look forward to seeing you wear them at some point.
I am going to wear them tomorrow, but it might take a while before you see them on the blog. They are comfortable. As I grow older I appreciate comfort much more.
Greetje
Lovely to see you in such a simple but chic outfit, lifted by the pop of red from the bag and your bracelet. Really nice to see Delft, too, and read about your visit (including all those great coffee shops!). Our William of Orange (William III) died after he fell off his horse when it stumbled on a molehill. Served him right: he had confiscated (stolen) the horse so it was a fitting end for a much disliked monarch. Seems that the Oranges were not a great ruling family! Have a nice week : )
Those Oranges sure weren’t nice in those days. But all rulers weren’t back then. Or better said, no rulers are no matter what time period. Where there is a lot of money (and / or power) there are nasty things going on.
Greetje
I really like the leopard raincoat with the striped top. Always one of my favorite pattern mixes. Those boots are fab. I’ve really warmed up to snake prints this season (especially in warmer tones.)
And now you’re making me want to come back the The Netherlands again with all of these pretty cities you keep showing us! Our travel wish list just keeps getting longer…
Getting you back here in my country is something I would look forward to haha. So I will continue showing nice pictures.
Greetje
I love all your outfits! where did you get the sweater? I like lightweight jumpers because I live in a very warm climate
I am afraid I found it at the Max Mara outlet in Turin. Not something you can buy online. Like you I was attracted by its lightweight.
Greetje