My friend Marjolein suggested we’d go to Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen to do a photo shoot as it is a building with a lot of light. Luck was with us that day as there was no rain and even some sunshine, so no need for indoor outfit photos.
Above: This is taken from the gallery on the sixth floor, overlooking Rotterdam. It doesn’t only show my olive coloured wide trousers but moreover the skyline of Rotterdam. This city was bombed heavily at the beginning of World War II which is why you see so many new, modern buildings in this old city.
Below: The Depot Boijmans van Beuningen, which is the first art storage facility in the world that offers access to a museum’s complete collection. The whole of the outside is covered with rectangular mirrors, reflecting the surroundings. If you scroll from left to right on their homepage, you’ll see several photos of the outside.
Of course we started with coffee and lunch in the light restaurant. It has a mirrored ceiling which you saw at the end of last week’s post.
Below: Marjolein in blue and off-white, looking great as always.
On our way to the restaurant, we were stopped as our handbags were too big. No larger than A4 was allowed. My plea that my orange bag was part of the outfit and that we specifically had chosen the depot to take outfit photos was useless of course. As we put our bags in a locker I took out the small purse that came with my bag. It was smaller than A4 and orange. I did gloat as we passed the guard. He laughed.
Below: Photo taken in the mirrors of the outside. It turned foggy.
Below: And another one. On the right me in reality and on the left me in the mirror.
Let’s move to the inside. You are about to see a lot of photos with art as background or just the art itself.
Below: Walking on a glass floor with colourful art underneath it and black and white cupboards on either side of the cubicle. Even though I know it is safe, I always carefully put my first step on the glass to see if it is indeed safe haha. I added the belt for interest as the cream jumper was a bit plain.
Below: The beautiful glass floor from underneath with the back of two black and white cupboards.
Below: Close-up of the floor.
Below: The way they display the art is so different from a normal museum.
Below: Self portrait of a famous Dutch artist Charley Toorop.
Below: This was a funny piece.
Below: As Marjolein took this photo, we discovered the work of art in white behind me.
Below: Right…this is art and fashion in one.
Below: With a guided tour you can enter special rooms of the Depot. For protection they provide a white coat to wear. I am not sure whether that is to protect the art or your clothes. Perhaps both.
Below: I really liked a room where you could see the front of a painting and the back.
Below: On the right the front of the painting (Saint John writing the gospel), around 1475 – 1500. On the left the back of the painting (Saint Agnes).
Below: This is a Rembrandt (portraying his son). No painting on the back.
Below: We thought it was a lovely experience. Time to hit town.
Below: We couldn’t resist taking a couple of photos as we left the Depot. In possession of the orange bag again.
Below: Funny distorted photo in the mirrored wall. Marjolein’s green bag and my orange one in one line.
Below: As we walked through Rotterdam, we saw this girl climbing the wall; her parents were looking at the photos they had just taken.
Below: Fun mural. It says: “Suddenly, just as I wanted to kiss my nipple, I see hundreds of men looking at me…”.
Art, baby.
Below: The person who wanted to marry Sam must have seen the mural’s opportunity with the ring.
Below: There are still beautiful old buildings left in Rotterdam but most of the centre is modern. This church was only 10 minutes’ walk from the centre.
Below: Another fine example of the past.
Below: Right in the centre, this old art nouveau building survived the bombing. It is now a cheese shop with a cow display. It does draw attention.
Below: We chose a chocolate shop to have a coffee and warm up. A red nose might look good on Rudolf, but I like it less on me.
Below: Marjolein at a nearby café. Beautiful boots.
Below: A head to toe shot from up close. With the orange bag. Forgot to stand straight. These trousers are sooo comfortable.
Below: Close-up of the green earrings by Lara Design.
Below: One last nice house to prove that they still exist in this modern city.
What happened in my life this week
It was a strange week with periods of no energy at all, no interest in clothes or in the blog…I know…ghastly. Then there were periods with high energy and getting many things done. Very strange.
I suffered from dizzy spells which made me keel over. It isn’t anything serious, just annoying. My organ of balance is off its rocker and will reset itself again in time.
Below: Mum in her green jumper. She forgot that we ‘styled’ it with a black and white top underneath but is just as nice on its own. She often forgets to smile when I take her picture.
Below: Haarlem by night with Christmas getting nearer. All these lights do give a nice atmosphere.
Below: I even made a Christmas piece. Although I am notoriously bad at that, I was quite pleased with this one. If it is even half decent, I am pleased haha. The Christmas tree is up as well (after I took this photo).
Below: My friend Jilske came to visit and we wandered through town for about an hour. It gave me the opportunity to run some errands for mum, like an agenda for 2023.
Love her blouse.
Below: Jilske gave me a pair of earrings she created. She started a business in jewellery and I really liked these. (See djills.com for her jewellery.)
A lot of days I spent on the phone waiting to get through to client service desks and hospital. The hospital because I found another drop of blood in my briefs (the third one in three years) and my doctor said it might be my bladder as they found a little bit of blood in my urine. So the medical process begins. I will spare you the details of waiting, misunderstanding, not knowing etc. The 22nd of December I will get some blood and urine tests and after that is done, I can make an appointment with the specialist. My doctor is fond of ruling out possible bad stuff and I wholeheartedly agree with that approach.
The problems with the Wi-Fi continued so I was on the phone with the provider every other day, trying something new. Now we have a new router. It took an hour on the phone, installing everything and I am proud to say, I did it. Well, with the help of the provider guy. Very patient man.
Selina, my blog post editor
One important person in my blog life is Selina. She responded when I wrote on the blog that I would love a native speaker to edit my posts. That must have been four years ago and every weekend she edits my posts before I publish them. I am so grateful for that.
This post isn’t edited by her as she is on holiday, visiting friends in the Netherlands. We spent a whole day chatting, walking through Amsterdam and going into vintage shops.
Below: At De Drie Graefjes. Selina having tea (very English) while I had the best cappuccino in ages. They also do fabulous cakes but we didn’t have one as later that day, we planned to have the world famous apple pie with whipped cream at Winkel 43 (which we did).
Below: Selina head to toe. She is a big fan of polka dots.
Below: We had some decent weather from 11 to 13.30 and after that it rained. The photo of this warehouse, converted into apartments was taken during the dry period.
Below: Selina loves to wear socks, so every time she is in Amsterdam, she visits the shop Socks We Love. I used this visit to buy her some socks for her birthday. The shop has a million socks (and tights), each one lovelier than the other. They have funny socks with sayings like : ‘I make BAD decisions’ or ‘Perfect in every way’. Of course I loved the rude ones most (sorry); the ones that said ‘Fuck off’ or ‘I am a delicate fucking flower’. Selina got a few dog socks as she loves dogs.
Below: Then it was getting dark grey and we walked to the station in the rain.
Below: A stupid selfie of the two of us at the station where at least it was dry. And off she was again, on her way to another friend.
I think she is great and I highly appreciate all the work she does for me (for free) every week.
Then on Friday, my former colleague Christel visited me. Time flew by as we chatted and chatted. We had a lot to catch up on. Again I forgot to take a photo so I asked her to send me one (below). Next to her job as a media manager and being there for her three children, she is also a DJ at parties and a very good one too. Her music (the latest) playlists and DJ work are admired by many in the business. She is nearly 50 years old, has no wrinkles, looks 20 years younger and has the music taste of the youth. No idea how she manages this all.
On top of all these nice things happening, my husband Ron came up with this offer: “Every day you may ask me to do something which helps you or pleases you, just to make you happy”. What a fantastic man.
Greetje
PS There has been a little glitch in my email program but it has been taken care of.
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