Hopefully you can see that it is a purple dress and not a blue dress. Somehow my camera turned the purple dress into blue which I was only able to correct a little bit.
Below: This photo was taken with Marjolein’s mobile phone and the colour of the purple dress is more true to real life. We went to the department store where I bought the dress months ago and they now have the same dress in green but with a zipper, short sleeves and a different belt. I prefer mine.
Marjolein took the photos in The Hague again.
Below: As we walked to our destination (a grand hotel), we passed this shop window with every item under the sun as a cat. Here is ‘puss with pearl’ LOL.
(Assuming you all know Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a pearl earring’.)
Below: Even their letterbox was cat themed.
Slowly continuing in the warm sunshine, we reached the hotel.
Below: In front of Park Centraal Hotel in the centre of The Hague. Here is the link to their page with a video of the hotel’s grandeur.
Without asking permission we walked into the hotel. I still have an advertising mind that says, “It is better to ask forgiveness afterwards than to ask permission up front”.
Below: The interior was nice but indoor photos are never good without extra light/lamps. Luckily, we found a door to the garden. Lovely garden in the middle of a city.
Below: You can see a bit more of the garden in this photo.
Below: Marjolein, lover of all things purple, got the memo. We matched. We even both decided for a white bag and had a good laugh over that.
Below: Marjolein knew a restaurant in town with a roof terrace and we headed there for lunch.
Below: The restaurant had art nouveau inspired murals which we thought was a good background.
Below: Our white bags with the hand from the mural above, going for them. The left bag is Marjolein’s, a Coccinelle no less, found in a second-hand store. Expensive bags but top quality.
Below: Marjolein’s jewellery, the fun necklace and the new purple and golden earrings.
Below: Close-up of my jewellery, white with golden earrings (Lara Design) and a chain necklace from & Other Stories. I think it looks modern and it cost me only €39. Better than the real gold one which I sold because it was too old-fashioned in my opinion.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday, back from Milan (see last week’s post), suitcase unpacked, Ron and I walked the dog at the beach in IJmuiden. Gorgeous weather but still early in the year with not many people sunbathing (below). To be fair, this beach is never crowded. Probably because you have to walk 5 minutes from the car park AND people can bring their dog all year long.
Sunday I felt down, without a purpose in life. After I got up, I wanted to go back into bed and hide from the world. But then I kicked myself into shape and even did my fitness exercises (which I hate). After that I felt good again. No idea where such a mood comes from. Hormones? I thought I was done with those.
In the afternoon I did laundry, Ron planted more plants in the garden and we had a quiet cup of tea (Ron) and coffee (me, of course) in the garden, being at peace with the world.
Monday the usual stuff, physio and pedicure. Talked to Kitty and did some research.
Tuesday Marjolein and I did another photo shoot as she was up for a cataract operation this week and obviously wouldn’t be available for a couple of weeks.
Froukje came at the end of the afternoon to check out our garden where the plants have grown so much. As she is the ‘co-architect’ of our garden, together with Ron, she loves to see the progress.
Wednesday I took my car to the garage to check whether the wheels needed balancing. I have been hitting some low concrete obstacles which are there to prevent you from driving in exactly that place, but I can be thick.
The mechanic called me and said he couldn’t find anything wrong with the car, the wheels or the balance. Hurray. No big bill and proven trust in my garage.
At the end of the afternoon Ron and I went for dinner in Amsterdam, by train. Dog Watson was with Wil, the dog sitter.
Below: We don’t go out much to dinner and theatre, so I was enjoying it by ordering a Pornstar Martini cocktail at restaurant Loetje opposite Central Station.
What you see floating in the drink is a passion fruit, which you will see again in the next photo.
Below: Ron with a passion fruit on his nose. Honestly, you cannot take him anywhere LOL. Our granddaughter didn’t quite get the photo I think.
Below: From our table we could see the cathedral of Amsterdam (Pope Francis had elevated the Basilica of St. Nicholas to the status of cathedral).
Now that I have this great new feature on my iPhone, I am retouching many things from photos, often people, which doesn’t always give the best result but I am happy with it.
Below: As we were leaving, a customer coming into the restaurant, stopped me and said, “You look like a movie star”. Whahaha…I don’t think so but she made my day. When we arrived at the theatre I told Ron to take a photo of “the movie star”.
Below: The Theatre Mascini is tiny and typical Amsterdam with artists performing typical Amsterdam songs. It would have been fine only the chairs were so rotten to sit on that my whole body including my knee started to hurt. Shame on us, we left in the break. We had to get up really early the next morning (6.15 a.m.) and I didn’t sleep well the night before. All in all, let’s go. I still very much enjoyed the evening.
Thursday we arrived early at Nicky and Randolf’s house as Nicky had to let a doctor in the hospital have a look at baby Evy. Evy isn’t as sick as she was, she is much better, but still not 100%. The doctor wasn’t worried and only wants to see her again in a couple of months if she isn’t back to her usual self by then. We played with Zoë and helped Nicky with the household chores. I got a craft work for Mother’s Day and two bunches of peonies. Never gave birth to a child but I still get Mother’s Day presents. I am very lucky.
Friday the hairdresser did her magic again. At the end of the day, together with a neighbour across the street, I visited a neighbour who’s in a rehabilitation house. He is 91 and he has more or less lost his marbles.
A tip for visitors of Amsterdam
I follow a father and daughter (Tom and Josephine) on Instagram who post all sorts of things worth knowing about Amsterdam. The account is called ‘Ommetje met Tom‘(Quick walks with Tom). It is in Dutch but…they now have an audio app you can subscribe to in Dutch AND in English. You buy 6 walking routes through Amsterdam with an audio guide on your phone. It costs €15 for 3 days access. Which is really lovely when you are visiting Amsterdam and you want to know more about what you see at your own pace. And it doesn’t cost much.
You can buy it at https://kaart.ommetjemettom.nl/welcome, then click for English in the right-hand corner.
And no…I do not get remunerated in any way for this tip. I just like them a lot.
Greetje
Leave a reply