While doing a photo shoot in The Hague, Marjolein found this balloon arch which so delightfully matches my multicoloured jumper. They were there in anticipation of King’s Day, hence red, white, blue and orange balloons.
You know how much I love colour and as soon as I saw this jumper in the shop, I pounced on it. Yes, mine. It is soft as a kitten and great for these spring days when it is warm but not really hot.
We had chosen an area in The Hague with pretty houses, a canal and at a distance not too far walking from the centre.
Below: In a side street from Denneweg, called Maliestraat, we were immediately pleasantly surprised by these houses.
Below: Wearing my pink spring coat of several years old. It is still good.
Below: That little bistro chair was begging me to sit on it…carefully as it was on a slant.
Below: One of the houses in this street had stained glass.
Below: There were even more charming houses around the corner on Hooigracht.
Below: A big green door. We are always looking for green doors but this one was on the sunny side of the canal and my flashlight is still on the blink. So, not a great photo.
Below: Being in direct sunlight isn’t a problem for stunning houses. Two examples from the time when labour was cheap.
Below: Curved stained glass windows.
Below: We decided to go to the other side of the canal and passed this restaurant (Café Hathor) with a fantastic terrace.
Below: On the bridge with café Hathor in the background. When you are dressed this colourfully, you sort of jump off the photo LOL.
Below: These stairs to the front door…so good.
Below: This is the front of that house. What amused me was the Delft blue tulip vase in the right window, but with the tulips in another vase in the left window. You have to be pretty rich to own such a house.
Below: And another stunning house.
Below: We walked around to the next bridge and I wasn’t paying attention. Or something caught my attention. Probably the latter, I am easily distracted.
Below: Love these Lara Design earrings with the outfit. Wearing a modern blue bracelet which was a gift from Marjolein last year.
Below: Marjolein was just as colourful as I was. With a sleeveless jacket and pink trousers.
Below: And the shirt she wore underneath the jacket was such a great match. Sneakers matching the stripe on the side of her trousers.
Below: As we walked to our favourite restaurant (LEUK), we passed this house, called Huis Huguetan, built in 1734 for the outrageously rich lady Adriana Margaretha Huguetan. You can read more about this house but it is in Dutch so you’ll have to have the page translated in English.
The area gave us plenty of photo opportunities. Of course, sunny weather helps to enjoy such a day too.
What happened in my life this week
Saturday Ron and I walked our dog Watson together. It was nice weather and nature always makes me zen. Afterwards we stopped at a garden centre to get a plant and I found a pair of black plastic boots (below) for next to nothing. Perfect for rainy Milan. My feet would be dry.
Spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what to pack for the trip. After I was all done I looked at the forecast again. In Milan it was going to be 14 to 20 degrees Celsius (but with heavy rain).
Sunday was a day for fitness and washing my hair. The weather in Milan kept changing although rain was still the main ingredient. I decided to add a summer blouse and summer shoes for that one day it would be warm.
Hereafter you will get a photo dump of Milan…just to warn you.
Monday I arrived in Milan earlier than Susan of Une femme d’un certain âge whom I was going to meet. I started scouting the neighbourhood and found this pretty courtyard (below).
Below: A beautiful church, Santa Maria del Carmine. Susan taught me a ‘trick’ with my iPhone photos. A brilliant trick. I can erase unwanted signs and such from photos in an easy way, like the “men at work” sign which was in this photo.
Below: Typical Italian street in Milan.
Tuesday Susan arranged an appointment for us with Toosh.
Below: Here we are, having a coffee in a café just before the appointment. Claudia, the owner of Toosh, found us there when she came in for coffee too.
Below: This is a part of the Toosh showroom. So much colour, we were delighted. Lots of linen and silk. We came for a top or a shirt but we also felt the scarves Toosh is selling. Especially the vicuña scarves. Insanely expensive (for me that is; I hardly dared touching one) but so, so soft, you will not find anything better anywhere.
Below: Susan did a little interview with Claudia of Toosh. (And no, this is not a sponsored post. Not at all.)
It was a feast. Susan ordered a shirt and I ordered a bow tie blouse. Couldn’t resist it.
We continued walking to the big cathedral, the Duomo (below). You cannot go to Milan and not see this.
We also walked through the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II which is magnificent, but it was so crowded, I could not take one decent photo. I will give you a Wikipedia link to learn more about it and see nice photos.
Below: We did manage to lunch with a view of the Duomo.
Below: Dinner at Stendhal, not to be sniffed at.
Wednesday we walked a little more and shopped a little more and as you can see from the photos, it was sunny weather. We did see some rain those 4 days, but that was either very little or at night when we were indoors. So much for a weather forecast.
Below: Susan discovered a pretty chair.
Below: Next to this colourful building was a Gucci wall. That’s a novelty to me.
Below: Magnificent background.
Below: An Italian lady wearing arty sunglasses. Loved them. Both Susan and I bought a pair of sunglasses on this trip so we didn’t ask where she bought hers haha. Cool.
Below: Our last morning, our last coffee. It was so good seeing each other again. We get along ever so well.
The hotel, The Urban Hive, is worth mentioning. We can both highly recommend it. It has the luxury you may expect from a hotel like that, but also a staff that really makes the difference. They are quick, keen to serve you, but not formal. It is as if you have found new friends.
Well, dear readers, I hope you are still with me. Believe me, I had many more photos, so I “killed quite a few darlings”.
Greetje
Leave a reply