A culinary tour of the castle

When you approach De Haar castle, you think it was built in the Middle Ages. Nothing is further from the truth. Baron Etienne van Zuylen van Nijevelt decided to rebuilt his ancestral home on the ruins of an old castle, at the end of the 19th century. Sparing neither cost nor effort. The Dutch architect Pierre Cuijpers was given the job. He built the castle in neo classical style. It was finished at the beginning of the 20th century. Although it looked medieval, it had modern comfort, like a well equipped kitchen, a central heating system and hot and cold water in most rooms.

The last baron, who passed away in 2011, used to visit the castle in September. He gave sumptuous dinner parties for his family and friends. Among his friends were celebrities like Roger Moore, Brigit Bardot and Maria Callas. For this event he flew in a well known cook from Paris, who would prepare the meals for him and his guests.

The foundation who now runs the castle, decided to give culinary tours, which you can join. Showing you the kitchens, wine cellar, sitting rooms, dining rooms etc. To celebrate the birthday of one of my friends, who is a good amateur cook, we decided to join the tour. We hoped the chef, who is quite a stunner for his age, would be the one to show us around. You can imagine our disappointment when this wasn't the case and we got a tour guide instead. Although enthusiastic and a good story teller, he was not nearly as handsome as the man himself! Ha, ha! We hoped to hear some culinary secrets too, but alas..... Nevertheless it was great fun and we had a good laugh :-) Furthermore, the rooms and especially the kitchen with the enormous ovens and copper pans, were really impressive. Definitely worth a visit. You can find more information at the castles website.

The castle and gardens have recently been renovated. I visited years ago, when it looked a bit neglected. Cannot tell you how surprised I was to see how beautiful it all looked now!

Wishing you a happy new week.!

Love,

Madelief x

* Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to take photo's inside

Fabulous fifties

 

Ball gowns in the prettiest shades of pale, hats and tailored suits, quirky bathing costumes and Elegant Parisian haute couture, lured me into the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague to see the exhibition Fabulous Fifties.

When you enjoy retro fashion and the fabulous costumes worn in tv series Mad Men, this exhibition is worth going too. I was really impressed. The Victoria and Albert museum in London has an amazing costume collection, but our Dutch Gemeentemuseum has too! Much thought was given to the décor, with vintage style curtains and eye for colour & detail. The clothes on display vary in style, from chique and Elegant, to office wear and rock and roll. 

When you are looking for something fun to do one of the coming weekends, pop over to the Gemeentemuseum and see the exhibit. While you are there you may well enjoy the exhibit Happy Days too. It's about art in The Hague from 1947 to 1967.

Wish you all a Happy weekend!

LOVE,

Madelief x

A toutes les gloires de la France

When walking on the forecourt towards the entrance of the palace of Versailles, one of the first things you notice are the words 'A toutes les gloires de la France' on one of the buildings. The words were added during the reign of Louis Philippe, who was king of France from 1830 to 1848, and turned the palace into a museum dedicated to the glory of France. The palace itself dates back to the 17th century and was expanded over the years. What began as Louis XIII hunting lodge turned into Louis XIV's palace, as we know it today.

We visited at the height of summer, which really isn't the best period to visit if you want to see all the rooms properly. It was terribly crowded. Especially at the beginning of our tour the only thing we could see was other people's backs. Later on, when smaller rooms turned into big halls, there was much more space to enjoy the splendour of the palace; the painted ceilings, the huge chandeliers, exquisite fabrics, the marble and 'gold' everywhere. There is so much to take in. One day is not enough to see it all. We decided to return one day, in spring or autumn, to take a better look.

In one of my earlier posts, I showed you around parts of the castle that had a connection with  Marie Antoinette. Today some more photo's of the castle, like the famous hall of mirrors, and the amazing gardens.

Happy day!

Madelief x