Late summer day in Amsterdam

Not long ago, on a beautiful summer day, we made another trip to Amsterdam. We walked along the river Amstel, saw the Begijnhof with it's 17th and 18th century houses and visited the museum Geelvinck or Hinlopen house.

The Geelvinck museum is a 17th century canal side mansion in the old centre of Amsterdam. The museum tells the story of Amsterdams regent families from the end of the golden century, when their power was at it's height, until the French Revolution, when it all changed. It has six period rooms which are all different in style. There is a red and a blue room, a Chinese room, a library, a huge entrance hall and a coach house were exhibitions are being held.

One of the reasons for visiting was to see the garden, which is very impressive. It is situated between the mansion and the coach house and is a mix between a French renaissance garden and a formal symmetrical French garden. It has a huge pond and beautiful fountain.

Both the house and the garden are worth visiting. You can find some more information here. We ended our day on a terrace along one of the canals, with the sun shining on our faces and a glass of cold white wine in front of us :-) .

Have a lovely day!

Madelief x

The song of the sweet pea fairies

Here Sweet Peas are climbing
(Here's the Sweet Pea rhyme!)
Here are little tendrils,
Helping them to climb.

Here are sweetest colours;
Fragrance very sweet;
Here are silky pods of peas,
Not for us to eat!

Here's a fairy sister,
Trying on with care
Such a grand new bonnet
For the baby there

Does it suit you, Baby?
Yes, I really think
Nothing's more becoming
Than this pretty pink!

By Cecily Mary Barker

 

Candle light supper

After days of rain, the day I held my 'candle light supper', was the first dry one of the week. Even when dark clouds gathered over the garden in the afternoon, I kept faith. Somehow I knew it was going to be ok. If not, we could just grab our plates and find a seat inside the garden house. It's not big, but when squeezing in a little, there is room for five. It would be a bit cosy though :-)!

It wasn't a normal supper I had in my garden that evening, but a business meeting. While I laid the table, did the cooking and washing up, my colleagues did most of the talking. It turned out to be a relaxed and fruitful evening. We even saw glimpses of sunlight shining through the clouds.

I made my first pumpkin soup of the season as a starter, had ratatouille with rice and a salade with caramilized unions and bacon as a main course and meringues with fresh fruit and cream as a desert. Although simple, I believe it was to everyone's liking.

Well that's it for now. I am off to the city centre to find some birthday present for friends. Wish you all a cheerful and sunny Wednesday!

Lieve groet, Madelief x

An afternoon at the museum

As a garden and art lover I am always on the lookout for inspiring places to visit. While in Amsterdam a short while ago, we decided to visit the Museum van Loon.

The Museum van Loon is situated in the heart of Amsterdam,along one of the canals. The house itself dates back to the 17th century and is beautifully decorated. Although it has touches of more modern times, it still evokes the splendour of the golden age. I especially liked the blue rooms. In which I found the light shining through the high windows amazing.

The garden is magnificent. It is laid out in formal style with low hedges and roses in between and looks very impressive with the façade of the coach house behind it. The coach house, which you can see on my first four photo's, was only recently purchased. Renovation is still going on, but you can already see how beautiful it will look once finished.

This weekend the weather in Holland is too good to stay inside. I am off to my garden to clean up the remnants of a candle light supper. I will show you some photo's soon. Have a good time!

Lieve groet, Madelief x