Along the towpath

The day before I left for England, my friends Fleur, whom you may know from the blog In de Polder, and Anita, invited me to a day out. I arrived early, so that Fleur could show me her garden, which is absolutely beautiful. I have seen the garden several times now, but it never seizes to amaze me. It's what I dream of. To have chickens, far reaching views, fruit trees and lots and lots of flowers. It really is perfection! What makes it extra special, is that Fleur doesn't live too far from Rotterdam, but it feels as if your miles away from town. I haven't posted many photo's this time, but if you would like to see more, please visit Fleur's blog or have a look at an earlier post I did on the garden.

After a cup of coffee and a slice of home made cake, we stepped on our bicycles and cycled along the old towpath to Schipluiden, where we visited a quirky vintage store. Which was paradise to a vintage girl like me :-). You can even have tea in the garden occasionally. At the end of our ride whe had lunch at Op den Hodenpijl, a lovely restaurant with a beautiful orchard to sit in. The food is all home made and home grown, so really good! I can recommend it to you.

Anita and Fleur, thank you once again for a lovely day. I enjoyed every minute of it!

Happy week ahead!

Love,

Madelief x

Rose is a rose is a rose, is a rose

Just arrived home. I spent four beautiful days in The Cotswolds, enjoying all things green and pleasant, that England has to offer: lush gardens, far reaching views and lots and lots of charity shops. I bought a whole new wardrobe over there ;-)! I will show some of it on my blog soon!

Just before I left for the UK, I went to the garden, to water the tomatoes and cucumbers in the greenhouse and to see how the roses were doing. It was raining non stop, but I did not mind in the least. I love the smell of wet earth and somehow the colours look more vibrant on a rainy day.

The roses looked amazing! More and more are in flower. As always I spent more time there, than I initially planned. When you are surrounded by so many colourful flowers, it's difficult to contain oneself. I simply have to pick them! Off course, the fact that they are all in my own garden, makes it easier :-) I made two lovely bouquets. In one of my next post I will show you how they looked like, but I thought I would already give you a preview. Hence my first photo!!

A warm Hello to Jane and Lance's friends, who popped over to visit!  It's a joy to meet you! I haven't been able to visit you yet, but I will try :-)

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Love,

Madelief x

The rose around my garden house and on photo number 16 is called 'New Dawn', the blueish purple rose which you can see clearly on my last photo: 'Rhapsody in blue', the lilac one on my fifth photo: 'Waltz time' , the lilac one among the clematis on my 10th photo 'Indigoletta'.

A must see destination

The New York Times published an article recently, rating Rotterdam as a must see destination for 2014. I couldn't agree more. To me, my home town is one of the most attractive cities I have seen. When you like the contrast between old and new architecture, Rotterdam is the place to be. 

Love the amazing new building De Rotterdam by Rem Koolhaas and the old warehouses with names of islands in the former Dutch colonies, on the other side of the road. The fact that you are always close to the river, there are many quirky shops and restaurants and an amazing harbour area, only add to it's attractiveness. 

Alongside one of the quays in an area of town called Katendrecht, a fabulous cruise ship, called the SS Rotterdam, is permanently moored. It was once a prestigious flagship of the Holland America Line, used for carrying passengers to 'The New World' and for cruises. It dates back to the 1950s and is really worth a visit. Enjoy the fantastic interior, which brings you straight back to the fifties and sixties and have a coffee in one of the stylish restaurants or on the lido deck.

Last week I showed my friends from Budapest around town. We had a fabulous time! The weather could not have been better. Blue skies all over. We had coffee in the Nhow restaurant, on the 7th floor of The Rotterdam building, lunch at the SS Rotterdam and finally a glass of cool lemonade at De Zeeuwse Meisjes on the Deliplein. Seeing it through my friends eyes, made me realise once more how fabulous Rotterdam is. So if you haven't been yet, do come and visit!

Dear Jane and Lance, Thank you for your kindness, your enthusiasm and humour. It was a joy to spent the days with you! Blowing a kiss to both of you. 

If you would like to see more photo's, please have a look at their blog. It's one of my favourites!! You can find the link in their names.
  

Wishing you all a lovely week ahead! Three more days to go and I will be on my way to the UK. Hurray!

Love,

Madelief x