Honeymoon part three: Florida

Breakfast at Dunkin Donuts after I did my daily run!

 

Watching a baseball game of the Tampa Bay Rays!

Spending the day at Wet’n Wild, couldn’t take any photo’s once we were inside because we were to busy getting on all the rides!

 

Entrance of Universal Studios

 

This is the last photo that we took of Universal Studios… Once we got inside, the battery went dead…!

 

One of the lovely beaches of Florida.

 

Relaxing at the beach. Usually it was too hot to sit down and we would walk along the shore

 

 

We much more enjoyed the pool that came with our holiday home. The temperature was better there and we had it all to ourself!

 

So, this is the last post of a very nice and unique experience for us: the wedding and honeymoon. Life has gotten back to normal, working, etc. But this is a lovely memory for us and one that’s nice to share with you all!

Honeymoon part two: New York

We stayed for five days in New York but it could have easily been two weeks, we enjoyed the city so much. So here’s part two of our honeymoon in the big apple

 

Greenwich Village

 

Having breakfast at Magnolia Bakery!

 

The skyline of Manhattan from Brooklyn

 

On top of the Empire State Building

 

The Empire State Building I

 

The Empire State Building II

 

The streets of New York

 

We made about 500 photo’s of New York alone! I could fill this whole blog with them but I won’t and leave it as it is. Next stop…? Florida!

Honeymoon, part one: New York

After the wedding, we got changed and friends took us to the airport where we stayed for the night in a hotel and left for our honeymoon the next morning, bright and early!

Our first destination was The Big Apple! We both never been there and were really looking forward to it! I call tell you all about what we did and saw but I'll let the photo's speak for themselves...!

Times Square

On the Staten Island Ferry looking at the Satue of Liberty



World Trade Center



Apolla theatre in Harlem

The Guggenheim museum

Lake at Central Park

Cycling in Central Park

View from the Empire State building

Another visit to Amsterdam

As a birthdaypresent, S and I went to see a concert of a famous Dutch band called Blof who played in Amsterdam last sunday. And just for the fun of it, we booked a hotel in the city Centre, called Carlton Bank Mansion, who I really recommend.

On monday we went shopping and I had a few shops on my list to go to. The most imprtant one is the Frozen Fountain on the Prinsegracht. They specialise in modern Dutch furniture which is very expensive. They sell furniture of Piet Hein Eek and Vitra so a lot of Eames furniture and Hella Jongerius. I bought a small frame made of old pieces of wood.



We're planning to hang a shelf in the living room full with art and pictures.

After that, we went to the Rituals shop which I think is a wonderful shop if you want to buy a special present for someone. We bought soap and a home fragrance bottle with wooden sticks for in the bathroom.

Ofcourse there was a lot more to see and buy but we were sensible this time, ha ha. I have a lot more on my wishlist now that we live in our home for a few months and I can see what the house needs. But I'm starting to become a patience woman (yeah right!) and I have all the time in the world. Besides It's fun to buy stuff and slowly see the result. So I'm streching out the time and enjoy myself when I go out on a mission (ha ha) for our home.

Christmas Brunch

So what did you do at Christmas? S and I both had to work but I couldn't let Christmas go without not celebrating it. So my dear friend V came by and we had brunch. It was lovely.

Maastricht

Last week, S and I attented a wedding in the south part of the Netherlands, Limburg, and decided to stay a few days longer (the bride looked beautiful by the way ;-).

We went to the city of Maastricht which I think lookes nothing like the other cities in the Netherlands. Maastricht has a lot of influences of Germany, Luxemburg and Belgium because it's located so nearby the border. So being in Maastricht feels like you're walking in a completely different country and I love it there.



We took a boattrip along the Maas and made a few pictures of the forest.

Now let me explain why being around a forest is so special for me. I live along the sea in a very crowded part of the Netherlands. So every piece of land is being used to built houses on. There are small forests in the area but nothing compared to those in Limburg. And not even mentioning the hills there are over there. You might know that the Netherlands is basically flat, especially where I'm from. But not in Limburg! No, there are actually hills over there, not very high... But there still there.




So again, it doesn't feel like being in the Netherlands. You should really give it a try.

The Conran shop in Paris

Before we went to Paris, I read some articles in Dutch interior magazines about Paris and made a list of shops where we had to go to. On the top of my list was the Conran Shop. When we were in London last fall I didn't know about the Conran Shop until we got home and then it was too late. So when I found out that there was an shop in Paris as well, we just had to go!

I didn't quite know what to expect but when I saw my favourite Egg chair by Arne Jacobson and in red too!! I knew I was going to love it!
After sitting in it for a few minutes and feeling like I was in heaven I asked S to sit in it. He doesn't really understand my fascination about this chair and hopefully he would understand it a little bit once he tried the experience! Of course I hade to make a picture !

Well, he likes the design and it sits ok but thinks it's too expensive... Hm, that's means I'm not getting it for christmas this year...

When we looked further, I saw another one! So quickly, before someone of the staff saw me, I made another picture!


Beside the fact that the chair is about EUR 5.000,00, I realised I couldn't take it with me on the train back home... Well let's save the money first and then I will see where to buy it, ha ha. Or maybe S will give it to me for christmas. What do you think?

There were also these Eames chairs which I love but S thought that it wouldn't sit very well. Hmm, I might have to agree but so what if it doesn't sit perfectly, it looks amazing!

The Eiffel Tower

Even though I have been to Paris many times, I have never been to the Eiffel Tower. So this time it was finally time to see it. Unfortunately, the weather was not so great so it was no point to go up and see the view.




What facinated me was that in different parts of the city, you could see the tower because it is so high. So every change I had, I would make a picture!

View on top of the department store Galerie Lafayette

View from the Louvre museum


But please don't think that it is romantic when you're by the Eiffel Tower... Unless you think that groups of children standing in line to go up the tower and making a lot of noice while men trying to sell cheap souvenirs and coming up to you every 30 seconds is very romantic. But still, something that you need to go and see for yourself!

Paris, part II

There's something about the Louvre... I love being there, especially sitting outside and watching all those people. I love the architecture and the way it all comes together.



And it is so strange when you're inside the pyramide, before you go downstairs to the musem. So amazing!


And those who have read of seen the Da Vinci Code... Well, in real life, it is a bit different. The painting is small and look how many people there are... It seems that people are still facinated by the Mona Lisa


Close by the Mona Lisa, there's a painting of Napoleon and Josephine which I find very interesting.

Paris, part I

So last week S and I went to Paris for 5 days. It was nine years ago since I last been there en S has never been to Paris before so we thought it was time to go.

We took the train, which takes about 3 1/2 hours from The Hague to Paris, Gare du Nord. I recommend travelling by train if you're doing a tour through Europe.



The hotel where we stayed was in the area Montmartre and after checking in we went strolling around and went to the Sacre Coeur. Look how busy it was!


There's a great view over the city. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't that great but still worth the effort in making a great pricture!


And the building itself, well it is just beautiful...



At the end of the day, we had dinner on the corner of a small street which was nearby a metro station. And don't you just love those metro signes! And what about the buildings... I would love to live in a building like that!


Well, this was just day one... More to come...