Ok. Prepare yourself for a whole lot of canals and flowers.
Yes that’s right – we’re in Holland baby!
(well .... we WERE in Holland a few weeks ago but you get the idea.)
Our first stop was Gouda.
Where we had a lovely lunch.
And ate some Gouda.
If I actually HAD a Bucket List (which I don’t) I would put on it: “Visit all the places that have cheeses named after them and eat cheese there.”
That’s a rock solid life aim I feel.
And – bonus, I can already check off Gouda and Gruyere.
Then we arrived in Delft.
And I fell in love.
Scenic canals and open squares. Cute cafes, bikes everywhere and young people giving a relaxed friendly vibe and Blue and White Delftware everywhere you looked.
I have a serious hard-on for blue-and-white Porcelain, from the original Chinese stuff, to Italian Spode, to Turkish tiles to Delftware, so I was in homewares heaven.
What a pity that M was thousands of miles away in Morocco with no way to influence my spending habits...........
Having said that, when we visited the Royal Delft factory – one of only three that date from the 16th century still operating in Delft, I found myself looking at the various items on sale and thinking to myself “hmm, €380 for a teapot ... that seems reasonable ...” and then experiencing a dawning realisation that M would most likely find spending €180 on a plate justifiable grounds for divorce. Lucky for me and the state of my marriage, the boutique had some items on sale, so I managed to find some pieces that I love without breaking the bank.
I can’t say enough nice things about Delft – it was probably the highlight of the trip for me.
If you’re planning a trip to Les Pays-Bas at any point, put Delft on your itinerary, it’s awesome.
Gouda
Delft
Next up - it's a veritable Tulip-palooza when we spend the day at the Keukenhof Gardens, then it's on to Amsterdam where mum and I dropped some magic mushrooms and got tattoos.
xx B
Yummo. Can't wait to hear about the tatts in the next post!
ReplyDeleteCheese! Stu's just had a week (ok, he made it like, 4 days) off cheese and other dairy products as we were testing a little lactose intolerance theory. Honestly, I think he could've kept it up for the entire week, but the misery on his face was just too much to bear. Particularly since we had brie, stilton, halloumi and a really great mature cheddar just sitting there in the fridge, mocking him.
ReplyDeleteI don't know what he'd do if he actually found out he was lactose intolerant, but my guess is that he'd consume all cheese within a five-mile radius, sink into a dairy-induced coma and die a happy, bloated man.
M xoxo
"If I actually HAD a Bucket List (which I don’t) I would put on it: “Visit all the places that have cheeses named after them and eat cheese there.”
ReplyDeleteThat’s a rock solid life aim I feel.
And – bonus, I can already check off Gouda and Gruyere."
-- Uh. Oui. Moi Aussi.