Even the scarecrows dress for the weather

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Traditional Dutch vegetable garden at the Zuiderzee Historical Museum

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what else people aren't saying this week.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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The Brushmaker at Work

Pssst... Stop by on Tuesday for some very exciting news from

Around the Island Photography!

(Can you guess what it is?)

Spotted at the Zuiderzee Museum.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

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If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Put on your sailin' shoes

Look here to see what else people aren't saying this week, and here for Sepia Scenes. Bonus points if you get the reference in the title ;).

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

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Traditional Dutch Clipper Ship

I'm still swamped with work and life (and Maya's 7th(!) birthday party starts in just an hour and a half, so this one's going to do double duty for both Ruby Tuesday and Sepia Scenes.


Back when I can...


PS Cold is better, down to a dull cough by now. Thanks for all the get well wishes.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

.

Traditional Dutch Fishing Nets

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Spotted at the Zuiderzee Museum last month.

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what else people aren't saying this week.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

.

Fun House Maya

More reds large and small can be found here.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

.

Vintage Ice Skate, Dutch Style

Spotted at the Zuiderzee Museum last week.

Visit Wordless Wednesday to see what else people aren't saying this week.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

.

The Red Roofs (and walls) of Gent

The first day of our recent trip to Holland wasn't in Holland at all - it was in Belgium. We flew to Liege, Belgium, not far from the Dutch border, and far cheaper than flying to a major city. Easier too, if you ignore the fact that we landed at the oh so charming hour of four in the morning (in the pouring rain). We weren't due to arrive at our friends in the Hague until evening so we decided to explore a bit of Belgium first. After a snooze in the car on a small Brussels street it was off to breakfast and a bit of exploring. We spent a few hours gawking at the stunning architecture of Brussels' market square (and managed to eat a few Belgian chocolates too while there) and then headed off to Gent's imposing Gravensteen Castle.


The castle is something straight out of the movies and really well done too - we particularly enjoyed the handheld video screens which let you watch a dramatization of castle life in the 12th century (with the actors amusingly stepping in and out of character). Itai would tell you that his favorite part of the castle was the torture room (quite gruesome actually) but if you ask me it was the view. (Come by on Thursday for a stunning picture-postcard shot of the rooftops of Gent - I've got a doozy for this week's Sepia Scenes.) 

Wouldn't you agree?

Visit Ruby Tuesday for more reds from around the world.

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My photography is available for purchase - visit Around the Island Photography and bring home something beautiful today!

.

If the photo you're wishing for is something you've seen here on the blog which isn't in my etsy shop yet just let me know and I'll happily list it for you.

.

Amsterdam's Bike Parking Garage

I figured I'd start off my Holland images with a rare mid-trip blue sky day. We didn't see much of these while there, most days alternated between heavily overcast and actually raining. We did get lucky though the day we visited Amsterdam, and what a glorious day it was. We took the train in from Hoorn, where we'd rented a 2-bedroom cabin in a nearby campground (a great and very cost-effective option for families touring Holland by the way, fitted out with all the comforts of home - right down to the dishwasher!), and in just over half an hour we walked out of Amsterdam's Centraal Station, just across the street from this unbelievable multi-story parking garage - for BICYCLES! This place was crazy huge, holding some 7,000 bikes! (And as my cycling-fanatic husband discovered on his last trip to the city they also very helpfully give out free city maps.)

 

After leaving the train station we walked through town to Dam Square and then over to the Rijksmuseum with its mindblowing collection of Rembrandt's and other Dutch Masters, then it was time for lunch at a resto-pub and a very moving visit to Anne Frank's House before hopping the train back to Hoorn in time for a late dinner.