Yum

For my 1600th post and first after a 3-1/2-months hiatus, here is something sweet (and it's coffee & chocolate time here), which arrived during my last official postcrossing activity in the spring, thanks to Peter :)

Official - Olives And Feta Cheese

Today is Easter but I don't have any Easter cards, eggs, chicks or bunnies to show...The next best thing (or actually the best thing haha) is food, as this is also the day when people will (hopefully) feast and enjoy both food and each other's company. 

Olives and cheese are one of my favourite combinations - add some crackers and it is the only meal I need..! Plus some red wine of course :) Thank you Anouk for this card :)

Happy and blessed Easter!

Official - Hungry Donkey

Wow I can hardly remember what its like to receive an official postcrossing card...and this one must have been sent aaages ago as the Netherlands number is quite low, very much so..! In any case this is a sweet nibblin' donkey sent by Susanne, and I needed to see something this cute today after a hard day of looking through employment options...:)

NI Multiples - French Cheese

And now for something completely yummy..!

Van Gogh - Blute-Fin Windmill

The Moulin de la Galette is a windmill and associated businesses situated near the top of the district of Montmartre in Paris. Since the 17th century the windmill has been known for more than just its milling capabilities. Nineteenth-century owners and millers, the Debray family, made a brown bread, galette, which became popular and thus the name of the windmill and its businesses, which have included a famous guinguette and restaurant.

Le Moulin de la Galette is the subject and title of several paintings made by Vincent van Gogh in 1886, as it was near his apartment in Montmartre. I have to admit I was surprised this is Van Gogh, but I loved it instantly! Thanks Mike :)

Flowery Bicycle

Another lovely reminder of the time spent in Amsterdam...as the cold has crept into our homes again, as to say 'did you think you'll get rid of me that easily? tut tut' - these flowers may bring a touch of spring again :) Its also symbolic of my ride home tomorrow which will cause a small break in updating. Well whats a few days comparing to months..!

UNESCO - Ir.D.F. Woudagemaal, The Netherlands

The Wouda Pumping Station at Lemmer in the province of Friesland opened in 1920. It is the largest steam-pumping station ever built and is still in operation. It represents the high point of the contribution made by Netherlands engineers and architects in protecting their people and land against the natural forces of water - it is a steam-driven installation to prevent flooding of the low-lying areas of Friesland.

The biggest of its kind! Thank you Amy, and the wintery stamp is one of my Dutch favourites :)

 

Reflection Of Amsterdam

A little reminder of my first ever trip with an agency and first ever organised New Year's celebration abroad - I just love this city and its canals and narrow crooked houses! What's more, Vermeer is one of my favourite painters and I have Ana and her connections to thank for the lovely stamp :)))

Official - Sidewinding Adder

Another great official snake card! And species I wasn't familiar with so far - sidewinding adder or Bitis peringueyi, a venomous viper species found in Namibia and southern Angola, a small snake with an average total length of 20–25 cm. An ambush hunter, it buries itself just beneath the surface of the sand with only its eyes and the tip of its tail exposed; when prey happens by, it is seized and envenomated.

Dank je Annemiek :))

 

Curious Long-Ears

Here are four sets of attentive long ears! Good night from Ireland, Netherlands and France :)

Multi Holland

Feeling a bit blues-ey, time on my hands but no means to go anywhere...work is bound to start soon, with Easter behind the corner...and I am wishing I could just hop someplace nice once more, like beautiful Holland.

Thank you Kelly for using different stamps on your Amsterdam card :)

River View By Moonlight

A somewhat melancholic painting, but still beautiful...from ca 1645, by a landscape painter of the Dutch Golden Age, Aert van der Neer - he specialised in small night scenes lit only by moonlight and fires, and snowy winter landscapes, both often looking down a canal or river.

Italian Landscape With Umbrella Pines

Beautiful painting by the Dutch painter and printmaker Hendrik Voogd, (1768 – 1839), displayed in the Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum.

Rijksmuseum Vintage

The Rijksmuseum  is a Netherlands national museum dedicated to arts and history, situated in Amsterdam. It was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808; the current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened its doors in 1885 - on 13 April 2013, after a ten-year renovation which cost € 375 million, the main building was reopened by Queen Beatrix.

This postcard shows the north facade at the turn of the last century.

 

The Cat Boat, Amsterdam

When I was in Amsterdam last November I made it a must-do to visit the Cat Boat situated on one of the numerous canals - at first it looked like there are about half a dozen cats but slowly realised they are hidden in all the nooks and crannies :) Its a unique sanctuary, and you can help out either by donation or buying little things there like postcards and badges. You can even buy them online, here is a link which you can explore and learn more: Poezenboot Amsterdam.

 

It seems apt to post this on the day that we've found home for our kittens. To explain: I live and work on an island with one tomcat and two female cats, one of which is very tame and the other quite feral (mostly because people are not nice to her). The tame one called Gigi keeps having kittens but the guys here refuse to get the male neutered :/ Gigi had five kittens last month, and we have been trying (two women here) to find them a home. Today was lucky! Here they are ready to travel to land :)

                                                          GOOD LUCK CUTIES!!

 

 

 

NI Multiples - Les Tapas

I could seriously live off this stuff for the indefinite amount of time...even now I am getting hungry, better wrap this up quickly and change my focus! Gracias goes to Mike :)

Officials - NL, CZ, BY

Lighthouse Sketches, Netherlands

Beautiful illustrations of lighthouses of the northern coast in Holland, courtesy of my (still sailing ) friend :)

 

A Dutch Route

Here are the 3/5 of towns I've visited in Holland last November - Rotterdam, Gauda and Amsterdam.

Didn't really know what to expect of Rotterdam, in the end it was quite surprising to discover quirky architecture along the way, and that the Dutch have the shortest opening hours of any country I have yet been to :)

I've enjoyed tasting a Gauda menu in, well, Gauda :) But the cheese market depicted on the postcard had to be missed, as it is only manageable in the nice summer weather.

Lots to say about Amsterdam (not the least that I could easily see myself living in such a city), here the accent is on the imaginative river boats, someone's living space. Amazing postcard assortment (I even bought some magnets as there were sooo many to choose from) but they are not often seen on postcrossing.

Missing towns are Delft (beautiful! I wish I was there longer, definately going back) and Hague (wait...I thought I've sent one from there...pih)