De Bijenkorf - I'm back & I can speak Dutch!

We arrived at Amsterdam Central Station, on a cold crisp Friday Evening - So cold that if I talked it steamed my specs up - prompting giggles from me to G, as I uttered those romantic words - 'by eck, you look gorgeous', whilst almost blind....

Good job I had my stripey scarf & gloves ready....

G had told me that we wouldn't be staying any where posh - because the flights weren't cheap, and I was quite happy with this, as the main objective of the weekend, was just to relax & spend time with each other, after what has been a really tough 6 months for both of us. Including a huge fall out the night before (honesty card being held up here)  Don't worry I'd said, "It's about being with you....", and he replied "Stop it! - Now you are worrying me..."

So you can imagine my suprise and delight to end up here....

Total Princess status! The room still had the original beam for winching up the trading goods.

The very nice manager told us that the building was a former linen warehouse, and that the hotel had been built around it.

After a lazy breakfast on Saturday morning we set off for a wander aound Amsterdam. It is such a truly beautiful city.

We came across last November for G's Christmas work get together (He works for a company with it's European head office in Holland). At the time it was so very stressful because of his mum being so poorly, so we promised hat we would come back. I admit I fell in love with Holland there and then. I now wish I had discovered  Amsterdam years ago, but I admit, being such a home bird, I was put of by the steroetyping of the red light districts and brown cafes.

We walked and talked, at a slow leisurely pace (courtesy of my skating-on-ice episode) over many canal bridges, building our own bridges.

Taking in the picturesque laid back streets, the continental grace, the quiet of minimal car traffic. In Holland cars are taxed heavily & so bikes are hugely popular. They are practical as people live close to where they work, and cyclists are provided with their own paths and well protected by Dutch law.

The architecture is beautiful, tall thin buildings lean, nestle and almost hug together in rows, like books on a bookshelf, not quite straight, and you get the feeling, should one fall, they would all come down. They were built tall & thin (although they go a long way back) as tax was paid, dependant on the frontage of the houses.

I think this is the best picture I took, to show the lovely wonkiness of them all...

And much like a book shelf, there is always the odd one, with a different spine, that makes it stand out from the rest...

G allowed me to chose where we went, and having seen a flyer, I asked to go to the Museum anf Handbags & Purses. It was facsinating, they had examples of the earlieast handbag, through to the modern, and are currentley running an exhibition of British designers. 

Look at one of the Tea rooms within it....

And the cake wasn't bad either....

Mmmm Who's that coverting a very expensive hanbag or two...? The British Exhibition room was the only one where we could take photo's. Poor G's face, when I told him how much the very nice classic Mulberry leather handbag was worth....

It was just fabulous - I loved, loved, loved  the colours in this little alcove -

Here are the floating flower gardens, greenhouses on the canal....

We passed a Dutch Quilting shop, with this quilt hanging on the railings....

And my second request of the day was to visit 'My Aunts Tart' - Labelled the campest cake shop in town, it was a true test of G's love for me, it was utter kitsch, a riot of plastic flowers, miss matched furnitire & PVC tablecloths - the stuff CK and nightmares would be made of. But the tarts were tasty, and the displays of wedding & party cakes they are famous for were inspirational for any cake decorators who are un-afraid to use colour.

Finally - My third wish was to go to the Bijenkorf - The only dutch word I know. It's the most loveliest department store in Amsterdam - Think a dutch John Lewis.... It was here in November that I brought a christmas card, that I really ought to get round to telling you about...

This is a household range called 'Pip' -

After all our wanderings, with me completeley jiggered, we decided to stop and have our tea in the Bijenkorf, as it was open until 7pm. They have a restaurant that takes up the whole of the top floor, and offers a huuuge choice, so we settled on a stirfrys - cooked to our own order. 

Then it was back to our room, for a quiet Saturday night, bottle of wine & Casualty on BBC....

Sunday saw us wake up to snow - and a 2 hour train journey visit some freinds. R grew up in Sheffield lad and G has known him for years & also now works with. He married the lovely J and they live close to the German border. I stupidly didn't take camera for the walk round where they live, although I did tell R, I couldn't imagine why he wanted to leave Sheffield!

We arrived home late Sunday - & it's all too quickly been back to normal day-to-day life.

However it is the first time in 10years, since the small people have come along, that we have done anything like this. It was a special time, a time for relationship building. I think time away from the daily stresses, away from our much loved small people allowed us to focus on each other, remember who we are to each other. It's almost been to easy to be too busy for each other. I think we've realised that we need to continue to take time out to appreciate the other one, to listen and hear, to share our hopes and dreams. Perhaps not on this grand scale, next time closer to home.

(But I really do like Amsterdam)

Love Lydia xx

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