hello you. i'm just here. writing you this postcard from my b&w canal house. it's just dandy!
as are the passerbys, the cafes, bicycles, cobbled streets, canals, and trees trees trees. the air has a slight autumn chill, but so far the trees look like they're in the blush of summer. we'll see how this changes over the next weeks.
there are some magnificent large scale oil paintings here by the artist joep van delft. i painted some of his cats into my travel journal yesterday. the lady in the orange shift is the owner of the apartment where i'm parking it for the next couple of weeks. when i exclaimed my pleasure in these paintings she let me know that i could meet the painter if i wished. they are friends. he is in a houseboat nearby. i know i should take her up on such a generous offer, but i'm already meeting a new person in haarlem on tuesday and you know my sociability has its limits. but we'll see!
of all places to dine i found an argentinian steakhouse last night! surely it was the best ribeye ever. on the planet. i ate it and watched the lively street. eavesdropped on dinner conversations. and afterwards wandered through the breezy night streets. all the way to home.
to my sweet apartment with the crooked worn steps leading down to the kitchen and up to the bath. this is just exactly where your great great maiden aunt hilda would have lived in the amsterdam version of the belle epoch 100 years ago. holding salons for free thinkers, poets, artists, writers, book lovers.
and for you, i found a hotel around the corner. reserved you the room with the small balcony. where you might sun yourself in the mornings and sit out in the evenings with your g.g. aunt hilda's shawl. later you can come to my place. we'll have a sketch party sitting in 2 little tables i set up for us in front of the canal windows. okay?
if you're well behaved and not too terribly chatty i'll have you come back for breakfast. how about a sausage croissantesque baked good and a crispy waffle? beverages can make or break a good meal. don't worry, i've got you covered.
What a lovely pied-à-terre you’ve found. May we also see the bedroom?
Ooh, welcome to the Netherlands! I love these pictures and I’m not even that much of an Amsterdam fan, haha. And I laughed at the fact that there’s a ‘sauzijnenbroodje’ on your plate (the one next to the waffle). Your appartment just makes me drool. Lucky you!
For the person who asked about ‘stomppot’ It’s ‘STAMPPOT’ and its a dutch word for a potatoe mash with vegetables and other stuff in it and can come in all kinds of varieties.
holy crap and a half! These photos are luminous.
I live in a town near Amsterdam and Haarlem, it’s so lovely to see our culture through your eyes! I’m enjoying is so much! Looking forward to see more…
I almost panicked when you mentioned going to meet someone,even a painter, but I enjoyed the walk around. I am looking forward to the museums and a little shop browsing. It is still warm here, I hope that the weather holds for you there.
Delighted to join you on yet another trip! Even the virtual views for me are such a pleasure with your skillful eye. Thanks again for sharing your world with us. I can’t wait to see more!
How about we just make it for breakfast? I can get chatty in the afternoon, but I guarantee I will not make a peep till at least 11 am. At least.
oilCLOTH panniers
I want oil panniers! (I don’t have or ride a bike but I want some anyway)
Beautiful blue skies. Of course you can meet the painter! Off you go, girl.
i follow your blog nearly daily and i never wrote a comment but now you make me to, because you really know how to show holland at its best….you make me feel even more homesick whilst i am away from my beloved country for thirty years (i live in france at the foot of the Alps)you’re a very good photographer (and not only in A’dam)love your blog, your art and your photos!
Lovely! You just have to meet the painter of the pictures. It would be a shame to get home and have regrets. Follow your heart it will know what to do.Im looking forward to more.
Goodness! How dreamy! Keep posting:)
I’m exhausted already!
Oh, you crazy brave Mary Ann. You’ve done it again! Your travels never cease to amaze. Pure delight!
NO, no, it was Aunt Margaret and she lived in London, in Chelsea. She had a cat called Mirabelle and she was writing a book on the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Margaret was a retired professor from Bryn Mawr. Very intellectual, v.v. eccentric, a little odd (well, she WAS family after all and we are ALL odd!) but very kind. Smart and funny and eccentric as can be. She was a tiny, little bird-lke creature with a crown of soft, curly silver gray hair, usually covered with an outlandish hat. I loved her to pieces. Her “flat” was much like your digs in Amsterdam—a nice mix of quirky and traditional and a little formal. You are going to have such a fine, fun time! Have a big pastry for me, please. A big, big one!
XO
Aahhhhh,what bliss. My morning coffee with front row seat. Keep packing in the adventures!! And thanks so much for sharing.
Missy from the bayou
I’m enjoying “our” travels….and looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks for the lovely postcard! Amsterdam has always been one of the places I’d love to visit someday so thank you for sharing your photos! Looking forward to your next post.
LOVE your photos – LOVE Amsterdam…. wanna go back…. sign
Oh how delicious everything looks. Enjoy to the limit – or are there any limits? xoDonna
Quite a little adventure you have landed in…so many places to see, food to eat, and mysterious painters to meet — invite him for a coffee at the café and show him a pic of Buck — that should break the ice. I think his painting is fantastic BTW. Missing your “honey I’m home” videos — can’t you spread out your purchases and post a pic at least? Inquiring and very nosey rabbits want to know.
When the morning chill comes,make sure to have a stroopwafel to top your mug of coffee. In fact maybe I’ll go and buy a packet at Fresh Market tomorrow so I can dream of Amsterdam and your happy adventures.
Take a deep breath and yes, go meet that painter. Perhaps he’d like to branch out into adding sewing to his canvases!
What a lovely place! Thanks Mary Ann.
Enjoying the beginning of the trip! 🙂
absolutely LOVE your B & W house!
Oh, yeah! a little carb load for brekkie and we’re good to go. I have a hard boiled egg to share in my pocket for later.
!!!! love it all…xox
How splendid it all is! Thanks for bringing us along in your sweet way.
It would be sheer heaven to sit with you, sip a fine beverage, draw and paint in quiet by the canal window. but first, a question – does that one food container say “Zomer Stomppot”? Stomppot?
Just lovely – looking forward to more of this
Oh you do know how to live Miss Moss! Thanks for sharing!
Enjoying your post today…home sick and it is terribly blustery and cold where I live…love seeing the lovely pictures.
OMG Mary Ann, you get a change to meet the painter of the fabulous painting and you are going to turn it down?! Have you Facebooked him? How old is he? Is he single? He probably doesn’t like to be social either. How do you know? You gotta meet that man and fast. And wear red lipstick.
Another fabulous trip you are on! That painting is just wonderful!! You need to meet that artist!
Oh lovely! It’s just like being there – thank you for inviting us along in such a sketch-worthy city. (and I feel like I know just what you mean about meeting the artist down the canal; it’s a bit like when your well meaning mother-in-law hands you the phone on Christmas morning “Say hi to great aunt Suzie!” could be fun, could be fraught with ‘er..what to say now..’) Have a lovely evening and enjoy the gorgeous weather.
Love those chairs by the window and the view and that chandelier! thanks for sharing, hope the weather holds for your stay!
Loved it. Especially your need for quiet and space. It looks beautiful. One of these days…
oh, this is delightful….I feel like a frame in graphic novel….thank you MaryAnn! just a gift…
Holly
i just love my hotel room. the balcony is the icing on the cake!! can’t wait to see your place. it looks elegant, and absolutely beautiful. can’t wait to sit at the table for two and sketch.
enjoy walking around, and don’t fall into the canal when you get your water to take home!!
waiting for your report on the shops…..
Oh yummy dum dum and tra la la (that is the sound of me as I sit here and view the corner of the world you are in at the moment). I don’t know what I love more the views of the neighborhood or the delish looking foods and beverages.I think I will take a helping of everything and relax and enjoy the peeks and vistas.Your home away from home looks utterly charming as ever. You’ve done well in you choices as always. Happy to know you’ve safely landed and are enjoying yourself thoroughly.
Leanne! That is it exactly. You jogged my memory! Mmmm. Good.
Lovely! Although, BTW, your croissant-esque thing looks like a sausage roll to this Aussie.
Ohhhhh…..you make it look so inviting….I’m always in heaven reading your blog…it’s exactly the way I want to write….so eloquently! Enjoy! And if I could, I’d be at that hotel in an instance.
Oh Mary Ann – this is lovely! I wish I were there with you. Thank you for taking me along!
Yes..Thanks for letting ME go with you!
Loving this, Mary Ann! It’s fun to see the food and the chandelier and ceiling detail in your apartment are stunning. Thanks for letting us go with you.
I’m impressed, lol.
Oh, I am totally there!! How gorgeous and friendly you are. I am so happy you have invited us! Thank you!