This be could Rotterdam or anywhere...

As mentioned in my previous post I made an impromptu stop in Rotterdam on my way home from Leiden. Although the weather was pretty awful I managed to see a little bit of the city while walking around. The trip didn't start off too well seeing as the guy sitting across from me got in a very heated debate on the phone with his drug dealer. Thankfully he disembarked from the train before it left the station... presumably to "bust a cap" in someone's ass.

Other than wandering aimlessly through the slippery streets I spoke to some American girls, critics in town for the Film Festival, who recommended a charming exhibition with photographs of the tulkus of the world. In Tibet tulkus are recognized reincarnations of previous Buddhist masters and range from infants to geriatrics! All of the photographs used in the exhibition will be returned to the subject as soon as the showcase has ended at the request of the Dalai Lama as they are considered sacred. Oh and Steven Seagal is one of the tulkus featured!

Witte de With- Tulkus of the world

I was really happy to have visited Rotterdam but truthfully I wouldn't go back unless it was for an event. Perhaps it was the weather or the agitated junkie who sat opposite me on the train but the whole city felt a little dangerous.. Even more so than South America!

A bientot,
Niamh

Leiden

My Aunt, who recently retired to Ireland, having lived in Holland for 25 years, paid a visit to her old neighbourhood, Leiden, accompanied by her two sisters. Don't you just love recursive sentences? I agreed to join them during the weekend and spent a lovely few days relaxing in their company. We had planned to go to the surrounding villages and visit the local black market but our plans were halted due to the weather. It was so cold that the canals outside peoples homes were frozen over and there was a carpet of snow on the beach.

Nevertheless, it was a great opportunity to see some of Holland that I would not have otherwise seen.. and sample some of the cuisine prepared by a native! One thing which I noticed was that a lot of houses had no blinds fitted to their windows- a measure which many dutch people adopted after the war. It's a wonderful sentiment.. even if you do have to keep the living room spotlessly clean. Below are a few of the photos I took during my stay in Katwijk.

Main Street

Tampooste?? Wrong spelling but a rose by any other name..

Cake Shop Comedy

Tagine dishes from Morroco (present from my Aunt's friend)

Pizza Stone which I got for 10 euro!

In order to avoid attending religious services I left a little bit early on Sunday and made an impromptu stop in Rotterdam! I'll post some photos of that portion of my trip as soon as I discover how to transfer photos from my Samsung to the computer!

And finally, Snow Cat:)

A bientot,
Niamh

Botanique

Due to the persistent sub-zero temperatures in Belgium I decided to remain in Brussels for the weekend. Fortunately the snow carpeted city made a nice subject for some photography. Below are some pictures from the "Botanique", a botanical garden near the city centre whose greenhouse serves as a venue for many concerts and exhibitions. The best part is that this garden is in the middle of a financial district with some very unique high-rise architecture.

The Greenhouse

Icicles on statue

Frozen over fountain

Delvaux Lamp Post- check out building in background

Violent Statue

Inside the Greenhouse

I also indulged my obsession with museums in the "Maison du Roi"- a small museum, located in Grand Place, devoted to all aspects of the city's history. The first floor and second floor trace the city's urban development and growth with some examples of fine Belgian tapestries, wonderful maps and models of Brussels. The third floor is dedicated to the Mannekin Pis with an astonishing room full of replicas of Belgium's most famous incontinent kiddy relieving himself in a host of costumes from different countries.

The collection even represented Ireland- with a small incision made in his Aran jumper for his.. member. There was also a rather outrageous statue which brought memories of the Amsterdam Sex Museum flooding back! So I had to console myself with some lovely shoes!

The offending article

Beautiful Shoes

 A bientot,
Niamh

Antwerp Zoo De Zoologie

Yesterday I went to the marvellous Antwerp zoo, one of the oldest in Europe, established on the 21^st of July 1843. The zoo is located right next to Antwerp Central Station. There aren't many photographs of the day as my battery died. Amongst other things I saw: two meerkats mauling under an infra-red light(just like at a night-club!), a porcupine getting all fisty cuffs with his own reflection, penguins shaking their tail-feathers, vervet monkeys engaging in a bit of social grooming.

In summation animals seem to spend an inordinate amount of time grooming, eating or pooping. Obviously, the remainder of their time is spent studying the philosophical works of Schopenhaer.

Due to its age, the zoo has some lovely, almost bourgeois enclosures for its animals. It also has a wealth of art installations such as the ones below.

The oldest building still standing is the Egyptian temple, built in 1856 and complete with the story of animals were imported from Asia in hieroglyphics. This is currently where the giraffes reside.

Antwerp zoo was most certainly a memorable experience and although the price is a little steep (22.50 euro), it is worth it. Just remember to charge your camera battery first....

A bientot,

Niamh

Outfit Post

Since the snow in Brussels has disbarred any thoughts of something productive, I decided to play a bit of dress up this afternoon. The light does begin to dim towards the end. It's not that I was doing this for hours; it's simply that the sun goes down very quickly here. Also apologies for the ridiculous shape of my mirror and the cameo from my door-knob. Hardly conducive to fashion blogging, I fear. Also my squinty face probably doesn't help either!

Dress with cute collar and bag- H&M

Sheer t-shirt- WE

Top- H&M, Shorts & necklace- Bershka

Everything- H&M

Jeans- FCUK, Top- Bershka, Shoes- Dorothy Perkins

Close-up of mesh top

Lion jumper- Bershka, Dress- H&M

Everything- Bershka

I wore the first outfit to brunch with my friends at "Cook & Book" today... except with tights and a wooly jumper.

And yes, I do conduct all my shopping in about 4 different stores.They're the places that suit me best:)

A bientot,
Niamh

Palais Stocklet

During my cycle into the city today I stopped at the renowned Palais Stoclet. A private mansion built by architect Josef Hoffmann between 1905 and 1911 on Avenue Tervuren in Brussels. The building reminds me of the laboratory in "Edward Scissor Hands", Tim Burton's famous film. It is still occupied by the Stoclet family and was designated as a world heritage site by Unesco in June 2009. Oddly the architecture does not look too out of place in its setting- a street filled with very bourgeois extravagant houses.

A view from the side of the house

Front door

Shot of the tower

A bientot,
Niamh

Purchases

Here are a few recent purchases I have made...

Clogs from Amsterdam

Jar to store 2013 memories

New Shoes from Pennys

Bath Lotions and Turkish Eye Bracelet

Owl pendant with clock from Amsterdam

Baroque Pattern Short from Bershka

Galaxy Book Bag from H&M

Cat-eye Sunglasses

A bientot,
Niamh

The Dam

Today I headed to the city of Amsterdam! I met a lovely Brazilian girl on the train with whom I wandered around the city and experienced the mutual embarrassment of visiting a sex museum twenty minutes after having met each other! Amsterdam is a beautiful city, very easy to navigate and beyond all a very fun place to visit.

Sea of Clogs

Tourist Market

Windmolen

Flower Market

Canal (with ugly plastic bag on bicycle seat)

Much cuter bicycle seat

Typical Architecture

Van Gogh Museum

One particularly noticable feature of architecture is the tall, narrow building. This dates back to Dutch taxes which were related to building frontage. Home owners decided to keep their property as narrow as possible to avoid additional expense. A lot of the houses also have a hook at the top which was presumably employed in transporting construction materials to the upper quadrons of the house since the stairs were too bloody tight!

Word of warning: Watch out for the bike lanes

A bientot,
Niamh