La Vita e Bella

Put Your Records On - Corinne Bailey Rae

Three little birds, sat on my window.
And they told me I don’t need to worry.
Summer came like cinnamon
So sweet,
Little girls double-dutch on the concrete.

You’re gonna find yourself somewhere, somehow.

Last week with 3 busses full of ISS students (plus diploma students and some families) we went to Keukenhof!!! It was great, and the weather was very nice as well! It reminds me to the Zaansche Sans trip we had at the end of the orientation week, when we were all still young and free, hehehe….

Keukenhof is another dream come true for me, i remember i used to wish to visit this place and admiring all the tulips. The garden was full of people though, good thing it’s big. But still, sometimes its hard to get a picture without capturing the people that i dont know, just like this one, in front of Japanese garden. I guess people really want to take a good use of the opportunity to visit Keukenhof, coz it only opens for about two months. Well, spring is always so precious.

There was also a bride with the wedding dress, maybe for their prewedding picture. Keukenhof is definitely the perfect place, with its flowers in so many attractive colours, different sizes and some with unique names (like, pinochio or mickey mouse…)

I really enjoy the visit, even though we spent most of the time walking and walking, trying to see all part of the garden. We just stop to have lunch under the tree… And suddenly we have to go back to the buss, it’s 2.30 already. 3 hours is not enough for Keukenhof!!

From there we bike home (this time without jacket), accidentaly with all Gondel people. Kristian suggested to have a detour to the garden, so there we were with Rina, Marcia, Barbara, and Carlos (and then Shipo!), all laying on the green grass… enjoying the warmth of the sunshine. What a lovely weekend to remember!

Liberation Day, 5th of May!

I liberate myself from all the books, hehe….

It’s a sunny day, so we went to the beach again - but this time without Shipo, Jessica’s dog who stays here in Gondel for 10 days. It was nice with Shipo yesterday, i really enjoy the activity of walking dog around, remembering times i used to have with my dogs. The bad thing is, Shipo is not like other cool Dutch dogs… if he sees another dog, he will surely chase after it! What an agressive dog you Shipo! It was hilarious though, when i saw Kristian chasing Shipo while Shipo was chasing somebody else’s dog, hihihi…

Today i went to the beach with Jun and Kristian. It was so nice just to sit and talk, gossiping a bit (it was Jun!), haven’t been doing this for such a loooong….time! People are everywhere, but i anticipate more on Summer. Sunbathing, digging up the sand, surfing, swimming, kissing ^_^ And there’s a parade of the veterans in their Jeeps too. There are also Sand sculptures, but i only catch two, dont know if they have more at the other part of the beach…

Well, good thing of living in Scheveningen, eh… We can always go to the beach at any time we want!

First of May, rainy all day.

Feels like I’m in the middle of winter again.

Though i got myself wet when i ride back home, i did not to complain too much about it… cuz somehow this weather gives me a small retreat to the past, to couple months ago. Yes it was cold, but it was also full of surprises. Like the silence of snowfall, it came in such a simple way. I never expect it to come, for people say it rarely snow in The Hague. I guess I’m really lucky to have it…

Well, no matter how cold and gloomy the winter is, I guess winter has its distinct appeal… No wonder Avercamp has more than ten paintings on the theme of ‘winter scene’ (at least 13, far as i know). Netherlands has two collections of it, I saw one in Mauritshuis, when i have RMD observation assignment early December. The other one is in Rijksmuseum, when i went to Amsterdam with Kristian last February when we had that ‘unplanned trip’. They are all awesome, i admire the small details…

Avercamp’s Ice Scene, the one in Mauritshuis, The Hague

Avercamp’s Winter Landscape, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Chrysant’s First Snow at Gondelstraat, The Hague, hehehe…

Ok, time to sleep… good night everyone…