The Netherlands.
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Meet Sjoera.
Super hip, super cool Dutch girl. My constant companion during my stay in The Netherlands. An instant friend. She is mama to Spike, yep, Spike. Most likely one of the cutest kids I have ever seen.
Sjoera did such an awesome job of keeping me in line. Always there with an offer of tea or coffee or a coat. I packed totally wrong this trip - never imagined it would be as cold as it was. Woke me up every day with a cheerful "good morning."
Here we are loading up at IKEA:
And here we are with Queen Regina of Pien's near the top of the Dom Tower:
Loved the chance to be in Regina's stores. And to hang out with her. Such a nice time (even if it was really cold :)).
Once again I was totally enchanted with Dutch culture. The history. The people. The way they eat and chat and relax and have extra long meals. No one seems to be in a hurry. And of course, I love the bikes.
Here are a couple of my favorite shots:
Me & Florence:
The lovely ladies that drove from Germany:
I love walking around during class and taking photos of the progress and the cool ways that people interpret the project. Seriously one of my favorite parts of the workshops.
ROTTERDAM
My last day of teaching included two classes at Regina's store in Rotterdam. Great classes. Great store. Super cool city. Rotterdam is this amazing mixture of old and new. Fantastic modern architecture right next to very old buildings with wonderful character and charm and history.
When the classes were done for the day we took a water taxi over to the coolest place for dinner: Hotel New York. I want to move into this place. And we arrived at the perfect light of day.
Still working on my Scrapbook on the Road.
Still thinking about all the cool people I met. All the people I met on the last trip that I had the chance to reconnect with this time. Love that.
Traveling always makes me very contemplative. I think a lot about where I am in my life. I consider things, evaluate, ponder. What changes I will make this time around? I know for sure I will be simplifying again - traveling seems to nail down what is really important for me. Brings all the essentials into direct focus. I feel really thankful for that...
So home again for a bit. Cleaning up. Figuring out what is on my agenda for the week. Going through the piles. Ordering product for upcoming classes. Working on my CKU-A presentation. All that good stuff. And loving the boys. And driving my car. And sleeping in my own bed. And just being happy.
And, just so you know, I watched Walk The Line on the way over and on the way back.
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71 comments
And I'm a hard sell! LOL
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Thanks for sharing the great photos! As always it takes us right there !
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wow! what an awsome trip!!! I love all your photos of the place! Thanks!
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Wow, your photos bring back wonderful memories! My husband and I spent almost a week in The Netherlands (Amsterdam & Delft) 7 years ago, & looking at your photos makes it seem like it was just last week! Thanks for sharing :)!
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Hi Ali,
Very cool to meet you on Sunday at Pien's! Love your pictures, Rotterdam is sooo my city! (been there nearly every weekday for the past 12 years for college (looking over that red boat!) and work and sometimes during the weekends too ;-))
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Thanks for the trip down memory lane Ali... it's been a few years since I was in Holland and it's still very much a beautiful place. Now that I'm a florist in Australia, 3 bunches of tulips for 5 Euro really blows my mind. No wonder dutch tourists have a fit when they see the prices here. Thanks again for all the beautiful photos. Am really enjoying reading your blog and gleaning lots of scrapbooking inspiration from you. Doei, Sharon.XXX
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Hello Ali,
great photos. I was on the Fridayafternoongroup (I talked to you about Virginia and Dora). It's great to hear that you enjoyed your stay in The Netherlands. You've seen things most tourists don't see. Most people would only go to Amsterdam. But Utrecht and Rotterdam are very great cities too.
Sjoera is a great girl, you're right about that. I wish you well. I will go to the States in July (Virginia, to attend wedding of my cousin) and hope to enjoy your country as much as you enjoyed mine.
Have a great week!
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Hi Ali,
I visited your workshop at Pien's in Hilversum and was really enjoying it. The best part was you making a picture of my mini-album (and now seeing it on your blog is just to funny, hee hee). It's so nice to see how you see our country. We think it's normal to ride our bikes everywhere LOL. Thanx for inspiring me to start embossing!! Next time around I'll be there again.
Grz
Revlie
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this looks too wonderful... i wish i could have stumbled across your blog earlier and known about this workshop.
please promise to let me know if you ever have a workshop in europe again?
and that beginner's are allowed?
such a lovely blog and true inspiration found here. making one very happy me.
angela.
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