Up in the Mountains

This past weekend, I had the fortune to visit one of my best friends and her family in the region of Abruzzo, Italy. This is my second visit to her hometown, and it took my breath away just as much as the first time. It is always fun to visit a friend’s childhood home and to see how their family and the local population live, compared to visiting the bustling tourist cities. The contrast is wonderful to see.

The region is surrounded by beautiful mountains, and every time I looked up, I would be blown away by the sheer beauty of them – especially after getting used to the flat landscape of the Netherlands!

Finally, some sun!

The weather has been up and down lately in this part of Europe… we are having far too many rainy/windy days, and that will probably continue for a little while longer in the coming weeks. A couple of weekends ago was a rare change of events, however – the sun shone very bright and the days were hitting 18 degrees! That obviously meant a beach visit was in order.

We also visited a seaside museum in Scheveningen called ‘Beelden aan Zee’, which specialises in sculpture exhibitions. This was a fun little addition to a sunny day and had some really interesting sculptures to view.

Have a wonderful week!

Leiden in January

It’s been a while since I’ve last posted some photos of my travels in the Netherlands! A good way to get back into it with the start of the new year.

This month, I took a day trip to Leiden to visit the National Museum of Antiquities (Rijksmuseum van Oudheden). Aside from visiting this very interesting museum, I also had a customary walk around the city. The day was extremely chilly, but the sun shone bright and the skies were a clear blue – something to be happy about here in the winter! I love the cobblestone sidewalks and the little canals in Leiden – definitely a beautiful city to visit.

Here’s to the start of a new year! 🙂

Bluebell Season

It’s been a long time since I wrote a blog post, and that means many photos to catch up on! During the cold month of April, when the weather wasn’t as warm as it is now in the Netherlands, we visited the beautiful Ockenburgh gardens as we do every year to enjoy the bluebell season. The bluebells only bloom for a couple of weeks in April/May each year, so this is always special, especially when stumbling across huge fields of these little flowers.

Have a wonderful week!

The Roadless Village

A few weekends ago, I visited the charming little village of Giethoorn, otherwise better known as the ‘Venice’ of Holland. This village was about 3 hours away from The Hague by train and bus, which was quite a journey to make, but was definitely worth it. It was such a picturesque scene, with the entire village made up of canals and the houses sitting just next to them.

We took a canal trip around the village, which is the nicest thing to do when the weather is colder/windier as it was that day, but I definitely want to return in the summer and take a boat which you can drive yourself.

I definitely see why Giethoorn is such a popular place for tourists; despite its small size, it was really beautiful and a perfect way to see how the canals work in an area outside of Amsterdam.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Last Winter Walks

Despite a little less blogging than I’d hoped for so far, photography has definitely not taken a back seat in my life this year! Last weekend, I took a lovely winter walk in Westbroekpark, a park closer to the beach in The Hague. Despite the very chilly air, I could smell spring right around the corner. The sunshine is starting to become a more regular feature, there’s less rain and gloom, and the hours of the day are lengthening!

This park is such a quiet, peaceful park right in the middle of the beautiful suburbs leading up to Scheveningen (the beach). Though it’s not incredibly large, it’s significantly ‘hillier’ than the other parks I’ve visited in the city, which makes for some good walking with a partner or friend. I enjoyed having a coffee, strolling through the many trails lined with trees, and seeing the little signs of spring showing through.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Snowy Reflections

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope it will be a year filled with success, happiness and love!

One of my goals this year is to get back into blogging and photographing more regularly, and organising my time better to incorporate this into my life. After being busy with starting a new job and coping with the new routines in my life, it’s time to start fresh and make time for writing and taking photographs, something I love doing.

To recap one of my favourite moments from last month, there was a wonderful December day where it snowed copiously over here in the Netherlands. It was simply magical and really set the country into a winter mood, even though it totally messed with the public transport system. Unfortunately, it didn’t snow on Christmas Day again, but experiencing actual heavy snowfall for the first time (without it disappearing overnight!) was amazing.

I took the time to take a few photos to add to my memories of The Hague, which looked absolutely beautiful covered in snow – even though it was freezing cold! They turned out to be some of my favorite photos from this year, and captured a very special memory for me.

Have a wonderful week!

 

Sunset at the Beach

The winter months are starting to set in here in The Netherlands, and you can feel the bite of the wind in the mornings and evenings a lot more. On the plus side, the Christmas lights and decorations are being set up all over the city!

With the start of the winter season, I’ve been missing the beautiful beach a lot, especially the summer sunsets. These photos were taken just a couple of months ago, in a completely different season. Now the same beach has been transformed into a grey and freezing landscape, far too windy to visit except for the shortest walk.

I’ve been in wonder of shells since I was a little girl and would visit the beach in Sri Lanka; that clearly still hasn’t changed! I love the beautiful shells you can always find on the quiet beaches here, no matter which season.

Have a wonderful week!

Fireworks Explosion

It has been far too long since I last blogged, and I’ve really missed it! The last couple of months have been a real turning point in my life – I officially graduated with my Bachelor’s degree in Law, and started an amazing new job! Life has changed a lot and gotten a lot busier since two months ago, but I’m very glad to have been given a wonderful opportunity to stay in The Netherlands and continue to live here and enjoy this beautiful country.

To kickstart my return to regular blogging of my adventures here, I thought I would share a lovely throwback to mid-August, when the International Fireworks Festival was held at Scheveningen, our favourite beach in The Hague. This festival brings together various countries to compete with their best fireworks displays, and lasts for a couple of weekends every year. I was able to visit the displays of China against France, and what a beautiful, glowing, explosive experience that was on a warm summer evening!

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Rocca Calascio

While travelling in Italy, I visited the home region of one of my closest friends – Abruzzo. In this stunning mountainous area of the country, we visited the ‘Rocca Calascio’, a fortress located on top of a mountain.

Aside from the fortress, there is a lovely little village situated just underneath, with homes, restaurants, and tiny shops housed within. The view from the top of the mountain was well worth hiking upwards for – you could see for miles and miles around the region. Though we experienced a bit of rain and cold at first, the weather soon cleared up afterwards and the sun shone while making our descent, allowing for all kinds of photos to be taken in different elemental states.

I really loved this part of the trip – it was very atypical of what tourists normally do in Italy, which is one of the best parts of travelling around with natives of a country.

Have a wonderful week!