last thoughts of Den Haag

this morning, off to the laundromat - the nitty gritty of travelling. funny that the laundromat, only a short walk of about 3 blocks - 1 kilometre, was in a 2nd hand/antique area. there was a wait for a washing machine, so the owner offered to do our washing for us as we went to have a coffee and a look around the shops. honestly, the junk here is brilliant and I was wishing that i could buy lots to ship home. weight and cost for shipping prevents me, however, this did not stop me buying an old Sunflowers painting..

there it was, sitting on an old chair.. waiting for me. It seems serendipity is at work. an original Van Gogh, the owner assured me.

then for a lovely cup of koffie. Here in Holland, when you buy a cup of coffee, they mostly always give you a little something to go with it. Pumpkin spice cake yesterday and today, a little morsel of sugar and butter cake [I am battling voices in my head over the whole eating thing though!!]

we went back to Crispijnstraat to knock on the door of where Joe was born.. and while walking, we  found the church that he was most probably baptised in. A gorgeous, gorgeous 16th century church. It seems Mother Mary is all around me here.

Samhain here today and every little cafe is decorated mostly with pumpkins and other autumn vegies and lots of little tea lights. the smell of spices, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg assault the senses.. to experience Samhain here in the Northern Hemisphere is special, even though i wasn't able to celebrate as I usually do at home. it just feels so right.

the afternoon we caught a tram to markets. thinking of flea markets back home.. not so. this was a food market. 500 stalls of fish, vegetables, nuts, meat and every other food stuff in between. an experience to say the least.

it is kind of bittersweet leaving Den Haag, knowing our time in Holland is over, but so looking forward to England and what that may bring. I have said before that this reminds me of Diagon Alley in Harry Potter. every time you turn a corner, there is another little laneway, narrow laneways with an assortment of shops, twinkling lights and those glorious cobblestones. it's like something out of a faery tale, every laneway is a picture postcard

 we spent alot of the time dodging trams and bicycles

it is a city full of beautiful churches and old building. I will miss the beautiful dutch language, the women who make smoking look elegant and I will miss the croissants. my hips and tummy won't.

Den Haag started to grow on us slowly at first, a city devoid of colour but it revealed itself to us bit by bit, allowing itself to seep gently into our being and
now it's time to leave..
yes, we will come back oneday

and that ends our time in Den Haag as well as Holland... for tomorrow, we set sail for England.

don't forget to click on the photos and you will be able to see a larger version xo