Thursday Doors – May 17, 2018

For this week’s Thursday Doors, here are the green doors of Rembrandt’s house, in Amsterdam. The most famous Dutch painter lived and worked in this house between 1639 and 1656, when he apparently ran out of money to pay his mortgage… The green and red combination of doors and windows is very pretty. The windows are green on the outside and red on the inside. 

 

WPC: Place in the World

Like Erica, who’s challenging us to share our Place in the World, I too have a thing for the Big Apple. This has to do with the combination of several things: beautiful architecture (I die for those art deco buildings); the proximity to water and substantial green areas (making it more than just a concrete jungle); and the abundance of cultural activities (wonderful museums, great theater and musicals, jazz clubs, etc). There’s something magic about NYC that puts me in a great mood, makes me want to go out and soak the energy around me. I feel inspired and experience a “joie de vivre” there that I experience nowhere else in the world. The last time I was in New York, in 2016, I arrived at our hotel after two flights (one of them international) and a long taxi ride from the airport, in terrible traffic jams. All of that while still recovering from the a severe cold I got at the end of our Brazil visit. I collapsed in bed, slept for a couple of hours, and when I woke up I felt a burst of energy and a strong urge to go out, walk for a while and stop somewhere for a good dinner. And so we did. And, like magic, I felt strong and healthy again. Only in New York!! Time to go back… 😉

 

In Bruges

Bruges (Brugge in Dutch) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in Belgium. The medieval center of Bruges, which is very well preserved, is a UNESCO world heritage site. I loved the architecture, the beautiful canals and their surroundings, and the overall atmosphere of the place. Bruges became a lot more well known after the 2008 film “In Bruges,” from Irish-British director Martin McDonagh, which is set almost entirely there. I saw it back then and have ever since wanted to see the real thing, which finally happened this past April. Here are some highlights of beautiful Brugge.

Amsterdam: A City of Canals

Amsterdam is a city of canals and bridges. After a few days walking around it, I lost count of how many bridges I had crossed and how many canals I had seen and photographed. Since I love trivia, I found out that Amsterdam has 165 canals, with a combined length of 100 KM (60 Miles). The city has 1,753 so-called ‘numbered’ bridges, 80 of which are within the belt of canals (grachtengordel). There are an additional 2,250+ less significant bridges. No, we didn’t even get close to seeing everything! After a while it gets a bit old… This gallery is dedicated to Amsterdam’s canals, bridges, and all the water around it! Plus the beautiful views that come with them, of course.

Thursday Doors – 02/01/2018

These doors are from an area of Santa Monica known as “North of Montana Ave.” It’s a pretty and posh area, where even the simplest houses cost over $3 million. I like to take walks there since it’s close to Brentwood, where we live, and the streets are beautiful and quiet, in spite of their proximity to busy Montana Ave with its many shops and restaurants. The doors below are not from the more luxurious houses –those are fenced in and you can’t photograph them– and the houses vary in architectural style and size. They are all interesting, each with its own charm.