Hi Everybody!
We had a sunny weekend here, and the severe frost has left us for the time being, so lots of time and opportunity for walking and enjoying life. Not that I didn't enjoy life and walk a lot when the weather was bad! On Friday evening we visited the local Christmas market and on Saturday we drove over the border to Holland and enjoyed a few hours in Venlo. And on Sunday I enjoyed three long walks and a wonderful goulash cooked by Nathalie for lunch. I walked a total of 62,000 steps over three days, and enjoyed every step.
For Wendy's theme at Tag Tuesday I have another feline tag, this time with 2 cool cats off out for an evening. The cats are from the graphics fairy and other images from Serif and me. I love the lady-cat's shoes designed to keep her delicate paws from getting wet! Hope to see YOU joining in soon:
For Wendy's theme at Tag Tuesday I have another feline tag, this time with 2 cool cats off out for an evening. The cats are from the graphics fairy and other images from Serif and me. I love the lady-cat's shoes designed to keep her delicate paws from getting wet! Hope to see YOU joining in soon:
Tuesday is always time for Elizabeth's T stands for Tuesday, which always begins Monday evening, so here a warm welcome to all of the lovely ladies of the T gang.This week I got happy mail from Iris who sent me a tin of lion speculatius cookies from her town of Braunschweig. The tin alone is a treasure, and the cookies are wonderful - tender and buttery and deliciously spiced, yummy!
And Iris wrote some beautifully folded notes to accompany it, and told me all about the story of the lion:
Thanks Iris, this was a great surprise in the mail!
On Saturday Nathalie had an idea to drive to Venlo, so she collected me and off we went. Here we are just crossing the border. The pic is a bit fuzzy as I took it through the windscreen while we were driving:
After finding a spot in a huge parking building we decided to get a coffee. First of all we saw and heard this old organ being pulled through the crowded streets:
Then we spotted Prince Henry (Prins Hendrik) and dived in:
It was a beautiful, traditionally decorated pub/restaurant/cafe:
Although the hunting trophies on the wall were not quite my taste...
We both had cappuccino, served as always in Holland with extra cream, and I had the best apricot cake ever, ever, ever - a dream:
Nathalie ordered onion soup topped with grilled cheese and served in a beautiful bowl with a lion's head:
After we felt strengthened we walked through the market and then hit the shops. Natalie tried on this gorgeous, fluffy jacket:
The old town hall:
I am sure Iris will love the beautiful lions guarding the entrance:
Fun pieces in a shop window:
A cafe dedicated to Hemingway:
A 'selfie' throne:
Neptune down by the River Maas:
A statue which held my hand:
A lot of the shops in Venlo, like this big grocery store, have the signs written In German, as many go over the border to shop there:
The tea, coffee and herb departments smelled so good:
And Nathalie admiring the sugar canes:
There are lots more photos, but they will have to wait for another time.
Have a great day, take care,
and thanks a lot for coming by!
Tolles Banner!
ReplyDeleteJeden Schritt genießen ist das Beste! :-)
:-) Schön, dass Henry angekommen ist!
Dein Foto ist 1000 Mal besser als meins!
Dito, überraschungs-mäßig!
Ewww, ja, solche Trophäen sind auch nicht meins! Aber die Suppe sieht lecker aus!
Yes, I do love the Lions, Valerie :-) Beau... argh... dieser Sprach-Mix, Hilfe!!
Sehr schön, die Löwen!
Und das Café (Bingo, die dritte Sprache, Französisch!).
Der Tron ist auch super! Ihr macht euch sehr gut darin.
Wahnsinn. Eine tolle Reise!
GlG und einen schönen Tag, Iris :-) xx
Thanks Iris! Danke schön! Merci!
Delete"My English is all out!"
DeleteHi Valerie wow what a great post,love your rag.
ReplyDeleteOh my that organ is amazing and lovely pic of you ,Thankyou for sharing your lovely day out xx
Hi Val, good morning! Lovely post, so glad you girls had a great trip to Holland and enjoyed ourselves over the weekend. The food, biscuits, photos - all look wonderful. Sorry, in a hurry, kids will be home soon and lunch isn't done yet! Have a lovely day, hugs, Sarah
ReplyDeleteYou and Nathalie always have such fabulous adventures. This one looks great. I love how you can drive to the next country so easily. And that cake-wow. Please send a piece immediately. Smile. And nice tag! Have a great early T day and a great new week. Hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteThat cake really was fantastic, the waitress recommended it and she was right. Lucky I don't live too near to the place!
DeleteSixty-two thousand steps is impressive, Valerie. You earned every mouthful of that goulash, which I am sure was delicious. And you got in a few other goodies too!
ReplyDeleteThanks David, food always tastes good after exercise and fresh Air!
DeleteThis post was so enchanting from your gorgeous cat tag to the streets of Venlo. Everything is so colorful. Shops here just aren't like that. I loved the restaurant with the Delft plates on the walls. There was just so much "art" to look at. And you both look so regal sitting on the selfie throne. After 62,000 steps you deserved the cookies and the apricot cake. Have a Happy T Day!
ReplyDeleteValerie,
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you girls had a lovely time. How enchanting to see the views from your side of the world! I loved the old organ vender! That had to be a magical treat to hear the music from it floating through the air to your ears. Mmm, that cake looks very good! The unexpected surprise in your mail was a real sweet treat. Your friend is very thoughtful. That's nice. Have a good week and thanks for dropping in for a visit, dearie!
The organ music is very nostalgic, I love to hear it!
DeleteWhat a fun time with Nathalie! Those are special cookies from Iris. Gorgeous photos and art today.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I never want to walk if it's cold, even when it's sunny; I just huddle with a hot cup of something and play inside. Your photos, though, make me want to overcome that and venture forth! Wonderful photos! I love all the sculptures :)
ReplyDeleteAh, there's nothing nicer than a brisk walk when it's cold. Try it!
DeleteI should! Thanks for the encouragement :)
DeleteWspaniała wycieczka. Uwielbiam zupę cebulową i dobrą kawę. Dziękuję za fotografie i przesyłam uściski.:)
ReplyDeleteGreat tag Valerie, and I love your photos!
ReplyDeleteAlison xx
das tag ist wunderschön gestaltet!Venlo war ich früher auch schon mal und ich finde die Stadt toll! Wunderschöne Einblicke zeigst du hier!
ReplyDeleteLieben Gruss Elke
What a FUN post! Such color and such terrific photos. I want to jump into every single one of them. And of course, I adore your cat tag! What a cute couple!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great life style Valerie! So much going on, so creative and you must be fit as a flea with all that walking!!
ReplyDeleteHi Valerie :) Your cats are very cool! Nice work!! :) Oh those cookies look so yummy! What a nice gift! The pub looks so nice, I used to visit pubs a lot when I lived in the city, they were always so comfy and inviting! That onion soup looks delicious! OOOH sugar canes!!! I'd be admiring them too! :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful,fun post Valerie, looks like you had a great day out and about. Your apricot cake looks amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt looks like you both had a great day out over the border to Holland, the photos looked lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe food you chose in the restaurant looked delicious especially the cake.
Your happy post looks good as well.
The cats on the tag were a 'cool' looking couple fantastic images.
Happy T day wishes.
Yvonne xx
The cats on your tag look amazing
Such a fabulous post. I had lots to comment on. Let's see if I remember it all. Love your cats. Wish I could just go over to the Holland border. LOL Love the photos of you and your friend in the sculpture. So many wonderful photos! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteAnd: Elizabeth is having problems with her computer and wanted me to tell you not to worry, she will be by when she can get it up and running again. :)
Wow, Valerie! I'm in awe of your step counts and also that you so enjoy earning them.
ReplyDeleteThe cool cats tag is hilarious. The she-cat looks like she's annoyed with his showing off. That's a wonderful tin from our lion-lady friend, Iris. And lion cookies too!
Loved reading about your trip to Holland. More and more lions, oh my!
Wonderful fun read.
Happy T-day! Eileen xx
Wow this was a very fun post-loved your tags. loved your gift-so cool all the lions. and I loved seeing and reading all about your trip to Holland. I agree we used to hunt for meat but never would display trophies like that. Your cake looks soooo delicious I want to taste it-Happy T hugs Kathy
ReplyDeletefun tag art:) What a wonderful, wonderful time in Holland!! I love the look of that pub(except for the hunting trophies:( Food and drink look yummy, and I love the photos of you guys- so happy! Thanks for sharing and looking forward to seeing more of your day in Venlo. Happy T day!
ReplyDeleteLovely to see what you have been up too over the past few days Valerie, another place on my wish list to visit. So much History held there to discover and see, as some of my family were publicans as a child pubs were always like this to me, shame those fittings and fixtures are rarely seen now. That apricot cake looked delicious.
ReplyDeleteSorry i've been somewhat awol, i've had a nasty bug but feeling a bit better today.
Take good care & i'll catch up with you very soon. Hugs Tracey xx
your shoes are very cool:) i like them:D
ReplyDeleteSchönes Tag
ReplyDeleteund tolle Bilder, aus Venlo
cool die Viele Blechdosen,
von den Cacao - Dosen habe ich 7 stück.
Wow, great photos from your trip "over the border." What a beautiful place to visit. I love the architecture and lions. That portable organ is beautiful. The pub decor looked nice, but I agree with you about not liking the hunting trophies. I love onion soup! The cappuccino and dessert also looked good. Beautiful china in the shop window. I like the art deco Hemingway cafe. Great looking throne and Neptune statue. Your cat tag is fantastic. I have to remember to go find those cats on Graphics Fairy. The tin you received is magical. And I like how the lion is on the cookies. Happy T-Day!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I have traveled again. I have never been to Venlo and I must say it looks really nice. I loved the statues and the 'brown' pub. I got all nostalgic seeing the traditional street organ. Did you hear it play? They used to come through the streets when I was a child. We would be allowed to go out and listen/look and then put a coin in the man's little collection tin. Sweet memories.
ReplyDeleteThat cake looks delicious indeed. You were allowed one after 62000 steps!
Your tag is beautiful. Although I'm not too keen on the cats. They are stuffed and taxidermy is not my thing. It was very popular in the 19th century though, where Graphicsfairy get their images.
How sweet of Iris to send you speculaas. I'm going to the Netherlands soon and that is one of the things I am looking forward to to eat.
Happy T-Day,
Hugs,
Lisca
Wonderful art and fabulous fun photos Valerie - I always wish I could step into your photos :)
ReplyDeleteToo many wonderful things to comment all on - except to say the statues and thrown are amazing.
Hope all well with you.
Gill x
Valerie your trip looks fabulous, great photos again and the Apricot cake looks so delicious.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Detmold in the 70’s we used to cross the border at Venlo o n our way to catch the ferry in Zeebrugge, I think it must have change a lot since those days as it looks a really interesting place to visit.,
I love your tags, I’m not a cat lover but they were very amusing.
Happy T Day, Jan x
Such a pretty tag! Wow, that's a lot of steps and it sounds like you've been enjoying yourself 😁. The soup and apricot cake look amazing, I bet they tasted delicious! I loved walking around the town and seeing the sights with you, those statues are fabulous 😁. Wishing you a very happy T Day and a wonderful week too! Hugs, Jo x
ReplyDeleteWow what a beautiful place. Love that organ in particular. Beautiful day and looked fun. Thanks for sharing xxx
ReplyDeleteA fabulous post … everything looks so good, and the food looks and sounds delicious.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great day you had, and I certainly enjoyed seeing it all through your lovely photographs.
Thank you.
All the best Jan
I love your tag, very cool cats indeed. This looks like a really lovely place to visit, so many interesting things to see, but I think the cake would be my favourite lol xx
ReplyDeleteReading this post I feel like I just went on an adventure! I can see how you walked so many steps. Wow! Looks like a very fun time. I can't get over that organ! Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Jess
Looks like you had a great trip!I love the look and sound of that apricot cake! YUMMY!! And the those pretty plates and tea cups in the window display look very artsy and colorful.
ReplyDeleteThose cats on your tag are certainly festive. I love altered clip art and they are the perfect focal point for your tag.
Happy Tea Day,
Kate
I'm not sure where to begin. I'll start with the cats. The male reminds me of Puss-N-Boots. It's darling.
ReplyDeleteWOW, Iris treated you well, didn't she? That mug is gorgeous and the cookies look yummy. Your entire post is either shopping or tea and coffee. The apricot cake looks awesome.
As much as I want to write about the statues, the trip, and the beauty you shared, I need to rest my hand. I did want to say I LOVED the sign with all the coffees. I had no idea what an Americano was, but I know Chris drinks them a lot. Not for me, though.
Thanks for sharing your lovely tag, your crossing the border, your shopping spree, your food and drink, your mug from Iris, and your fun time in Venlo with us for T this Tuesday, now Wed.
Your tag made me smile Valerie - I do hope to take part!! Love the mug from Iris,what a lovey gift! Venlo looks an interesting place to visit - lots of lovely art to see! Hugs, Chrisx
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely tag Valerie and some great photos of your visit with your friend.
ReplyDelete