Wandering through the avenues of art

I think its important when you visit a different city or country you should go to an art gallery. You should see some art, wherever you go. While I was in Amsterdam I actually got to see quite a lot. Whether that was street art or visiting various galleries and museums. 

My favourite was of course the gorgeous Van Gogh museum. This was actually one of the highlights of my trip. I was looking forward to visiting for quite some time. When I walked in the museum I did feel like a kid again. I know that sounds very strange, but Van Gogh is one of those artists that you learn about from an early age at school. So I do feel very connected with his work. Of course seeing the work in real life is completely different. 

Wandering up and down the gallery looking at everyone enjoying his work is quite powerful. I really felt at home in that gallery, and very peaceful. Walking around looking at art work will always be one of my favourite past times. We had a coffee in the restaurant before we left. It really was a lovely morning in Amsterdam.

The Fault in Our Stars bench

It's important to be in love and experience love. I never used to think this, well not until I met someone very special. I mean of course I loved my family and friends, but I had never truly felt love until David. That one special person that makes every dull day bright, makes your heart do little leaps for joy and gives you butterflies, and you smile whenever you see them. 

I read the Fault in our Stars a long time ago. Its a beautiful book by John Green. I decided to finally watch the film before my trip to Amsterdam. Immy said she would take us to the bench, the actual bench from the film. We walked through gorgeous streets in the bright sunshine for ages, until out the corner of my eye I could see it. I could see where Hazel and Augustus had sat. 

The bench had been removed a while ago so they could clean it up. However I was happy to see such cute messages written all over the bench. Lots of people have left their heart on that bench. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining down. Perfect way to spend an afternoon. Thinking about life and the people you have in it. Life is to be treasured, enjoyed and lived to the full.

Hutspot, Amsterdam

While I was away in Amsterdam I was lucky enough to visit the gorgeous Hutspot. It's a beautiful store, which actually reminds me of a Urban Outfitters. So Hutspot searches for new and interesting brands, designers, artists and entrepreneurs, offering them the chance to expose their products in their own space within the shops. I love this approach. It feels so different when you walk into the store, its fresh, bright and airy. This is what you want when you go shopping. 

The store is laid out perfectly. Of course I have already said there is a Photo Booth in the front, which is an amazing plus. When you walk further in you are greeted by such clean and fresh displays. You feel as if you can really look at the items for sale. I am a huge fan of stores that mix their pieces together. I feel you can always shop this better.

While in the store I picked up these The Cool Club: Men playing cards. I purchased the Cool Men set, but sadly The Cool Club: Women were sold out, but I hope to go back and pick that set up on my next visit. The illustrations on the cards reminded me of Wes Anderson, so I was completely drawn in.

The great thing about Hutspot is that there is a cafe and restaurant upstairs. The perfect little spot to sit and relax. It has an office feel about it, and well as a relaxed coffee house. It really is the perfect place to grab a coffee and bring your laptop and type away. Plus chatting over drinks and lunch with friends works so well also. The lightening is bright and inviting. I really did fall in love with the amazing staff service and the overall atmosphere. I can't wait to go back and spend a whole afternoon there. Shall be thinking of this place when I book my next flight to Amsterdam.

Photo AutoMat Amsterdam

I love having photos taken and taking photos. Whether that is of myself or others. There is something about black and white Photo Booth photos I have always loved. I think its because of the film Amelie. I love being able to edit photos and make them perfect, but there is something about these photos. They are so raw and real. You cannot change them. Once the photo has been taken, thats it. It's nice not to have any control of them. What has been snapped, has been snapped. Then of course you just have to wait and see what comes out, and sometimes depending on the machine whether the photos even get printed (I had this while I was in America, and I knew those photos were gonna be cute).

While in Amsterdam I was so happy to find an amazing photo booth in this really quirky store/cafe. The store was called Hutspot, it kinda reminded me of Urban Outfitters due to the gorgeous pieces for sale and the way it was styled. I will be talking about this store in another post very soon. In the front of the store is a Photo AutoMat machine, and it was only 2 euros a strip. I actually think its quite good value, when I was in Paris I think they were 3 or 4 euros a strip. 

I also find Photo Booth and the photos to take quite romantic. The typical couple thing to do is to both climb into the booth and take 4 really cute photos, and normally ending with a kiss shot. I have totally done this, many times I have made David take photos. I hope to one day put them all in a large frame and hang them on the wall in our future home. This was inspired by an amazing couple of friends of mine Shelby and Sam, who make sure whenever they see a booth they take a strip. Of course I loved this idea. However its really difficult to find these old machines. In the UK you can find newer machines in Brighton and London, but there is something about the old machines, the way the ink bleeds and the slight blur of the photos. 

My mum always tells me of this story when she was travelling the world as a child with her brother and her parents. They all climbed into a booth to take photos on a train platform. They waited for the photos to come out, but it was taking a while. They got on the train, and Grandad Stan kept running back off the train to check if they had come out yet. He nearly missed the train, but jumped on quick just before it went. Sadly the photos didn't come out in time, and my Mum always thinks about the photos that would have been left there.

Thankfully this machine didn't take to long for the photos to come out. I was really pleased with them. You know how it is looking at photos of yourself, it is difficult. Then I grabbed Immy and Sarah and we all climbed in and took some funny strips. It really was the perfect souvenir, and I also took another set of myself for David as a gift. 

EYE museum in Amsterdam

So I am back from my amazing trip to Amsterdam. I honestly don't think I have ever walked so much in my life. I think we end up on over 70,000 steps over the 4 days. The flight over was so strange, mostly because I am normally on a longer flight. So once we landed we were greeted by my amazing friend Immy. I couldn't wait to see her smiley face, November was the last time I saw her, and that was ages ago!

Immy took us to the EYE, which is a film museum. We had to take a little boat over the water to it. The building was beautiful, and I couldn't wait to see inside. Once inside we started to look around. There was lots of amazing film pieces and equipment from different eras. 

My favourite piece was various film cells played out over a light box. I used to collect these, and seeing different ones from many different films was really interesting. It really is wonderful to see all these images side by side, and the tiny changes in each cell. It really is just magic, the power of film.

The next best thing about the museum was the interactive pieces. We got to create an actual flip book. we filmed a short film, and they can then turn it into a flip book in the gift shop. Perfect little souvenir to take home, plus I also picked up some postcards and you can never have enough of them!

I really enjoyed the museum. we then decided to go for coffee and a wander. We found a chocolate cafe, grabbed drinks and caught the train back to Immy's house for a tour around her town. We still had so much to look forward to exploring.

Welcome back to the world of blogging

So it's Thursday night and I am sitting at my brand new MacBook typing this. It is very strange, as I have not had a computer for since university years. I did everything with my little iPhone, I am very grateful for it, but its nice to be typing on a proper computer again. I decided to take the leap and finally buy myself something special. The great thing about this purchase is that I will finally be able to open my online shop again, and get selling my new work on the internet! Hurray! 

In other news I am going to Amsterdam on Monday! I am very lucky because I get to stay with my amazing friend Immy. Plus its my first holiday with my best friend Sarah. Sarah is a pro at packing, and sadly I am not. she keeps sending me photos of her suitcase packed, then re-packed, and then re-packed again. Oh and all i have packed are my toiletries and my euros, so Sarah is winning. I brought two pretty new dresses for my holiday today. Everyone has to purchase new clothes for holiday right? my suitcase is just sitting there empty, i am just the worst at packing. I'm so excited to go away, but for some reason i just can't seem to build up enough energy. 

I also want to re-read Ann Frank's Diary before the trip. I needed to purchase a new copy, and today while in town I managed to pick up a copy. So I shall be reading that for the next few days. Immy managed to get us tickets to visit Ann Frank's house, which was amazing as they always sell out, and I really wanted to visit while in Amsterdam.

The top item to do on my Amsterdam list is visit the Vincent Van Gogh museum. I have always been a huge fan, probably since I was a kid. I am also looking forward to just wandering around, taking in the sights, and enjoying a few coffee shops. I would like to say that I am off to pack now, but you know that I will just be drinking tea and watching Community.