Emotional day
You know the feeling after you've planned something and looked forward to that event for a long time -- such as a wedding, Christmas, a cruise -- and then it's over?
That's how I woke up this morning, Day 84 of the Grand Tour, our last day to play and have fun. How could it all be over?!?
I was feeling sad but scolded myself. How dare I feel sad! I should be weak-in-the-knees GRATEFUL that I have had this enormous gift. So, as I always listen when Practical Jane lays down the smack ...
I shook off the sadness.
Big mistake.
I should have let some of the emotion out.
You'll read why below.
For our last day, we had an afternoon to play in Amsterdam and my Sweet Mister said "yes" to visiting Rijksmuseum, an internationally lauded art museum and home to -- wait for it -- four Vermeer paintings. I knew one was out on loan to another museum. (I was just hoping it wasn't one of my favorites, and as it turned out it wasn't.)
Anyhow, we get to the Rijksmuseum and it is gorgeous (below).
We wander toward the main entrance ... and what is that I'm hearing?
Live music of some kind, here under the Gothic courtyard entrance ... oh my gosh, it's Vivaldi's Four Seasons that these quite talented street musicians are playing.
This incredibly beautiful European setting ... I am so privileged to be standing here with the most wonderful husband ever ... this surprise of such moving Vivaldi music (what are the chances?) ... then there are three Vermeers waiting for me inside ...
and it's all over.
Emotion swelled up and poor Earl had a silently sobbing wife on his hands. All that emotion I had been shelving all day came tumbling down. With Earl's help, I worked through it. He said this was Europe's way of saying goodbye, by giving me my favorite things on this last afternoon. He's so sweet. Soon enough, I got back to the gratitude part, of being profoundly appreciative for what I have had.
So with a happy heart, we went inside the museum and headed right to the 3 Vermeers ...
The Milkmaid ... one of my big favorites (below) ...
"The Little Street" (below) ...
You might remember that on Sunday Earl and I visited this exact location (below) where Vermeer painted this.
The Love Letter (below) ... not a favorite of mine.
The one Vermeer owned by this museum that we DID NOT get to see is below. Its title is: Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.
I have mixed views about museums lending out their artwork. I think I mainly don't like it.
Here are a few more paintings at Rijksmuseum, starting with what they say is the prize of the museum on 1,000,000 items (really! one million!): Night Watch by Rembrandt (below).
I wasn't much of a fan ... but I loved this Rembrandt (below). Reminded me of the Dutch Masters cigar boxes my dad would get from his co-workers at NCR when we needed cigar boxes for a school project.
Other paintings I loved ...
These two (below) are by an artist I didn't know ... but I loved both of these paintings and was surprised they were by the same man: Cesar Boetiusvan Everdingen.
Love my Dutch artists!
Museums make for interesting discussions. Look at these woolen caps on display (below) ... taken from the graves of whale hunters of the 17th century. The caps were personal and you could spot a whaler by the cap's pattern and colors he wore. These caps were on skeletons in the graves, until 1980 when archeologists found them. My first thought was: how dare you take them from the graves!
In an email the other day, my sister Melissa told me how much she liked this painting (below) at the museum in The Hague, a painting by Hendrick Avercamp. She said she wished I could have stolen it for her.
So I was excited today to see another one (below) by him at Rijksmuseum! But, darn it, Melissa, if they don't have these paintings really, really attached to the walls. At least I took a couple of close-ups (below) for you.
As is often the case, the museum building itself is gorgeous, so it was a grand way to end the Grand Tour.
I will do a final blog post when we are home. Hard to believe we walked out of the house on May 2!
In the meantime, can I show you something cool in our hotel bathroom (below) today, at the Amsterdam Airport Hilton? I have such fun showing these things to you! The shower floor is just the bathroom floor! You just pull the door shut behind you. That's a drain strip underneath the shower head.
Also, the windows in our room are diamond shape. Great for The Mister to watch planes coming and going. Uh, honey? Tomorrow we will be on one of those, filled with love and gratitude.
Thanks for reading my blog!
Jane
That's how I woke up this morning, Day 84 of the Grand Tour, our last day to play and have fun. How could it all be over?!?
I was feeling sad but scolded myself. How dare I feel sad! I should be weak-in-the-knees GRATEFUL that I have had this enormous gift. So, as I always listen when Practical Jane lays down the smack ...
I shook off the sadness.
Big mistake.
I should have let some of the emotion out.
You'll read why below.
For our last day, we had an afternoon to play in Amsterdam and my Sweet Mister said "yes" to visiting Rijksmuseum, an internationally lauded art museum and home to -- wait for it -- four Vermeer paintings. I knew one was out on loan to another museum. (I was just hoping it wasn't one of my favorites, and as it turned out it wasn't.)
Anyhow, we get to the Rijksmuseum and it is gorgeous (below).
We wander toward the main entrance ... and what is that I'm hearing?
Live music of some kind, here under the Gothic courtyard entrance ... oh my gosh, it's Vivaldi's Four Seasons that these quite talented street musicians are playing.
This incredibly beautiful European setting ... I am so privileged to be standing here with the most wonderful husband ever ... this surprise of such moving Vivaldi music (what are the chances?) ... then there are three Vermeers waiting for me inside ...
and it's all over.
Emotion swelled up and poor Earl had a silently sobbing wife on his hands. All that emotion I had been shelving all day came tumbling down. With Earl's help, I worked through it. He said this was Europe's way of saying goodbye, by giving me my favorite things on this last afternoon. He's so sweet. Soon enough, I got back to the gratitude part, of being profoundly appreciative for what I have had.
So with a happy heart, we went inside the museum and headed right to the 3 Vermeers ...
The Milkmaid ... one of my big favorites (below) ...
"The Little Street" (below) ...
You might remember that on Sunday Earl and I visited this exact location (below) where Vermeer painted this.
The Love Letter (below) ... not a favorite of mine.
The one Vermeer owned by this museum that we DID NOT get to see is below. Its title is: Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.
I have mixed views about museums lending out their artwork. I think I mainly don't like it.
Here are a few more paintings at Rijksmuseum, starting with what they say is the prize of the museum on 1,000,000 items (really! one million!): Night Watch by Rembrandt (below).
I wasn't much of a fan ... but I loved this Rembrandt (below). Reminded me of the Dutch Masters cigar boxes my dad would get from his co-workers at NCR when we needed cigar boxes for a school project.
Other paintings I loved ...
These two (below) are by an artist I didn't know ... but I loved both of these paintings and was surprised they were by the same man: Cesar Boetiusvan Everdingen.
Love my Dutch artists!
Museums make for interesting discussions. Look at these woolen caps on display (below) ... taken from the graves of whale hunters of the 17th century. The caps were personal and you could spot a whaler by the cap's pattern and colors he wore. These caps were on skeletons in the graves, until 1980 when archeologists found them. My first thought was: how dare you take them from the graves!
In an email the other day, my sister Melissa told me how much she liked this painting (below) at the museum in The Hague, a painting by Hendrick Avercamp. She said she wished I could have stolen it for her.
So I was excited today to see another one (below) by him at Rijksmuseum! But, darn it, Melissa, if they don't have these paintings really, really attached to the walls. At least I took a couple of close-ups (below) for you.
As is often the case, the museum building itself is gorgeous, so it was a grand way to end the Grand Tour.
I will do a final blog post when we are home. Hard to believe we walked out of the house on May 2!
In the meantime, can I show you something cool in our hotel bathroom (below) today, at the Amsterdam Airport Hilton? I have such fun showing these things to you! The shower floor is just the bathroom floor! You just pull the door shut behind you. That's a drain strip underneath the shower head.
Also, the windows in our room are diamond shape. Great for The Mister to watch planes coming and going. Uh, honey? Tomorrow we will be on one of those, filled with love and gratitude.
Thanks for reading my blog!
Jane
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