I love Amsterdam!

When l was on holiday in Amsterdam, couldn't get over how colouful the city was, compared to London. Even though it rained, the place felt happy because of all the colours and wonderful buildings surrounding me. Another thing that makes me smile a lot, is even their machinary is colourful!

As a child, l remember being told about Amsterdam but all l could remember about what l was told, was water and bikes and both memories live up to expectations. There are bikes of all shapes, sizes, colours and so many are decorated beautifully. Some are decorated with artifical flowers, toys and even photographs and some like the image below are brightly coloured.

Bikes and trams rule the roads and pavements, come to think about it! 

Bikes are also fitted with boxes for children, animals and luggage! I am not sure what else to call them, certainly not side cars and not fitted bike seats! I have actuallt started to see bikes like this over here in London. Health and Safety Officers would have a fit ..no seat belts and no helmets!Ha!

You will also see that Amsterdam is full of tourists, many on bikes too. Well it is basically flat, so even unfit people like me, wouldn't find it too hard! Although l have no intention of finding out!Ha!

The last image l have in this part of the blog, to do with bikes is a drawing. I found this poster stuck over a glass door. I do not speak Dutch but l think it may be telling people not to lean bikes against the glass! BUT..l could be wrong. I don't actually care, l just love the illustration!

Amsterdam is full of wonderful Art and many sculptures. I am standing by one of them, in the image below. It is a monument called "Homomonument" and celebrates being Gay, l suppose. but what made me giggle and l am being a bit naughty here. This sculture is hard to describe, it is made up of a raised stone platform and a line that forms a triangle! Anyway, if you need more info, look at a guide to Amsterdam! What l was giggling at, was the very well placed male toilet beside the monument, it seems part of the sculture! It is the green structure which is right behind the monument sign! As l took the image, a young guy came out of the loo, looked at me, shook his fist at me and walked away! Um!

For the life of me, l can't remember what the name of this church...sorry. Actually, it doesn't really matter, as the reason l wanted to show this image, was to show the size of some of the churchs in Amsterdam! The best way was l thought, to show a person standing by one of the pillars. Unfortunetly, the light was low and using flash would have been useless and l got it slightly wrong, hopefully you can still see what l was trying to achieve?

The next image is of an archway l just adore. It is full of interesting things to look at, read and most of all, history. I have also included a close up of the sculpture in the centre of the arch, which is so full of fun, colour and history. It is a pity in some ways, that it is so high up and out of sight from most people, unless they know it is there or like me, you have to look at ever thing! I stood there for quite a while, around about 30 mins and in that time, nobody looked up! Just look at what they missed!

If you go through this archway, there is some interesting art hanging from the ceiling. After the wonderful lady in the "Aussie" style hat, see another hanging behind that one, in colour and a well done painting. There are so many galleries and small shops dedicated to Dutch artists, you could have an overload of Art!

The last but one image, is of as wonderful cup of coffee we had, just after visiting "my arch"! See even the coffee cup and the coffee shop is full of colour!

As you can tell from this blog..l love Amsterdam!

Cake Boy Treat! Gorgeous food and setting but not to be done too often, unless you are not worried about your weight or your purse!

A while ago, my gorgoeous daughter Jenny, took Tony and l out to lunch. I think we ended up paying but who's counting!Ha. It is a coffee lounge/shop/cookery school, that has become quite famous with footballs and their wives, for example. Please don't hold that against it. It is called Cake Boy (http://www.cake-boy.co.uk/) and is at the bottom of some very well appointed flats around Wandsworth River area! The chef and owner is Eric Lanlard and I think he has had a cookery show on channel 4. 

 

 l would love to live here, but my bank balance wouldn't permit it but also the flats are too small for my liking! To get to this coffee lounge, ( this is what all the advertising calls it) we had to try and find the entrance to the car park, which believe me was not easy. Once inside, the sort of cars we packed our little pocket rocket next to, will let you see why we said it is out of our price range!

But look at the detail on these cars, don't make them like this any more. Well l don't think they do, unless of course, you have never-ending deep pockets. Leather straps..gorgeous!

Once you have found your way out of the carpark...another story.......................... The sign for the coffee lounge takes you so far, then disappears and leaves you in a massive underground carpark with a choice of about4 or 5 different exits and no clues! For someone like me, with no sense of direction what so ever..not good! Eventually, because l had Tony with me, he has an in-build compass l reckon, we found our way out and also managed to work the security exit system and out into ...poring rain. The gusts of wind could actually have blown you over if you were small!!..and l am only 5ft.2inch, so Tony held onto me quite tightly!Ha

Back to the main story.....This beautifully designed building complex is opposite an eye sore....unless, like me, you like graffiti! Actually even l have to admit, that the building does leave a lot to be desired and should be re-developed, fast.

The next image is of the entrance to the cafe it's self. I can imagine, in the summer with tables, chairs and sun-shades out, this must be a gorgeous place to have breakfast, coffee, lunch or afternoon tea. 

The inside is decorated in a style, that l think would be called flamboyant . The dictionary says that flamboyant can be something/somebody that shows their exuberance, confidence and stylishness!  When you see the following images, l think you will see l have picked the correct word! The only complaint, if it can be called a complaint, is it is very crammed and l did feel we were cramming the young couple next to us, who were have a champagne afternoon tea session. Special for them but with us and another family with, very noisy children,next to them, could have spoilt their £500 session. ( they were on the £250 per person cookery course!)!

The image below this is one of the plates...as you can see, once again plain is not on the agenda!Ha)! As you can see from the lack of sandwich..we enjoyed the food and pots of tea.

Just love the way that the teabags are all sewn! Some how the tea tasted so much better with sewn teabags!Ha. 

It was a very enjoyable, if a little expensive lunch. But if you don't do mad things every so often, life is not worth living! We will certainly go again.

Respectability and a burnt out car!

The other day, a car was pulled and pushed from The Telegraph Pub, across to our road....it was not an easy job. The pub is at the back, right-hand side of this image......so not a short distence and certainly NOT in a straight line!

Then, the people (animals?) involved set it alight! It is amazing what some people consider fun! Nothing unusual about that you say, we see it on the TV and in the newspapers all the time. The difference here, as a visitor to my flat said the other day, "But this is Putney and up here is so quiet and respectable!".  The burnt-out car, did give me some amazing shots of burnt bits and rust...oh goody!

As you can see from the image below, there is still earth and grass attached to the burnt out under carraige! that's a thought, do cars have an under-carraige or is it just planes?

The image below, combines what l love most .....rust and wire! yummy!!!

Can you see what is left of one of the loud-speakers in this image?

This below image is taken from the outside looking into the burnt out shell! Funny how from this angle, the car looks white and appears not to have been burnt!

I would have thought, that the glass from the car would have melted but as you can see from this image...there was a lot that didn't melt! Perhaps that means it didn't actually get that hot?

I have more images but didn't want to bore you!

Blue netting and swans!!

Once again, l am house bound because of this very annoying flu! So l am going to sort of ramble today, if that's ok folks! Yesterday, l saw these flats, they had scaffolding up and then blue netting all over them This got me thinking. I wonder if the people are still living in there and if so, how do they manage? I personally think they are still living in there because l can see cutains drawn and some open, which tells me, some of them don't want workman looking in. I wonder how they manage with the lack of light and if there is light..is it blue? I have trouble with the lack of light in the winter..l am going to have a light box soon, to help me. I can't imagine what being in there must be like!

A while l go, Tony and l had a great day in Richmond park watching the swans. 

Don't you just swan's feathers? They are so soft and fragile looking.

This image shows one of the adults swans and four cygnets, the other adult swan was on the other side of the pond.

The last image shows why l love swans so much!!

Perfection!

Today's trip out to buy a tap and the sights we saw on the way!!!

Today was such a beautiful Spring day, l was allowed out for an hour or so. My voice is almost back but l still feel very weak if l do anything! Good excuse for not to doing any housework..as if l need an excuse l hear my family saying!  We went out, to go and buy a tap for the kitchen sink! Such excitment! Ha! One of the main problems we have all over Putney at the moment... is Roadworks. They are every where but no one seems to be mending all the huge, and l mean huge potholes that are every where!

Just recently l have noticed a funny thing around Putney and wonder if these are in any other part of the country? 

They are space left in walls for the roots of trees to grow through, rather than push against the wall and eventually push it over. I have began to notice them every where! Wonder if it is used in other countries or if it is just a typically quirky British thing?

The image above, is l think of a Plain Tree, that has had its annual "haircut", that,s what my children used to call it, when trees were trimmed! What l found strange this year, is that some trees have just been cut while others haven't , as you will see from the image below. Wonder why they were not all done at the same times as usual?

 We were enjoying the wonderful blue sky and thinking how much warmer it was today, when this wonderful vision of colour came into view. If you are going to cycle, you might as well do it in style! He had the most amazing red checked Rupert Bear trousers on, bright red socks and yellow and red shoes, topped off with a bright yellow/green waterproof top . Cheered our day up and made us grin.

As Tony went and bought the new tap, l sat in the car and watched out for traffic wardens. While sitting there, l noticed a few things like this window sill. A beautiful pottery trough and tray but a dead plant in it! The rest of the house had been looked after and you could see the beautiful candle in a glass on the inside.....funny they haven't looked after the plant!Shame.

The next thing l noticed was this amazing line of chimney pots. I don't think l have seen this many before   in a line on one roof top! Against the blue sky they really did look beautiful.

The next thing that caught my eye, were these two dustbins. It is unusual in London these days, to see firstly, metal dustbins as domestic bins and secondly, that they are not the large green/black plastic bins that seem compulsary every-where else. I have also just noticed, looking at this image again, the plastic bag beside the bin and also it is not closed properly either. In almost all counties these days, the dustbin men will not empty your bin, if the lid is not closed tightly and also will not take the extra bags either! So many rules these days!

Trying to get back home through Putney was a mistake, as you will see from the next image. Solid traffic from one side of Putney Bridge to the other! Chaos!  This large truck has stopped right ascross the round-about and stopped traffic in all directions! Wonder where he got his HGV licence from?

Traffic is so fast and numerous these days, that l do feel sorry for the elderly. At one point during outr trip today, we stopped to let an elderly lady cross at pedestrian crossing. The trouble was the lights changed to green befere she got half way across. We put our four way flashers on, so as she had longer to cross. What upset me, was the number of people who got cross, hooted their horns and so on because she was holding up traffic and we were letting her. Some people just don't think or care about others!

I know that l must have been passed this Italian Resturant called "Pappa Ciccia" hundreds of times, but each time l find myself saying the same thing. "What a gorgeous looking clock"!! 

Something else l noticed today, for the first time was this shop, which is just before Putney Bridge. For some reason it made me giggle, not sure why?

There is another shop on this stretch of road, before you reach Putney Bridge, that always has something interesting in its shop's window. This time it had a dress in it, that made me smile and think of Spring! Cheered me up no end!

One good thing about being in a slow traffic jam on Putney bridge, was being stopped long enough to take some images of the lovely lamp-posts that are on the bridge.

Also, while we were stopped, l took the oppurtunity to take an image of one of the many planes, one every 2 mins, that fly across Putney bridge every day!

After all this traffic and noise we decided to go through Richmond Park, so we would be calm and smiling when we reached home.

It worked!