Sunny London

May 25, 2018May 25, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / 2 Comments

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #80

Last weekend Paolo and I spent 4 days in London, a trip sparked, not by the wish to witness the royal wedding close up, but by Paolo’s gift for my birthday last year: a workshop with one of my all time favorite writers, Elizabeth Gilbert. The workshop was amazing and I am still processing all the magic that happened that day… It was the best gift ever!!!

Next to that we were really lucky to explore the city under the sunshine and blue sky. I’m amazed by how much we experienced even though we took our time. It was so much fun to roam the streets of my university days around UCL, go hunting for Caravaggio paintings in the National Gallery, catch up with dear friends, try delicious food in trendy new spots in Kings Cross, browse lengthily in second-hand bookstores, seeing Hamlet at the Globe theater and much more.

Beautiful balconies and windowsills – 6

May 21, 2018May 5, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

Rome, Italy

When your balcony is so overgrown that you can’t even open the shutters to step out into the sunlight

To see the other posts of this series, click here 🙂

Tiny pineapples

May 18, 2018May 12, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #79

Just a short post to celebrate this branch that looks like it has tiny little pineapples growing on the end of it. As we took a long walk through the dunes, there were hundreds of these bushes, with their surprising details, growing alongside the path.

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For more ‘things that look like other things’, check out these tiny succulents having a party:)

Of dunes and mermaids

May 14, 2018May 13, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

Most days I love to take a walk by just heading into my neighbourhood of Amsterdam Zuid and roaming my usual paths. However weekends offer more time to get out of the city for day-trips a little further afield. This weekend for instance we took the train to Castricum station and went for a walk in the Noordhollands Duinreservaat, a place we regularly return to with great pleasure.

I like the fact that the landscape changes a lot as you go along. The first part is in the shade of the trees with bluebells lining the path. Then when coming out of the woods, you find yourself in the flat, sandy landscape, peppered with windswept bushes of all different types creating beautiful colour contrasts, and lakes on which birds gather and play.

After following the winding path, you end up at the final steep dunes which hide the North sea. I love this colour palette of beige and grey sand, dry dune grasses and blue sky with passing white clouds. We took a long walk along the beach, enjoying the sea breeze and the sound of the waves… Paolo exchanged a few words with a fisherman casting his rod from the beach, who when asked what he was trying to catch, answered “Platvis… en zeemeerminnen natuurlik” (Flatfish… and mermaids of course!).

Rooftop yoga

May 11, 2018October 23, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #78

On Tuesday I got up a little earlier than usual to join a yoga session organised by a colleague on the rooftop of our office before starting work. I count this as one of my favorite yoga lessons of all times! It was wonderful to be outdoors in the sunshine, overlooking the city, and I entered my work day feeling so much more relaxed and grounded than usual.

As our office is just next to Amsterdam Central station, our rooftop is not the quietest of locations, but actually the screeching of the train brakes on the railway tracks and the sound of traffic driving below contributed to the unique atmosphere. The nudge of the gentle breeze helped me to push through the discomfort of the downward-facing dogs, and it was pure pleasure to feel the sun warming my skin as we stretched.

While in warrior pose, focussing on the horizon over the the river Ij towards the North and then looking over rooftops and church spires towards the South, I felt intense gratitude that I get to live in this beautiful city.

Sunrise walk

May 7, 2018June 15, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / 2 Comments

For ages I’ve been meaning to get up early to enjoy watching the sun rise. Though sometimes I witness gorgeous sunrises as I cycle to work in the winter, it’s not like I really take the time to enjoy them to their full extent. When we’re on holidays, Paolo and I do our best to see the sunrise, somehow it’s easier to get up at an ungodly hour when you know you can indulge in a leisurely nap in the afternoon. However lately I’ve been feeling I want to experiment with weaving more of the fun things we give ourselves space to do in the holidays into daily life.

So I decided to simply set the alarm at 5:30am on my free Friday, and after some inevitable snoozing, I got up and headed outside to enjoy the morning light as it appeared. When I told a friend about it afterwards, she immediately asked ‘Where did you go?’. Actually this time I kept the bar low and just went out the front door and into the neighbourhood, nothing fancy but it was perfect!

I love being up and about before other people wake up, and it felt like I had the streets to myself. It was very quiet, with barely any cars or people, just lots of birds singing loudly to each other. As I explored, I decided to be mindful and focus specifically on the light as its slanted rays started to shine on the peaceful world around me. I took my time and noticed what my eyes were drawn to.

The most magical detail was the dew, one perfectly round drop hanging onto the tip of every single strand of grass, glistening in the sun. I’d never noticed that was what dew looked like up close, it was mezmerising! It is such a pleasurable way to start the day, I definitely want to do this again soon.

Squeaky-clean windows

May 4, 2018May 4, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #77

This morning when I sat down to enjoy a delicious croissant bought at the French bakery on my early morning walk, the sun was pouring through the kitchen windows. This would have been lovely except for the fact that the windows were really dirty, covered in dust accumulated from the long rainy winter. It’s not like it was the first time I’d noticed this… I’d just been procrastinating. However this morning, after my leisurely breaky, I unexpectedly felt like it was the right moment to give them a clean.

Armed with my environmentally friendly window cleaning equipment (aka warm water mixed with vinegar and a couple of old newspapers), I washed off all the layers of grit with a cloth and dried the windows with balled up newspaper. So easy and satisfying, it’s amazing what a difference it makes. Squeaky-clean windows make me so happy and the view of the gardens in the courtyard is just that little bit crisper:)

Familiar plants

April 30, 2018December 2, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / 1 Comment

During my recent visit to the Botanic garden in Amsterdam Zuid, I was excited to see lots of plants that reminded me of those years of my childhood that I spent in Australia. I would not be able to tell you their names but they looked so familiar, like coming home. It’s funny how as a child you take in so many details without realising.

As I write this, I wonder how at the botanic garden they manage to get these plants that are so specific to the Australian ecosystems to grow in the Dutch environment. And whether the plants have adapted to bloom in our season or are still aligned with that of the southern hemisphere.

As always, I’m fascinated by the details. This tiny pod looks like it is made of metal. Such perfection!

And of course the collection wouldn’t be complete without some lovely bright wattle, Australia’s national flower!

After-dinner walks

April 27, 2018November 14, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / 2 Comments

JOYFUL GRATITUDE #76

I love this time of year when the evenings are getting longer, with beautiful light lingering later and later, allowing for after-dinner walks in the neighbourhood. It’s amazing how much good a short walk will do to clear my mind and boost my mood after a busy day at work. I know this, however on automatic pilot at the end of the day to relax I will mostly just sit at the computer or on the sofa with a book, rather than go and get some fresh air.

Since I am noticing this, I would like to change this habit and make a conscious attempt to go for a stroll after dinner more often, however brief. I know it is always worth the effort of putting my shoes back on, leaving the dishes un-done and heading out. On a recent post-dinner walk, I enjoyed watching a small brown puppy excitedly running in the evening light, took the time to observe the fresh new leaves growing in people’s gardens and even saw a gorgeous sunset…

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For previous evening walk adventures see: magic hour bird watching and spotting the perfect hideaway.

Lunch by the lake

April 23, 2018April 23, 2018 / cultivatingjoy / Leave a comment

Seeing that there would be warm summery weather over the weekend, Paolo and I planned a day-trip to go for a long walk in the dunes near Santpoort Noord. The dunes were beautiful, coming back to life with the first leaves growing on the trees, large grey snails slowly making their way through the grass and small birds insistently calling to each other all around us.

Enjoying the rhythm of walking along the sandy paths that wind over the hills of the dunes and feeling the sunshine warm my skin after these long winter months was exactly what I needed.

We stopped to eat lunch in the shade by this small lake. As we savoured our picnic, we took in the gorgeous surroundings. It was so peaceful, the wind was rustling in the trees, carrying the lovely smell of pine needles reminding me of summer holidays past.