I saw a lovely house to sketch in Veere, Holland and sat down on the grass and produced this.

Whilst sketching some tourists walked by, saw me drawing and actually went over to this house, peered in the windows, and tried to see what was so ‘special’ about it !!!!! Goodness knows what the lady who lived there thought about people looking in her windows at her!!

My next sketch was on the platform at Zaandam Station, waiting for the train to Amsterdam. We had 10 minutes so I sat on a bench and did this quick sketch of graffiti on a wall – not the usual holiday sketch – and I suppose I could be accused of copying someone else’s ‘artwork’?

Boulogne Sur Mer was a pleasant surprise. It was so clean, calm and full of old world charm. We paid homage to the statue of San Martin, El Libertador de America which was bathed in sunshine. This bronze statue, on a stone base, showed signs of having witnessed a battle in WWII. Robin pointed out some bullet holes in the bronze as well as shrapnel damage to parts of the figure. We managed to stand with our backs to the beach and sight through a bullet hole towards the old defensive pillboxes high up on the cliffs. Obviously San Martin was present at modern as well as historical battles! And shortly after seeing the statue we saw many marching bands go by as part of the national competition. A lovely experience.

The view from our hotel room was across a tree to the dome of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame and this was too tempting not to sketch whilst waiting for Robin to have a shower. This was also the only day in the whole week that it rained. We were very lucky with the weather.

As this is an artistic blog, … no photos…  only some sketches that I found time to do.

We spent our honeymoon in Belgium, Holland, and France, with a brief detour into Germany. The weather was gorgeous and we drove from England (via ferry), through Belgium, up to the northernmost part of Zeeland, down through Germany, and into France then back up to the ferry.

There were lots, and lots of sketching opportunities, but given the fact that I was the navigator and we were on our honeymoon… I didn’t have a lot of time to sketch!

The centre of Brugges (Brujas, para los que hablan español), in a street called “Simon Steveinplein”. There was an organ grinder playing in front of the typical old houses of that region. It cried out to be sketched.

Oostburg, Holland and the evening that Argentina played Holland in the World Cup. We had a meal in the Hotel du Commerce, while watching the match. The food was pork and mustard, and we had Argentine red wine with it. The restaurant bar was slowly filling with locals watching the game. There was a small sea of orange shirts and caps around us. The barman and three young Dutch supporters at the end of the bar captured my attention and I sketched them during the meal while keeping an eye on the big screen.

 They realised I was drawing them, and the barman asked about our nationalities. It didn’t seem to be a surprise to him that Robin was an Englishman and I was Argentinian. Then, he asked whether he could show my sketch to the young men at the bar and we agreed. They bought us a beer, and we returned it later…. while Argentina - Holland ended 0 – 0

The lack of postings and temporary absence was due to important changes in my personal life: now, since June 16th, I am Mrs. Ellis.

Our wedding was very intimate – almost a secret one.
The ceremony was just a civil one, with only Robin’s parents – our witnesses -, a couple of friends, the registrar and us. After exchanging vows and rings, we went to Leiston Abbey to take some pictures and finally we all had lunch at the Bell Hotel in Saxmundham.

Two days later, we crossed the English Channel and spent a few days touring Europe, with no route planned or hotels booked. We visited small towns and villages in France, Belgium, Holland and Germany.

Most people here seem to think our wedding and honeymoon were very romantic… and they are absolutely right!

The following bit is for the girls only:
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