A spring in my step

As this post is brought to you by the magic of scheduled posting, we might very well be relaxing in our B&B room's jacuzzi when you are reading this.

This will be our sixth stay at Het Soetewater in Beernem near Bruges since we first discovered it in the Spring of 2018. As always, we intend to make the most of every minute and let ourselves be utterly spoiled by Veronique, our lovely host.

I'll be back with tales of adventures soon, but for now, let's cast our minds back to last week.

In spite of the bright blue skies and oodles of sunshine we were finally treated to, it was a bit of an ordeal, particularly as I was still feeling tired and had a lingering, migraine-ish headache on most days. 

By lunchtime, the minor frost we'd started the days with had vanished into thin air, the temperature having climbed to the mid single digits and beyond.

The world outside my office window was beckoning me, so I did go for a little wander during my breaks. Even on those days when I needed to run an errand, I walked to my intended destination in a roundabout way, making sure to walk on the sunny side of the street and bask in the sun's glorious rays.

With nothing on the agenda on Tuesday, I walked towards the largely pedestrianized square called Groenplaats just a couple of minutes' stroll from the office where, much to my surprise, there were still a couple of empty benches with a sunny aspect to choose from. 

My bench faced the cathedral tower soaring above the roofs of the tourist restaurants which line this side of the square. Having been disfigured by scaffolding for so many years, it's an absolute joy to be able to admire it in its full glory again. 

The Cathedral of our Lady (Onze-Lieve-Vrouwenkathedraal), construction of which began in 1352, is the largest Gothic structure in the Low Countries. Not surprisingly, it is a World Heritage Site, and it's a treasure trove of art including top paintings by Rubens. One can spend hours just looking at the the sculptures above the main portal, depicting The Last Judgment, alone.

The group of sculptures on the top left in the first collage is a dedications to the architects and stone masons who played a vital part in building the cathedral. The work of sculptor Jef Lambeaux (1852-1908) the sculptures were moved to their present location near the cathedral's main portal in 1935.

As I walked around the back of the cathedral, looking upwards as I am wont to do, my eye was caught by the charming stagecoach sign of the hotel opposite.

Before returning to the office, I made a little detour by walking through the entrance of "den Cleynen en den Grooten Biecorff” (transl. the small and the large beehive), a historical complex built around a central courtyard, the result of its restoration a fusion of the remnants of the old architecture and contemporary design. Home to luxury boutiques and other exclusive businesses a couple of years ago, most of the undoubtedly eye-wateringly expensive premises were now standing empty.

The weather gods continued being on their best behaviour on Wednesday and even added a couple of degrees so that by midday we were enjoying highs of 8°C.

I'd been meaning to revisit Antwerp's small but perfectly formed Botanic Garden for a while, but so far weather conditions had been too abominable to contemplate the walk involved. With a sky as brilliant a blue as it was that day, there couldn't have been a more prefect destination for my lunch break stroll.

Shortly before reaching the garden's entrance, I passed the magnificent Bourla Theatre, designed in neoclassical style in 1827 by architect Pierre Bourla. Construction started in 1829 but was delayed due to the Belgian Revolution. The theatre was eventually completed in 1834.

The Botanic Garden of Antwerp - locally known as Den Botaniek - is a landscaped botanical garden dating back to 1825, covering an area of slighty ​​less than one hectare.

The garden has a collection of 2000 plants and a conservatory housing a number of cacti and other exotic plants.

On this deliciously Springlike February day, there were signs of early Spring everywhere. I was delighted to discover several clumps of pink Cyclamen and a bed of Winter Aconites, their cheerful bright yellow flowers just starting to peek out from their frilly green skirts.

A Camellia shrub proudly presenting the first of its peony-like pink flowers, a single patch of early orange-hearted daffs, several groups of Iris reticulata, with their cobalt blue blooms with white and yellow markings, a flowering Mahonia, its spikes of yellow flowers reaching up to the bright blue sky: they all made my heart sing in equal measure and put a spring in my step.

Beyond the conservatory, an arrow pointed in the direction of the Prairie Garden (above, top right), the white building in the background belonging to the college I attended for two heady years in the early 80s, its classrooms offering a bird's eye view of the Botanic Garden.

Before returning to the hustle and bustle of Antwerp's city streets, a backward glance at the gate was rewarded with the lush jungle view on the bottom right. 

On my way back, I was mesmerized by one of the window displays of the Louis Vuitton shop - this particular street being the home of several posh label shops! - and spent several minutes photographing the reflection of the Bourla Theatre in the artfully suspended mirror balls.

It appears that the label has joined forces with avant-garde Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, for which  she decorated Louis Vuitton’s classic pieces with her iconic polka dots. Being generally ignorant in such matters, I only learned about this through Tina's blog post, here.

In order to keep on top of my work before going on my little break, I exceptionally worked a full five-day week, so that I was more than ready for the weekend. Unfortunately, any trace of sunshine or blue sky had upped and left, and we were back to days of soul-sapping grey on both Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday, I repeated the dress I wore to the office on Friday, One of my black florals, this vintage Mac Scott frock was a Think Twice find back in September 2020.

I mainly picked up the green in its pattern, choosing a green honey-comb knit charity shopped Mango cardigan in bottle green and a paler green necklace and ring. My belt is one of my beloved stretchy ones featuring a hexagonal faux-tortoiseshell buckle. The brooch, which is vintage and a flea market find - has an orange stone marbled with green. 

In spite of a blanket of solid grey being the best the weather gods could offer that day, we took the plunge and went for a walk n the park in Duffel.  Not just to clear our heads, though, but to try out the new camera I'd treated myself to. 

My Canon EOS 1100D, which I've had for ten years, during which it had had to work extremely hard for its money, had been showing signs of deterioration for quite some time. In fact, apart from the outfit photos, most of those appearing on my blog for the last couple of months had been taken with my phone.

I have now returned to my old love, a Sony Cybershot compact camera, with an impressive zoom range and endless possibilities which it will probably take me years to discover.

It also has an easy-to-use macro setting, which is something I was missing with my DSLR, and which, although offered, my phone wasn't exactly good at. 

Although light conditions weren't ideal, I'm quite pleased with the camera's initial results.

Its ultimate test, I'm sure, will follow during our wanderings in Bruges!

See you on the other side!