Two weeks in June

We've been back from our far-too-short substitute holiday in Belgium's west country since last Saturday and have subsequently been enjoying a week's worth of staycation here at Dove Cottage, trying to keep our heads cool during the heatwave the weather gods have cooked up for us. It's been two weeks of semi-indolence instead of our customary action-packed UK holiday, and at times it hasn't felt like a real holiday at all. We've mainly been lazy so-and-so's, sleeping much longer than we usually do and having siestas in the afternoons. I guess that this is exactly what we needed after the ordeal of the last ten months or so, but I can't help feeling a bit short-changed. 

I'll be telling you all about what we did during our holiday over the next couple of posts, but let's make a start by getting those first two weeks of June out of the way, shall we?

Actually, I've just realized that I didn't include May's final day in my previous post, so here's what I wore on Saturday the 31st. 

The day's highs of 28°C made me scramble around in my wardrobe for suitable Summer tops, unearthing this vaguely mid-century patterned one I charity shopped last year. Don't worry, I've added plenty of close-ups where you can actually see its pattern below.

It originally had some rather fiddly ribbon ties at the neck, but I snipped off the offending things and sewed the ends together, creating a kind of keyhole neckline, which I thought was much better.

Its companion was a vintage cotton button-through skirt, an old Think Twice find which has been in my wardrobe forever. I included a close-up of its print as well, making it clear that it's daisies and not polka dots it's sprinkled with. I'm sure you won't be surprised if I tell you that the three rows of white rick-rack near the hem were one of its selling points!

I picked orange as the main colour for my accessories, which included yet another one of my glass rings!

Our plans for the day were somewhat thwarted as it was too humid to go for a walk, so that we briefly nipped into the charity shop near the park instead. 

Here, a quick trawl of the aisles yielded these two skirts, one of which you'll get to see me wearing very soon!

Sunday the 1st of June brought a mix of clouds and sunny spells and a drop in temperature to 21°C.

After our usual Sunday morning chores, which included changed the bed sheets and vacuuming and mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors, I took a walk down the garden path to take stock of what was happening in the impenetrable jungle which currently constitutes our garden.

Then, after lunch, we returned to the park in Duffel as we were sorely in need of stretching our weary limbs and breathing in a couple of lungfuls of fresh air.

Gone was Saturday's cloudless blue sky, replaced with a canvas of smudged, moody greys, which now and then parted to reveal swirls of palest blue. 

If you guessed I'd be wearing the pleated green and white zig-zaggy skirt I'd scored on Saturday, you were spot on! It's from a French label called An'ge, which was born in Paris in 1985.

The grooviliously patterned top - long-sleeved this time - was another one which winged its way into my wardrobe from a charity shop last year. The green bits in its pattern matched the skirt's colour almost exactly, while I matched my accessories to the tiny bits of pink. 

Brooch: flea market

Belt picked up from the high street

Translucent beaded necklace: charity shopped 

The park's vegetation is at its lushest in June, the various shades of green still having a freshness which will soon fade in the relentless heat of the Summer sun. There were forget-me-nots a-plenty, offering a delightfully contrasting chorus line for the yellow flag Irises which were dancing  among the reeds.

We circumnavigated the biggest of the park's ponds, crossed one of the reed-choked rills and listened to the calls of the birds high up in the Jack-and-the-beanstalk trees.

But then the quiet and solitude were rudely interrupted by the arrival of a group of loud and boisterous youths, which made us cut our walk short and return to our car.

The weather gods clearly couldn't make up our minds during the working week ahead, treating us to grey skies, sunny spells, lots of wind, and heavy showers, often within the space of a couple of hours.

I needed to run an errand near Antwerp's Central Station, about 1,5 kilometers from the office, which I finally managed during an unexpectedly sunny lunch break on Wednesday. Admittedly, in order to save time, I took a tram part of the way instead of walking the length of Antwerp's main shopping thoroughfare, 

Afterwards, I hopped into the Central Station to admire its rich interior lavishly decorated with more than twenty different kinds of marble and stone. The station building was built in eclectic style between 1899 and 1905 by Louis Delacenserie, who was inspired, among other things, by the Pantheon in Rome. The highest point (75 meters) is a large dome.

Being dubbed the "Railway Cathedral", it has been voted one of the most impressive railway stations in the world on several occasions by the likes of  Newsweek, Mashable and The Telegraph. 

Let's step outside onto the square called Astridplein and have a look at its exterior, shall we?

If you are wondering what the man riding a camel is all about, the station is right next to another one of Antwerp's marvels, the Zoo, established on 21 July 19843, and one of the oldest and most famous zoos in Europe.

I actually can't remember exactly when I last visited here, but I think it must have been on a day out with my then boyfriend in the early 1990s. Obviously, I visited a couple of times with my parents and grandparents when I was growing up, most famously when, as a two-year old, I accidentally dropped my dummy in the sea lions enclosure. As apparently I was inconsolable, my parents were obliged to ask one of the zookeepers to retrieve it. I just hope it was thoroughly cleaned before it was returned to me, but I can't say I remember that part ...

As the week was trundling towards its end, it was clear that Jos's nerves were totally frayed at the thought of our upcoming trip to the UK. As this resulted in loss of appetite due to which he had to force down the merest little mouthful, we ultimately had to take the heart-breaking decision to cancel our UK holiday. 

But I already told you about this in detail in a previous post, so we'll leave well enough alone.

Instead, let me show you the results of our charity shopping trip on Friday the 6th of June.

And no, it wasn't a reflection of me feeling a bit blue that made me reach for these blue suede Italian made sandals and blue Japanese style King Louie frock!

My other, differently coloured finds, were a short-sleeved exotic print maxi dress and two funky blouses, the one on top being another King Louie and the one on the bottom being from the Danish Vero Moda label.

My saviour that final week before the holidays was this novel which had been residing in my neverending reading pile for a while. And it was one of my best reads so far this year! 

Intertwining the lives of two very different couples during World War I, this epic novel follows army soldier Riley as he fights for the love of Nadine despite a terrible injury, and his commanding officer Peter Locke, who returns home from the war a bitter and scarred man - one his wife doesn't recognize.

So, that was it from me for now. I can't wait to make a start with my mini-travelogue! Let's meet again in a couple of days.