More from the 28th of December post.

I've had to put this new post here because the pictures were all over the place in the first post towards the end.  One of the reasons I don't post often - my patience levels are reduced after a very long post.  My fault - anyway, to continue...

 

Work Christmas parties and drinks have featured lately - most enjoyable.  Here we were playing a similar pass the present game where we all got to be active and quite vocal - this one was in a pub.  Great fun!

We went to Amsterdam a couple of weeks ago for the Christmas lights canal parade - also lots of buildings illuminated beautifully and carol singing groups on the humpback bridges - seriously Christmas!

Many bands plus impressive 'showy' barges.

Dutch Masters featured on this boat.

Me on duty last day of school - yippee!

 

Brussels hotel foyer on Monday morning this week - gorgeous! We left from The Hague on Saturday morning to enjoy two nights in Brussels enjoying a comfortable hotel in the Centre plus the Christmas Markets.  Objective - relaxation!  Objective achieved!

Atomium, from Expo 1958.  Well worth the visit.

The wheel above the Christmas markets in St Catherine's Square, Brussels.

Not the best picture but a very clever and original merry go round with all sorts of different things to ride on.

Our hotel was adjacent to La Grand Place where a light and sound show was on every night.

Shoe shine, slippers, weather forecast...like five star hotels.

We checked out of Hotel Amigo and walked to where we had left our car, in a public car park.  On the Saturday afternoon our updated Tom Tom failed to guide us to the hotel's own car park - the road system had changed twice since March.  Oh well, these things happen.  As it was, it was just 2h9m from car park in Central Brussels to home in Den Haag - great!

Had so much chocolate from parents that I didn't buy any chocolate in Brussles, but it didn't stop me from staring at fabulous displays of the chocolatier's art.

More, more...

...more!

 

Amsterdam Centraal Station was also colourfully decorated for Christmas.

One of my schools on the last day - a short concert of carols and music
with the primary school orchestra and choir. 
The two storey tree was also impressive.

 

View from the top of Atomium - the distant building is an exhibition building

not from Expo 58 but in fact from 1913.

 

The restaurant features furniture that is very 1950's.  Comfortable too.

 

OK, confession...I love food!  No surprise there, but this is the home of Nutella, the famous chocolate hazelnut spread.  You could buy a sweet crepe covered in the stuff but we chose to have a savoury one (Forestiere) with jambon, cheese, mushrooms and dried onions...stunning!  From the markets in Brussels.

Here in The Hague we have construction commenced on Armadeus - a three storey Irish Primark department store with seven floors of apartments above, right in the centre of the city. Ready in 2014.

 

 

Marks and Spencer returns to The Hague in 2014 after an absence of ten years in a brand new building currently under construction.  It is diagonally opposite De Bienkorf and promises an infusion of better retail in the city.

 

Can't wait for the arrival of the 100m Euro new trams to our lines here - also 2014.

 

 

We've only had one lot of snow so far, in early December, and it was quite light.  There is sure to be more, but currently it is very mild and occasionally wet - although in the UK they've been having floods.

 

 

Looks lovely.  Can't wait for more to come.  It's wonderfully warm and insulated in our apartment where, even after three days away, the temperature was still 17C.  We usually have it on during the day at 21.5C

 

 

Well, enough for now.  This Sunday we go to Rotterdam for our third wedding anniversary, coincides with the 10th anniversary of when we met.  We will have a night on the former Holland America flagship SS Rotterdam, now a floating hotel.  We have a package including dinner, breakfast, deluxe suite plus a tour of the ship.  Should be fun!  Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2013.