Couldn't help but hum the 30 Rock theme song when we got there. Also, I imagined the skating rink to be much bigger than it was. One day, would love to go back during the Christmas season.
Amsterdam: Land of Bicycles
It's no secret that Amsterdam's #1 mode of transport is the bicycle.
Here, some shots of them without their riders.
Amsterdam: Market
Spent an afternoon walking around the Albert Cuyp Market, chock-full of vendors selling cheeses, seafood, shoes, clothing, and everything in between. I also love that they call it "maise", it's what I grew up calling "corn" in Africa.
More:
Amsterdam: Edam
Have you heard of Edam Cheese? The one with the happy red coating?
It's named after the town of Edam (AY-dum), in the Netherlands. A picturesque village if I ever did see one. Absolutely charming canal houses and teahouses lined up against perfectly still water.
Our stop? The Cheese Weigh House, built in 1778, where a giant cheese market is held every summer. Here, Edam is coated in yellow wax as the red coating is only for export.
And as far as Edam, that was all there was to see but I was camera happy, all the same.
Throwback Monday: Amsterdam: Zaanse Schans Part II
Today's Throwback Monday post takes us back to Zaanse Schans for Part II.
Cute little shops with clogs galore! Remember the clog trend?
Amsterdam: Zaanse Schans Part I
Zaanse Schans was a day-trip for us whilst in Amsterdam.
The 17th-century town is a short bus ride away from Amsterdam and located along the River Zaan. Described in one word, Zaanse Schans is: Touristy with a capital T, but as we were, in fact, tourists, it was rather interesting to visit.
The highlight was the working windmills. We chose one to go up into, however in the midst of purchasing tour tickets we found out that that particular windmill was NOT actually one of the originals but a replica of the original. Did I say it was tourist trap?
Regardless, Zaanse Schans is beautifully scenic and wonderful to walk around in. This is part I. Oh and as it was touristy, there are a couple of photos of us (and fellow tourists) thrown in for good measure.
And for more Amsterdam, check out my Travel album, here.
Boston, Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel: Dress for Success
I had the honour of capturing the Dress for Success luncheon on Friday January 27 held at the historic Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel in Boston.
Dress for Success is an incredible organization which provides professional attire, career guidance and network support to women looking to find work. This year marked the 11th year of empowerment of 6,800 women.
The event was emceed by WCVB-TV's Shayna Seymour, with speeches by event co-chairs Rosalin Acosta and Lois Cornell, Chair of the Board of Directors, Jacqui Budd and Executive Director Kim Todd. The auction part of the luncheon was conducted by John Terrio of AuctionKnights. Awards honoured Boston's First Lady Angela Menino, Rick Condon and Jacqui Budd and were presented by Co-Founders Enith Levine and Nancy Schneider.
Over 400 guests were in attendance, including many of Boston's familiar faces such as NECN anchor Bridget Blythe, Wanye Budd of Goodwin Procter, Dan Kramer and Annette Goubeaux of Neiman Marcus, Kristen Daly, Tara Goodwin Frier and Margrette Cardone Mondillo from Goodwin PR, amongst other sponsors and supporters of Dress for Success.
Thank you to Kim Todd and Emmy Whitney for the opportunity to cover this fantastic event!
Throwback Monday: New Hampshire, '06
Today's Throwback Monday goes back to Spring 2006 and one of our visits to New Hampshire. My niece was captured on the swing.
Boston: New Wing Photo Contest Winner
Between Jan. 19 and 21, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum asked visitors to help tell the story of the opening of the new wing by posting photos on their Facebook page or on Twitter (@gardnermuseum).
I'm happy to announce that I won first prize (jazz concert tix!) for Thursday Jan 19 with the following shot (via Instagram and posted on Twitter: @hoggerandco).
You can see the rest of my photos from the day, here.
Thank you ISGM!
Throwback Monday: New York City, May 2004
I'm so excited about our upcoming NYC trip in February and looking forward to catching up with some NYC bloggers while I'm there - if you'd like to meet up, send me an email!
One of the last times I was in NYC was in May 2004 with my friend Alicia, whom you've already met on this blog before, here and here and most recently with the newest addtion to their family, here.
This NYC trip took place when we were still in university and goofing around (hence the image of me pretending to take a flip and the one of us freaking out on the plane).
All of these were taken with film. Alicia is a talented web and graphic designer, so credit goes to her for all the images of me.
Here's the first installment of what I'm calling Throwback Mondays.
Boston: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum opened a new wing on January 19 and I was there to capture the spirit of the day. Loved spending time in the gorgeous and retro Richard E. Floor's Living Room.
One of the highlights was meeting artist Cesare Pietroiusti and taking part in his workshop which took place in the Claire and John Bertucci Education Studio. The artist's project is the production and distribution of free drawings - 3500 to be exact. Using varying mediums (from salt-water to tea, coffee and ink) the idea is to create a work of art that you leave behind for someone else to take home the following day. Each sheet of paper had a different condition on the bottom. That day it was:
"The holder of this drawing commits to give it away, three months after having received it, to a person of their choice who lives south of them"
The medium of the day was dark Boston beer, how perfectly. And at the end of the day I was so happy to come home with both coffee and salt-water art created earlier this week. I loved how the adults and elderly who took part in the workshop sat at the tables in child-like wonder playing with the medium, totally engrossed in the whole process. I certainly spent a long time in
The 2nd floor's Special Exhbition Gallery is absolutely stunning with it's magnificent high ceilings and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. A wonderful place to have work exhibited, to be sure. I also sat in on a fun performance in Calderwood Hall, the new space for acoustic events.
The gorgeous exterior and beautiful brightly lit Cafe G complete the new wing.
It was my first time visiting The Palace, the original Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum which opened back in 1903. Photography was not allowed which allowed me to really immerse myself in the iconic works of art as well as be enveloped in lavish antiques and their history.
I could have been there longer, and I was already there the whole day! :) Time flew by, it's a mesmerizing place to be in Boston.
Boston: Celtics vs. Raptors @ TD Garden
I went to my first ever basketball game tonight at the TD Garden (many people don't know that TD stands for Toronto Dominion) and it was extra special because it was the Boston Celtics vs the Toronto Raptors. Whaa-!
We had spectacular seats and were surrounded by green jerseys, hats, balloons and other memorabilia. It was hard not to cheer on the Celtics, but there was no booing for the Raptors from us! The Celtics won 96-73.
The best part of the night? Likely the drummer outside North Station who had a whole audience dancing to his tunes and us bopping home.
MLK Weekend: Provincetown, MA
As it was our first MLK weekend here in Boston, we decided a day trip was in order. Onwards to Cape Cod, we drove. Destination: the tip, mainly: Provincetown, MA.
Although it was a blustery cold January day and almost everything was closed until the Spring, we enjoyed walking around, eating some fudge and ended up having dinner at a fantastic little restaurant on the water, watching the sunset.
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Amsterdam: B + W
As seen along the streets of Amsterdam. This reminds me of an archway one would see in India. In terms of the number of cycles, Amsterdam is very similar to India, except Amsterdam has a discipline for riding whereas riding in India is more of an organized chaos.
What's funny to note here is the "India Tourism" sign hanging in the middle of the shot.
I Amsterdam
One of my favourite outdoor sites in Amsterdam was the "I Amsterdam" sign in Museumplein, behind the Rijksmuseum and near the Van Gogh Museum. The Van Gogh Museum, btw, was by far the best museum I went to. The Anne Frank House was incredibly moving as well, but more on that later.
