Sunday 23rd August. My baby turned six. We woke up in Plymouth, having booked the Travelodge there knowing we’d be going to the Eden Project the previous day. She opened her presents, we went off for a huge breakfast, then made our way back home via Stonehenge. Here she is modelling her buddingSTEM t-shirt which arrived recently – I contributed to the Kickstarter campaign they did, and gave H the t-shirt for her birthday.
Monday 24th August. Getting Home Learning done for school. Yep, going into Year 2 it seems you get things to do over the Summer Holidays. So this is her Knight outfit. My work is done.
Tuesday 25th August. Had to take H for a haircut and for her eye check up at the hospital, both of which went well. We have to trawl Charity shops for Enid Blyton books, and found two more. I spotted MC Miker and DJ Sven on the floor. Truly awful record (‘The Holiday Rap’) but this is what all our old 7″ records from the eighties look like now. Maybe.
Wednesday 26th August. We arrived in Amsterdam – tired after a 4am start but ready to explore a city none of us had been to. After forgetting to charge my camera battery last week, it was the first thing I did when I got home from Cornwall, so I have decent quality Miffy pictures alongside my substandard phone ones. I’m much less cross about it! Here’s one of the Miffy Statues from the Miffy Art Parade – they’re all being removed now, so there’s probably only a month or so left.
Thursday 27th August. Utrecht. A long-standing place I’ve wanted to visit – to wander around the streets where Dick Bruna lives, to find out what inspired him, to go to the Miffy Museum (Dick Bruna Huis – it’s being refurbished but there’s a huge exhibition over the road at the main museum) and just to be there. I grew up with Miffy, H has too, but also my dad, when he was alive and went for a break in the Netherlands with my mum, picked up a Miffy for me (but lost it), as he knew how much I loved that bunny back in the seventies. To be in Utrecht meant a lot. Where else would you get Miffy traffic lights?
Friday 28th August. Back to Amsterdam – and a trip to the Library for the views, a walk around some of the old city and to the Museum of Resistance (which has a fantastic new Children’s area which I’ll go into on another post), before finding more Miffy’s (Miffies?), and heading back to Amsterdam Centraal to make our way home again. This statue is in the Hortus Botanicus and was created by Dick Bruna’s daughter Madelon. I’m so pleased we got to this one, as you had to pay – they let us in for €4.50 as it was about to close, and H for free.
Saturday 29th August. A lazy day around the house – we needed it after a busy last week. H was given a Miffy stencil, so she set about stencilling our back yard. I love it!