WINDOWS IN THE GRAND PLACE

It's amazing we can board a train in Paris' Gard du Nord and be in Brussels in about an hour and a half. (It sometimes takes longer than that to go from the far suburbs to downtown Chicago.) We won't see much in Brussels on a quick day trip, but our main destination will be the Grand Place. Along with the Gothic Hôtel de Ville and Maison du Roi the square is surrounded by the opulent guild houses. 

During my previous visit to Brussels I took this photo of the exquisite architectural detailing, statuary and balconies with their red-flower boxes that decorate the guild houses.

original photo:

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Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my visit to Brussels.
Waterlogue images created by me. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

ATRIUM LANTERNS

I have a new travel goal to see as much of the world as I can via a cruise ship. So far, I have been on seven different cruise ships; number eight will be in three months. Each ship has been decorated in its own unique motif, and I have liked each one for different reasons. One of my favorite ships is the Carnival Breeze. Some of you may think...Um, Carnival? Really? Yes. Each Carnival ship I have been on has been decorated beautifully in my opinion. On the Breeze I loved these multi-colored, cloth-covered lanterns that hang several decks above the ship's atrium, and they made for a wonderful photograph.

original photo.

If you are interested in purchasing either a print or notecard, click on the appropriate button under either image. Fotomoto will do the rest.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my cruise on the Carnival Breeze in May, 2013.
Waterlogue images created by me. Unauthorized use is prohibited.

WELCOME! COME IN.

For this Travels in Watercolor I'm cheating...the only traveling I did was to board my daily suburban commuter train into downtown Chicago. However, the photo is one of my favorites that I've snapped during my walk to the office, and I think it makes a beautiful watercolor. It is the beautifully-ornate entrance gate to the Driehaus Museum which welcomes visitors to experience a Gilded Age era home just steps from the Magnificent Mile (aka Michigan Avenue).

original photo.

If you are interested in purchasing either a print or notecard, click on the appropriate button under either image. Fotomoto will do the rest.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me in downtown Chicago during my walk to work in July, 2015.
Waterlogue images created by me.

BRUGGE CANAL REFLECTIONS

If you love the oldness of Europe (that's my word), then you have to visit Bruges, or Brugge as I like to call it. Brugge is the Flemish form of Bruges. Needless to say, Brugge is everything that the guidebooks tell you it is: beer, chocolate, unique architecture and postcard-pretty canals. This is one of my favorite photos from my visit: a picturesque canal, the water so still it reflected like a mirror, the houses with their burnt-orange tiled roofs reflecting on the water.

original photo.

If you are interested in purchasing either a print or notecard, click on the appropriate button under either image. Fotomoto will do the rest.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my visit to Brugge in May, 2010.
Waterlogue images created by me.

DUTCH TULIPS

For 8 weeks every Spring, from mid-March to mid-May, an area known as the Bollenstreek, a triangle-shaped area stretching between Haarlem, The Hague and Leiden, is aglow with glorious colors. Everyone knows the Netherlands is famous for growing tulips. We've all seen pictures of the fields in brilliant color--rows and rows of brilliant reds, pinks and yellows. The fertile sandy soil plus the climate in this area make a perfect for the flowering bulbs to thrive.

In the middle of the Bollenstreek sits the Keukenhof Gardens. Every year over 7,000,000 flower bulbs (yes, SEVEN MILLION!) are planted each year. Every year the gardens are designed differently from the previous year; it takes 30 gardeners to plant the millions of bulbs each year. But seeing these fields yourself is a memorable experience.

This is one of my favorite photos taken during my visit to the Keukenhof Gardens in 2010. original photo:

If you are interested in purchasing either a print or notecard, click on the appropriate button under either image. Fotomoto will do the rest.

Thank you for visiting,



A Great Europe Trip Planner 



Photo taken by me during my visit to Keukenhof Gardens in May, 2010.
Waterlogue images created by me.

DELFT CANALS

In a previous post I introduced you to the Waterlogue app. I am fascinated with its ability to take a photograph and turn it in a beautiful watercolor painting.

I visited the city of Delft during a trip to the Netherlands in 2010. Although the weather was awful that day with a cold, windy, drizzly rain, I thought Delft was such a charming city with its small canals and the beautiful Oudekerk and Nieuwekerk churches. I love this scene. It shows the architecture of the narrow buildings fronting the small canal, the wet, brick street next to the canal, the small bridges over the canal and bicycles which are so quintessentially Dutch.

original photo:

If you are interested in purchasing either a print or notecard, click on the appropriate button under either image. Fotomoto will do the rest.

Thank you for visiting,

A Great Europe Trip Planner 

Photo taken by me during my visit to Delft in May, 2010.
Waterlogue images created by me.