Were there tulips?

This was going to be posted up ages ago...like in February!!!
Hey...give me a break....wedding stuff/honeymoons/life you know! ROFL

We had just returned from a very nice break to....? Well have a guess ;)

Yes....you got it Amsterdam!

The first picture is of a group of statues in the Rembrandt Platz depicting the same scene as "The Night Watch" painting does.

...Mr B on a mission...spotted the museum and strode off...

...to the Rijkmuseum to see the original painting (amongst other fabulous things) and I was very surprised to see that you could take pictures of the exhibits....quite frankly I was shocked....I've rarely been in any other top notch museum that allows it!!!

So it was a thrill to see the massive Night Watch but it somehow did not grab me....nor Mr B for that matter! In fact I liked the 3d sculpture in the Rembrandt Platz in the first picture more!!!

Whilst this smaller (although still quite large) painting by Rembrandt was gorgeous...

...I got really close to this as most people were crowded around the Night Watch instead...

...it allowed me to really see some of the detail such as the metal trigger section that really comes to life just because of some white paint smeared over the black/grey...

...and the gold lace effect and the material was just amazing!

The Vermeer's were what I really wanted to see and you can get so close to the paintings it's incredible...(it surprised me that the Vermeer's were painted on such a small scale...they are no more than perhaps 40 cm square...such detail..he must have used very small brushes!)

...Mr B swore someone would come up to me and ask me to back off!!

But honestly I was not overstepping the cord that marked the boundary.....O.K. I admit I was leaning over it quite a bit but my eyesight 'aint what it used to be (that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!) ROFL

The self portrait by Rembrandt is quite mesmerising...Mr B's favourite :)

P.S. We also went to the Hermitage, they opened a branch there a few years ago.....it was the most disappointing exhibition I have ever been to....for the size of the building there is a big lack of artwork inside..and no Russian treasures on display at all...which is something we were looking forward to and expecting to see!!!

Same price as the Rijkmuseum......so I know which one I will pay a return visit to ;)
Thanks for looking
xoxo Sioux