Teacher’s Travels – Petite Teacher

What got me flabbergasted in Venice…six sweet surprises

10th May 2019 2 Comments

Bright red fake leather jacket: Tally Wijel (new). More photos of this outfit here

“Our brightest blazes of gladness are commonly kindled by unexpected sparks.”- Samuel Johnson

All good things come in threes, so after a romantic red “Lieske’s Looks” blogpost and a list of 10 thing I would NOT do in Venice, the third one of the Venice series: What got me flabbergasted in Venice…six surprises.

Having grown up in The Netherland with its many cities full of canals, you’d think I would know what to expect from a city surrounded by water. I thought so too. I was wrong.

Read on to find out what really surprised me in Venice!

Lieske's Looks, Life Lessons, Teacher's Travels

Advice from a palm tree

3rd May 2019 2 Comments

Dress: H&M (see more of the dress here and here and disguised as skirt here)

Advice from a palm tree…

~ Soak up the sun

~ Stand tall & proud

~ Remember your roots

~ Drink plenty of water

~ Be content with your natural beauty

~ Enjoy the view

Lieske's Looks, Life Lessons, Teacher's Travels

Wearing blue and rose flowers to the exhibition “The young Picasso: blue and rose periods”

19th April 2019 4 Comments

Dress & Jeans Jacket: Yes or No, Bag: H&M, Scarf: a gift

“I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”
― Pablo Picasso

A few weeks back I visited the exhibition “The young Picasso: blue and rose periods” at the Beyeler museum in Basel. The exhibition wasn’t only about blue and rose paintings, but showed very well how Picasso, by embracing and applying new techniques, developed his own style. His credo of always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it has worked out well for him and has even led to a new art movement: cubism.

As Easter is a symbol of a new beginning, I’d thought it apt to publish a blogpost about new beginnings and trying out new things this Easter weekend, taking Picasso as a starting point.

Enjoy this cultural spring blogpost full of fresh ideas and flowery photos!

Teacher's Travels

10 things NOT to do in Venice

12th April 2019 2 Comments

“What news on the Rialto?”- The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare

Shakespeare never visited Venice, Padua, Rome or Verona. He just thought it safe to let his plays take part in foreign Italy, so he could tackle sensitive subjects. Clever chap!

I think of all Shakespeare’s Italian cities, Verona is the most famous. Who does not know what took place in fair Verona?

For a romantic Italian city trip for two my husband and I thought Venice was more romantic and less dramatic than Verona. Had Shakespeare visited Venice he may have written the following quote: To do or not to do, that is the question.

Today I will tell you what I would NOT do in Venice. However: to do or not to do, it’s up to you!

Lieske's Looks, Teacher's Travels

Four beaches, four outfits, four stories: all on Fuerteventura

29th March 2019 6 Comments

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after our footprints in the sand are gone.” – Anonymous

After having enjoyed so many snow walks this winter, we decided to swap the snow for sand and we went to Fuerteventura in February. Wow, what an island! You can find so many different beaches and coastlines there, just amazing.

On my blog I often talk about small changes with huge effects and ladies, I’ve got a great example for you this week!

The first day of our holidays we went to the beach on the east coast of Fuerteventura. The second day we went to the west coast. As the island is pretty small, the change to go from east to west (or west to east) is not a big deal. The effect of that small east-west change is anything but small: it’s big, it’s huge, it’s enormous!

OK, not so big, huge and enormous as the difference between east and west we have grown up with, but still quite impressive. Have a look for yourself: Four beaches, four outfits, four stories. Enjoy!

Lieske's Looks, Teacher's Travels

Wearing a red biker jacket in a city full of boats, not bikes

22nd March 2019 4 Comments

Jacket (new): Tally Weijl, Trousers: Jacqueline de Yong, Top & Bag: H&M, Shoes: Vans

“Love anchors the soul.” – unknown

Red being the colour associated with love and romance, I thought I’d buy myself something red for a romantic weekend away with my love. When you have read last week’s blogpost you know we went to Venice (and thanks to whom).

I am not quite sure if a biker jacket is considered romantic (and Venice is very romantic-trust me), nor do I associate bikers with boats (and Venice is full of boats-trust me), so let’s focus on the colour above all: red for romance!

Focussing on the colour is pretty easy in this case, since this fake leather jacket is very, very red. And my weekend trip was very, very romantic!

Lieske's Looks, Teacher's Travels

Magnificent Milan

16th November 2018 5 Comments

During my autumn break I did not only visit Eltz Castle, but also Milan. It was a short city break, filled with lots of Italian food, gorgeous weather, impressive architecture, vivid Italians and just a bit of shopping! Yeah, seriously, the shopping was only a small part of the trip. The best part of the trip was my companion, my teenage daughter. We had two days of quality girls’ time!

Life Lessons, Teacher's Travels

The reward of resilience: 3 impressive and inspiring stories of 3 wonderful women

9th November 2018 4 Comments

Skirt: H&M, Top: Yes or No, Shoes: Vans, Sunglasses (new): Cerjo

On the 11th of the 11ht at 11 hours it will be a century ago that WWI ended. This summer we visited Verdun, one of the most notorious battlefields. We walked through a beautiful and peaceful forest, which once was a terrible battlefield full of mud, explosives and hungry, wounded and dead soldiers. It was an eery feeling, knowing that in the grounds of this fairy-tale forest lay the remains of 80.000 soldiers…

I got the feeling that in this horrible war, few soldiers had the chance to decide whether they were going to be a victim or a winning warrior. They just had to fight.

In our daily lives we fortunately often have the choice: to fight or to give in, to give up. Two months ago a friend of mine posted an article on linkedin about the reward of resilience. It is so impressive and inspiring that I want to share her story here, along with a few others, to show you the power of persistence, the reward of resilience and that we, fortunately, have a choice: do we want to be a victim or a winning warrior?!

Lieske's Looks, Teacher's Travels

Pretty in purple

26th October 2018 3 Comments

Dress and Cardigan: Street One (very many seasons ago)

In the autumn break we visited this gorgeous castle, Burg Eltz, in Germany. As the colour purple has been associated with royalty, power and wealth for centuries, I thought this dress and purple cardigan perfect for the occasion.

Life Lessons, Teacher's Travels

10 small things that make you happy on a trip

19th October 2018 2 Comments

Last year I spent 10 days in London, doing a communication course. This made it a completely different trip than my ‘normal’ ones. First of all, I was travelling alone and the trip was less of a holiday as you can imagine. I did have time to explore London a bit at the end of most days (see photo diary here) and somehow appreciated lots of small things in these hours more than I usually would have. I wrote them down shortly after my trip and then forgot about them. Last week I was scrolling though my files, found this little list and realised how many of these small joys would be a joy for any of my trips. It also made me aware how many of these joys I find in my daily life in Switzerland too.

So, let me share these 10 small things that made me happy in London with you. Some of these are very much related to London itself, while others apply more in general. I am sure you can rely to many of them and will agree with me that travelling, like friendships and life, isn’t about the one big thing, but about all the little things.