Having already been twice this year and survived a failed attempt on Monday (road closing that caused a 2 hour car ride with no viewing), Jennifer and Stephanie opted to stay home and visit the Escher Museum that is literally around the corner from our house. We hadn't been yet as there just never seemed to be a time to go. When something is that close and available, it's easy to put off for another day, and I was starting to think that day might not materialize before we move! I am very happy I went. The joy of visiting museums that center on one particular artist is seeing works I have never seen before or even known existed. While I am intrigued by Escher's images and impressed by his skill, I've never been a huge Escher fan per se; therefore, I hadn't known that he spent a great deal of time in Italy and created a body of realistic images based on what he saw there before he ever created the optical illusions that made him so famous. He apparently transitioned into abstraction and recreating the plane when he moved back to flat Holland and Belgium and lost the views that had inspired him in Italy. Who knew? The museum itself is a converted palace, once the residence of the great-grandmother of the current queen of The Netherlands. It was fun just to walk inside and visualize the grand rooms when they were occupied. When it was converted into a museum, some seriously crazy chandeliers were commissioned; we're talking a huge skull and crossbones chandelier, a guitar, a shark... The third floor of the museum is dedicated to optical illusion exhibits and experiments that are a lot of fun! Stephanie slept the entire time in the baby carrier, so she had a good time too.
This afternoon, the weather cleared up beautifully, so we all headed to the dunes at Wassenaar for a stroll. The afternoon light made everything look incredible, and the air was crystal clear after two days of rain. The kids burned some energy, and we all enjoyed ourselves!
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