A Day in Delft

Ariana in front of 'Het Blau Hart' in Delft (The Blue Heart).

We took a tour bus on an excursion to Delft, a beautiful seventeenth century little town famous for its blue and white ceramic porcelain, aptly named Delft Blue. It is also the birthplace of Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer.

                                                                         Delft Canal

We strolled past beautiful lily-filled canals, quaint market squares, and magnificent churches, houses and other historic monuments. We also enjoyed perusing the many antique stalls. For Gordon and I, with our love of antiques, it was a mecca of enjoyment. If only we had bigger suitcases and deeper pockets!

Ariana and I on a small side street in Delft. She kept exclaiming, "It's so pretty here, Nana!"

The main Market square in Delft. We popped into a little bakery and bought sausage rolls and cheese sticks and ate them sitting here under the trees. The sun filtering through a canopy of leaves made patterns on our skin.

The historic townhall in Delft.

Next we boarded our bus again for a tour of the Delft Pottery Factory.

Don't forget Papa!

We spend the next few hours at the factory seeing the premises and learning how the lovely blue and white porcelain is made. The word factory sounds very industrial, but nothing could have been further than the truth. The factory was surrounded by picturesque canals on all sides, and the premises were all gleaming blue and white loveliness to match their product.

The process is fascinating and Ariana is interested in every aspect.

Man hand painting porcelain plates.

A stunning array of blue and white ... some of it dating back to the 16th century.

Ariana surrounded by some fine examples of Delft porcelain.

Asked if she could choose any piece for her own, Ariana picked this gorgeous 'necklace' which is actually a rosary. The cost 2,000 Euros.

Right outside the factory, Ariana makes friends with a family of ducks.

Later, Gordon surprizes me with a very special gift; a beautiful hand painted Delft porcelain bracelet. He has also bought a similar one for our daughter, Sarah, for her wedding which will take place on our 34th anniversary, on September 3rd.