Life is good!

We have been away for a few days. Jos' birthday was on Tuesday and we thought it would be nice to go away for a stay at a B&B. We drove to an area in the southwest of Holland called Zeeland. We had wanted to go to the city of Goes. While we liked the idea of seeing the city, we did not want to stay there so looked for something very close. We found this amazing village ~ Kloetinge!

It is only a 3 minute drive from here to the city center and yet you are in a pretty small village with an old feeling to it. You arrive in the village to be greeted by the many beautiful old houses and farms and a windmill. As you approach the B&B, you first see this picturesque square with the old pond area still in tact. In olden days, this was used for a variety of purposes ranging from a drinking area for horses and cows to water for firehoses.

At house number 15, we were greeted by Hennie with a good cup of coffee in her house. I loved this old house. It is a small home that has a special charm. Much of that charm is enhanced by Hennie's vision for how to decorate the home as well as keeping up her pretty gardens in the back of the house. You are unaware when you see the house on the front what awaits you inside.

Thankfully, many of the old features of this home are preserved like these floor tiles. The windows to the front are still the original glass. It has not been replaced with double panes as in so many of the old home here in Holland. It is so special to look out through the wavy old thick glass from years gone by!

Here is a hint of the gardens which I will share with you later this week.....

The B&B is in an extension at the back of the house. You can see where the old back door is now the entrance to the room. The old back step has been incorperated into what has become a little kitchen with a bathroom off to the side.

Breakfast was eaten at a table in the room with views out into the garden. We sat and enjoyed the amtosphere to the strains of Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons'. Hennie serves a very generous breakfast which included fresh strawberries which are still in season in Zeeland. We said a couple of times as we soaked in the moments that life is good!

There are many areas to sit in this large room which used to be the studio of her late husband, the artist Gerard Menken.

Several paintings by Gerard Menken are hanging in the room. I really felt his spirit here.

We so enjoyed our stay and hope to go back again one day. If you want to know more about this wonderful B&B, Hennie has a website at: http://www.kloetingstuincafe.nl.