leaving Amsterdam again

The snow has all melted, the drooping plants lift up their leaves again -- see photo, and people start talking of spring...There are also snowdrops out in the garden, if you look carefully. And on the roundabouts of Holland golden crocuses show slits of colour.
Last week I visited The Hague (twice) on business (pertaining to legalisation of my daughter's will).
Fine city and it struck me that people appear more courteous than in Amsterdam. The pace there seems a little less hectic.
I had time to go into The Hague Gemeentemuseum (municipal museum) which was showing, among other things, a collection of paintings and drawings by Willem Maris (painter of the 19th-century Hague School).
Simply breathtaking. The light glows from the canvases; they often show huge skies, a few trees, a couple of cows drinking from water in the foreground -- this water also reflecting the billowing clouds and nearby figures. They exude peace and serenity. The visitors walked round silently, as in a cathedral, breathing in the quietness. A wonderful experience. A Dutch master, without doubt.
I also visited my darling granddaughter Yara, who was staying with her Opa while Mum and Dad took a holiday. She is a total joy and we all vote her Miss Super Baby of All Time. It seems as if the world is filled with delight for her. She laughs with gurgling pleasure, infectiously, and smiles and regards all she sees with fascinated concentration.
Well, I could continue, you know how grannies are...

Will try to find one of the many lovely pix of her (from a while back). This is Yara at 17 days -- already utterly beautiful of course! She just grows lovelier each day...
Now I am packing my case, ready to fly back to Fiumicino (Roma) tomorrow and become a sailor-girl again.
Alora, a domani, tutti!