Happy Birthday to me!

This week it was also my birthday, although it fell a bit under the radar because of the Picasso opening. I knew I was going to work, so no surprise that I wouldn't be celebrating on the day.
But since I was doing the evening event, I started late so could at least have a lovely morning with Nathan before shooting off to work.

I got woken up with coffee and balloons, and gifts!

And of course, confetti and the birthday banner - and a pancake breakfast! Love!

After a lovely morning, it was time to suit up and go to work. Well, I didn't mind, as I came to work for a really fun event! Further celebrations tomorrow instead.

Picasso, the Figure

This week it was time to open the latest temporary exhibition at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, a highly anticipated exhibition - Picasso, The Figure.

I was doing both the VIP Opening on Monday, and the Members Preview on Tuesday. I was excited because the last exhibition I opened was the Post-Impressionism and that was so much fun. I was also rather nervous, because - well, Picasso! But nerves are good, keeps you sharp!

This exhibition offers a journey through Picasso's work centered on the question on figure. It explores how Picasso all throughout his life continued to to reinvent representation and expression.

Using a narrative linked by the ancestral world heritage of myths, it is structured into five thematic sections; from the emergency of Cubism, through his return to classicism, via his fascination with metamorphosis to his sculptural biomorphic figures and his restless figures of his final years.

It ends with a room full of Picasso's later works, showing the Picasso canon, my favourite section.

I was doing the VIP Opening together with Vivien and Termy, the dream team for the evening!
Apparently there was a record attendance for this opening, which bodes well for future interest in tours!

On Tuesday it was the Members Preview with Termy and myself. We had dressed for the occasion, very on brand!
I had bought us these t-shirts from Uniqlo already early last year, when we knew this exhibition was coming. Kathleen also got one for her birthday, but unfortunately she is still in Belgium.

The Members Preview night meant that I did three tours back-to-back. It is actually rather good, because it helps to consolidate all the information and fine-tune the tour.

Now I am ready, bring on all the Picasso tours!

Closing the book on the 2024-2025 season

I came back from Sweden to work, work, work for a few weeks; and now it's time to go back again for the rest of the summer.

Work these weeks was fairly quiet, as it usually is during the summer months. Not many school visits, not many tourists, not much else to do. Gives us time to study and research though, which is always needed!

Kathleen came back from Belgium only this week, giving us just four days together at work. But we made the most of them! A little birthday celebration of her and Vivien in the museum café:

And an end-of-the season lush lunch at Fouquets with my Dream Team, before Termy and I now set off on our summer travels:

As you know, I enjoy my stats. Here are the ones from this 2024-2025 season:

I worked 117 days and I did 166 deliverables at the museum. 
Out of those, it was 98 general tours, 1 Architecture Tour, 32 school tours or school engagements, 15 External Tours, 17 tours of the Post-Impressionism and 3 tours of the Kings & Queens exhibition. 
As per usual, add to that special events, Mediations and the Tour Guide Training Programme with all that holds, it's been another busy year!
And - I still love what I do! 

But for now, its todaloo! Time for a bit of a break!

Five years of my wardrobe

I celebrated an anniversary recently - five years of logging what I wear in my StyleBook app.

Yup, you read that right, five YEARS!

Sure, it took a while to enter my whole wardrobe into the app, but I did the initial work during the Covid lockdown when I was awfully bored and time was all I had. Since then, it has been easy to keep up with entering each new purchase, it only takes a few minutes. 

Each day I tend to log what I wear while I walk down to the car, so that is not very taxing either; and now I have done it for FIVE years!

It is actually a really cool app, and even though I have to admit it hasn’t changed my shopping habits much, it has given me a lot of insights. For someone who like lists and statistics, this is app is gold!

Mamma Mia the Party!

Linnea’s choice of activity for this weekend was Harry Potter World. Mine was ABBA Voyage, the ”Abbatar”-show. Unfortunately the Abbatars were on a show break JUST this weekend, while they were changing their playlist apparently. So the next best thing - we got tickets for Mamma Mia The Party!

This is why we had got a hotel close to the O2 Arena, to be close by to the show. 

We had misunderstood the timing a little bit, as the ‘doors open’ was at 12pm, but the show didn’t start until 1pm, so we were really early, a bit unnecessary. Ah well, gave us more time to enjoy the pitchers of Passionfruit Cocktails..!

 

We got a table on one of the balconies, which turned out to be a great spot, as we could get up and dance whenever we felt like it without disturbing the show.  

 

It was a really lovely afternoon! The food was surprisingly good, a Greek three-course meal, and the performers were great. 

I had mistakingly thought it was the Mamma Mia-musical, but in a restaurant setting; but indeed this is a completely different show. The storyline was still based in a restaurant in Greece, and with all the music from ABBA (and others), but apart from that, it had little to do with Mamma Mia. Don’t get me wrong, it was still really good!

The whole place was full and the atmosphere buzzing from the first musical number. People were having so much fun singing along and dancing next to (and on top of!) the tables. Us too!

I am really happy we did this together!

Day out in London

Anna came into the city to see me on the Friday, in the glorious sunshine! So great that she had the day off, and no plans - since I didn’t give her much notice.

We walked about and walked about, it was sunny but a little bit chilly for me. She took me to the Borough Market, and up the Shard where we had a coffee break. 

We also walked past the Tower of London to see all the poppies.

Then we had Asian lunch at a fast food place in Soho before doing a spot of shopping as I had some TrinnyLondon on my list. We hit all the touristy spots in the glorious sunshine!

I also managed to convince her to go into the National Portrait Gallery with me as we were passing by and I remembered that I didn’t get there last time, but that deserves a post on its own.

We walked all the way to Buckingham Palace, and once I had walked her down to Victoria Station to go back to Horsham, I took the bus to Oxford Street for a little browse; before going back to the hotel to get ready for the big day the next day!

The Brooch Queen

I so enjoy getting dressed for work, and I have really found a love for suits. I have quite a few by now, and I rotate them frequently.

Also ever since rediscovering this brooch in my jewellery box, I have also developed a passion for brooches.

I have hunted brooches in second hand shops and flea markets, but also found some online and in shops. I have quite a collection by now, and I love each and every one of them.
The viking inspired one:

The penguin and the whale:

The eye:

The moon:

The bee:

The sparkly blue circle:

The palette:

The jellyfish:

The leopard and the read heart:

The crown:

The green snake and the colourful gekko:

The silver bow:

And, believe it or not - this was not all of them..! There are more!