Tuesday 1 September 2020

A Postcard A Day - Tuesday 1 September 2020 - T for mosaics, fizzer and a wedding

 Good morning lovely ladies,

It's the first of September! How time flies. The temperatures here in southern Spain have dropped, thank goodness and the weather is now very lovely. We can go outside in the day time and enjoy nature.


Let me start with my postcard, that this time comes from France. It actually came in an envelope. It shows the Calanques, in southern France. Very beautiful from what I can see. 

There was even a fake stamp on the back of the card, and a message from the sender. 

I went online to see what the Calanques really look like, and this is the photo:


Now look who's here! This is me and my little sister in 1956 in the main street in Rotterdam. I remember my coat was pale blue. 

The building in the background is the office where my dad worked. His office was right behind the mosaic. 

Here is a more recent photo of the same building:

The mosaic was created in 1954 by The Rotterdam artist Louis van Roode (Delft, 1914 - Rotterdam, 1964)
The building is called the Holbein House and here you can see it a bit clearer: 



This huge wall mosaic is called Erasmus trip by Louis van Roode, and it was commissioned by investor Der Baseler Versicherungs-Gesellschaft for the Holbein House. The mosaic contains numerous references to the life of Erasmus (1467-1536).

The mosaic shows two city views: Rotterdam and Basel, the cities where Erasmus started and completed his life's journey, respectively. Although Erasmus came from Rotterdam, he spent a large part of his working life in Basel. His most important works were published by publishing house Forben. Erasmus on horseback could be a reference to his book The Praise of Foolishness, because in his own words the idea for this book originated while Erasmus traveled on horseback from Italy to England in 1509 to visit his friend Thomas More, to whom he also dedicated it.




The name of Hans Holbein the Younger (1497 / 98-1543) is inextricably linked to the drawings he made in Basel in the margins of Erasmus's most famous book The Praise of Foolishness (1515) and the series of portraits that he subsequently made over the years  of the famous humanist. 

I think this is his most famous painting of Erasmus (by Holbein):


I also found a study of his hand, and on the left you can see a study of the head. (Very vaguely)


Now over to other things. What have I been doing lately? We have been to a wedding on Saturday.  The groom had no family present so he asked me if I would 'walk him down the isle'. I felt honoured.

And here is the happy couple. OK, two happy couples! (Quickly whipped off our masks for the camera)
Doesn't she look gorgeous? It was a very simple wedding. The bride comes from Honduras and works 
as a cleaner somewhere. He is Spanish and also has a modest job. They rented the back room of a bar/restaurant at a local petrol station.




The staff had made an effort to pretty it all up and I must say, it looked very nice. 
We were 18 people, and we had a lovely time. The ceremony was like a church service. There were worship songs, the couple made their promises and there was a blessing and prayers as well as a short sermon. 
After that they began to serve the food. This was my main dish: lamb cutlets. Very nice. You can just see the stem of my wine glass. That will have to be my drink reference. Sorry Elizabeth.


Yesterday we visited a friend who lives round the corner. This is what we saw:


A cat guarding the car. (I suppose the bonnet was still warm). I thought it was quite funny.

That's it from me. I'm going to visit Elizabeth and Bluebeard, who host T for Tuesday. I've just seen that there is another drink reference: In the Holbein painting there is an empty wine bottle on the book shelf (top right). So now I am ready for the T-party!

Happy T-Day,
Keep smiling!
Hugs,
Lisca


15 comments:

  1. You always have the best blog posts. I enjoy them very much. Love the history lesson and the photo of you and your sister. That wedding looks perfect. I think the staff did a wonderful job of decorating. Yes, an honor to walk him down the isle. Ohhh that photo of the Calanques I would love to visit there. Have a nice evening.

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  2. Your post is full of reasons to smile today. The photo of the two little girls in their winter coats. The fascinating mural and your explanation of it. And the very nice wedding party.

    be well... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  3. Your postcard is beautiful. I love that photo of you and your sister. Your coats are so pretty. And that mural in Rotterdam is lovely! I love wall art on buildings.
    What a honor to walk your friend down the aisle. The bride is indeed beautiful and it sounds like it was a wonderful celebration.
    Happy Tea Day,
    Kate

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  4. Hi Lisca what a lovely place where the postcard photo was taken. loved seeing you with your sister as kids.
    very lovely wedding and nice that it was small and more intimate.
    Happy T hugs Kathy

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  5. What an amazing postcard, Lisca. Never heard of one like that before where they take care of the postcard, the stamp, everything. It was lovely. I loved the photo of you and your sister. It was adorable.

    Sounds like the wedding went off well. The bride was radiant and you two looked great, too.

    Thanks for sharing your postcard, all that research, the wedding, and your wine glass with us for T this Tuesday, dear.-

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  6. Fun postcard! Love the photos of you as a kid and the same spot today, thanks fr sharing ll the interesting details of the mosaic and other things worth looking at. That must have been a nice wedding, what an honour you had! The food looks fantastic. Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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  7. Beautiful card and clever idea, too!
    And such a sweet pic of the two of you. The hand is very interesting, also.
    How sweet you walked your friend! And another beautiful pic of very happy people, ohhh, wonderful to see, especially in these days.... times...
    And the cat!!! Awwww! Cute. A happy T-day and hugs!

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  8. Wonderful postcards. That wedding looks like it was a nice one. Her dress is lovely. I laughed at the cat photo. Happy T-Day!

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  9. The Calenques look beautiful. I'd love to be on one of those boats sailing through.

    That's a darling picture of you and your sister. You still have the same delightful smile.

    I enjoyed reading about Erasmus and his contemporaries.

    Lovely couple. That was an honor indeed to walk the groom down the aisle.

    Happy T-Day! Hugs, Eileen

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  10. What a beautiful postcard ~ Would love to be on a boat cruising through that channel and swimming in that blue water. The picture with your sister is too cute ~ I love your coats and your little white socks, I had those too. What an amazing mosaic, I'm glad you have close up pics to really show the details. How nice that you were able to get together for a small wedding ceremony and to walk the groom down the aisle. Loved the kitty on the "bonnet" we call that the hood...your wording is always so much sweeter! Enjoy

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  11. Fabulous post! Loving the postcards, I would love to swim in that clear turquoise water 😁. That's such a lovely photo of you and your sister and how amazing that the building still looks the same with the pretty mural - gorgeous! Looks like you had a wonderful time at the wedding too - perfect! Wishing you a very Happy T Tuesday! Hugs, Jo x

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  12. What a beautiful area! It's great to see that the building still exists, maybe the mosaic saved it as it is a beauty! How kind of you to walk your friend down the aisle. Looks like a colourful set up! Happy T day, Chrisx

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  13. I forgot to click on you post again lol You'd think I'd remember to do that before I get to the bottom and can't comment without scrolling back up.

    The bride's dress is lovely! And the reception feast looks delicious. I'm seeing the rest of that glass in my mind's eye :) Happy T Tuesday!

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  14. Oh I love that photo of you and your sister Lisca. It is adorable. And the story and photo of the mural is fantastic. How many times do we walk past murals but never know the story behind them? And that looks like a lovely wedding. Your meal looks yummy! Hope you had a happy T day and Happy Sepetmber! hugs-Erika

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  15. The photo of you and your sister is so sweet. Fabulous mural. How nice for the groom to ask you to be his stand in mom. Much happiness to them. Happy T Day.

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