Villa Augustus – a quick get away
In terms of holidays we are still in the virtual no-no land… Meaning that we cannot go on holiday since our dear little kitty Gizmo doesn’t let us. And we cannot deny our 20 year old friend to wither and die on us while we are off in some far away country. So that means; no holidays for as long as she remains alive. We made that decision almost two years ago now and to be entirely honest with you, we didn’t expect her to last as long as she has. She’s old, deaf, almost blind and very very skinny, but between her sleeps and her loud complaints when she wants to eat she is still a happy cat.
Always interested in finding out what’s for dinner!
But with a life as busy as ours we also need time to go away, relax and not work. For lack of a longer trip we decided to spend a week at home, going away for trips in our own country and we certainly did pick the week with the best weather ever! Maybe even a tiny bit too hot if you ask me, but ok, it sure beats rain so not complaining here. While it was nice to not have to work I found it very difficult to sit back and relax. It’s so different when you work for a boss! I never had ANY issues whatsoever to drop work and take off for three weeks or more if I got the chance but now… Missing phone calls could mean missing out on a great job. Not reading emails might mean I piss off clients who are waiting for an answer on something urgent. And it is easier for me when I am out and about in a foreign country where there is no internet. Staying at home made it near impossible to not do a little bit of work in between.
But we also did a lot of fun things too; we went for a day to the Apenheul which is a zoo kind of place with only monkeys. The biggest difference being that these monkeys are not behind bars but roam around freely. They had a lot of babies so it’s always nice to just sit and watch the little cuties play around.. Ofcourse they don’t have gorilla’s or other big apes running around the visitors.. Now that would be a sight to see! (I would probably not come though..)
During the weekend – which turned out to be the hottest weekend we had in about 18 years! – we went to a town called Dordrecht. Beautiful old town, but the main attraction was our hotel, Villa Augustus. The first pic above is our hotel! It is build in an old watertower and looks fantastic. There is a large organic garden surrounding the hotel and opposite the hotel is a big restaurant that obviously cooks organic and directly from the garden.
I loved the location and our room was in the top of the tower. Which was great, except for the unbearable heat during the second night we were there. The first night we still had some wind blowing through the windows but the second night, no wind at all and suffocatingly hot. You see, we don’t normally have such heat so we don’t have air conditioning in hotels. Well some do, but this one didn’t… So no sleep really!
And to get with the idea of a holiday, I only took photos with my Iphone while there and that was fun! Loved it… Felt like going incognito almost.. 
I had so much fun I will be using my Iphone more often when out and about for non work related stuff. Saves a lot of carrying around! Anyway, as you can see it is a lovely location. The food was good but nothing to really go wild about and the service in the restaurant could have been a little better.Having said that; it was incredibly busy due to the hot weather and everyone wanted to sit outside so it was a struggle for the staff I am sure, so I think we will go back at a cooler time again to check again.
If you’re looking for a fun place to stay in Holland or for a weekend away I would definitely recommend it. It’s not exactly cheap (145 euro per room for a night, without breakfast) but it’s different from the regular hotels and that is always a bonus!
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
ha toevallig, heb net ook over villa augustus geblogt
zoooo mooi daar! wat supergaaf dat je er ook hebt geslapen, ziet er uit als een geslaagd weekendje (min het niet slapen door de hitte dan…)
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A lovely place and great clicks (I love the one of the baby monkey)!
Gizmo is a real sweetie. Our cat is also very loud! In October, we’ll try to leave the house for a few days. Let’s hope everything will be ok (our neighbor’s going to take care of her)…
Cheers,
Rosa
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What fun, you took such amazing photos I felt like I was there. You’re an iphone expert! So sweet about not wanting to leave your cat, but glad you had some adventure anyway!
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I always admire your cat photos that you share in instagram
Gorgeous photo of the zoo and I LOVE that cute monkey photo.. so adorable 
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Thank you for the walkabout! Of course loved those gorgeous monkeys the most . . .
!
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It looks amazing! I am glad you got away and trust me, I am looking at hotel prices for London right now and €145 per night is CHEAP compared to those prices.
It is best to stay close to home. Gizmo has been a huge part of your life for so long and it would not be right to leave her in her time of need. You are so good Simone. Ron said to tell you he killed ‘bold black Bart’ for you and we will keep it in the freezer ’till you return! Also, keep us in mind for the Italy get-away and we will try to meet up with you xx
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I love Dordrecht a lot & your hotel is looking very sytlish, chique & hip too!
Your vibarnt pictures made this post come alive! really!
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Cool pics from the monkeys too!
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