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For a European city trip in the off-season, Athens is the perfect destination. I always struggle to decide where to go in October or November for a decent chance at good weather. Turns out that Athens is the answer! A few days of 20-25°C sunshine quickly made me...
For a European city trip in the off-season, Athens is the perfect destination. I always struggle to decide where to go in October or November for a decent chance at good weather. Turns out that Athens is the answer! A few days of 20-25°C sunshine quickly made me forget we were already wearing winter coats back home. It was my first time visiting the Greek capital, and during that time I explored the many different neighborhoods with their interesting, iconic sights and great food. In this post, I’m sharing my top tips for the best things to do in Athens, along with some practical tips for getting around the city and my favorite boutique hotels. 1. The...
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I was not going to miss it this year! The first time I heard about it – I had just moved to London – it was after the fact. The next year I had already booked a trip to Madrid. So no, no matter what, I would not miss it this year. For someone who wishes there would be such a thing as a leisurely bike ride in London but at the same time loves everything else that comes with living in this city – including all its quirkiness – what better event to attend than The Tweed Run?
I never seem to have enough time to really explore Berlin. And this weekend was no different. But what kind of travel bloggers would we be if we didn’t try to get the most out of the little time we had. I’d done my homework – I may even have created a little map – and knew exactly what I wanted to see, eat and drink. So here’s my Berlin ABC: Attractions, Brunch & Coffee for when you only have about one day to be a tourist in Berlin.
Ever since I started sharing my travels on this blog, I’ve become more selective about the places I want to stay at. If the hotel doesn’t inspire me to take nice photos, then I’d rather spend my money on something else. By now I kind of know where to find great hotels that won’t break the bank. (Although admittedly I’m no budget traveler either). So finding a room for one or two people, that I can do. But what about a room for four people in Berlin?
Extravagant royal parties and the execution of one of its hosts. That’s basically what the Banqueting House in central London is known for. Since I’m a sucker for a happy ending, I wasn’t really interested in the death part, but more in seeing where the Stuarts used to party like it’s 1699.
One word of advice: if you’re going to treat yourself to an afternoon tea at Sketch, skip the brunch, food market and dinner plans. It was all a bit much. But when foodie friends from Holland are visiting, you just have to be a big girl, stop complaining, and start eating.
So after starting the day with a delicious brunch at The Modern Pantry and a visit to Broadway Market, we continued our way to Conduit Street for an afternoon tea in a room that can best be described as…pink.
If there’s one thing I love doing on a sunny Saturday in London – well, apart from having brunch obviously – it’s combining a visit to Broadway Market with a walk along Regent’s Canal. There are many farmers’ markets I like in London, but Broadway Market is the one I keep going back to. It’s less touristy than Borough Market, but a lot bigger than Maltby Street Market. Plus it’s the best place to casually observe hipsters in all shapes and forms.
I’ve blogged about this market before, but what I hadn’t shared yet is what comes next: walking along Regent’s Canal.
Some people compare notes about where to shop to get the best discounts. What the latest shows are that you have to see. Or what books to read. My friends and I compare notes about brunch places. Which one has the best coffee, the best poached eggs, pancakes…And let’s not forget the best interior and lighting. We’re talking bloggers here after all, so taking photos of your brunch (#onthetable) is a given.
During these ‘the best of’ conversations, several people mentioned The Modern Pantry in Clerkenwell as one of their favorite brunch spots in London. I knew exactly where it was, but always had to admit that I still hadn’t been there myself. Until this weekend…
The Victoria & Albert Museum is one of my favorite museums in London. Their collection is incredible and every time I visit, I discover a new floor or wing that I hadn’t seen before.
This weekend I walked around the museum with my camera for a couple of hours. But instead of photographing the art, I decided to focus on the contrast between the antiquity of the pieces and the fleetingness of their visitors. Which is why I used a long shutter speed in most photos, to reduce the visitors to anonymous, temporary ghosts or dark silhouettes.
Old houses fascinate me. I wouldn’t necessarily want to live in one, but I love to visit them and pretend for a moment that I do. Walking down the grand staircase, reading a book in front of the fireplace in a library filled with books… It’s not often that you can visit and walk around houses like this.
But for only three months a year you can at 2 Temple Place, just outside Temple Station. It’s the most amazing experience and now tops my list of favorite hidden gems in the city. How could I not have known about this place?!
It had gotten to a point last year where it seemed that all I was doing in London was drink coffee. Of course that wasn’t really true, but I got a bit overly excited about sharing my latest coffee discoveries here on the blog. So I decided to focus on other things for a while, but that doesn’t mean I stopped exploring the London coffee scene. Especially when I need a break, I love sitting in a cool new coffee place, sipping my flat white and reading a paper or do some people watching. Okay, okay, and sometimes take some photos too. Only sometimes, really…
I’m starting to run out of ways to describe a London afternoon tea. Seriously, does anyone have a food writing for dummies book they can recommend? After so many tea blog posts last year, I decided to wait a bit before sharing my afternoon tea with Chiara at The Rose Lounge. True, all the photos with Christmas decorations now don’t really make sense anymore. But hey, see all these rose petals? And our table was in the shape of a heart (which I totally missed by the way). It could just as well be a Valentine’s theme, right? So let’s just go with that.
I realize that I’ve been focussing more on the ‘where to eat’ than the ‘what to do’ in London. What can I say? I’m one of those people who are always hungry. Anyway, this weekend I felt I needed to make more of an effort and cross some cultural things of my huge London to-do list. Starting with the Churchill War Rooms. Last week marked the 50th anniversary of Winston Churchill’s death, so the timing couldn’t be more perfect.
If I’m being honest, the real reason I wanted to eat at the Corner Room is because of its interior. It’s one of those places that kept popping up on my Instagram feed and I just wanted to see (and photograph) it myself. Visiting friends and family are always a good excuse to try new places, so before my sister had to fly back to Amsterdam I took her to the Town Hall Hotel for lunch.
Happy New Year! I took a little break from blogging at the end of the year (who has time for blogging anyway when there’s so much food that needs to be eaten?). But I’m excited to start 2015 and make plans for all the trips I want to take and things I want to do in London.
I was in the Netherlands to spend Christmas with my family and even though we didn’t have a white Christmas (never gonna happen), we did get some snow a few days later. It actually turned the streets into one huge ice rink, but it still looked pretty. So I decided to visit Delft to take some photos.
There are so many different things to do in London. Which means that when you’re here just for a short visit, you’ll either need to leave some things out or be super efficient. Such as combining an afternoon tea with a sightseeing bus tour. Which is what I did a few weeks ago when iDBus invited a group of bloggers for the BB Bakery Afternoon Tea on a real vintage 60s London double decker bus. Don’t expect white tablecloths, fine china or waiters walking around to serve you more tea. No, this is all about a fun, unique – and let’s not forget – tasty experience.
After living in London for almost two years I can tell you all about the best places for an afternoon tea, the most trendy food markets or coffee places. And I have a long list of dinner recommendations. One thing I don’t know much about however are places to stay in London. To change that I’m planning some staycations to see for myself what the best hotels in the city are. The first one was last weekend at the brand new Artist Residence in Pimlico. And if this experience says anything about the staycations to come, then I’m in for a treat!
It’s great when you get to travel a lot. But flying home from New York on a red-eye flight and then leaving that same day for Vienna is not something I would recommend. After struggling to keep my eyes open during meetings on the first day, I did eventually find some time to explore Vienna before flying to Prague. (Yes, I’ve been busy). So now two months later I figured it’s about time I shared how I spent my birthday in Vienna this year.
There’s no way around it. When in England… You will have afternoon tea on a regular basis. Add some London bloggers to the mix and you might find yourself having one more often than most Brits. I realize it was only a couple of weeks ago that I wrote about the last #LDNBloggersTea (that admittedly took place in September), but with so many afternoon teas to choose from in this city we need to keep up the pace. So forget about quitting carbs and sugar to fit into that fabulous party dress (never gonna happen) and lets just indulge ourselves with a delicious afternoon tea at the Lancaster London hotel.
A little warning for friends and family of bloggers. Don’t spend too much time reading their blogs and listening to their stories about blogging ‘adventures’ (drinking afternoon tea can be an adventure too right?), or you might run the risk of turning into one of them. I’ve seen it happening, and let me tell you… it ain’t pretty. I’m kidding of course. But it turned out that I wasn’t the only one in Paris focussing on taking nice pictures and finding foodie places to write about. My friend Sandra (who took the photos of me with my ONA bag) is becoming a serious food blogger with her first stories on Holland’s most populair culinary website Culy.nl. So how do two foodies spend two days in Paris? Eating of course!
Staring out the window of the Eurostar, I’m thinking about the last time I was in Paris. Twenty years old, studying at Sciences Po and with a room at the Cité Universitaire. I didn’t think much about best places to eat or most trendy hotels to stay. Simply because as a student I didn’t have the budget to go out all the time (let alone pay for a meal at one of the popular restaurants) and I didn’t need a hotel. So even though there once was a time when I knew the city well, when it came to planning this trip it almost felt like I was going to Paris for the very first time.
Last week I heard the first Christmas song on the radio. The lights are up on Oxford Street. And everybody is sharing John Lewis’ Christmas TV ad with Monty the Penguin on social media. There’s no denying: London is getting ready for the holidays. For a group of London bloggers, Christmas started a bit earlier this year. On a warm, late summer afternoon in September at the Conrad London St James hotel where we were getting together for another #LDNBloggersTea.
The most challenging part of visiting Prague is pronouncing the street names. Seriously, you try saying Dvořákovo Nábřež or U Starého Hřbitova or Náprstkova with a straight face. Fortunately, Prague is not a big city and it’s quite easy to find your way. So no need to embarrass yourself in front of locals when asking for directions.
There are places that have such an excellent foodie reputation, that you would visit them just to go crazy on the food. I love exploring the typical local cuisine when I travel, but when I was planning my trip to Prague I had no idea what to expect. I heard many great stories about the city, but not often did these stories say anything about the food. So I was about to visit a country that I’d never been to before and where I had no idea what to eat. Challenging… Unless you plan a food tour on your first day. And let a food loving local not only show you the culinary treasures of Prague, but also some beautiful hidden gems along the way.
I think I can say I know New York pretty well. But walking on the High Line was a first. And let me tell you: it’s a must when you’re in the city. Especially when you have this gorgeous weather.
You won’t be the only one there though. I may have missed it the last time I was in New York (apparently it had just opened), but these days it’s one of the most popular places to hang out in Manhattan. So if you want to avoid the crowds, make sure you go early or right before it closes. And what better way to do that than to book a room in a hotel that’s built on top of the High Line?
Oh, how times have changed. When I moved to New York in 2003 I didn’t even drink coffee. And because there was no Starbucks in the Netherlands back then, I thought walking the streets with a Starbucks cup (not with coffee) in your hand was the coolest thing ever. These days, people are not only asking me if drinking coffee is all I do in London (based on the number of coffee pics on Instagram and here on the blog), I even make a list of the best coffee places in other cities when I travel (no Starbucks!). So let me show you the places that I think have the best coffee in NYC.
In a city that never sleeps, do you actually need a hotel? Well, as much as I like to get the most out of my stay in terms of sight seeing (and coffee drinking), I do appreciate a good hotel bed to return to. And if there’s one hotel I know that has the perfect comfy bed, with 2 x 2 m king size dimensions, it’s citizenM.
I unfortunately don’t have an unlimited budget to dine out (if only…). I’m not complaining, but let’s say that you won’t find me in restaurants with a Michelin star very often. Let alone a restaurant that has two!
So when you receive an email from a company asking if you want to try one of their experiences. And on that list of experiences is a 2 Michelin star lunch…You’d also do a little happy dance right?
Ah, New York… It had been too long. Four years since my last visit. It won’t happen again.
It’s hard to explain why I love this city so much. There’s just something in the air that gives me butterflies in my stomach. It happens every time. My first reaction when I arrive is usually pretty neutral. Yes, it’s good to be back, but it’s also loud, so many people, all these buildings, dirty streets, etc. Is it really that amazing, I wonder. Give it 20 minutes…. And yes, there are the butterflies again. I can’t help it. I’m literally in love with New York.
Writing a post about Berlin in a New York hotel room. Life could be worse. It's so great to be back in New York. I can't wait to share all my photos and stories, but first: Berlin. Yes, my travel schedule is a bit crazy at the moment. But hey, I wanted to travel...so...
Most people assume that because I'm from the Netherlands, that I must be from Amsterdam. I know we're a very small country, but there are other beautiful cities as well. Such as Den Haag. Or The Hague. Or 's Gravenhage if I wanted to make things extra...