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As much as I love city trips, sometimes all I want is to spend some time in nature. Enjoying the fresh air and some peace and quiet. Ideally, with a bit of luxury, of course. And I can now tell you from personal experience that when it comes to luxury hotels...
As much as I love city trips, sometimes all I want is to spend some time in nature. Enjoying the fresh air and some peace and quiet. Ideally, with a bit of luxury, of course. And I can now tell you from personal experience that when it comes to luxury hotels surrounded by nature in The Netherlands, there's no better place than Boutique Hotel Beekhuizen in National Park Veluwezoom. I just spent 3 nights here, and it has immediately made it into my top 3 favorite boutique hotels in the Netherlands. In this article, I’ll share my review of Boutique Hotel Beekhuizen, along with some great tips on what you can do in the area during your stay. From visiting...
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In my first year as a new Londoner, I spent most of my time getting to know the cultural and foodie highlights of this city. Sure, I started reading an English newspaper and watched the BBC news, but I can't say I'm quite the expert yet when it comes to the British...
As with many other fashion designers, I could say that I knew of Paul Smith, but I didn't know much about him. So an exhibition with the name 'Hello, my name is Paul Smith' sounded like a good introduction into the life and work of this British designer. As much as I...
Wish you were lying under a palm tree sipping a cocktail on some tropical island right now? Well, we're in London so that cocktail will have to be a cup of tea, but those palm trees are still an option. That is if you don't mind dressing up for the occasion and maybe...
When you live in a small country as the Netherlands, you don't spend the night in a hotel very often since 'home' is never that far away. But what better way to ring in the new year than to wake up in a beautiful hotel room? So this year we decided to go see the...
What do you get when you combine women's two great loves, fashion and tea? An afternoon tea for fashionistas, or better said: a Prêt-à -Portea at the Berkeley in London. This particular afternoon tea had been on top of my London to-do list ever since I moved to...
My monthly rent in London might make you think that I'm living in a castle... I'm actually not. I'm still waiting for the day that some prince or knight in shining armour will invite me to live in his (or just a nice mansion with people that will cook and clean...
For someone who's never been to Sweden, I sure do write a lot about Swedish food. After my recent discovery of Fabrique, a Swedish bakery that sells the most delicious cinnamon buns, I wanted to know what more the Swedish kitchen had to offer. Lucky for me, my friend...
I wish I had the discipline to actually use all the cookbooks I own. Seriously, I have so many! They're fun to read, but then when I walk into a supermarket at the end of the day, I will most likely go for something that I know how to prepare without a recipe. And if...
It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when I never drank coffee. I loved the smell of it, but not the taste. Today, I still drink more tea than coffee (I so moved to the right country), but I now love a nice cappuccino in the morning or a strong...
Is there such a thing as too many afternoon teas? This weekend I had two! On Saturday, Selena of Oh, the places we will go managed to get 20 London bloggers in the same room for an afternoon tea at the Mercer Street Hotel in Covent Garden. It was so nice to finally...
After I finished the delicious cinnamon bun at the Fabrique Bakery, I made my way to the Geffrye Museum next door. I'd heard about the museum, but actually didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise when I walked into this lovely garden. What a hidden gem! The...
Not sure why, but for some reason every time I get my hair done it starts to rain as soon as I walk out the door. Bye bye trendy haircut. Today was no exception unfortunately, so I quickly had to decide where to go in the Shoreditch area (if you want a trendy haircut,...
One aspect of becoming a Londoner that shouldn't be taken lightly, is practicing the fine art of afternoon tea. Not high tea...Afternoon tea (there is a difference you know). I'd been to The Ampersand hotel in South Kensington on a Sunday afternoon twice, but never...
Coming from the land of 'cheese heads', it shouldn't come as a big surprise that I love (love!) cheese. I could eat it all the time (actually I do). I'm happy to follow any food expert's advise on how to eat more healthy, as long as they don't touch my cheese. This...
I shouldn't have done it.... See what happens when you start talking about nice sunny autumn days? Rain, cold, storm...Everything that's not to like about the British weather. Sorry! So what do you do when looking out of the window makes you want to crawl right back...
What would you define as a 'good life'? And then an even harder question: how can you make it better? The title of the first Monocle book The Monocle Guide to Better Living may sound a bit presumptuous, but its content certainly isn't. I would consider my life to be...
How much do you know about seasoning and flavoring? Even though I love food, and can certainly taste if something isn't seasoned right, I actually don't have a clue when it comes to seasoning my own food. I'm one of those people that has a whole collection of spices...
Have you heard about the cronut? This love child of a croissant and a donut is the new foodie hype in London. Officially only the one created by pastry chef Dominique Ansel in New York can use the name 'cronut', where you need to wait in line for two hours...
Not only am I going to be in a cookbook...I'm also making an appearance in an actual TV show. For the second episode of Anne's Kitchen she's taking me to Marylebone to show me where she finds inspiration for her recipes. And Anne surprised me with some...
With all the commotion around royal baby George, I felt I needed to learn a bit more about the history of the British royal family. And what better way to do that than to walk around in a palace where many of them have lived since 1689 until today: Kensington Palace....
If you had told me a year ago that a book would be published that has pictures of me in it, my last guess would probably have been a cookbook. Don't get me wrong, I know how to boil an egg and am perfectly capable of serving my friends a nice dinner without giving any...
For some reason I don't buy second-hand books very often. But I find second-hand book markets impossible to resist. Even if I'm not looking for something in particular, and probably won't buy anything, I always love the sight of all those books on display. Some really...
Cupcakes in London are - like pretty much anywhere else in the world - incredibly popular. What's not to like about those sugary, colorful, beautifully decorated little cakes? One of my first stops in London was Hummingbird Bakery that is famous for its American style...
Just like most cliches turn out to be true, most tourist attractions are popular for a reason. They're usually worth visiting. And there are so many of them in this city! Even after four months I still haven't ticked all the city highlights boxes. But on the weekends...
Every year the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park commissions a different architect to design a temporary pavilion. This year's pavilion is created by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The result is quite impressive. It's like a cloud made out of white steel. No roofs, no...
Unfortunately for me, I have to cross half the city to get there, but I love shopping in Marylebone High Street. Here you'll find Daunt Books, the Conran Shop, The Natural Kitchen, La Fromagerie and other great shops, boutiques and restaurants. So when I read that...
When I was living in Paris, every time someone came to visit me, I basically took them to the same places that I knew and liked. Which is great for them (no need to go through tourist guides), but as a result I had to go see the Mona Lisa over and over again instead...
Sea salt and I, it's a growing love affair. What started as seasoning for my weekend egg, then scrubbing, hair spray.... has now evolved to sea salt in my chocolate. What else? I promised you more chocolate, and did I find the right spot to go to! Artisan du...
I'm a bit of a chocoholic. Nothing new for people who have known me for a while. I thought that by now I kind of gained control over my addiction, but London is just full of temptations. This Saturday I walked by this place called Ben's Cookies and I couldn't resist...
In case you were wondering.... I love visiting food markets. And so far Borough Market is definitely one of my favorites. Apparently the market has been here since the 13th century and has grown to over a 100 different food stalls today. It's THE place to go to if you...