TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

We had a rain check on our Friesland trip and since I was not in the mood to go all the way to Hattem for the Dikke Tine festival, I consulted my Dutch travel booklets; 2 of which I personally bought, 1 given to me by the Dutch sister. It’s been a while since we walked in the forest or in the plain fields, so I searched for a nice place nearby where a good combination of tea, a nature park and walking routes are abundant. So half an hour later we arrived in Eemnes, a very pleasant village with horses grazing on the wide open fields and traditional horse carriages galloping the narrow cobbled streets lined with trees. We searched for the Tea House that was recommended on my travel booklet but helaas we couldn’t find it. I vaguely remember now but it did say that the place is not easy to find with a GPS as it is adequately hidden from the road, and with a grumbling Dutchman beside me, this surely is not a great combination. OK, as time was running out and we so desperately want our bums ...

The Marrakech Menara Airport is very 1950’s and 1960’s in design but even if its old it still exudes a lot of character and personality. I like it. It is so unique. I took a few pictures before we left for Amsterdam via Agadir. Morocco is a country I would like to come back. In the near future. P.S. (this is a later edit) In the Sex and the City 2 (goes Abu Dhabi), the film was actually filmed in Morocco and this airport can be recognised in the film which was a year later after I have visited Marrakech =) Travel Period: April 2009

I had a quick after work drinks at the Star Ferry in Amsterdam Het IJ haven (beside the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam). It was my first time to be there and I quite like the place. It wasn’t a weekend so the restaurant was half full and the terrace empty, and because of the liberty of breathing space, the high ceiling heights and the massive glass walls, the café restaurant looked quite intimidating. I could imagine how it would be like on a Friday after work or during a 25C lunch day. People will be swarming with energy all over the place. Suggestion for this restaurant: please place plants outside and candle lights on the tables, the terrace would look more inviting and gezellig. Love, love the space and the abundance of glass and next foto is the empty terrace looking over to the other side of Het IJ. Star Ferry website is starferry dot nl. Check out the clouds in altocumulus formation. Finger food I like, a couple of these were enough to tempt me away from dinner. I went h...

Blondine and I were planning on having High Tea somewhere in Utrecht but it was 24C on the weather forecast so we grabbed the chance to hit the beach. Scheveningen is probably the most popular beach in the Netherlands, and the runners up would be Zandvoort and Bloemendaal. A lot of tourists come over here as well, mostly from the neighbouring countries such as Germany and Belgium. When its beautiful weather such as today Sunday, the paved boulevard (approximately 1 kilometer long) and the white sandy beach (3 kilometers long) are full of people playing sports, strolling around, lounging and relaxing in the beach clubs, swimming and what else, tanning under the sun. Trivia: During World War II, when the Germans were spying on the Dutch (they speak fluent Dutch), the Dutch use the word Scheveningen as a lock because the SCH is pronounced the same as the gurgling saliva spitting G. The Germans could never pronounce it, lol. This is the kilometer long paved boulevard in ...

Dinner for tonight Friday 21 August... Ingredients: spaghetti, ground beef (wee bit), courgette, onions, mushrooms, green paprika, tomatoes, pasta alla diavola herb-spices, parsley, garlic, capers, parmigiano-reggiano... to season: balsamic vinegar, paprika, pepper, salt, olive oil. My own version of what a pasta should be -- loaded with vegetables and very little meat! I use the pasta alla diavola spices and replaced the tomato sauce with just olive oil. Give me dry pastas anytime. Seriously Dutchman and I have been eating this same pasta dish for straight 3 days already! So I'm looking at a busy weekend: Major cleanup of our 3rd bedroom which I'm using as my walk in closet,... visiting a Home & Garden center (searching for Eucalyptus),... lunch with a friend in Scheveningen beach in Den Haag (I am ordering Fruits de Mer!),... and dinner at home with the Dutch family (I'm cooking! Menu: Gambas green salad; Pasta Genovese w/ courgette, paprika and peas; Greek ...

I have mentioned in my earlier entry that my Cebu and Bantayan vacation fotos were gone. We copied all the fotos to a USB stick but something went totally wrong when I accessed the files. Anyway, I have an appointment with my mother this Friday (she’s a very busy business woman!) and I will try to remotely access her laptop and see if I can copy and transfer the fotos, if not I will have to ask her to copy them to another USB stick and send by post mail. This is really an example of Murphy’s Law =( So while waiting for my Cebu and Bantayan vacation fotos, I’m posting the only 6 fotos I have of Tagaytay, taken almost 9 years ago. Wow that’s how long ago these memories were. I think I shot more fotos but this was pre-digital camera days and I had to scan each picture and store them in my computer. Miraculously a few of them survived. I actually have very few pre-digital age fotos scanned. Taal Volcano, an active volcano within a caldera in the middle of Lake Taal in Batangas. Travel excu...

Um, why is it like this? That if you are a local you tend to overlook the most basic touristy attraction of your place. Utrecht has been my home for 7 years. I actually turned 7 years in existence in the Netherlands last 14 August, funny, I just remembered now! Wow, time flew out the window so fast. I should write a meaningful post about this anniversary in this blog. 7 long years. Anyway, there are 2 things I would like to do in Utrecht that most tourists did: 1) Climb the celebrated 11th century Dom Tower and 2) Take a boat ride through the Oudegracht and the Nieuwegracht. Waterfiets aka canal bike, the suggested route (see on the map with the dark blue line) is via Oudegracht and Nieuwegracht. Unlike the canals of Amsterdam, Utrecht is peaceful and smaller, you can enjoy a bit of serenity and the town feel in the city. Venetian gondolas of real Italian replicas. Utrecht has quite a number of bridges and the canal banks are not far from side to side. In the main part of the Oudegrach...