TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Finally, I am done with my Las Vegas fotos, more than 100 new fotos of Las Vegas Hotels and Casinos, 90% are interiors of interesting reproductions, i.e. Paris, Venice, Rome, New York, Egypt and many more. Dutchman and I really enjoyed our trip to Las Vegas and our side trips as well in Nevada and further across the border. Las Vegas alone, the strip is enough for 2 days. We are not gamblers, as well as we are not into shopping in cloistered environments, i.e. malls, so after 2 days of traversing the strip from one hotel to another we had our fill. Las Vegas is really good for just a weekend getaway and if you are staying for more than 2 days --- get out of the strip! Now my impressions... the massive and incredibly ostentatious hotels and casinos are one of a kind, in such a way that you can just walk into the lobby with your shorts and running shoes, sit in a bar, order a drink or play poker with a group. It’s definitely nothing near snooty Monte Carlo in Monaco or even our very own ...

This weekend was back to regular programming where we normally enjoy our walks in the forest. It’s been weeks since we’ve done this so I was really looking forward to commune with nature once again. The weather wasn’t really gorgeous; it was windy and still a bit cold for spring but it was nice to be outside. After the walk we went to the forbidden snack bar nearby and feasted on ‘patat oorlog’ (Dutch fries with mayo, sate and onions). The Pan Forest in Bosch en Duin in Zeist, Utrecht is a nature reserve. Spring has yet to come to the Netherlands but I can already hear the birds happily chirping early in the morning. They actually wake me up before my alarm clock does. Panbos as locally called is quite popular by joggers. We seem to encounter them at every turn. On the left foto are gorgeous looking fungi. The forest has many horse trails and we've come across a devil's fork tree! More fotos of Panbos here and a green clearing. The Pan Forest has a large network of horse trails...