TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Sunday night and feeling a bit lethargic (in other words, lazy), we agreed not to head off to the Koninginnenacht (Queen’s Night) festivities in Utrecht. But this morning, we managed to move our bums and joined Utrecht for Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day, 30 April). This is a yearly nationwide event in celebration of the Queen’s birthday here in the Netherlands. So what’s in store during this day? Street party, live music, stage shows, lots of drinking, dressing up in orange, spontaneous street acts and selling junk, well anything really. Here’s my picks for Queen’s Day 2012 in Utrecht: Little Miss Dutch Maid in the prairie. Selling junk. Like in most cities in the Netherlands during Queen's Day, there are designated areas and streets that one can sell their (used) wares. And well, some even offer blind date matching services. Selling manicure services as well. Dyed orange hair and a Netherlands flag boa are popular outfits for the day. It was the first time in many yea...

Blondine and I had lunch at Winkel van Sinkel yesterday Saturday. Blondine had the salmon bagel while I had some omelette. They were OK--4 stars out of 5. The meet up is not just for our usual girly lunch update but to also further excite ourselves (now that sounds like this sentence needs some censoring, lol) for our up and coming CUBA TRIP which will happen in 2 weeks’ time. Yep, 2 more weeks!!! Flights have been booked 2 months ago. Hotels have been booked last week as well. Right now I am checking out the rental car. Winkel van Sinkel, quite busy during lunch. A quick trip to the WC (toilet). This is the basement of the restaurant that used to be a warehouse exiting to the wharf. In the old times, businessmen trade their wares by coming to Utrecht on boats and loading the wares on the below the street level wharfs. Nevertheless we are bursting with desolate anticipation. WE CANNOT WAIT TO GO TO EXOTIC CUBA! You know, Blondine and I have promised ourselves that we wi...

We have finally come to an end of my Berlin travel posts. Hopefully in the near future when I come back to this city, I will be able to visit the amazing glass cupola of the Reichstag. Because of the new security guidelines, visits will have to go through a preliminary screening and visitors will have to register 3-days in advance online at the Reichstag website. Unfortunately we did not have the luxury of time. Another thing that I’d like to do in Berlin next time around is to visit the food or farmer’s market. I have simple wishes, I do not ask a lot =) Below are more pictures that I took during our 4-day Berlin long weekend trip in March of this year. They are daily street scenes, some of our dinners (they did not merit their own post), more historical monuments and places and things of interest. One of our dinners at Restaurante Malatesta, an Italian restaurant in Gendarmenmarkt. We shared a spinach salad doused in balsamico vinegar and showered with roasted pine nuts. Dutch...