TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Dutchman and I brought Dr. Balin to our favourite pancake house, the Theehuis Rhijnauwen in Utrecht for Sunday brunch. Pancakes are typically Dutch and is an all-time popular favourite by Dutch families, especially during weekends. Because I wanted Dr. Balin to see a little bit of the Dutch countryside, I decided to park the car in Ameliswaard, 2 kilometres away from the pancake house which is located in a small forest. I discovered this area a few years ago when Dutchman and I did a nature walk in Ameliswaard, afterwhich we continued our walk to the pancake house in Rhijnauwen for early dinner. Dr. Balin walking along the Kromme Rhijn (Rhine) River. This is the port at the Rhijnauwen Castle (not in picture) which is now a hostel. It’s a lovely place with a scenic river, the Kromme Rhijn River—a tributary river of the Rhine River that flows to Germany and the Swiss Alps. Rhijnauwen=Rhijn (Kromme Rhijn River). The place also exudes the typical Dutch countryside feel, with farm ...

Three weeks ago, my cousin—Dr. Balin came to visit me in the Netherlands. She’s on a work-related trip here in Europe and I’m so glad she took time to come over for a weekend. Of course, Amsterdam is in the agenda. I asked Dutchman to bring us to the capital city by car. Going back we will be taking the train to Utrecht, and then the Dutchman can fetch us from train station. With this I do not have to pay a ludicrous amount of money for parking. Like last weekend, I was in Amsterdam for dinner and I paid 32 freaking euros for less than 6 hours parking. That could be a light dinner for 1 person already. Anywho, here’s what we did in Amsterdam for 8 hours. From 4 in the afternoon to half past 12 midnight. Dutch fastfood: Febo food vending machine in Leidseplein. Typically Dutch. And beside Febo is the 'Wok to Walk' and we ordered this for our additional afternoon snack. We had some cheese tasting and quickly visited the floating Flower Market. We c...

One of our highlights in Paris is our late and long lunch at le Café Marly , a Costes restaurant that is known for glamour and the concept of dining to be seen. The elegant café restaurant is located under the arcades of the Louvre Palace with a majestic view to the glass pyramid. It was scorching when we had our late lunch here. I ordered a glass of champagne of course and the ‘Tomates Anciennes Burrata’. When the food arrived, it was love at first sight. I mean, how can you not fall in love with this!?!?! The tomatoes were so colourful and tasty, so I got curious and googled  ‘tomates anciennes’  and then I switched to translate. It means ‘heirloom tomatoes’ or ‘heritage tomatoes’. I love tomatoes, I always buy them every week. They are a staple at home. The burrata (buffalo mozzarella) on the other hand was heaven. So creamy, the cheese melted on my tongue. This has got to be a 4.7 stars out of 5. As for Bru she ordered chicken cesar’s salad. She sai...