TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Trivia: Did you know that tulips originally come from Turkey? If you visit Turkey in spring, you will find the beautiful gardens of Istanbul in a colourful carpet of tulip flowers. I was able to witness this 2 years ago. Check it out here: Sultanahmet Park in Istanbul, Turkey Tulips these days, as synonymous to Holland aka Netherlands, were made popular around the world by the Dutch, after a professor brought the tulip bulbs to the Netherlands for further experimentation and cultivation. Who would have thought a flower can cause an economic crisis? But that's another story to tell. The Netherlands tourism website even uses the orange tulip as one of its many quintessential logos. Tulips to me though are nothing new. My first job in the Netherlands was situated in Hillegom, in the midst of the flower bulb region of the country. I can literally see the plethora of tulip fields from my work desk. Whenever I go to the terrace upstairs which is through the in-house Irish ...

Shopping can get me tired, and I mean this seriously. Sometimes just the thought of it makes me tired already. I know, I am a party pooper. This monumental shopping building that is once the party hall of Antwerp City Hall is easy to find on the Meir (main shopping street of Antwerp). I tend to lean towards a masculine approach when it comes to the real chore of shopping. So I shop for a purpose and it is usually something that I plan ahead. The only time I would spontaneously shop is when I am travelling, but not all the time. At home, I just stay away from city centres and shopping places. That way I will not be tempted, haha. But there are always exemptions! The City of Antwerp showcases a lovely shopping centre called “Shopping Stadsfeestzaal” (Festival Hall Shopping) which really has little to do with shopping, in my opinion anyway, but more of a platform to celebrate Antwerp’s rich architecture and history. What can I say, the shopping building is a national monum...

So I was in Antwerp, Belgium last April together with girlfriend Bubbles. The cathedral-like train station in Antwerp, Belgium opened its doors to the public in 1905 We went on a day trip with the car and managed to park adjacent to Antwerp Central (Antwerpen Centraal) station. Which was spot on because I wanted to show Bubbles the cathedral-like railway station which is an attraction in its own right. She was very much looking forward to seeing it as well. I have also stopped counting the number of times I have been to Antwerp. It is actually my go-to place when I am craving for steamed mussels. Lucky me it is not too far away =) The train station has 4 levels and 14 train tracks. At the Antwerp Central we managed to take a LOT of selfies. We got stuck here for some time because Bubbles was so taken by the stunning architecture and the grand entrance hallway. She wanted to take pictures of every nook and cranny, so I took the opportunity to snap a few shots as wel...