London, Day 1: Tuesday August 3 - 2010


Packed and ready to go!


*waves*


Parked my bike at the trainstation.


Waiting for train #1: from Zwolle to Rotterdam


09.15 Traintravel: Amersfoort, the Netherlands


10.06 Traintravel: landscape, the Netherlands


Cleanest traintoilet I ever saw! (IC from Rotterdam to Brussels)


Noon: Lunch behind trainstation Brussel Midi (South) - waiting for Eurostar to London.


Around 5 pm: Hotel London! Most floors have doors with cards, this is the first time I got an old fashioned key with a long steel bar; I had to hand it in every time I left the hotel.

Took Tube to Leicester Square, bought last minute theatre tickets (restriced view*) and walked to Covent Garden for dinner. (Got lost on the way, which is even hard to do when you haven't been to London before. I blame it on the long travelday and hunger;)

Ponti's at Covent Garden is no longer self-service and apparently too posh now for spuds on the menu. :-( I had a chicken club sandwich with thin slices of cheese and bacon hidden between the lettuce and tomatoes (which I didn't eat, for I am a meat-eater;). Luckily they did stil serve their delicious home made lemonade. For dessert I had a orange sponge-cake. Quite nice meal.


Around 7 pm: Comedy Theatre for play 'La Bête' (The Beast) with Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley. *I sat on the highest seat on the highest balcony, but could see the stage perfectly from my bird's eye view. :-D


Walking back to the tube past Leicester Square: pretty lights!


Loot day 1: bathgoodies from Lush and theatre:)


Bath #1: pink bubbles from mom. Mmmm. Like soaking in sweet lemonade *grins* Perfect reading time (166 pages on the train, 48 in the bath)


London, Day 2: Wednesday August 4 - 2010


8.45 am: English Breakfast (and a bun for later;) Not on the photo, but added later: a glas of milk (of course:)

Took the tube to Camden. Walked around trying to find the Cinema. Didn't find it until after I was done shopping (and was smart enough to ask directions;)


While walking I came across this gorgeous gate.


I always have to make at least one picture of the shops on Camden Road. Isn't it awesome?


Stables Market has such impressive statues of horses (Camden Docks)...


... and also very artsy benches all over.


Where is this leg going? Possible answer two photos down!


Love the painted tracks above the road. Hey, hi doubledecker bus!


Impressive statue (Camden Docks) with no legs... yet;)


As I said: I found the cinema after shopping, I watched Inception and had some sort of lunch: nachos and cheese with a cookie dough/chocolate brownie milkshake. Yum!


As it turns out this cinema is right across from the Camden Tube station. D'oh.


Loot day 2 (Part 1;): Shoes! Books! Boots-goodies!

Day is not over yet. While getting ready to go to the theatre I noticed how brutal the light in the hotel bathroom is. If I had any doubt left; underneath my dyed hair I'm not a natural dark blond anymore...


Hello. Yes, that is gray in my hair. Heehee.


Took the tube to the Strand area and picked up my ticket at the Vaudeville theatre: lovely building.

Walked down the street to find a place to eat and passed by this bar:

The bar is called the Fallopian tubes Savoy Tup. I still have no idea what the hell that sign is supposed to be. Ehm.


I had dinner at Pret a Manger: Italian meatballs soup and Lemon cheesecake. DELICIOUS.


Then it was back to the theatre for Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl. Marvelous.


Loot day 2 (Part 2;): More Boots-goodies and theatre:)


Bath #2: ylang ylang oil from my neighbours. Very fancy:) (and another hour of relaxing reading time)


London, Day 3: Thursday August 5 - 2010


Did I take a photo of every breakfast? Yes I did.
Did I have the same breakfast every day? Yes I did.
Don't mess with perfection:)


Ready to go into town. (On tv one of the three audio channels with local London radio)


This time I walked through the Russel Square park towards downtown.


Passed the British Museum on my way to Shaftsbury Avenue


Forbidden Planet, good shopping for comic and cult geeks:)


I followed Charing Cross Road to Leicester Square. Bought a movie ticket and then did some shopping at Hamley's in Regent Street. (Oldest toy shop in the world, 250 years old, five floors filled with toys. Bliss) Then went to HMV in Oxford street where they didn't have the Tim Minchin DVD I was looking for, but I did buy two CDs of OkGo, before I had to take the tube back to Leicester Square for the cinema.


Empire Cinema: 44 seats and I had the best one: right in the middle of the back row. Finally saw Avatar and had hot chocolate and bag of Crunchie Rocks for lunch:)


Piccadilly Circus. Found HMV #2, where Tim Minchin DVD was also sold out :(


Windowshopping in Burlington Arcade and Bondstreet. Very posh shopping district. At the end I found the HMV near Bondstreet station, where I finally found the Tim Minchin DVD 'So Fucking Rock'. \m/


Dinner at Mother Mash. I chose the cheese/grainy mustard mash with Aberdeen Angus Steak Pie and traditional gravy. DELICIOUS.


Loot day 3: Comics, CDs, DVDs and souvenirs/presents for others:)

After emptying my bags and writing some postcards, I took the tube back to Leicester Square for my final movie.


ToyStory 3 with icecream:)


The lights in the cinema's biggest auditorium change colours. It's really cool.


One final look at the cinema before going back to the hotel to pack.


Tried and managed to fit ALL THE GOODIES in my backpack \o/


Final bathnight: a Ma-Bar from Lush (see shopping at Covent Garden day 1;) - chocolate/caramel bubbles. Mmmmm. (more reading)


London, Day 4: Friday August 6 - 2010


Final breakfast. *sniffles*. Yum.


I told you everything fit: one backpack filled with clothes and goodies. One shoulderbag for the road (book, water, tickets, passport)


Packed and ready to go.

Handed in my key, took the tube to St. Pancras Station (one stop).

11.00 am: Eurostar from London to Brussels


Bought lunch at Nero Cafe at the station: huge blueberry muffin, lemon juice and yoghurt with cruesly and blueberries.


Reading on the train.

Arrived in Brussels on time to catch my 14.18 train to Rotterdam. \o/

Look at the beautiful cloud:

It's the pig of happiness! He is so happy!
(May his joyful smile remind us how much there is to be happy about - Edward Monkton)

I had 29 minutes to change trains in Rotterdam. The train broke down in Roosendaal and I ended up with a 30 minute delay. Yes.
Luckily there was another direct train only half an hour later. And I had some time to buy dinner:)


Fries and a croquet. Omnomnom.


More reading. But I still hadn't finished my book when I arrived in Zwolle.


My bike was where I left it four days ago:)


Home! On top of all the goodies I bought in London, I was thrilled to find Sean Kennedy's new book 'Wings Of Equity' in my mailbox, woohoo.

A splendid vacation:)

Back to LiveJournal

Amsterdam, Tuesday 27, 2010

I went to Amsterdam to see Amy Adams a movie and have dinner with brotherdearest. I ended up doing some shopping in between:)

Here are some not very touristy pics of my walk around Amsterdam


Vijzelstraat, on my way to Mail and Female. I love how they decorated this house while it's being restaured. Paintings courtesy of the Frans Hals Museum.


Vijzelstraat


Vijzelstraat

After the movie (Leap Year, don't ask) and shopping, I met my brother and together we took the tram to the south of the city to Bazar Amsterdam in the Albert Cuypstraat, where they were just cleaning up the street from the daily market.


Albert Cuyp: there were a lot of seagulls and herons around, looking for scraps.


Brotherdearest trying to put a spell on the bird;)


Bazar Amsterdam is a wonderful restaurant, here are our starters: a plate full of delicious samples of Turkish foods.


This was the last picture I could make before my camera died and it doesn't do the bazar justice, check this link for the official site for a an impression of the glorious decorations.

Brotherdearest made more pictures of the food:

For the main course brotherdearest picked a veggie dish (front) and I had Veal Köfte (beef with pistachio nuts and vigs).


Dessert was spectacular; turkish yoghurt with cream and honey for the brother (front), for me: Bahgrir ba Bastani, Algerian pancake with ice cream and custard plus tons of fresh fruit. I was in heaven.

We ate (a lot) and talked (a lot) and had a great night. Brotherdearest escorted me back to Central Station around 22.15 and I got home a little after midnight. I went straight to bed and unpacked my loot the next morning:


Bold black packages from Dom - Christian Koban (Spuistraat 281, magnificent store, dressed in black;) - Red package is from Karma Sutra Honeysuckle bodypowder from Mail&Female, some random chocolate, toothbrushes from The White Teeth Store (extra hard;), WinQ magazine and of course orgasms cookies (also known as triple chocolate chip cookies, freshly baked by AH to Go)

A very satisfying trip.

New sandals \o/

For my birthday last December mom gave me a selfmade coupon to do 'something chocolatey' together. Today the two of us joined a workshop to make our own bonbons and truffles!

Mmm, chocolate!
01.
This is Jeroen from Chocolade & Zo; he is going to show us how to make a chocolate bowl with a balloon and the chocolate melting machine. We love him.

He also gave each team two recipes to make: truffles and bonbons. At the end we had to share the results...

02.
We started with the truffles recipe. After mixing melted chocolate, butter and cream, mom and I took turns working the piping bag. I can totally do this. They do not look like turds. Shut up.

03.
Mom dunking her balloon in milk chocolate (a second coat after the first of dark chocolate)

04.
Do you see mine? It's the prettiest bowl of the bunch:)

05.
Next were the bonbons. We made a base of marzipan mixed with crushed walnuts and honey with a coating of chocolate at the bottom. Here I'm covering the whole bonbon with chocolate. Final touch was a walnut on top (we also made some with the walnut underneath the final chocolate dip:)

06.
Done! Mom is very skillfully cleaning up the utensils.

07.
Our walnut-honey bonbons:)

08.
Our canache truffles (turds sneakily covered in dark chocolate sprinkles;)

09.
Don't we look professional?
(Heehee: mom is still covered in chocolate:)

10.
All the different truffles and bonbons the group made; we got to fill our chocolate bowls with one (or two;) of each \o/

11.
Tadaah! MINE \o/

12.
Happy mom + tons of chocolate = happy J. :-D

WE HAD SO MUCH FUN (AND CHOCOLATE!:)

I made cookies!
Only six, because that's how much sugar I had left:)

Recipe from 'Het Meneertjes Kookboek' (Mr.Men Cookbook) - Roger Hargreaves.
These are Meneer Stuntels Koekjes Speciaal (Mr. Muddle's Special Cookies:)


It's basic cookies (flour, sugar, butter, egg) rolled in smashed cornflakes.


They could have done with a little more time in the oven, but I was impatient *g*

I baked cookies! (Long time eater, first time baker;)