zondag 24 januari 2010

in between piles of books


will always be a good address. if there is something i miss in this small town, it's a decent bookshop. a bookshop big enough to get lost between the shelves, with people of all ages reading skattered all over the place. sitting on the floor, in armchairs or standing, leaning on the shelves. i used to work in a good bookshop for years. i love bookshops with coffee bars and armchairs. they may just want to lure you in and sell more books, but what the heck, they deserve top sales with the cozy atmosphere they create.

zondag 13 december 2009

mooie adressen in nijmegen


i've come across a few cool stores in nijmegen. (coming)

maandag 21 september 2009

aveda

to mark the end of my youth and the start of my life as an - uh - real woman, i treated myself to a haircut at aveda in the hague, where i found myself on my 30th birthday to vote at the embassy and apply for a new passport. it came with a full back, neck and head massage. i am ashamed to say that i knew aveda only vaguely before that. after that, i have been doing some reading and it just seems like such a good company. no animal testing, no animal ingredients, all natural, fairtraded, biological products that smell wonderful. definitively a good address!

more info

vrijdag 24 juli 2009

delicious hot chocolate in bruges - dat kan!

(bar-c)

opening hours in belgium in general and bruges in particular can be a bit of a mental challenge to the meticulous northwestern european. bar-c (c for chocolate) in bruges is sometimes open, sometimes not and when inquired about the opening hours the staff replies "i don't know. it depends." and they don't want to go more into detail than that. when bar-c does open, it usually opens around 11 pm. and there is no way of telling when it is going to close. in the beginning i thought it to be one of these plentiful belgian tourist traps but this is not the case at all. i certainly had the best hot chocolate i have ever had outside my own home and the chocolate used here is of high quality ranging from different countries of origin and with different characteristics - not the standard over-sweet belgian stuff. And of course you can choose between various white chocolates and chocolate with cocoa of different intensities up to 80%. try tanzania or the extra dark pur uganda and you're in for a treat. all drinks can be made with soy milk, which is unusual in brugge.


(from the menu)

in addition to hot drinking chocolate, the usual pralines, truffles and tablets, bar-c sells chocolate genever, chocolate beer, chocolate soap, chocolate liqueur, cookies and the menu features chocolate rundstofvlees (chocolate beef stew - i never tasted it) and a wide selection of chocolate fondues and other chocolate based desserts and drinks, and a handful of lunch dishes which has nothing to do with chocolate. i had champignons on toast which comes with heaps of fresh salad greens, tomato and cucumber. i requested to have it prepared without any dairy, which was no problem at all. the champignons were roasted in olive oil and a generous amount of very aromatic freshly ground pepper. it was very good.

in spite of the appeal you would think that such a place has to chocolate hungry tourists, i found myself alone in the restaurant during lunch time.


(chocolate and rose soap)

donderdag 9 april 2009

second hand or vintage stores everywhere

tone sige's tonica vintage corner has been saving the past for the future in oslo west since 1976. i stumbled across it once on the way to uni, and have been coming back ever since. the dress once belonging to marylin monroe and the genuine dior hc dress from 1966 never found their way to my wardrobe, but a beautiful skirt from chloe did (and continues to travel with me wherever i go) and heaps of other goodies. apparently, nick cave has checked it out, and so should you!

tonica vintage, schønings gate 14a, oslo, norway

tone also used to have a branch in haarlem, but apparently it doesn't exist anymore.

more info

2mas in nijmegen offers a mix of old and new, and is worth a visit.

2mas, wereldstraat 97, nijmegen, the netherlands

more info (and webshop)

le bibelot


don’t let the weird new interior of le bibelot put you off.. let the eyes rest on the menu instead, which boast of quality and you won’t be dissapointed once the food is one the table. everything is cooked to perfection.

sadly, the friendly cat dissapeared after they redecorated the place, but there are still plenty of bibelottes!

le bibelot – uw franse restaurant, oudegracht 181, utrecht

more info (dutch)

maandag 2 maart 2009

hemehuis



hemehuis
is as beautiful as it is pampering, this must be the most relaxing spot in brugge. my favourites include the steambath, the beautiful little pool, the norwegian style cold bath on the roof top, the relaxation room with a fireplace, and the wornderful tea room. drinks, food and products are organic and the tea is delicious!

brugge, belgium

more info (dutch)

don't leave the neighbourhood before having spent a few minutes on a bench letting the pictoresque view from predikherenrei sink in (see the pic by tanguy below), preferably with a bar of newtree's delicious dark chocolate with thyme and linen seeds.

more info (newtree alpha thym)



if you feel a little peckish after sweating in the steambath, drop by ryad on the way back to the centre, only a few mins walk from het hemehuis, and dig into one of the tasty plates or mezzes from their moroccoan-indian inspired cuisine.

ryad, hoogstraat 32, brugge

more info