#LIKEACHALLENGE 

For more info on each place click on the name. Most of these spots are located in the district of Jordaan and a couple around De Pijp. HUMMUS BISTRO D&A BREAKFAST, BRUNCH, LUNCH My go to breakfast place. Serves an amazing Shakshuka. I usually take the spinach and feta one, but they do a lot of specials. They’ve also got fantastic coffee which they serve with halva (I am obsessed with halva!) WINKEL 43 APPLE PIE, ANYTIME The home of the traditional Dutch apple pie (with fre

Normally it takes a few days or weeks till I get my head around writing about my latest adventure, but this time I decided to jot everything down while it’s still fresh in my head. I’m also on the train right now, so there’s a couple of hours to spare. On Monday I jumped on the Eurostar from London to Paris. This time the goal was to visit the Palais Garnier. The Garnier Opera House stands in the middle of a very busy road intersection with an ocean of people running acros

A couple of photos from my last opera visit, this time in Rome. Another one for my Opera&Ballet challenge :)

This year I’m hoping to take my race driving skills to the next level and starting in the Interia Drive Cup in Poland. It’s targeted at (good) amateur drivers but also experienced ones ready to leap into the world of pro championships. That’s exactly why it’s a good mix, I have space to improve competing against others who are much better than me at this stage of my ‘career’. Interia Drive Cup is formed of 6 races held at various racecourses in Poland plus a bonus cross coun

I've had 8 lessons since the start of the year. It might not seem like much BUT I’m very consistent doing it every fortnight. Let’s not forget how much time I spend in the edit with the history series I’m working on. I go to the ice rink every other Wednesday and do a one to one 30min lesson with my coach. After that I stay on to train on my own. It’s an adult session with not that many people around usually, recommend it if you want to practise without bumping into kids ;-)

1. Girls, you can properly get dressed up (some of the outfits I buy are only good for a ball or...the opera house) If you've got the swagger, just go and pull off an Oscar gown. And guys you can do a bow tie! 2. Drinks at the bar, usually set in a chandelier filled lobby or a stunning terrace with a view during summer. 3. Great idea for a not-a-bog-standard date! 4. Mediation: operas & ballets usually last around 3-4 hours, so there’s a lot of time to ponder about life. 5.

I’ve never actually heard about Frankenstein performed ‘en pointe’ until I looked up what’s on in the Royal Opera House in London. The ballet is based on the famous 1818 book written by Mary Shelby, but only came to life in 2016. It was adapted for the stage by British choreographer Liam Scarlett with music composed by American Lowell Liebermann. It's a lavish performance with the score reminding me a bit of Prokofiev, being fairly traditional in terms of harmonies and struct

My latest opera trip ended up being in…Palma de Mallorca. Not the obvious choice, but I happened to be visiting my best friend over there and thought, let’s just see what’s on. It turned out to be Don Giovanni. First of all, Don Giovanni is not for amateurs. It’s long (goes on for nearly 4 hours) and it can be tedious at the best of times (I closed my eyes and dozed off a few times, like a pro;). Nevertheless, it’s a staple of operatic repertoire and if you’re open minded pl

I kicked off 2019 with the ballet 'Cinderella' and it's my first time at the Dutch National Opera and Ballet before. It was a bit of a last minute decision to book the tickets as I only decided a couple of weeks before NYE to spend it in Amsterdam and what a damn good decision it was: honestly, one of the best ever ballet productions I've seen. Fantastic sets throughout, but above all, the dancing was impeccable. Great chemistry between Daniel Camargo and Igone de Jongh.