#LIKEACHALLENGE 

#ThrowbackThursday You know how much I enjoy visiting football stadiums (and opera houses;), don't you? I thought you'd like to see a few vintage photos from my first visit ever to a stadium and live football match: it was a Champions league game at Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid back in 2003 (!). I still vividly remember that Real won 4:2 against Olympique Marseille. I was there with my parents, and with Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham playing on the field. Feels very special now, exa

Just a few cool suggestions for a Valentines weekend in Mallorca. My general rule: simple does it. It's not an over-the-top Valentines, so don't expect fancy restaurants with highly choreographed special effects. It's a down to earth evening (or a few days) spent with your loved one. 1. Head to the beach for a sunset Es Trenc, Deia, Soller Port...to name a few options, but there are endless possibilities on this stunning island. Buy a few basic tapas at the local shop and si

Just a few photos from my visit to the FC Barcelona stadium. Barca won and I got to see Messi (from far away, but still counts). Great thing to add onto your 'to do' list when visiting Barcelona :)

Hmmm.. it's been two weeks since the final match, so I feel better now ;-) I survived the 30 days training (just about), but long story short: I lost the final match. Happens to the best and to be fair, writing about it is a nice closure :) Week 4: I played my usual daily tennis, did a lot of walking on the beach (went south of the island for a few nights) and mostly focused on stretching. Nothing to strenuous. Nevertheless, I didn't have much left for the final match itself.

Slightly belated summary of week 3. It was tough. I felt super tired beginning of the week and to be honest, most of the workouts were very forced and I stopped enjoying the full-on schedule I imposed on myself (good news: I'm fine again in week 4, hurrah!) . Mid week I forgot how to play altogether, nothing was going right with the forehand or backhand. Around Day 17 I just wanted to cry and give myself a break BUT I've committed to 30 days, not 18, and I intend to keep it t

Corralejo - Sotavento - Cofete This is route number 2, which goes down south from Corralejo, all along the east coast of Fuerteventura. The drive south will take you around 2hours: that’s more or less how long it takes to do the whole east coast of Fuerteventura (sticking to the tarmac roads). I did a north – south – north roadtrip in one day (including sunset in Morro Jable), so it’s definitely doable in 8-10hours including food, beach stop and sunset on the way. From Corral

It's Monday and I've just kicked off week 2 of my tennis challenge. But first of all, quick summary of week 1 : I’m alive. My energy levels were going up and down during week one. I felt excited to start off with, day two was totally agonising and my whole body was in pain, day three I was back on track, then down on Thursday and finished on a high on Friday. I didn’t do any tennis at the weekend, as I badly needed some rest, but continued with HIIT exercises, pilates and a r

I promised a roadtrip post about Fuerteventura a while ago so here’s part 1 of 3. Sorry for the delay: I’ve been playing way too much tennis lately and lagging behind on the driving front! I'm prepping 3 different routes and you will be able to easily mix and match all the drives (and plan your water sports experiences around it). I’ll give you hints where to get the best Instagram-worthy views and what to eat along the way. I’m based up north in Corralejo, roughly half an ho

It’s already been a challenge doing (only) 2-3 hours training daily during the prep weeks. I have moments when I can clearly see progress and then there’s a day where I can barely hit the ball. My legs are in pain and need a solid rest – it’s also because I’ve started doing proper footwork on court and it’s so physically demanding (yes, I used to be one of those players that never moves around). I’m taking a day off tomorrow and having a sports massage. I’ve earned it! ;-) I’

For 30 days starting Monday, 5thApril 2021, I’ll be training like a pro tennis athlete. I want to see how my body and technique are able to improve over this short period of time, and treating this challenge a bit like a self-experiment. Once I survive the 30 days, the bonus goal is to play a match against the toughest opponent that my coach can find in the island of Fuerteventura. I’m expecting roughly 4 to 5 hours daily training. It will be a mix of 1 to 2 hours training o

If I could describe this car in one word: fun! It’s the perfect roadtrip car for Fuerteventura (more details on the actual roadtrip in a seperate post). It’s a joyful roadster made for a sexy, wind–in–your-hair ride. It’s a revival of the 1960s/70s model, redesigned using elements of the very popular Mazda MX-5 Miata. This car does a fantastic job if you want to add a bit of edge to your sunny roadtrip. It’s very tempting to push down the accelerator, especially in the Abarth

I've just reached Torremolinos near Malaga where I'm staying for the night. I've got the flight to Tangier tomorrow evening, so I'll treat myself to a proper lie in followed by sunbathing on the beach before 10 days of hard work. Below you have the face of someone drinking a mint tea and pondering 'why the hell am I not spending the next week and a half in a SPA'. Started the day googling what kind of dangerous creatures live in Morocco. For that reason alone, I'm kind of gl

Countdown to Morocco: 3 days to go and I’m uber excited! It’s gonna be my very first time on the African continent. I’ve wrapped on ‘A Place in the Sun’ in Torrevieja and driving towards Granada for the night. I just stopped in Lorca on the way to grab a quick dinner before another 2 hours drive. This amazing hotel and restaurant is called Parador de Lorca and its built on the site of the old Lorca castle ruins: just look at these panoramic views of he town from up here!