A melting pot. You can say that about Istanbul. A city that captured my imagination for a long time. From books, stories and tips from people who had visited the city.

Paris, London, Brussels, Istanbul, Copenhagen, every year Reinier and I celebrated New Year’s Eve in another European city. A mini party, just for the two of us. Not with family, not with friends, not at a big anonymous party and certainly not at home on the couch.

Rome, Madrid, London, this time we had picked Berlin for our girlfriends-weekend! By train! At least the early birds. I have actually discovered one advantage of living in the “Achterhoek”.

If Bali is not at the top of your list, but it’s suddenly only 3 hours flying and you are ready for a much needed vacation…..what do you do? Sure, you book a flight to Bali & The Gili Islands.

A travel blog about Amsterdam, sure…..if you live in Borculo it is a long way travelling to Amsterdam haha. Yesterday I skipped work and went on a road trip with Reinier. We got free tickets for The Affordable Art Fair in Amsterdam.

It took me years to plan a trip to Madrid and then suddenly you visit the city two summers in a row. A problem? No, certainly not. Madrid was on my list for centuries. First I went with my sister, thereafter with a group of friends.

Cuba! Well that’s a story from the old days. A journey with a number of near death experiences, a Samsonite in tow, a cigar scam, food expeditions and a small “heavenly” island. In short, a journey that you won’t forget.

A quiet and easy going life, 99% of the time sunny days, a spacious house with mountain views, an old Toyota Landcruiser, lots of outdoor activities and an empty diary. After several years we were pretty much used to the Australian outback. And then, we suddenly moved to London…..in December!

When friends are getting married in Marrakesh and make it a three-day long feast, then obviously you won’t decline the invitation when you receive one. Coincidentally, we had visited Marrakesh not long before that.