An oasis of rest: the real one

Begijnhof, Spui, Amsterdam

Remember my post about Zara Home as an oasis of rest in the Kalverstraat? Well, I actually forgot that there’s a real oasis of rest in the city center of Amsterdam. I just found out about it a year ago, but now I visit it every once in a while when I feel like taking a break from the bustle of the city. I’m talking about the Begijnhof, a small medieval courtyard located within the Singel of Amsterdam.

On a the street called Spui (next to The American Book Center), there’s a big wooden door, leading to a small corridor which brings you to the courtyard. This entrance has only been here for about a century, since the Begijnhof used to be enclosed by water. It could only be reached through a bridge at the other side of it. It used to be a monastery, but after it had been renovated in 1979 they turned in into homes. This place has a long history. The exact date of foundation isn’t clear, but it’s about 1300. During two big fires (The Great Fires) in 1421 and 1452, a big part of the Begijnhof got destroyed and needed to be rebuilt. In 1578 there was a big revolution in Amsterdam, where the Protestants took the power away from the Catholics and shut down their churches (also the one in the Begijnhof). In the beginning the Catholics came together in one of the houses, later on they decided to (secretly) built another chapel to practice their faith. A lot of things changed since 1700 inside the court, for instance most of the houses were rebuilt with brick walls, but there is still one wooden house left (probably the oldest still existing house in the Netherlands).

Immediately after closing the door behind you, you can feel the peace and tranquility from this yard. You can just walk around en look at the old houses or sit down on a bench and just enjoy the silence. Each time I sit here, I always notice other people also just reading their books or drinking their coffee-to-go, preparing their selves for another day n the city.

Whenever you walk past the entrance at the Spui, just take a little peek inside, I bet you’ll enjoy it. 

The 7 Flushing Express

People say that walking in New York makes you feel like walking in a movie(set), I definitely felt the same. Almost every street corner, building, hotdog stand or park reminded me of movies I’ve once saw. It’s weird walking around in a complete strange city, but still feel like you’ve been there before. Though I loved it, I loved every minute we spent in the big apple. From shopping at Victoria’s Secrets to a boat trip to the statue of liberty, from walking to Central Park, to watching the models at Abercrombie&Fitch and drinking Starbucks’ hot chocolate after a tour to the top of the Empire State Building.
            But, besides the feeling that you’ve been there before, there was also the feeling that we were doing absolute the same as everyone else did visiting New York. Now, that’s not really a strange thing, when you’re visiting a city for the first time you have to see all the highlights, right? I mean in Paris you must visit the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Lafayette and Ladurée and when you’re in Londen you go to the Tower Brigde, The Big Ben, Piccadilly Circus and Harrods. 

            But still, I really wanted to see something not so ordinary, a place where most first-time-new-yorkers don’t go. I wanted to take the number 7 train to Queens.
There’s a book called Gastropolis: Food and New York City were Martin Manalansan wrote about this train: “the number 7 train is sometimes called…the ‘International Express”, describing how “different aromas filled the train, every time it stopped at a train stop”.
            My dad and I decided to catch an early train from Grand Central station. Quite fast after crossing the water and leaving Manhattan behind us, the metro slowly filled with all different kind of people. No wonder, since this train runs through so many different communities (there are for instance a Chinatown, a Koreatown, a large Indian- and a Jewish society). We randomly picked a few stops where we got off the train and walked through neighborhoods where people were just starting their day. What a wonderful sight, a city that’s waking up. The smell of food already drifted through the street, while shop owners started to set out their wares on the sidewalk.
            While New York does have its very own charm, especially Manhattan has a lot in common with other big cities in the world. Walking through Queens shows you a totally different side of town, where there’s not only prosperity and mercy. It’s  important to see how in such an enormous city as New York, wealth is still so unevenly distributed through all the parts of it. Those things are good to realize sometimes, right?

I loved all different cultures coming together, the diverse merchandises in the shops and all the special fragrances everywhere. And I thought it was really cool to walk around the neighborhood were 50 cent, LL Cool J, Run DMC and Nas grew up ;)!
Or to use Ja Rule’s words: big shout to all my Queens niggaz in Staten Island. Niggaz in Uptown, niggaz in Brooklyn!!
      Around 10 o’clock we got back in Manhattan. With my head still filled with all these great new impressions we had a delicious breakfast at Cipriani’s, the perfect way to start a new day.

       


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A little piece of heaven on earth

Portofino, Italy

In Europe we have St. Tropez, Marbella (Puerto Banus), Porto Cervo and Portofino. Four harbor villages, all having some sort of power of attraction for the rich and famous. Though, one of them really stands out. And that’s Portofino, a beautiful photogenic Italian village with a bunch of bright colored restaurants, houses and little shops crowded around the bay. The small harbor is filled with boats and outside the bay you find some of the bigger yachts. Although there are a Louis Vuitton, Pucci and Dior boutique, unlike the slight bragging sphere you have in villages like St. Tropez, Portofino has this totally different vibe. A great one.      
     There are two roads leading further into the village. One road shows you the big expensive villa’s in the mountains. On this side of the bay, you also find the amazing 5 star hotel called Splendido (part of the Orient Express group, check out their website and get crazy seeing all their magnificent hotels all over the world). We walked around Splendido a little bit, the last time we were in Portofino, only to find out that Madonna was there the next day to celebrate her birthday with all her famous friends. Damn! The other path, Molo Umberto I, brings you to a small yellow (and very romantic) church. Behind it, there’s this very special graveyard, and in the front you have a breathtaking view over the bay and the village.

            Stroll through Portofino, have a nice pasta in one of the restaurants around the harbor, enjoy a scoop of ice cream at gelateria Il Molo and walk up the hill for an even greater view. I’m sure you’ll fall in love with it, just like I did.




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Oh Romeo

Casa di Giulietta, Via Cappello 23, Verona

I love Verona, it’s such a pretty city. In the middle of the Piazza Bra (a beautiful big square in the town center) you can find the old Roman amphitheatre, where gladiators used to fight, but where you can visit the operas now. After the show, the whole piazza gets filled with people having late night dinners, listening to some of the artists who come out of the Arena to sing some more for them. And there’s the Ponte Scaligero, an impressive bridge with a stunning view over the city. You can keep walking around in the city trough narrow alleys, which lead you to more beautiful churches, buildings and small hidden restaurants. There’s the amazing Piazza delle Erbe, another square with nice restaurants, shops and a market. Look at all the beautyfull houses surrounding the piazza! Oops, I got carried away by talking about one of my favorites places in Europe, while I actually wanted to tell you about one specific place in Verona.                       
        Who doesn’t know the famous love story of Romeo and Juliet? About their impossible feelings for each other and it’s tragic ending. Even though there are people claiming Romeo and Juliet didn’t really exist (I’m surely not one of them), still one of the main tourist attractions in Verona is Juliet’s house (Casa di Giulietta). You can stand on her balcony, imagine Romeo singing his love serenade for her, and take a look in the house where a small museum is located. But, that’s not really what I like about this place. It’s the entrance hall of the courtyard with a big wall (know as Juliet’s wall) filled with loves messages from people all over the world. It’s said that writing your name on this wall, will make your love everlasting. (Hm, that might be a little bit undue, but I like the thought of it). It’s funny to see how people actually used about anything to write their love letters on. When they didn’t bring a piece of paper with them, they used sanitary towels, napkins, plasters or candy wrappers instead. Glued with chewinggum or even spittle, their messages spread the love for about another day, until the wall is full again and the cleaners come to take them all down again. I know that might be a little bid a sad thought, but hey, it gives you a good reason to visit Verona every once in a while!

No wonder why the city center of Verona is on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, right? 

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