Category Archives: Travel

Chelsea Flower Market and Rehearsal

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Chelsea Flower Market

Chelsea Flower Market

I thought it was such a great idea when Christina told me that she wanted to make the bouquets and boutonnières herself for the wedding. I’ve never thought about buying flowers to arrange myself, so I was interested in visiting the Chelsea Flower Market to see what a wholesale flower market has to offer. The Market opens very early – at 5AM which is usually when professionals such as retailers and event planners stop by and closes at 11AM. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. When I think of a market, I think of the ones that take place during the weekend in Antwerp. At the markets I’m used to, vendors set up tables and kiosks outside in an open area and  sell their product. But the Chelsea Flower Market is basically one street filled with flower shops that specialize in certain type of plants, aka roses, exotic, potted, orchids, etc. You can browse outside the shop or in their freezing interiors (if you visit be sure to bring a sweater!) in order to find the perfect pieces to make your arrangement. We spent over an hour visiting every shop to find Christina’s dream flowers 🙂

After the Chelsea Flower Market we headed over to Brooklyn to Prospect Park for the rehearsal. Christina and Rafael were married in the Japanese Garden of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Such a lovely spot! That evening we celebrated with a rehearsal dinner at Lil Frankie’s for a delicious Italian meal. I don’t have any photos from the rehearsal dinner but maybe I’ll find some later!

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Christina’s Bachelorette Party

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Beginning the day with a picnic in Central Park!

Beginning the day with a picnic in Central Park!

As I mentioned in my last post – Christina got married last! And you can’t get married without a big party to celebrate the last days as a bachelorette. We started out at Di Palo’s to pick out delicious cheeses, meats, antipasti, etc. for a picnic in Central Park. After lunch we headed to the Central Park Loeb Boathouse for a coffee and then rented boats. Luckily we had two guys and two boats 🙂 After rowing, we visited the American Museum of Natural History, exploring Christina’s favorite sections – seeing meteorites, dinosaurs, etc. Before leaving the Upper West Side, we went for a drink at Dive 75. At dinner our number of people doubled! Because I don’t live in NYC, I turned to Christina’s now-husband Rafaël for advice. We needed a restaurant Christina loves that can hold 14 people – Nyonya, a Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown, could not have been a better choice! Christina’s colleagues were working during the day and were able to get to the restaurant before us to set up something embarassing for Christina. It couldn’t have been better. Christina always makes funny faces in photos, and her colleagues made masks of all of her different faces haha. After our dinner, we headed to Asia Roma on Mulberry Street for karaoke!

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Birthday in New York City

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Birthday cupcakes from Molly's Cupcakes in Greenwich Village

Birthday cupcakes from Molly’s Cupcakes in Greenwich Village

For the second year in a row I was able to celebrate my birthday in New York City! Christina just happened to be getting married September 14th in NYC, so Koen and I made sure to plan my birthday (September 9th) into the agenda. Unfortunately I didn’t think it out very well, because we arrived on my birthday and we were exhausted. We still made it out to Cocoron, a Japanese soba noodle restaurant in Chinatown, for dinner and to Molly’s Cupcakes, the best cupcakes in NYC located in Greenwich Village, for dessert. After our cupcakes we headed back to Park Slope in Brooklyn, where we were staying for the week, to sleep off our jetlag. Unfortunately our hosts were sick and at their parents’ place most of the trip 😦

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Coffeelabs

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Coffeelabs

Coffeelabs

Coffeelabs is located very close to my school, and it’s the perfect workspace for after class. There are plenty of tables and space to work on your computer. I decided on my day off to come by with a book and sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. I have to say that Coffeelabs is not the best location to come and read. There aren’t too many places to sit comfortably. But if you want to work or have coffee/lunch/snack with a friend, Coffeelabs is perfect. Great coffee and friendly staff!

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Amsterdam for Els’s Birthday

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Lunch at Beter en Leuk

Lunch at Beter en Leuk

For Els’s birthday this year, we celebrated in Amsterdam. We started out at our favorite café in Amsterdam – Beter en Leuk – for a delicious and healthy lunch. Beter en Leuk just so happens to be owned by Koen’s cousin Hanneke, and you can find organic vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc dishes and drinks for breakfast, brunch and lunch, as well as great cookbooks, clothing, jewelry, and other treasures! If you are in Amsterdam, Beter en Leuk is a definite must-visit!

After our feast, we took Els on her first metro ride to the center of the city to Dam Square. We visited the History & Royalty: Journey In Time exhibit at De Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) where I learned a lot about the history of De Nieuwe Kerk and its relationship with the Dutch Royal Family. After the exhibit we walked a bit more through Amsterdam before heading home.  What a fun day!

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Brussels / Magritte Museum

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Kunstberg / Mont des arts / Art Mountain?

Mont des arts / Kunstberg

A couple of weeks ago, Claire and I explored a bit of Brussels before class. We wandered the city discovering the Mont des arts, Magritte Museum, Parc de Bruxelles, and the Royal Palace. It’s shame we couldn’t take photos inside the museum! I’m a big fan of Magritte and it was so inspiring to see the world’s largest collection of his works. Because we started with his earliest paintings, it was evident how his work evolved. Before visiting the museum, I was only familiar with his most famous paintings and signature style. But it turns out he was always experimenting. There was an entire room with paintings from his Renoir Period! If you are in Brussels, you must visit the Magritte Museum!

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Matongé and Quimbombó con Carne de Puerco y Bolitas de Plátano

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Mantongé Mural

Matongé Mural

This summer I’ve been taking classes in Brussels, so I took the opportunity to do a bit of exploring. I had already been to Brussels a few times, but always to the Historic Center and other touristy places. I had heard about Matongé from a colleague and was curious to check it out! Luckily a classmate, Samy, was free after class to show me around – and thought it was funny I wanted to go and take photos. I especially wanted to get plantains, okra, and habanero peppers, because they’re difficult to find in Antwerp.  Fresh produce was available in abundance with little markets located throughout Matongé! I bought some Congolese food to-go to try the next day.

With my plantains, okra, and peppers I made Quimbombó con Carne de Puerco y Bolitas de Plátano – okra stew with pork and plantain dumplings. It’s a Cuban dish with a heavy African influence. It’s a bit like gumbo. If you say “King Gumbo” really quickly you get the idea. Everything turned out really well except for my plantain dumplings. They didn’t stay in their form. If I make this again, I will just fry them rather than mashing them and making balls.

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World Cup: USA vs Belgium

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Chocolate shop in Antwerp supporting the Red Devils in Brazil

Chocolate shop in Antwerp supporting the Red Devils in Brazil

Tuesday night USA played against Belgium in the World Cup. This was a match I couldn’t miss! Koen and I watched the game at the Grote Market on a big screen. Of course I’m American and was cheering for America (but not too loudly haha). The energy was high and infectious. Definitely an experience I’ll remember!

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Düsseldorf, Germany Day Two

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Frank Gehry's Neuer Zollhof

Frank Gehry’s Neuer Zollhof

 

For our second day in Düsseldorf, we went for a cruise along the Rhine River. If you do an image search of Düsseldorf, Germany you can’t help but find photos of Frank Gehry’s Neuer Zollhof, comprised of three buildings that curve and lean made of white plaster, stainless steel, and brick, and the Rheinturm, Düsseldorf’s landmark and the world’s largest digital clock. I didn’t want to leave the city without seeing both! Luckily they’re located along the Rhine River and we were able see them on our cruise. After our hour boat ride, we went to one last brewery, Im Füchschen, for altbier and schnitzel. A perfect, relaxing way to end our weekend trip!

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Düsseldorf, Germany Day One

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Koen and me in Düsseldorf

Koen and me in Düsseldorf

Normally while my parents are visiting, we explore Belgium and the Netherlands but this time we ventured into Germany to Düsseldorf! We stayed one night and spent the two days exploring the Altstadt (Old City), Köningsallee, and Japanese Quarter and enjoying a Rhine River cruise. Düsseldorf is famous for its altbier “a hoppy beer which translates as old [style] beer, a reference to the pre-lager brewing method of using a warm top-fermenting yeast like British pale ales”. There are 5 microbreweries located in the Altstadt which also serve traditional German cuisine – so that was our first stop – to Zum Schlüssel. After a huge lunch, Koen and I visited the Kunstsammlung K20 for a  really great exhibition called Kandinsky, Malevich, Mondrian: The Infinite White Abyss which explores the use of blank canvas in the artists’ work. My parents explored a few churches before visiting the museum across from ours, the Kunsthalle Düsseldorf for the Smart New World exhibition which wasn’t quite what my parents’ expected… A bit too contemporary for them! Afterwards we stopped for another altbier at the microbrewery Uerige. Then we walked to the Japanese Quarter for dinner.

It just so happens that when we arrived Düsseldorf was celebrating Japan Day, so there were a lot of visitors dressed up throughout the city – I think we saw at least 10 pikachus! Why a Japanese Quarter and Japan Day? Düsseldorf has the largest Japanese population in Europe. It was sooo busy and it wasn’t until we arrived in the Japanese Quarter that we realized there was a holiday taking place. We had already walked 30 minutes and were in the mood for sushi – all of the places were packed!! In the end we were able to eat while a huge line waited to be let in. A great first day!

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