Amsterdam: Diversity week

The first week of July 2007, Amsterdam will be all about Diversity. During this Diversity Week conferences and cultural events will take place. The motto of the week is "Turning Diversity into Prosperity". The week is about discovering the power of Diversity. Do you want to have a fun and fruitful Diversity Week 2007? Please check out the website for more info.

Paris: The Luxembourg Garden

"In April, do not remove even one thread" is in France a popular saying which is quite odd this year, with this Summertime weather hitting the French capital. Tourists, who flock around our monuments are both happy and thirthty. In the Luxembourg Garden, the tourist's peak season has started earlier this year !

This historical Garden is the largest downtown, with its formal layout and beautiful flower beds, cared by an army of gardeners. Dedicated by Napoleon to children, the Luxembourg Garden is currently full of students, young mothers and nannies, and of course children , attracted by the merry-go-round, the children playground, the poneys or puppet show, while afficionados play tennis on three courts which remain the cheapest in Paris.

When you visit Paris, do not miss the Luxembourg Garden, a landmark in the Left Bank !

Dominique Epstein

Keywords: paris

Barcelona: Barcelona by bike with Bicing

Annebeth Vis has lived in Barcelona for over five years. She works as a freelance journalist for Dutch online and printed media. For Like-a-Local she takes tourists on the Avantgarde Shopping Tour. Annebeth shares a flat in the centre of the city, just off the famous Ramblas.

My first years in Barcelona I was a lonely biker in between cars, buses and taxis. Not always easy: people did not react to my little bell, biking routes that all of a sudden stopped. I smiled at every other biker I bumped into. It made me feel part of something: the biking part of the population.
With the years Barcelona has become a bike friendly city. Increasing parking spaces, more biking routes, traffic signs for bikes. That was nice until two months ago. Bicing introduced – I must admit they did smell a great opportunity – the bike as a substitute for bus and metro for every citizen in Barcelona. You buy a ticket that enables you to pick up a bike at any Bicing parking to leave it later somewhere else in the city. And it works. At some locations bikes are always gone and others are stuffed with them (a special Bicing team redistributes them all day long). I cannot imagine Barcelona without the red and white Bicing bikes anymore. However I still enjoy meeting other bikers around the city, it becomes more and more annoying to share my biking space with all these beginners that cross the footpath as if they were slalom skiing and seem to have never heard of changing roads, sticking out your hand to show direction and using the bike bell. If it were up to me biking-through-Barcelona could have kept on being something exotic. But for whoever is looking for a cheap en extremely trendy local experience Bicing is a great concept. So leave the tourist bus as it is and use a bike to hop on and hop off.

Annebeth

Keywords: barcelona

Amsterdam: Queensday

The Queen's official birthday (Koninginnedag) is a national holiday, which is celebrated by street parties and other events. The Queen and other members of the royal family visit the festivities in one or perhaps two different places each year. The royal visits are always broadcast live on television. In Amsterdam the festivities start on the eve of Queen's Day, Queen's Night, when thousands of people go out into the streets to take an advance on the day that follows. For me it is traditional to go to the pub de Blaffende Vis, normally a good place to read the paper with a cup of coffee and a “well priced sandwich. But on Queens night, it is full with food stands, bands and many locals dressed in orange.

Marieke

Amsterdam: Spring is in the air

When spring is in the air, the green and multicultural South-East changes.
Al the trees and the flower are coming out but also the people in the street make an change.
A touch of Africa, South-America is suddenly there.

The Market on Ganzehoef looks more bride , the ladies on Sunday to the Ghanian church look even more colorfull than they already are.

Southeast, the unknown part of Amsterdam. More than 100 cultures living together is this part of Amsterdam. I will be you’r guide into it!

Hans Mooren

Keywords: amsterdam

Barcelona: Spring in Barcelona

Annebeth Vis has lived in Barcelona for over five years. She works as a freelance journalist for Dutch online and printed media. For like-a-local she takes tourists on the Avantgarde Shopping Tour. Annebeth shares a flat in the centre of the city, just off the famous Ramblas.

While northern Europe is blessed with the greatest spring in centuries, Barcelona shows nothing but grey skies, rainy clouds and fresh temperatures. Is that why I moved 1600 kilometers southwards? The beginning of last week was a welcome exception. I had a friend over from Holland: a good excuse to take some days off and enjoy the sun. Time to sit long afternoons on street terraces and walk by the beach. We sat by the sea, strolled through the centre and in the Gothic Quarter I took her to Oviso for lunch. We both had a big glass of fresh fruit juice and my favorite salad in this city: la Ensalada del Tiempo. A week later it is raining cats and dogs again. Lucky for me Oviso is not just nice if you sit on the terrace, but also when you sit inside. After all, Spain does need the rain every once in a while.

Annebeth

Keywords: barcelona

Amsterdam: spring in Amsterdam

Hello everybody! I am Ina, 37 years old and I would like to tell you about my Amsterdam and show you around. I live in Amsterdam for 5 years now and it's my most favourite city, although I know a lot of other interesting places around the world. Welcome on my weblog and I will write about my city life on a regular base. Enjoy!
The summer is starting quite early in Amsterdam, with temperatures of 27 degrees. Inhabitants of Amsterdam were searching for their shirts and shorts somewhere far in their closets. And throwing their winter pullovers even further in their closets. White arms and legs, without a glimpse of tan shown everywhere. Beautiful people, drinking their beer and first rose on one of the many the terraces of Amsterdam, enjoying the sun. And some what frowned as well, is this normal, this type of weather, so early in spring?
Okay another rose please and some olives, no nuts, as we have to be in shape for our bikini.
Amsterdam in spring is beautiful, the trees around the canals have fresh green leaves, the beautiful canal houses, an early sun, calm water, a singing bird. People are biking to their work or drinking their early morning tea and coffee on the terrace.
This Sunday I biked with a friend of mine to the polderland outside Amsterdam, named Durgerdam. And again it was sunny weather. The village has wooden houses, situated alongside the dike and IJsselmeer, which is giving a tipical Dutch view. People were enjoying the sun looking over the water, what else do you need? Well a nice sailing boat perhaps?
Behind the village you can bike through the polderland, watching birds, who are busy with defending their nests. After a couple of hours we biked back to the city. But first…we took the best French fries of Amsterdam. The snack bar is situated in and old trailer in an industrial place, but the waiters are very friendly and the fries are home made! Mjammie.
Biking the bridge back is than a piece of cake!
See you in Amsterdam!
Ina (more)

Keywords: amsterdam

Amsterdam: Killer-bike or reckless tourist?

Spring is in the air again in Amsterdam and all our famous flowers are blossoming.
Tourist are pouring in in great numbers. Everybody for his/her own reason. But everybody is welcome in this magnificent city.
The centre of Amsterdam was built in the Middle Agesand in those days there were no cars or bycicles. Streets were (and still are) very narrow
and since most pedestrians lived in Amsterdam itself,they knew the art of sharing the public streets.

Amsterdam is not a "pedestrian" only city!!

But nowadays things have changed dramatically. In so far that the inhabitants still know the art of sharing the public streets.
The bicycle is the answer for the overcrowded small lanes,alleys and canalstreets. The foreign visitors however do not know this typical Dutch phenomenon. At the best they use a bike at home during the weekends for workout or pleasure. For us however it is an essential mean of transport.
The Dutch trafficlaw has reserved the public streets and alleys for these bicycles and de footways for the pedestrians. Unfortunately these footways are too narrow aswell and especially for the ever increasing numbers of tourist during the high season.
LET'S SHARE!
That is in priciple for us no problem. What actually happens however is that the tourist are blocking the public roads indiscriminately.
Let's make a deal: do in Amsterdam as the Amsterdammers do!
Don't walk four or five wide on the street.
Do not "close" a bridge with a group of thirty.
Respect our (traffic)rules.
Prevent accidents and irritations.

My reaction on your "I am sorry" every time I try to pass is "I am Paul".
Because we all love our visitors who .....

Have a nice summer and enjoy.

Paul H.M. Woltering
Consulent Bedrijfsvoering en Exportpromotie

Keywords: amsterdam