Amsterdam: Museum N8

Amsterdam Museum Night 2007

There will be a big musea event in Amsterdam on Saturday the 3rd of November. Named: Museum Night.
You can visit more than 40 musea at night, how amazing is that?!
The Museum Night will start at 7pm and ends around 2am. But after visiting all the musea you can party at serveral places!
Seven afterparty clubs are joining the event this year. You can show your n8-passepartout and you will receive a discount on the entrance fee.

The clubs are:Bitterzoet, 11, Hotel Arena, W139 Basement, Melkweg, Odeon, and Sugar Factory.

More info at: http://www.n8.nl/2007/

Keywords: amsterdam

Amsterdam: Dance Event

Amsterdam Dance Event
Last weekend I experienced Amsterdam Dance Event 2007.
I can tell you one of the best parties of the year, you can compare it with New Years Eve.
A lot of different parties where going on in the whole city! I went to the Escape and the other night to the Cineac the club of DJ Tiesto.
If you want to visit Amsterdam, you have to visit Amsterdam during the ADE.
Hope to see you next ADE in October 2008!

More info at: http://www.amsterdam-dance-event.nl/

Keywords: amsterdam

Utrecht: A different kind of Sunday

A different kind of Sunday

Not so long ago Sundays were quiet and peaceful in the Dutch cities. On Saturday the city-centres were packed with fun shoppers, but on Sunday, when all shops were closed, the city was asleep. Occasionally shops opened their doors on Sundays, especially around Christmas time. But most Sundays you could enjoy the beauty of the Dutch cities without being disturbed by big crowds carrying around full shopping bags.

This changed a couple of years ago. More and more Dutch cities decided to get rid off restrains on opening shops on Sunday. Since then you can shop till you drop all week long.
Utrecht, Holland’s fourth biggest city, didn’t follow this trend. In a referendum 63 % of the people of Utrecht voted against shopping on Sunday. But it’s not quiet on every Sunday.
On the contrary, Utrecht invented their own alternative: The Cultural Sunday!

The Cultural Sundays are special days offering an exciting choice of artistic activities. Music, dance, theatre and cinema, there is something for everyone taking place in the parks and squares of the city, and usually free too. There is a Cultural Sunday at least once a month. The first Sunday of September the Cultural Sunday to celebrate the start of the new cultural season attracted more than 80.000 visitors to the city centre. Last Sunday there were cultural festivities throughout the suburbs of the city. The Cultural Sundays are a huge success. And the next Cultural Sunday is never far away: 21 October the city is filled with free culture again. A nice opportunity to check out Utrecht!


More info on: http://www.culturelezondagen.nl/ and http://utrecht.utrechtyourway.nl/default.asp?action=pagina&pagina=72&taal=2&sId=3&click=97

Keywords: utrecht

Porto:Two times a local

After we decided to go to Portugal this summer, the first thing I did, being a local guide myself, was checking out what Like-a-local had to offer in this country.
That’s how we came in contact with Francisco, offering a local experience in Porto and on his wine farm in the Douro-valley.

We met this incredible friendly Portuguese in a small mountain village after driving through the beautiful landscape of the Douro-valley. We parked our little rent-a-car and climbed into Francisco’s 4 wheel drive. The dirt and sand on his Jeep promised an adventurous ride. We drove up the mountains and enjoyed beautiful views over the river and the vineyards. The adventure really started when the road ended and Francisco continued the ride on a bumpy sandy pathway. We went straight through the vineyard.

After tasting the home made port wine at the winery Francisco brought us to our own little part of paradise down at the riverside. We stayed in his luxury chalet in the middle of the vineyard for two days. We even had our own private beach where we took a plunge in the Douro river. In the afternoon Francisco came down to check if we had good night and brought some home grown vegetables for diner.
After two days beautiful and peaceful days in the vineyards Francisco’s jeep brought us back to our car and we drove up to the beautiful city of Porto where we met Francisco’s girlfriend Isabel and stayed at their house in the city. Francisco stayed in the Douro.
When we woke up the next day after a day and night in the city Francisco was sitting in the living room already and served a breakfast that could compete with those at a five star hotel.
Isabel and Francisco’s hospitality is endless. On our last evening with them we were invited to have a drink with them and some friends to celebrate their son’s birthday. After a couple of glasses of a splendid port from Francisco’s own winery one of their friends told us we where very lucky people. He stated that by staying with Francisco we truly discovered the soul of Portugal. I think he was right.

Check out Like-a-local.com : Like-a-local.com and http://www.like-a-local.com/details.php?id=122

By Jeroen Niemans