Vancouver versus Curaçao

by sheep on August 29, 2016 with No Comments

Desiré

I am engaged in what I believe to be the most thrilling industry in the world...aviation. That means being able to enjoy a drink after a long flight at the Flying Beaver Bar & Grill and to see tiny seaplanes soaring gracefully through the sky...better than shopping! The Flying Beaver Bar & Grill is located near the South Terminal of Vancouver and next to Harbour Air in Richmond. The bar provides excellent views of the river and ocean while serving some tasty food. One day I would really like to fly in a seaplane as a passenger, but the tickets are pretty pricy...Who knows maybe, better luck next time! Unfortunately I had a short layover in Vancouver so the next day I decided to take a little walk towards the river. What was funny to me is that no matter where I went I saw Chinese people. Richmond is a fast growing Vancouver suburb that is now 41% Chinese speaking. Asking directions didn't get me far as you can imagine. When I walked through the neighbourhood I saw The Richmond Olympic Oval building. After being chosen as the venue for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the facility was upgraded to serve the needs of the athletes. The lighting and interior spaces were enhanced and 8,000 seats were added to the facility. After the 2010 Olympics, the Richmond Olympic Oval is again being transformed into a community sports and wellness centre. After seeing all this cultural stuff I finally made it to the river, sat down and relaxed... a few hours later it was time to head back to Amsterdam.

Margré

This time I was without Desiré on the island of Curaçao. I had the plan to go windsurfing so I brought my shorty wetsuit with me in my suitcase. But unfortunately I could not rent a surfboard due to a tournament on the island. All surfboards were already rented out. What a pity! Plans changed. So I decided to be in the chill mode from that time on. Swimming, getting a tan and enjoying beach life. Nothing more, nothing less! I watched a diving class at Papagayo's diving school 'All in one Watersports' . They started the first principles of diving in the swimming pool. It looked quiet easy but I have fear for it. I am a little bit claustrophobic. Hopefully one day I'll be able to get over it and be willing to learn how to dive. In the evening I went to Zest on the beach with some colleagues. With my feet in the white soft sand, a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in my hand and a tuna steak on my plate, I felt quite happy. The sky was full of stars and a warm wind was blowing through my hair. Paradise on earth!

San Francisco, a glimpse of Frisco, a snapshot of LinkedIn, the sfmta line N and Outerlands

by sheep on August 19, 2016 with No Comments

When you have less than seven hours to spend in Frisco before you have to go to bed...make up your mind quickly about what to do! We decided to make a snapshot of the new head office of LinkedIn on second street. Next a small shopping experience on Market Street before we took the N line of the metro SFMTA, direction Ocean Beach. We exited on Judah street, had a glimpse of the ocean and went on to Outerlands for drinks and dinner. We arrived kind of late without a reservation but still got the chance to sit at the bar. We got a drawing from a local, sitting at the bar as well, to welcome us in Frisco. How sweet! Outerlands is such a nice restaurant. It is a cozy place with weathered-wood walls serving New American eats, housemade bread and a popular brunch if you are in time during the afternoon. The SMFTA metro service is excellent so we took the metro back downtown Frisco afterwards, walked to our hotel and hit the sack after a very shorty stay in SanFran!

Amsterdam, sailing, swimming and fun on the Vinkeveense Plassen

by sheep on August 10, 2016 with No Comments

During summertime we like to go sailing and swimming on the Vinkeveense Plassen (Lakes of Vinkeveen) with Margré's sailing boat or with Desiré's motor boat. Our boats are in the harbor called Jachthaven Bon (Marina Bon). This time we went out sailing with Margré's Flytour. The name of her boat is 'Demoiselle'. A blue sky, warm water and a lot of sunshine were perfect ingredients for us to leave the harbor of Jachthaven Bon, situated near the Vinkeveense Plassen. This lake is not far from the hussle and bustle of the capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam. A perfect place to relax and enjoy wind, water and sun. If you want to rent a small boat (even possible with a picnic arrangement) or you want a boat with a captain, you can contact Jachthaven Bon. You can enjoy the Vinkeveense Plassen for hours. There are a lot of small private islands in the lake. But some of the islands are public, so you can stay there for a while to picnic or to dive in the clear water. Worth a visit on a nice warm summer day when you want to escape the busy city of Amsterdam for a while.

Los Angeles, cheerleaders in progress, YouTube Space LA, skinny meals and sunset beach

by sheep on July 31, 2016 with No Comments

If you want to see a different area of Los Angeles, go to the Westside of LA, called Playa Vista. The LMU (Loyola Marymount University) is worth a visit because you have a great view of LA on top of the hill. Meanwhile catch a glimpse of the rehearsals of cheerleader teams during the weekend. We tried the cheerleader exercises ourselves but didn't succeed one split second of it!

When you pass the LMU and go to the Bluff Creek Drive you will find the great office of YouTube Space LA. Located just minutes away from Los Angeles International Airport, YouTube’s creative space is a 41,000 square foot renovated hanger once owned by Hughes Aircraft. The YouTube space is a dedicated building for creative people to follow through on their ideas and produce great content. The idea behind the space is to promote three of YouTube’s principles: learn, share and create. The space functions as a learning center and studio. You need a visitor pass to visit this creative space. Those with at least 10,000 subscribers can access the state-of-the-art production resources to create their next great video. Unfortunately we don't have so many subscribers on our YouTube channel and we had no visitor pass. But we would also love to have 10,000 subscribers. So we would appreciate it if you hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel. We sneaked in with some guys who worked on a pilot for Netflix at that moment. We had an impression of the building and what was going on on stage. We didn't feel at ease because we weren't supposed to be in the building but after all we were able to get an impression of the space and activities and we loved being able to wander around.

Afterwards we had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory at Marina del Rey. A great spot near the harbor. They also offer delicious skinnylicious meals. Of course the cheesecake is not included in that specific skinny program ;-)! Try the traditional cheesecake with the strawberries as a dessert. It is worth the carbs ;-)! Via Abbot Kinney we went to Santa Monica Beach and enjoyed our prosecco which was at perfect temperature because we made our own selfmade fridge for the small bottles with ice and plastic glasses during the day. We felt so happy after a great day with new experiences and new discoveries. LA has so much to offer. Sunset was great on the beach and the best way to finish another day in paradise LA!

Taipei versus Los Angeles

by sheep on July 23, 2016 with No Comments

Desiré

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is located at the heart of Taipei City. I woke up late, but caught the last few moments of closing of the gates and retiring the national flag for the day. The guards ceremony is precision at it's best! The area is large but a wonderful place to stroll. I would suggest a twilight visit to capture day and night when the memorial building becomes illuminated. Here I met my new Taiwanese friend named Annie and had some drinks, food and laughs! A good way to practise her English, and mine!

After this great visit I went to Shilin Night Market and bought sneakers and a furry keychain (It's a fashion thing, don't ask). There are a lot of night markets in Taipei. Most are open nightly and offer a variety of snacks, clothing and fun accessories.

The next day I visited the Taipei Fine Arts Museum within walking distance of the crew hotel and located in Taipei Expo Park. It's the most popular art exhibition hall, hosting a wide variety of international and Taiwanese art. I found the paintings a little bit bizarre, compared to the other parts of the exhibition. Overall I had fun and you can easily spend half a day here!

Margré

This time in Los Angeles I decided to go to the Venice Art & Collectables Flea Market on the parking of the Venice High School on Venice Boulevard. This outdoor flea market provides vintage jewelry, clothing & wares on the 2nd Saturday of every month. There's free parking and it is very easy to park your car in the vicinity of the market. I bought an amazingly nice, old chewing gum machine this time. What a gem!

After the market I went to Venice Beach and had a glimpse of Muscle Beach, but due to the June Gloom there was not much to see. June Gloom is a southern Californian term for a weather pattern that results in cloudy, overcast skies with cool temperatures during the late spring and early summer. It is most common in the month of June.

I visited a small vintage clothing market on my way to the beach. This market had a clothing truck instead of a food truck, very funny. I parked in a parking lot with an extraordinarly overrated price of fifteen dollars near Venice Beach. No matter if you stay for half a hour or the whole day you have to pay this amount. Totally different prices at Manhattan Beach. I spent a couple of hours on Venice but it is not my cup of tea. Manhattan Beach is my thing, so later on I finally went to my favorite Manhattan spot and was happy to be back home. Enjoying beach life and sunset...feeling home abroad.

Paris versus Antwerp

by sheep on June 20, 2016 with No Comments

Desiré

Paris, the city of love, food and fashion. It's a pleasure to be part of this vibrant city and I simply enjoyed my stay here. I started my evening with a very good asian-fusion restaurant named "Bon" at rue de la Pompe. This trendy Philip Starck designed bar-restaurant is a discreet destination for 16eme locals and expats. Get a platter of the most excellent spring rolls-shrimp coriandre, beef basil & chicken curry, spicy beef salad and crispy chinatown duck for savory re-invented classics!

A good place to start shopping in Paris is the nice old quarter of Le Marais. I think Le Marais is the best shopping neighborhood in the city. There are tons of independently owned boutiques as well as luxury shops, trendy restaurants, hip galleries and wonderful markets. Today, the neighborhood is a mix of several communities which, at one time or another, played an important role in its history. Le Marais remains a central part of the Jewish community in Paris, and is also home to other more recent immigrant communities such as Algerians and Asians. Le Marais is also one of present-day Paris’ most prominent gay communities, with lots of gay night clubs, shops, and restaurants. The second place that I went to was the Furla store at Rue Saint Honoré. I purchased my little bag in this "chic" shopping area. (I have a bag obsession!). Here you've got expensive couturiers, more moderate designer boutiques and also you'll find the famous cult store Colette.

After a wonderful shopping session it was time to have some lunch. Ladurée is perfect for macarons and afternoon tea. Ladurée's salted caramel macaron is by far my favorite!

Margré

Going to Antwerp means going to my neighbor country where they also speak Dutch but in a slightly different way. Antwerp is not the capital of Belgium, that's Brussels, but it is a big city with a lot of remarkable cultural and fashionable hotspots. I made a reservation in one of The Soul studio's on the Marnixplaats in the bustling het Zuid district. This hip apartment hotel is a 3-minute walk from a tram stop and 8 minutes on foot from modern art exhibits at the Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst and the FOMU. "The Soul" is an experience for the body and soul.. It offers healthy food and drinks in The Soul Café and a good night sleep in The Soul Studios, Apartments and Loft. For a professional and luxurious treatment for your hair you can visit The Soul Hairspa. A nice experience and the studio was designed very well.

I visited the FOMU, the foto museum of Antwerp. They have interesting exhibitions all year long. You only have to walk ten minutes from the FOMU to reach the centre of Antwerp. During my walk to the centre I saw many nice vintage stores. There were lots of them with all different types of antique like, old school maps, furniture, toys, cloth... you name it! Antwerp is also a city of fashion and there are so many shops with high end brands. Belgium people know how to dress! And if you want to buy a high end delicacy to pair with your coffee or champagne, go to Ladurée in the Schuttershofstraat 51. This is un upscale bakery with Parisian origins, specializing in French macarons in a number of flavors. Be prepared!

The Wasbar...it's absolutely worth a visit! The decor is cute and the atmosphere is very relaxed. It is a great place to chill, mingle with friends and do your laundry while having lunch or a nice drink. I choose the 'cappuccino wasbar', a cappuccino with little marshmallows in it. It looks like my coffee had detergent in it and it tasted a little bit weird. But after all it was fun to have this drink especially in the Wasbar.

if you want to have a nice dinner go to Pasta Hippo Vino. You may notice the absence of pizza when you read the menu. What you will find here, however, is food made from real, home-made ingredients, made to the highest standards. The restaurant is not far from the Grote Markt, in the middle of the centre of Antwerp. If you don't want Italian wine, try the real Begium beer. Vedett is a good option ;-)!

San Francisco versus Hong Kong

by sheep on June 8, 2016 with No Comments

Desiré

If you're going to San francisco....rent a bike! That's what I did. Pacific Bicycle is a professional bike shop, and has an even more professional team. A friendly guy set me up on a Hybrid bike just after I landed in San Francisco. Quick checkout, free lock and a free helmet... didn't wear it! Okay, I know Safety is important and San Francisco has mountains and isn't as flat as The Netherlands, but still.

After I was done shopping at Whole foods and Target I followed my way to the Piers.They are located north of the Ferry Building and feature unique dining, retail and over an acre of public waterfront access. On clear days when there isn’t a lot of fog on the water you can see the Golden Gate Bridge from a distance while visiting Pier 39. Unfortunately that wasn't the case for me.

Time to have a quick bite...riding a bike makes you hungry! Salt House is a great gem in downtown San Francisco. It has great atmosphere, food and very innovative dishes made with fresh ingredients. What really stood out was the service, thanks to Taylor, the friendly bartender. And after enjoying a delicious meal it was time to catch some z's!

Margré

Hong Kong, a city that never never sleeps! The skyline of Hong Kong is fantastic. Visit a rooftop bar to have a nice view over the city, especially during sunset. It is up to you to choose to have a view of Hong Kong island or on the opposite of the river, to have a view of the main land.

Only on wednesday evenings you can visit the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Happy Valley for horse races. It is one of the most famous horse racing venues in the world. This famous racing place is situated in the middle of the Metropolis of Hong Kong island, surrounded by sky scrapers. It is a fantastic happening with thousands of people who bet on one or more horses. The green field will be prepared race after race and meanwhile people are standing in line to bet on the racing horses. I bet on four horses and one of them won the race! Music, drinks, performances…it is all in the game. Don’t hesistate to ask people which horse you have to bet on. They are more than willing to help you!

Le Boudoir in Soho is a nice pit stop after you counted your 'winning money’ from the races ;-). Le boudoir is a delightfully conceived cocktail lounge, evoking the seductive opulence and glamour of an 18th Century French palatial residence.

If you want window shopping, Hong Kong is the place to be. For something different go to D-mop. D-mop is a very hip and stylish fashion shop where you can find a lot of unique brands for sale. They have not only fashion, but also books, music and accessoires with a modern twist. If you want to have a unique piece of clothing it is absolutely worth a visit. It is not cheap, but if you want to be original, I think you are more than willing to pay for it.

Curaçao, ducks and more interesting animals in the Caribbean

by sheep on May 30, 2016 with No Comments

Freedom to the max on the island: that's Ducks United! Ducks United Curacao is a very special car rental company, located on one of the best holiday islands in the Caribbean. It is a classic car rental where you can hire a vintage, nostalgic and unique car (2CV). Margré is used to driving this type of car at home in Amsterdam, so DDTS thought it would be nice to rent one on the island for one day. Riding in a 2CV gives you an experience you will never forget. Beside that you will be automatically a member of Ducks United and a membership card with nice discounts will be forever yours. A free entrance to some specific resorts or a free welcome drink at Karakter are some of the options for instance .

We went to Porto Marie, a very nice beach located near the village of Sint Willibrordus, at the Porto Marie Bay. We stopped at the Flamingo Sanctuary on our way to the beach and were lucky to see the Flamingos close by. What beautiful birds they are. A must do on your way to the beach! The beach of Porto Marie is used as a starting point for scuba diving and snorkeling and it has a white sandy beach. Porto Marie Beach is experimenting with artificial coral reefs in order to improve the reef's condition, having placed hundreds of artificial coral blocks. So take care of your feet and legs when you are swimming in the amazingly beautiful azur colored water. Because coral formations are rigid and sharp. Injury can occur after accidental contact, leaving a small amount of animal protein and calcareous material in the wound. Vice versa, you can ruin coral when you touch or step on it. Even an accidental touch from divers and snorkelers can significantly damage the delicate coral polyps. So be careful in two ways!

When we were relaxing on the beach of Porto Marie we had an unexpected visitor. An iguana popped on top of Desiré's lounge bed. There is no doubt that the iguana is king of Curaçao reptiles. Its impressive dragon-like dorsal crest gives a ferocious look, the animal is, in fact, quite shy. But not this time. The iguana was quite impressive and a lot of people tried to catch an image of it. It's a beautiful animal but scary in our opinion. It was certainly a nice photo opportunity. Just as the pelican who landed on the pier.

After we spent a couple of hours on the beach we drove to the West End. But our Duck wasn't doing okay and we couldn't drive further. We called Geert from Ducks United and he brought a new Duck. Good service! This time we got a gray Duck and we drove further to check out Kura Hulanda. Breathtaking coral cliffs surrounded by white coral beaches created the ideal setting for Curacao’s most luxurious resort. This side of the island has spectacular views. Having a drink in one of the nice restaurants with ocean view along the road will be a good option, especially during sunset.

...and dushi Duck will be waiting for you patiently!

Toronto, Casa Loma and cupcakes…a delicious mix!

by sheep on May 21, 2016 with No Comments

Toronto has more to offer than only the landmark of the CN Tower! Another interesting building is Casa Loma (Spanish for Hill House), a castle up the hill of Toronto City. It was built as a residence for financier Sir Henry Mill Pellatt. The castle was constructed from 1911 to 1914. The architect was E.J. Lennox who designed several other city landmarks. It is situated at an altitude of 140 m. Due to its unique architectural character in Toronto, Casa Loma has been a popular filming location for movies and television. It is also a popular venue for wedding ceremonies and rites too.

But we, DDTS, as Europeans, are accustomed to a lot of very old buildings in the Netherlands which are more than 300 years old so this castle from 1911 is a very young building in our opinion. But the Canadians are very proud of this ancient castle. We thought it felt a little bit like Disneyworld but we understand that from the 'new world' prospective this is an interesting building. Sir Henry Pellatt and his wife Lady Mary lived in the castle for more than ten years. Casa Loma was also a hotel in early days. You can travel by subway to Dupont station and walk for 5 minutes to reach the castle. Especially nice to visit when it is great weather because you have a nice view over the city of Toronto.

Queen West is one of the trendiest shopping scenes in Toronto. Since the creative types moved in, it has reinvented itself as the city's art and design district. More than 300 galleries, design houses, shops, restaurants and boutique hotels now make up Toronto's creative heart. It’s a goldmine for the fashion-hungry! And also for the cupcake-hungry! Try Dlish on 833 Queens St. West. Dlish has a tradition of simple, scratch-baked cupcakes using the finest ingredients.

And one more thing: If you want to sound like a real Torontonian, don't pronounce the second t in Toronto!

Houston, DDTS has landed at DSW, Starbucks, Marshalls & The Container Store

by sheep on May 15, 2016 with No Comments

DDTS landed in Houston for a short layover. Sometimes we don't have the time to do a lot of things due to the time of arrival. We took a taxi and went to an outside shopping area near the Galleria Mall and had three hours to shop before closing. DSW is one of our favorite shops in the States, shoe lovers as we are ;-)! In this store all kinds of shoe-gems can be found, row after row. DSW offers a wide selection of current brand names and designer shoes and casual and athletic footwear for women and men. DSW carries some of the same styles found in department stores but with savings that range up to 50 percent below department store regular retail prices, everyday. We tried fashionable flip flops in all kinds of models and basically had a great time in the Designer Shoe Warehouse.

The Container Store is a favorite of Desiré. The Container Store is specialized in storage and organization solutions. We also visited Marshalls. This popular store offers current-season, brand-name and designer goods for men, women, teens and kids at incredible prices everyday. Marshalls traces its history to 1956, when Alfred Marshall gathered a band of innovative entrepreneurs on the East Coast to collectively start up the 'Brand Names For Less' concept. You can find all kinds of articles in this store. You have to search for the hidden gems but if you find them you are 'on top of the world'!

Starbucks is the coffee shop to be in the States. Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971. Today it operates 23,768 locations worldwide. Do you use a fake Starbucks name when you order, to avoid confusion about your difficult real name? If not, it's time to start brainstorming. At Starbucks, the name misspelling is a very funny experience. No matter what your gender, religion or creed is, a barista will always get your name wrong. Even if you spel out each letter as slowly as possible (and several times over), you're going to get a surprise when you see your cup. So the Starbucks name of Margré in the States is Sophie, but they will spell it like Sofi, Soofie or Sofee...very funny!

It was a short commercial break in Houston. No musea, no culture, no tips for hip restaurants. But big American brand names of stores like Marshalls, Designer Shoe Warehouse, The Container Store and Starbucks were on the list this time! The all American way of shopping!

Curaçao, relaxing to the max at Papagayo, Zanzibar and Zest

by sheep on May 7, 2016 with No Comments

Are you planning to do nothing active and you want to feel like a prince and/or princess, wind in your hair and your feet in soft white sand? Than we advise you to go to the beaches of Zest on Curaçao. Lie down with a nice drink and have a beautiful view all day long! Well, we were planning to do just that when we were on the island. We made necessary reservations for luxury lounge beds on the beach at Zest for the next day. The price includes a nice bottle of sparkling or plain water and you can order food and drinks all day long. If that doesn't make sense...

After sunset you can have a drink and a dance at Zanzibar. There is live music during the weekends. If you want to swim in a pool you have to go to Papagayo. They have a salty bassin in front of the sea and also offer drinks and food whenever you like. Papagayo became a large international hotspot in the heart of the Caribbean with an upscale design hotel on the beach, a trendy beach club and a versatile beach plaza, home to a classy casino, a contemporary spa, a state-of-the-art fitness centre, a supermarket and various shops and F&B facilities.

This 'relaxing, we don't do anything this trip' is exceptional for Don't Disturb The Sheep. But we enjoyed it to the max!

New York, MoMa PS1 in Long Island City

by sheep on April 29, 2016 with No Comments

We already spent a lot of time in New York City, but we'd never been to Long Island City before. That's why we visited the district this time and combined it with a visit to MoMa PS1. MoMA PS1 is one of the largest art institutions in the United States dedicated solely to contemporary art. It is located in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens. The building is a former Primary School. That's why it is called PS1. It is an innovative, unique space devoted to the most challenging, thought-provoking contemporary art of today and part of MoMA. A concrete jungle where dreams are made ;-)!

The museum building itself is unique. It still has the ambiance of the school it used to be. The doors and rooms are still intact. If you peak out the right window, you can see the New York skyline on the other side of the river. In summer they organize festivals, so absolutely worth a visit. The people who run this place are mostly artists themselves and are more than willing to show you interesting details of the exhibitons, artworks and history of the building. The tours, guided by scholars and artists, introduce adults and school groups to cutting-edge contemporary art through interactive discussions of the themes, techniques, and imagery of the art on view, as well as the personal perspective of lecturing artists. We found it interesting to take part in one of the tours. It gave us new perspectives on the artworks shown and on how to look at them.

It takes you only a 15 minute ride with the subway from Manhattan Island to reach MoMa PS1 in Queens. You take Line E and heading East bound. The station you have to go to is Court Square. You only have to walk for 3 minutes to reach 22-25 Jackson Avenue where MoMa PS1 is situated. You can also have lunch at MoMa PS1. We recommend the avocado toast. Yummy!

Long Island City is definitely an upcoming district and known for its artistic habitat. So if you want to live here...don't wait to long ;-)!

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