Mix and match of events

Good afternoon,

Have a look of the events starting today and in the weekend:

Flying Solo Festival at the MC Theater starts today in Amsterdam till the 2nd of March. It´s a collaboration with the Contact Theater in Manchester and you can expect lots of new talent. Have a look at the program to have an idea of who will be on stage!

This weekend you can´t miss the Oscar Weekend at Pathe de Munt. A day pass for 25€ gives you acces to many films nominated for the Oscars, such as Gravity, The Wolf of Wall Street or Blue Jasmine. tThe first film starts at 10.30am and the last one is at 21.30.

And Sunday, yes more movies! Amsterdam Roest is showing the film Kinshasa Kids, included in their festival Movies that Matter. Free entrance!

So hopefully the weather is bad to motivate all of you to go inside and catch a movie or a performance.

Saludos,

Irene

Moderne Hippies Markt

Good afternoon,

After an uninspired last week (could have also been the grey weather) I went yesterday to the Moderne Hippies Markt at Roest and was really inspired!!!

Roest is a big barn used for concerts, events, art gallery, etc. close to Central Station. They have a bar and terrace (next to the water) with sand (I bet it´s a great thing to be there in the summer, must remember this place!) and they have lots of events, so check their site for the program!

The market was organized by the owner of the blog Moderne Hippies and there were lots of participants!

For you to have an idea, this is what it looked like (yep, very crowded, good thing I didn´t drag my boyfriend along)!

Foto from amsterdamroest.nl

As for what you could get, there were many things that caught my attention:

Bag from LaBeau Bags. They are fairtrade made in Thailand, love those colors! And I think my mum would love them too...

What about this boots!! mix of cowboy meets Native American. They are from Kiboots.

Continuing with the Native American theme, a dream catcher from Icatchy.

And lovely armbands from Riverstones.











It seems to me now that I was on the look out for accessories :)

Saludos,

Irene

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Madrid

Good afternoon,

Right now the Mercedes Fashion Week is on in Madrid. These are some of the designs that caught my attention and why:

Design from Francis Montesinos, love the colors and how the fabric falls!

Image from smoda.elpais.com

Design from Teresa Helbig, I like the retro feel.

Image from smoda.elpais.com

Design from María Barros. The ones who know me won´t be surprised I chose this one (big sweater, great colors and lovely knit)

Image from smoda.elpais.com

Saludos,

Irene

Music for the weekend

Good evening,

I found this list of the best 50 singers/groups of Spanish music. Many groups from the 80s (goodness, that styling!) but a good list for those interested in the "classics". Personal favourite is ´A quién le importa´ from Alaska y Dinarama, it is still used nowadays to say I don´t care what you think of me and she (the singer, Alaska) is considered a symbol in the gay community in Spain.

 I hope you enjoy!

Saludos,

Irene

Ideas for the weekend

Good afternoon,

I am glad to be at home since it´s rainy and grey outside! I have some tips for this weekend, and they are both indoors in case the weather decides to stay like this:

IJ Hallen (Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th) It´s a huge flea market that takes place in Amsterdam Noord, you have to take the ferry but then it´s a small walk. The entrance fee is 4.50€

And on Sunday you can find the Neighbourfood market on the Westergasfabriek with lots of yummy things to eat! Starts at 11.00 till 16.00.

They have a great blog with recipes, check it out here! makes me wanna go even more :)

Saludos,

Irene

Grey...

Good afternoon,

It´s all so grey!!! though today we might have more "light" than normal so I guess I can´t complain, right? At least I have this lovely tulips we got Saturday at the Albert Cuyp market to give me some idea of what is to come (spring, if you forgot with this long winter)

Saludos,

Irene

Salsa!

Good afternoon,

Before I dwell into the title of this post let met tell you, have you noticed how many people are born in February? Last weekend we had two birthday partys and tomorrow we have another one...it doesn´t allow for a lot of wiggle room for weekend planning (aka time to relax). Don´t get me wrong, I love birthdays (specially mine), it´s a nice occasion to get together and catch up with old friends and long distance family members but the Spanish girl in me complains about all the planning... improvise, Dutch people!!

As for salsa, this weekend is the 7th Amsterdam Salsa Festival at the Meininger Hotel Amsterdam City West. Ticket start at 20€ and you can enjoy workshops and performances by national and international professionals. So head over for some booty shaking!

Saludos and plan some time to relax!

Irene

Love of the classics

Good evening,

The people who love classical music and specially Beethoven are in luck, the Muziekgebouw aan ´t IJ is hosting the Beethoven Driedaagse (or 3 days of only Beethoven). Tickets are available through the site of the concert hall, enjoy!

Saludos,

Irene

Back from the weekend

Good evening,

What a lovely day! I enjoy working from home with lots of light coming in, don´t you?

Until the 2nd of March the Olympic Stadion in Amsterdam is transformed into a huge ice ring, and it´s called De Coolste Baan van Nederland. 

The 27th of February they even show the KPN Marathong Cup Finals Live and every day there is a different theme (think of DJ night or lazy Sunday afternoon) for adults and children.

So for those of you missing the ice in The Netherlands, head over to the Olympic Stadion!

Saludos,

Irene

IMPRO Amsterdam

Good evening,

The International Improvisation Theatre Festival starts today until the 1st of February at the Compagnietheater in Amsterdam. There are late night shows, workshops, after party, and lots of improvisation! 

You can have a look at the cast here. The shows are in English, so good for the foreigners and good for the natives (in order for them to practice).

Saludos,

Irene

Hoge Veluwe and Kröller-Müller museum

Good evening,

This weekend we enjoyed some quite time at the Hoge Veluwe National Park. I know, a bit cold, but it was a special occasion...you can get a free bike there and see more of the park (the bike paths get right through the middle of the forest). We got some exercise for sure!

And in the middel of the park you will find the Kröller-Müller museum. They have an impressive collection of Picasso, Mondriaan, Seurat, etc. They lend many pieces so you can check on their website before going if they will be at the museum. I was totally impressed by the Van Gogh collection.

They also have an enormous collection of sculptures in the garden that you can visit for free (there is a fee for the museum, several discounts are available or you can go in for free with the museumkaart).

The park is located near the city of Arnhem. You can get there by trein and bus. On the park´s site you will find a lot of useful information.

Hope this inspired you to do some sightseeing!

Saludos,

Irene

Move that body

Good evening,

The title of the post refers to the Holland Dance Festival that starts tomorrow until the 16th of February in Den Haag. 

You will find workshops, debates and lots of dancing: jazz, modern, classic, salsa, urban, pilates, flamenco...!! On the official website they have several videos of what you can expect and I must say, it looks really inspiring.

Performers come from different corners of the world (think of Cuba, Brazil, Germany, France, USA and a long etcetera).

Saludos and have a lovely weekend,

Irene

Horses

Good evening,

Today we have a post about horses! That´s right, the 55th edition of Jumping Amsterdam starts today until the 26th of January.

This event is held at the Amsterdam conventions bureau RAI and entrance fees depend on the time of day you want to be there . You can also watch it live from their website.

Saludos,

Irene

Fims

Good evening,

After a long break I am looking forward to starting zumba again, I am wondering how much ache I will have after class...

But that will be Thursday! Tomorrow the International Film Festival starts in Rotterdam until the 2nd of February. There are parties, short film marathons, special discounts (with CJP card or Tiger friends) make sure you check the website for more information.

Saludos,

Irene

New week!

Good morning,

I had a pretty lazy weekend, resting out from my new job!

I came across this really nice video of Amsterdam while looking at this site, hope you like it!

              

Credits to: http://jackfisher.org/amsterdam-in-motion/

Saludos,

Irene

Events coming up!

Good evening,

Bear with me this week since it is very ectic with new job :)

As for the events I promised, here they are!

For the fashionistas: from Friday the 17th till Sunday the 27th of January you can enjoy the latest trends at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. There are different events (conferences, catwalk shows, exhibitions, etc.) so make sure to check their website if you don´t want to miss a thing.

For those people who would like to receive some flowers, pick them up yourself!! On Saturday 18 you will be able to pick up your own tulips at the Dam in Amsterdam since it is National Tulip Day...when I read this things I think to myself, so, I am really living in Holland. It starts at 13:10.

And also the sporters can enjoy the Vondelparkloop, this time for the 40th time. There are three distances (3.5, 6.7 and 10km) and two days (Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th) so no excuses!

Saludos,

Irene

First day at new job

Good evening,

First day at new job and it was, errr, interesting to say the least. But the team seems nice so that is a good start. As for this week there are some events coming up so I will let you know tomorrow what to do in Amsterdam and surroundings, stay tuned!

This weekend was quite relaxing: I went to the movies to see a romantic Dutch comedy (and I dragged my poor boyfriend along), walked and enjoyed the sun and had a knitting lesson (which was harder than I expected so that warm scarf will have to wait until I have mastered the technique a bit.

Enjoy your week!

Saludos,

Irene

2014!!

Good evening,

I am about to head of to a New Year´s "borrel" a the Huis van de wijk Lydia to meet and greet. This week I have already baked 5 cakes there, as I do every Tuesday, and started the Spanish class I am teaching (it went very well if I may say so myself)!! I am also looking forward to next week, my first day at my new job (part time but it´s a start) so as you can see 2014 is going great!

Seems like the city hasn´t woken up yet after New Year´s day since many events start from next week on, keep tuned then for more information on what to do in Amsterdam!

Saludos,

Irene