Islands #3: Menorca

The island: Menorca, one of the maybe lesser known islands for foreigners and of the favourite amongst Spaniards, which is what makes this island so special. Not far but different to Mallorca or Ibiza, extremely transparent turquoise waters, wild vegetation, virgin beaches, and very traditional and authentic. This is the place where Spanish families have been coming for years, where friends meet every summer since they were little, where people profess an absolute love and respect for nature and where everyone is happy to walk for 40 minutes to reach the beach through a forest and under the strong sun while carrying all food and drinks along. Because you will not find any bars or restaurants on the beaches, no appartment buildings, no boulevards, no shops, and that is exactly why people come to Menorca and why the locals are in love with this beautiful island.

The beach: Pregonda

The sunset: La Vall beach



The bed: http://www.homelidays.es/ Do not book into a hotel in Menorca, they are located in the most turistic areas and you will not get to really "live" a bit of the local island life. Going to the market, getting fresh fish, cooking and having long summer nights on the porch is what comes with renting a house with friends for 1 week. Plus your own drive way under the trees with a property in the middle of the forest and your own pool to jump in before breakfast and when coming back from the beach in the evening for much less than what you would pay in a hotel.

Champagne May 2010

A long weekend to the Champagne area in France, starting in Lille, then to Reims and back to NL via Charleville Mezieres

The museum: La Piscine. In Roubaix, outside Lille. Museum for Art and Industry, it used to be a textile factory, then a swimming pool and today a very impressive museum where you walk along the pool amongst pieces of art and crossing from one room to the other through the changing rooms. A very surprising visit.

The fork: La cave aux fioles, Lille. An unexpected place. Traditional, delicious French kitchen in a very unique atmosphere, one of those long dinners in which you truly enjoy every minute of it.

The visit: Caves Vranken Pommery. For tastings and buying you should go to one of the small, local producers along the Rue du Champagne, like Paul Clouet, the Cuvee Prestige is really good. But go to the organized visit at Pommery, big and commercial but it is the most beautiful cave to visit, very impressive, and the 1 hour tour is actually very interesting to learn about the whole process of Champagne making.

Amsterdam April 2010

Spring has arrived to the Vondelpark in Amsterdam

Val Thorens March 2010

Hotel Nääs Fabriker - Lerum, Sweden

Morning view from room 302 on February 6th, 2010

The bed: Nääs Fabriker is a very beautiful hotel situated in an old factory 25 minutes from Gothemburg.
www.naasfabriker.se/

&Z: An evening sauna in the authentic Bastu with all the snow outside.

Islands #2: Gotland

The island: Gotland
Gotland is a beautiful island off the eastern coast of Sweden. A secret well kept by the Swedes, and it doesn't surprise me as this is the kind of place you don't want many people to know about.  To get to Gotland you need to take a ferry in Nynäshamn which will take you to Visby, the capital city. Check http://www.destinationgotland.se/

The bed: Fabriken Furillen

http://www.furillen.nu/
When you arrive to Visby, it will take you about 45 minutes by car to get to Lärbro, where Furillen is. Driving along the island and looking at the landscape it's hard to imagine the kind of hotel you will find, until you take a turn and far away you see the two big "mountains" of stone, that tell you: there it is. Will there be anyone there? Because it is quite a trip to reach this unique hotel. And yes, once you arrive you find there are other cars, indeed other people found it. And there you are, literally in the middle of nowhere in the most amazing location by the sea, an ultramodern hotel, full of scandinavian minimalism but warm and elegant. And they have an excellent restaurant for dinner, which is such a relief as there is not much around you can go to. But you really won't feel like it anyway. End of the evening you get into your Hästens bed, have a good night sleep and wake up to a great breakfast. Take one of the bikes they have at your disposal and just ride around the area or take a walk along the sea.

&Z: Make sure you buy a little wool carpet for under your bed. Visit the Bageri Cafe and take a short ferry to Färo, worth spending 1/2 day.

Islands #1: Mauritius

The island: Mauritius
The bed: Constance Le Prince Maurice.
This hotel has the highest standard of service I have ever experienced, the staff is incredibly attentive but always in an exquisite manner and non-intrusive at all. When looking for relaxation this is the 6th quietest hotel in the world. And it is a truly re-charging experience, you even have a No Disturb flag on your beach bed, so if you don't even want to be bothered for a bottle of water or a fresh fruit sorbet in the afternoon...then all you need to do is hang your flag. Very few children around which is nice. And a nice mix of families, parents with their adult children, honeymooners, but not only, I was a bit afraid I was just going to be surrounded by them, not the case. Excellent food, drinks, amazing fresh fruit bar for breakfast, very big bedrooms, a dream beach. And yes, not many people leave the hotel, which I think it's a pitty because Mauritians are really nice, very kind and always very welcoming. We visited a couple of local markets which is definately worth doing for some very good shopping, especially in Flacq, you don't need to go to Port Louis, apparently not very nice and it is over 1 hour drive. And if you drive a bit around you will have the opportunity to see a bit more than just the ride from the airport to the hotel, which is what most people see of the island, and then I think it's a shame to have travelled over 13 hours in a plane to be "transported" to an ideal world which is far from the island reality. But that of course depends what you're looking for. No matter which way this a real dream destination. You're really in for a treat and an unforgettable experience. www.princemaurice.com

&Z: Ile aux Cerfs

Small island off the eastern coast. This is the typical day excursion, you can do it with a group in a catamaran, or just rent a car. When you arrive to the island, you need to walk pass all the tourist shops and bars at the beginning, the further you keep on going the less amount of people you will find to the point that you will have whole stretches just for yourself, and then it's paradise.