A sunny Sunday afternoon in Amsterdam

September the 25th: the sun is shining and the temperatures are still quite summery. So what to do on a Sunday afternoon?... Bike to Amsterdam of course!

I have the chance to live at only 30 to 40 minutes bike from the city centre. While biking through a part of the Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), I feel so lucky with where I live. It's leafy, quiet and busy at the same time, with people lying in the grass, playing football (soccer) or biking around with their kids. Just a few minutes further, we arrive in the busy city centre and while a tram full of tourists passes by, I feel proud to be living here and to be biking around in this wonderful city.

And what to do in Amsterdam on a sunny Sunday afternoon when you're a 33-year-old woman? Shop of course!! I didn't shop till I dropped though cuz I was with my husband and didn't feel like dragging him for too long in shops, but just enough to go home happy and with two jeans, a shirt and a hat.

But we also enjoyed the weather on a terrace. Actually at one of my favorite spots in Amsterdam. De Drie Graefjes! It's just right next to the Dam and the Royal Palace, in a small street, so typical of Amsterdam. And there you can enjoy the  best cookies, pies, muffins and cupcakes of the city. Hmmmm I love it there!!

And you know what's so great about all that? You don't feel that guilty about enjoying a delicious red velvet cupcake because you're biking back home!

Yet another festival...

Exactly a week after Mysteryland, I went to yet another festival: Lief Festival in Utrecht. 'Lief' meaning 'sweet/nice' in Dutch. And I have to admit that it was pretty 'sweet' and 'nice'.

I'd been there last year already with a couple of friends. And as we liked it, my friends offered me tickets for this year's edition for my birthday... Yeah, I know! I've got great friends!
And what a great birthday present it was!!

While I spotted and heard quite a few groups of French speakers at Mysteryland, that wasn't the case at Lief (except myself and my two French friends with our own Dutchies). But no big surprise, because Lief is a smaller festival and less known... That doens't mean it's not as good!

While Mysteryland impressed me by being so huge and overwhelming, Lief impressed me by its intimacy and atmosphere.

Once again, the Netherlands have proven to be such a wonderful country for festivals.

The weather was good, the setting wonderful, right by the water, the people extremely friendly and the music fantastic. We didn't stop dancing until the music stopped and we had to go home.

We started at a quieter area while the sun was shining. Just dancing and chilling on house music, before moving to the main stage. What a blast we've had!! With DJ's such as La Fuente and Sick Individuals, we danced until we couldn't feel our feet anymore. And the fireworks at the end were just the cherry on the pie!

What a country, what a day, what a sweet, sweet festival!
See you next year Lief!

The land of festivals... Mysteryland

Maybe you don't know it yet... But the Netherlands are really the land of festivals!!
All year long, but especially in the summertime, festivals are being organised all over the country. And there's something for everyone: from dance music to movie festivals, from reggae to culinary festivals. Name it, you can find it!
In Amsterdam alone, more than 300 festivals are organised every year. Yep, more than 300!

Every year, as soon as spring arrives, the big question in many Dutch people's minds is: which festival will I attend this year? Even the shops get filled with what's called 'festival fashion'. Festivals simply make Dutch hearts beat.


Last Saturday, one of my dreams came true: I finally went to Mysteryland. One of the country's biggest dance music festival.
What a day, what a day!!
In one word, it was FANTASTIC! First of all, the weather was great: 25 degrees and sunny (not always a guarantee in the Netherlands!). But that wasn't all! The atmosphere was so cool and friendly. The setting was great (and huge).

And the music... Well, the music was mind-blowing!
No wonder that all the best DJ's in the world are Dutch. How can't you be inspired by the music and this atmosphere? Just to name a few: Tiësto, Armin van Buuren, Afrojack, Martin Garrix... and the list could go on and on and on. I don't know too much about the music and the inside-outs, but I do love dance music and I know I fell in love with Mysteryland.
It's a 2-day festival, with, of course, a huge camping where to stay. Next year, for sure, I'll go two days, one wasn't enough.

Going only Saturday also meant missing Martin Garrix. What a shame! Seeing him perform is still on my bucket-list.

On Saturday night, the end show was given by Afrojack. Not the best DJ-set ever if you ask me (sorry for the fans), but what a show! That were the best fireworks I've ever seen. Definitely worth dancing, jumping and bouncing till the end.
And when Afrojack shouted "Welcome to f*cking Holland", that's when I felt it... this joy, this pride to be here, in this country where music can be so freely enjoyed and celebrated.

Thank you Mysteryland, see you next year!