Hostelling International started 2015 with a new campaign: “Wake up somewhere new” with a focus on some of their hostels in Northern Europe. They asked me to deliver some content about my years in Paris, and so I did. I also found the title of the project applicable on me, as I also woke up…
I have to admit it. I wasn’t very active on my blog the last weeks, or even months. Even if I have done a lot of cool things in Paris, in France, in Belgium and even if I am planning to do a lot of other more cool things in Paris, in France, in Belgium…
If you want to discover a totally different side of Paris in a totally different way or you want to impress your friend(s), then I can totally recommend the boats of “Marin d’eau douce” (the “fresh water seaman”). In the extension of the Canal Saint Martin, you can find the Bassin de la Villette and…
Sunday morning. A beautiful sun is shining above Paris and we decide to head for the Marché des Enfants Rouges. Once an orphanage, it became a lively market in 1615 in the middle of the newly built district Le Marais. In remembrance of the orphans who were dressed in red clothes, the inhabitants of le…
On my strolls through Paris, I was always intrigued by 4 maritime-style containers lined up on the riverbank promenade of the quays of the Seine. Further examination thought me that these containers were called “ZZZ boxes”, where the ZZZ hints at the zen and relaxing spots on the berges de la Seine. So, my boyfriend…
July 23. I hope it’s already on the calendar of every blogger following my blog: at this date the second edition of the Big Blog Exchange of Hostelling International launches!! From 23/07 – 03/09, convince as many people as possible to vote for that blog of yours! It doesn’t matter if you’re only blogging for…
Yeah, I know. I promised that I would write on a more regular base … I know. But I had a lot of things to do. One of the reasons, I don’t get to blogging properly, is this place: The MCJP or the House of Japanese Culture in Paris. Two evenings a week, I attend…
The snow cat: a robust, heavy tank vehicle with windows. It makes a hell of a noise so you can hardly understand each other, and the comfort inside is what you can expect from the comfort in a tank. But it is designed especially for snow surfaces or soft grounds, it can resist arctic conditions…
Here comes the sun … Nobody said it better than The Beatles. The sun, so common to most of us that we never consider its presence. But imagine: several months in “total darkness”, a seemingly never-ending night, only accompanied by snow, ice and arctic winds. And then, when the sun finally appears, the time for…
(!new: video below!) We are at Svalbard Villmarkssenter, surrounded by lying dogs, barking dogs and excited dogs. As you can probably guess, we had booked a dogsledding tour. Another way to explore the arctic region, less noisy than snow mobiles. At least, when the dogs are running. As soon as we approach the kennels, we…
I haven’t been active on my blog these last few weeks. Shame on me because I have a lot to blog about but I did not get around to it. Most of the weekends were either fully booked (Belgium and other stuff), or the weather was too fine to stay inside and work was quite…
It’s not because you’re at the end of the world, and there’s only one supermarket in the whole town, and (nearly) everything has to be flown in from the mainland, that you have to survive on fish, berries and outdoor meals. The supermarket offers a variety of food and there are several delicious restaurants in…
Longyearbyen and surroundings also offer the ideal place for glacial hikes and arctic walks. One of the hikes we’d planned was a morning hike to the ice cave in Lars Breen (breen = glacier) with an exploration of this ice cave. We got picked up by the Svalbard Wildlife Expeditions’ guides’ van and got dropped…
Snow fields stretching into infinity. A white wilderness ready to be explored. Slightly daunting, but really worth it. There is no comparison. When you drive your snow mobile, you feel one with nature. Our first activity in Spitsbergen was a daytrip on a snowmobile to the East Coast. We initially booked a trip to the ship…
We stay in the Spitsbergen Guesthouse, one of the 3 accommodations of Spitsbergen Travel (they also own the Radisson Blu Hotel and the Spitsbergen Hotel). The Spitsbergen Guesthouse is located in Nybyen (= New Town), an old miner town just outside Longyearbyen. Nybyen was founded as a post-war settlement and offered accommodation, a Stormessa (the…
alpine climbing project
An alternative guide to working, living and socialising in Paris
Menikmati Kesederhanaan Hidup Dalam Syukur KepadaNya
Liesbet à Paris 