5 Must visit cities

Last week I told you which cities I would like to visit. Now I would like to recommend some cities to you. These are my five favourite cities, and I would recommend them to anyone who loves visiting (and exploring) cities!

1. Hamburg

 

Picture from: http://thesewallsthatsurroundme.tumblr.com/post/2073098622#notes

Over the seven years in which I lived in Hamburg, I slowly fell in love with this city. I find it hard to describe why I love this city. The city has a nice atmosphere, and I really feel at home there. If you want to see the whole city at once, climb the Michaelis Kirche, which gives you a gorgeous view over Hamburg and its harbours. Besides this, Hamburg is also has nice shops, and after shopping one can relax by the Alster lake in the middle of the city. Oh, Hamburg is also a gorgeous city around Christmas (see picture)!

2. London

Picture from: http://happilyeverafter-startshere.tumblr.com/page/54

I have only visited London 3 times, of which I don’t remember the first two times because I was too young, but I have fallen in love with this city. At the moment I am even considering studying in London. I don’t know the city very well yet, but I think I can feel at home there. During my last visit I especially enjoyed Camden Markets, which I really recommend to anyone who likes alternative markets!

3. Marrakech

Picture by me

In March, I went on a school trip to Morocco and we spent two days in Marrakech. This city is very different from the first two, but that also makes it very interesting. Morocco is only about 3 hours flying way from The Netherlands, but it is a very different world. I found it really fun to go shopping in the souks and  haggle over prices. If you want to see a large part of the city in a short time, I recommend taking one of the horse carts, they can take you around the whole city.

4. Valencia

Picture from: http://beautyineverything.com/5270964554

Again, a city I visited on a school trip. Last year, I went on a Spanish trip to this city. We had Spanish lessons in the mornings, and did sightseeing in the afternoons. On one afternoon we walked to the Ciudad de las Artes y la Ciencias (a science center/museum) through the park that has been created in the dry river. Besides this, the loud (cracking) fireworks that took place every day because of the Fallas (a week of partying in Valencia, I’m not sure what the reason was), were also a highlight. And don’t forget to eat a lot of tapas and churros (fried dough sticks), since you are in Spain!

5. Venice

Picture from: http://a-spectrum-in-the-mirror.tumblr.com/post/6635695183

Like I said in my post about cities I would love to visit: I simply love Italy. I visited Venice about 6 years ago, and I think it’s a wonderful city! All the water with the gondolas in it, and the bridges, give it a romantic touch. I would love to visit this city again and I really want to see the Venetian carnival sometime, the costumes always look so pretty.

Did you ever visit any of these cities, or are you planning on visiting one of them?



Shopping!

School is pretty much over for summer, and so I had some time to go shopping with my mom this week! This is what I bought :]

The same top in white and green from Esprit, it's really basic but I think the sleeves (you can't really see them very well here) make them really nice!

A white tanktop (to wear under the white top from the previous picture because it is very see through) and a white top with print from H&M.

A grey skirt with tiny stars (you can't see them here...) from Mango. Luckily it was in the sale, so it was 20 euros instead of 40!

Three nailpolishes from essence, the left two can be used to create a cracked effect, with the very left one as a base colour and the middle one as a cracked topcoat. I tried it out but I don't really like the white cracking topcoat, so I am still looking for a black one. The right nailpolish is a normal one (75 Tryin' to be cool), I think the colour looks really pretty! I don't know what it looks like on your nails though.




I am really happy with my new things! Did you buy anything recently?

5 cities I would love to visit

I love travelling, and I especially like visiting cities. These are 5 cities that are definitely on the list of cities I really want to visit!

1. Paris

Picture from: http://jjaslene.tumblr.com/post/6760278821

 Do I need to say more? I've never been to Paris (okay I've driven past it on the way to holidays in France), but from what I've heard I know that it is a gorgeous city! I really hope that I can finally visit Paris next year, after my exams. One of the first things I would do is go to the Eiffel tower, very cliché but I wouldn't want to miss out on it.

2. Rome

Picture from: http://www.scenicreflections.com/download/320025/The_Colosseum_Rome_Wallpaper/

I love Italy, both for its food and its gorgeous landscape. I’ve now visited Italy 3 times (I went to the area around Venice twice and to Sicily once), but I’ve never been to its capital. The Colloseum is something I really want to see, but of course I also want to explore the rest of the city.

3. New York

picture from: http://ninalisboa.tumblr.com/

Again, I don’t think I need to tell you why. I’ve never been to the USA, and I would really like to visit the country sometime because it’s quiet different (and everything is so much bigger) from The Netherlands. New York is definitely a must-visit city for me, and I think it would be great to go on a shopping trip there. And of course I would also go to the cliché tourist attractions such as the Statue of Liberty!

4. Copenhagen

Picture from: http://www.tumblr.com/tumblelog/sydneypetchel

I’ve been to Denmark a few times already, but I’ve never been to Copenhagen. For some reason Scandinavia attracts me, and so does Copenhagen. I don’t know much about this city, but it seems really nice, and I like the colourful houses by the water.

5. Barcelona

picture from: http://pinterest.com/pin/36748492/

Barcelona seems like an amazing city, and I especially want to see the Sagrada Familia! Besides, Spain as a whole (even though I've only visited the country once) seems like a gorgeous country. I would love to on a trip through Spain, and include Barcelona in this. Also, the climate is so much better than here in The Netherlands



I'm sorry

I was planning to post an article today about 5 cities I would like to visit, but unfortunately blogger won't let me upload pictures into the post...
So if it works again tomorrow, I will post the article (probably after 3 because I have to go to school...)!
Now you have something to look forward to :]

xxx

Cupcakes!

picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pioneerwoman/4495315364/in/photostream/

This is the recipe for the cupcakes I showed you yesterday, they are really quite easy to make! According to the recipe the batch will make 18 cupcakes, but I got 23 out of it.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:
230 g soft butter
230 g very fine granulated sugar
230 g self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

For the decoration:
Fondant (or marzipan, whichever you prefer) in a colour you like
Decorating icing in a colour you like (the one I used was Wilton decorating icing + Wilton tips)
(for the Dutchies, you can buy both these things at Jamin, at least in my town you can..)

Steps1. Pre-heat the oven at 175 degrees. Take a cupcake tray and put cupcake shapes in the holes.
2. Put all the ingredients for the cakes in a bowl and use a mixer to mix them for 2-3 minutes. You should end up with a light, creamy mixture. Scoop this into the shapes in the cupcake tray.
3. Bake the cupcakes for 20 minutes. If you only have a cupcake tray for 12 cupcakes, you will need to bake twice.
4. Take the cupcakes out of the oven and let them cool down.
5. Spread out some powdered sugar over your working area so that the fondant does not stick. Take the fondant and roll out untill it is as a thin as you want it. Use cookie cutters to cut out different shapes.
6. Use a little bit of plain icing (mix powdered sugar and water) to stick the fondant on the cupcakes.
7. Now decorate the cupcakes with the icing. You can make any pattern or shape you like. The Wilton tubes I used are quite easy, you put a tip you like on it and squeeze.

Enjoy! :]

Source recipe: 500 cupcakes by Fergal Connolly

I'm back! (with cupcakes)

Oh my gosh, I haven't posted in more than a month... I just didn't get to it because I have been very busy with school. I have one more day of testweek on Monday and then I have 2 more weeks of 'school' but no lessons. So from now on I will try to post regularly again! Maybe you can tell me what type of posts you would like to read, what subjects are you interested in?
I made these cupcakes (sorry for the bad quality of the picture) today, and I am really happy with the result. The white stars are made of fondant (is that what it's called in English as well?) and the pink stuff is icing. This was the first time I worked with ready-made icing from a tube and I think that, for a first try, it worked out quite well! These cupcakes are really easy to make so I'll post a recipe tomorrow.