A Summer weekend

I feel like I've been on on a week long vacation, at least, while it was just the weekend really. Thanks to last moment actions and going with the flow. Or maybe the Summer weather is the real drive, and good food. Pretty much all week, makes me a happy person too.

Like this lunch I had with a friend of mine at Het Paradijs in Utrecht. A Chinese restaurant, serving some of the best Cantonese food to be found in the city, so far (just ignore the old school look, its about the food, remember?).

lunch last Wednesday at restaurant Het Paradijs

The weekend started Friday with a friend of mine asking me to join her to De Beschaving. A one-day Festival at the terrain of Utrecht University. To more specific, one of the best places to think of for a festival: the Botanical Gardens!

Loveley view of the rock garden at the Botanical Gardens

I thought it was beautiful! We enjoyed the sunny weather and had good talks laying in the grass feeding ourselves with great (mainly) biological foodies. Some foodies became an experience, like the tea from the Theefrabriek (Tea Factory, in the polaroid photograph below) and my friend grinded her own cup of coffee at Koffieleute.

All over the terrain we could hear nice music from artists like Goslink (who plays on instruments he has built with his own hands!), Laura Jansen (love how she's named her second album after the beautiful Italian island Elba. I have some great memories on a family holiday there!) , Andy Burrows and Sumera to name a few. Although, I have to say that the most impressive pieceof music was the classical The Armed Man by Karl Jenkins, performed by the Utrecht Students choir and orchestra. Combined with imagesa and footage of war of all ages (from the Middle ages to today's wars), it was not a happy watch, but it made clear why it's a privilige to live in peace, like we do. That did sound a little...well dramatic maybe, but I can't find another way to describe it.
The only thing we missed out on? The university talks. We were having such good conversations by ourselves on topics like 'when do you call somebody your friend?' and 'which places you want to travel to?' and family and friends talk.

Laura Jansen @ De Beschaving

Bottle post in 2013

Right, by now you might get into Summer mood too, I hope. I certainly did. But the summer feeling got in full swing when I went to the beach with my family today. It was Noordwijk, today (52.24°N 4.45°E). It was not even as busy as expected! Love swimming in the sea and reading a book (currently a book I picked up at the last Queensday market (since we went back having a king this year) on the history of Northern America).

Well, hope you had an awesome weekend too! I'm all loaded up for a fresh week at the office.