"Be My Guest" - Apartment Rentals - Berlin & Amsterdam

This is a nice website to have handy if you're planning to visit Amsterdam or Berlin anytime soon. It lists reasonably priced apartments for rent in both of these cities. Just go to www.Be-My-Guest.com - They also provide helpful information on local guest houses and B&B's. Check it out, here's the link:
Berlin Holiday Apartments | Accommodation in Berlin & Amsterdam - Be My Guest

This story is courtesy of the Kayra Martinez (FRASW), a seasoned world traveler and a current resident of Berlin. Thank you Kayra for sharing all your travel discoveries and tidbits!

Photos, courtesy of Be My Guest website. (Love that red chandelier in that turquoise room)



Happy Trails!

Ps- Berlin is amazing!

Amsterdam - Free City Guide by Design Sponge

Here's a pretty hip city guide for Amsterdam published by the folks from the design blog, Design Sponge. Print it before you travel to Amsterdam and enjoy!

By the way, they've also published other fantastic world-wide city guides on their website which is www.designspongeonline.com. Take a minute to visit them. To view the Amsterdam Guide click on the following enclosed link -
Design*Sponge � Blog Archive � amsterdam guide

Photos courtesy of Design Sponge

Vacation rentals, private rooms, sublets by the night - Accommodations on Airbnb

Wow, this is a wonderful website that lists fully furnished apartments (or rooms) for rent around the world, by owner. Sort of the "Craiglist " for vacation home rentals.

I checked it out after reading an article in the New York Times Travel section by the Frugal Traveler about his recent trip to San Francisco (March 2010). In the article, he mentions the site because he rents a very nice and centrally located, downtown apartment in San Francisco, for a lower price than a regular hotel in the area for his featured trip.

The photos of the rented space looked great! I promise you. So pick a city in the world and take a look at the available places for rent. The sites address is www.airbnb.com. I checked out apartments in Paris and there were some amazing ones for only about $100 dollars a night!!! Made me want to hit the "reserve" button on the spot, drop everything and go!

For more information on this very handy site, click on the following link and let us know what you think. Vacation rentals, private rooms, sublets by the night - Accommodations on Airbnb

Happy Vacationing!

AMSTERDAM - Joselito Tapas Cafe

Joselito Tapas Cafe in Amsterdam, is a casual and inviting Spanish restaurant located a couple of blocks away from our downtown layover hotel in Amsterdam. It's a wonderful refuge from the cold and a great place to share a Spanish style meal made up of tapas - small sampler size dishes - plus some delicious Sangria with your crew or with your friends.

When we visited Joselito, we found the colorful interior cheerful and inviting, the service friendly and the food delicious. On the recommendation of the waitress, we ordered (and shared) about two Tapas dishes per person. Tapas are hot and cold appetizer size dishes of main Spanish specialties like fried calamari, yellow rice, Spanish sausage in red wine, grilled asparagus, salad, etc. These are meant to be shared. When our tapas arrived, we had more than enough food for all of us and we had a great feast.

Joselito's restaurant is located just a short walk away from the hotel. As you leave the front door of the hotel, make a right. Then, take your first left on the first intersection (the corner of the "soup restaurant" across the street) and walk that pedestrian path for one block. Joselito's will be at the end of the block on the left corner before you cross the next canal. Tapas dishes at Joselitos's cost an average of $7 Euros per dish and they only take cash.

For more information about Joselito Tapas Cafe, please visit the enclosed Internet link and enjoy the Spanish experience - Jos�lito - Tapas|Caf�

Salud!

If you have any Amsterdam recommendations, please share them with us so we can post them. Mail you information to postcards@me.com.

More Keunkenhof Photos...

Photos by Kayra Martinez.

The Keukenhof Gardens - Holland

I was recently in Keukenhof for a visit to the lovely Tulip gardens and although this was the second time, it was still as impressive as the first.

Keukenhof is situated between Amsterdam and The Hague in the Bulb region.

The best time to go is in the spring: Middle of March until the early or middle part of May when all the bulbs are in full bloom.

It is a large park with amazing different types of colorful flowers and fantastic flower shows. They have sculptures and boat trips available as well.

Keukenhof is the most photographed place on earth! You come out feeling like a professional photographer because each photo is that amazing!

I would recommend you book tickets online as there are lengthy queues to buy tickets. Admission costs are 14Euros.

Enjoy!
Kayra

Keukenhof
Stationsweg 166a
2161 AM LISSE
The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 (0) 252 465 555

Parking at Keukenhof
The locations of both of the parking lots are clearly indicated on signs located around the park.
Keukenhof has their own parking facility for passenger vehicles. The price for the parking amounts to € 6,00.
For Busses there is a separate main parking place ( P-Hoofd ). No parking fees are charged for busses.
You can park your bicycle in the bicycle racks at both parking areas.

By car
From the Apeldoorn direction you follow the A1 to Amsterdam. Follow the ‘Schiphol’ signs; you will then reach the A4 heading for The Hague. Take exit 4 and follow the N207 towards Lisse. In Lisse, you follow the sign boards to Keukenhof.
From the Utrecht direction you take the A2 to Amsterdam and select the A4 heading for The Hague. On the A4 you take exit 4. See above for remainder.
From Rotterdam you follow the A4 to The Hague-Amsterdam and take exit 4. See above for remainder.
From The Hague you drive via the A44 and take exit 3 Noordwijkerhout/Lisse. You then take the N208 to Lisse and follow signs to Keukenhof.

Public transport
The most environmentally-friendly way to visit Keukenhof is by public transport. This is why Connexxion bus company has greatly improved its bus services to Keukenhof. From 19 March a direct bus will run to Keukenhof from Amsterdam, Schiphol, The Hague and Leiden.

All-in Bus + Keukenhof ticket
The easiest way to visit Keukenhof is Connexxion's all-in Combi-ticket. This is a return bus ticket to Keukenhof and an entrance ticket to Keukenhof. By showing your Combi-ticket you can enter Keukenhof directly. So you don't have to worry about traffic-jams, parking problems or ticket queues at the park.
From Amsterdam centre
As from the Leidseplein/Museumplein you can take the Interliner 370 or the red Sternet bus 197 to Schiphol Airport (totally 5-6 busses per hour). There you can switch to the Keukenhof shuttle bus (no. 58).

From Schiphol Airport
Bus 58 will run between Schiphol Airport and Keukenhof, every 15 minutes.
International trains from Paris, Berlin and Brussels also stop at Schiphol.

Direct bus from Leiden Central, every 15 minutes!
The current bus 54 from Leiden Central Station will continue to run every fifteen minutes and drop off passengers at the main entrance of Keukenhof.

A direct line from The Hague Central Station
Bus 89 runs only from Monday till Friday.

For a tailor made travel advice you can call 0900-9292 (€ 0,70 p.m. information in English, German and Dutch) or check the travel advice site.

Bicycle
You can park your bicycle in the bicycle racks at both parking areas. Would you like to make a bicycle trip from Keukenhof through the flowering fields of the Bulb region? And rent a bike? Then look on Bike rental for more information.

Photos and story, courtesy of Kayra Martinez.

AMSTERDAM - Bike Like The Locals

Biking while in Amsterdam, is really the natural way to see the city. That, and cruising the canals by boat, but that's another story for another day.

If you're in Amsterdam during the summer, rent a bike from Yellow Bike. You can find it right around the corner from our hotel. Just ask the concierge for the location of the store, or walk two blocks to the left of the front of the hotel, and take a quick left in the first wide alley - photo enclosed with the store's front sign, so you can recognize it).

The options are listed in the web at www.yellowbike.nl, so you can plan it well, before you go. Yellow Bikes, offers group tours and bike rentals. I opted for the 24hour rental for 10 Euros, so I would not have to worry about returning the bike to the store before they closed.

With my rented bike, I rode all over the city for the whole day, and when I was done, I parked and locked the bike in front of the hotel, and returned it the next morning, before being picked up for my airport ride. It was so much fun, that I have since, rented a Yellow Bike several times while in Amsterdam.

So, go for it! do something different and ride all the way to the Rembrandt Museum and around all the pretty canals. You'll see Amsterdam in a whole different way, I promise you.

Happy pedaling!

(photos by Yellow Bike)