Banging my head against the ceiling on the first floor doesn’t stop me from drinking a coffee in café Latei at Nieuwmarkt. I love it here, especially on rainy days, which is most days in the Netherlands. This small cosy café filled with a thousand colours warms me up.

Smack in the middle of tourist district and right on the border of the red light district. My good friend (and super talented photographer Qiu Yang, check it out folks!) is part of the furniture there and because of him, we - his friends - are allowed to order outside of the menu. So none of that westernized mild gruel, but the real spicy tongue-numbing-deal. Before going out to parties, after gallery openings or just when we’re hungry, our bunch always gathers there. Good times!

If you have money to blow, this is a great place to blow it on Italian vintage designer pieces. I say Armani, you say ... Prada!

Jam made from fruit grown almost in my backyard. The neighbouring complex turned the internal community green space into a community garden. Now I buy their jam at the local gardening and food store.

To get out of the hustle of the city, my husband and I love to bike down to Amsterdam's Forest to see the goat farm, or picnic in the sun.  There are also little spots to swim :)