Amsterdam's biggest flea market

I love me some old things, so I was delighted when one of my friends suggested a girls' day out at the the IJ-Hallen flea market in Amsterdam Noord. 

Held in a huge warehouse in the old shipyards of the NDSM-Werf (or wharf), it has over 500 stalls selling second-hand items, making it the largest flea market in Amsterdam. The IJ-Hallen flea market is held on the first weekend of every month and costs €4 to get in. Sometimes, they will have a second market day focusing on certain kinds of goods; this March, it's toys, miniatures, dolls and dollhouses. 

The IJ-Hallen is not nearly as atmospheric as, say, Les Puces de St-Ouen in Paris, but it has its own unique vibe being in a huge industrial complex where ships were once built.

Click "read more" for the full IJ-Hallen thrifting experience, plus our finds for the day!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the warm, humid frenzy of Manila!

I flew home with Marlon via KLM last Saturday. Since then, we've been spending time with family and friends whom I've missed, thus the inactivity on this blog. Next week, we're off to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary in Boracay (yay, warm waters and white sand!) so there will be more radio silence through New Year's. 

In the meantime, let me leave you with some photos that should get you in a lovely Christmasy mood (if you aren't already feeling it!). I've always wanted to visit the famous German Christmas markets, so Marlon and I took the train to Koln (a.k.a. Cologne) a few weeks ago for a weekend trip.

I've been to Koln with the Glee Club. That was 10 years ago, and I never thought I would come back. Being there with Marlon, and looking up to see the massive Dom (Cathedral) all lit up, gave me goosebumps. I simply couldn't believe I was there again. It was another one of those "funny how life works out" moments.

Being at a Weinachtmarkt, or German Christmas market, was like being in a Christmas Disneyland. I'd been warned by German friends that Koln was rather commercial as Christmas markets go, but that didn't faze me.

With much to gawk at, laugh at, buy, eat, drink and enjoy, how could I not love every single shimmering, sparkling moment of it?

After the Christmas market at the Dom, which is the biggest one in the city, we walked to the one in the Alter Stadt, or Old Town. This one was smaller, more intimate and felt more quaint.



It was also mobbed by 10pm!



This year, the Alter Stadt market was all done up in an adorable gnome theme that I loved!

On our last day, before catching the train back to Amsterdam, we dropped by the Markt der Engel, or Angel's Market, at Neumarkt.

Three out of eight Christmas markets is not too bad, right? It was a wonderful weekend that really put us in the holiday mood. I would love to visit other markets, in other towns, next year. I'm sure each one has its own charm... and its own selection of tasty treats and pretty baubles.

Wherever and however you're spending the holidays, I wish you lots of laughter, music, good food and great company. I wish you joy and belonging amongst the people you love most and who know you best. Because that's what Christmas is to me. 

Merry Christmas from me and Marlon!

Five faves from... Istanbul

Hoo boy, I've been busy busy busy these past two weeks! I had so much about Istanbul that I wanted to blog about, but I figured if I had to wait until I actually had time to write about all of it, it would just never happen. And so much has happened since that trip, that I really need to blog and be done with it.

So I'm wrapping up my Turkey posts with a roundup of my five favorite things about Istanbul. I think the tag "five faves from..." could easily apply to anyplace and anything, so watch out... it might just become a regular feature around here!

1) Sweets at Saray. There are lots of sweet shops selling pasha lokum, more famously known as Turkish delight, along Istiklal Caddesi. But all of them pale in comparison to Saray Muhallebicisi, a restaurant, tea and dessert shop that's been satisfying Istanbul's sweet tooth since 1935. Saray's huge storefront window, filled with a tempting array of Turkish sweets, is completely mesmerizing.

Until Saray, I never knew watching syrup drip could be so hypnotic. You are getting sleeeepy... you will want to eaaaat meeeee...



Brisk, efficient staff in old-school uniforms dish out tray after tray of sweets to a packed house and long queues at the takeout counter. Towering stacks of treats disappeared literally in minutes. It was fascinating to watch.

Inside: bedlam. Four completely packed floors of sugar frenzy. Those servers were practically mobbed!

Speaking of sugar frenzy, this was another one of those moments where everything was so yummy I forgot to take pictures. Just take it from me, those sweets in the window are every bit as rich and delicious as they look. Best washed down with a hot Turkish tea or strong Turkish coffee!

2) Aya Sofya. It was a photo of the Aya Sofya (or Hagia Sophia) that first made me want to visit Istanbul. The city's most ancient, and most famous monument was built by Emperor Justinian in 537 AD, and was many things in its long and tumultuous history: a church, a mosque, then a museum.

Behold the splendor, after the jump!

To market, to market

The morning of Mimi's wedding was free, so my friends and I decided to drive to the nearby town of Arles to see the Roman ruins, an idea that delighted the Asterix fan in me. There was a Dutch connection there, too—Vincent Van Gogh had lived there towards the end of his life, producing some of his most brilliant and intense work while living in Arles.

Entering Arles, we ran into awful traffic, and had to endure the electronic nagging of our GPS device as we kept deviating from its frenetically recalculated routes. I had set the voice controls to American English and hearing it slaughter the pronunciation of French street names was both maddening and hilarious. 

When we finally found parking, however, we discovered the reason for all the rerouted traffic... a Saturday farmer's market!

Marlon and I were instantly catapulted to heaven. We love markets, and it's rare to see such beautiful and abundant produce as we did that Saturday morning. Among the bounty were melons bigger than my head...

Fragrant, blushing garlic...

Luscious fruits and berries...

A number of varieties of perfectly plump tomatoes...

including some varieties that were completely new to us.

I love my life, my new city and its markets, but for the first time I actually felt like packing up and moving to France. I was positively green with envy. So much good food! And it's like this every Saturday?

The array of dry goods was also pretty spectacular. Lavender sachets being sold at souvenir shops for €8-10 were available for €2 apiece. All eight of us raided that stall like there was no tomorrow. Compare before...

Les Puces de St-Ouen

I'm a lucky, lucky girl: last week's visit to Paris was my sixth. Having been there several times with my family and friends, I've managed to check off most of the tourist staples, such as the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur and more. On my last visit five years ago, when I got engaged in Paris, I started working towards the lesser-visited sites such as Ste-Chapelle and Musee Rodin. 

Still, I've only just touched the tip of the tip of the iceberg that is Paris. With every visit, there's always too much that I want to do, see, taste... and buy! Having experienced the city at different ages (5, 18 and 25, for example), my tastes and interests change between visits, which always makes each time new, fun and different. 

Two things that I was never really interested in on my past visits to Paris, but absolutely love now, are vintage and flea markets. So I just had to visit Paris' biggest flea market: Les Puces de Saint-Ouen at Clignancourt. Lured by Jordan Ferney's beguiling photos and guided by her bright, cheery and very accurate map, Marlon and I headed there our first morning in Paris.

In my new one-sleeved dress from Uniqlo. I love this color!

Les Puces (The Fleas) are made up of different markets spread out over numerous city blocks. It's reportedly the largest flea market in the world. It's about half the size of Bangkok's massive Chatuchak market, but filled with nothing but antique and vintage furniture, clothing, odds and ends.

Both of us have been searching for the perfect living room armchair for the last six months. Les Puces were full of gorgeous pieces that we were dying to take home. You'd think delivery overland from France to the Netherlands would be somewhat affordable, right? 

Saturday lemonade

Bright and early Saturday morning, Marlon and I set off for the Vondelpark to join a beginners' running group that I had signed us up for. I was thrilled at the prospect of meeting new people and making running, a rather detested activity of mine, more fun and exciting. Having roughly sketched out a route on 9292ov and Google Maps, I thought we were set.

But no. It was not to be. My excitement turned into horror as I realized the route we had taken was one. Big. Circle. A circle that led back to our neighborhood. Yep, we got lost. Hopelessly lost. And there was no way we could figure out a new route and make it to Vondelpark in time. 

"Let's just go home, eat popcorn, and watch a movie," suggested Marlon, in an attempt to cheer me up. (Prime example of the kind of activity that has gotten us into this shape.) So we hopped on Tram 24 back to our house... until I realized it was the same tram that takes me to Albert Cuypmarkt every week. Marlon, who loves markets, food and cooking, had never been there, so... "Why don't we take this tram all the way to the market?" He thought it was a great idea. Go me!

So we spent Saturday morning walking around the market, and it felt like the best thing ever. Half of Amsterdam seemed to agree, judging from all the Saturday shoppers milling about in the sunshine. No mall zombies here—everything looked and felt so alive, and both our moods were instantly transformed. Marlon was overjoyed to finally find the butcher, and bought pork chops and a whole lamb shoulder to roast that weekend. (It's the first time we've had red meat at home since we moved!)

Aside from the food stalls, Albert Cuypmarkt also has a few furniture and lighting stores. I usually ignore these stores when I go on my weekly market runs, because it would just be more fun to have Marlon around. We finally got to go into some of them, and found...

... a low, comfy gray armchair that's exactly the kind of thing I want for the living room...

... a small sparkly chandelier that would look nice in the bedroom...

... and beautiful silver filigree lamps that we could picture in the hallway or living room. Pero surprise! We didn't buy anything. Canvassing muna. I feel like such an adult when I can resist a strong impulse to buy!

Marlon indulged me in a little window shopping while he sat outside... kinda like this gigantic terrier (how's that for a segue?). It was exactly like a normal terrier except it was about the size of an Akita. I've never seen those before.

We stopped for appeltarts (a.k.a. good ol' apple pie) and cappuccinos at a corner cafe called Flamingo. Across the street was another cafe with a huge crowd—not because it was any better, but because the sun was shining there. "I bet all the people move over here after lunch, when the sun shifts position," I remarked, a guess confirmed by the barista.

Before we hopped back on the tram home, Marlon bought me an armful of pink carnations (which you've seen in a previous post). "Lemons into lemonade," he remarked on our way home. "What a way to turn this morning around."

Made to Noorder

Speaking of avoidance, another thing I was doing my best to avoid was hitting the second-hand markets. That's because I know myself too well. After being deprived of a decent market scene for 3 years, it was all too easy to picture myself going wild. But since part of my DIY list includes a pair of seat cushions for our vintage dining chairs, I finally found a decent excuse to visit the fabric market at Westermarkt.

I took the tram to Marnixplein and trailed the crowd of women with large eco shopping bags to Westerstraat, which lies behind this lovely canal. Westerstraat is home to the Westermarkt, a Mondays-only street market that's mostly known for fabric and notions...

... but also carries everything else from clothes to cheese, from everyday household items to curious novelties. (Or an interesting combination thereof, such as these psychedelic palangganas from a stall manned by an African man.)

It seems all of Amsterdam comes to squeeze through this single narrow aisle in the middle of Westerstraat: the fur-clad doyennes of the Oud Zuid with their Gloria Swanson-esque turbans, gangly Turkish teenagers and pram-pushing Moroccan moms, the nerdy-chic hipsters of the Jordaan, and more.

Walking the entire length of the Westermarkt will lead you to the Noordermarkt, held on a small square fronting Noorderkerk. It's a farmer's market on Saturdays, and a second-hand clothing and antiques market on Mondays.

Oh, Noordermarkt. You have become my new favorite way to zap the Monday blues (which I don't even have because I don't work anymore... but still). Second-hand shopping is my weakness, and declaring a shopping list to Marlon the night before wasn't as powerful to ward against it as I thought. Because though my list was composed of three simple things ("fabric for seat cushions, a vase and glasses"), here's what I actually ended up coming home with.

1) Fabric for seat cushions (yay!), a graphic floral-print canvas for €16/meter

2) Back-up fabric in case Marlon doesn't like the floral print, map-printed canvas at €18/meter

3) Back-up fabric #2, purple and yellow herringbone in case we decide we've had enough of maps, and since, hey, it's just €2/meter!

4) Scarves, 3 for €5! Scarves are like shoes, they know no fatness and are therefore irresistible. I got one in gray leopard print, one in an emerald green chunky cable knit (the type that you can wind into one of those huge neck braces), and another in colorful ikat-print cotton (because spring is now on my mind).

5) A faux fur vest for €5! Either I've been watching too much Rachel Zoe or reading too much Man Repeller, I love the fact that I can now wear faux fur without looking like a pretentious tool.

6) A gray leopard print beret to replace the one that I bought at Zara last Christmas and promptly lost without ever wearing, boo hoo. This one is a better deal because it's 60% rabbit fur for only €10!

Lilian once told me that cats love rabbit fur, and I know now that it's true. Rogue went for that hat like it was a long-lost lover.

7) Two vintage glass vases in hues of smoky purple. One is €25, one is €3; I'll leave you to guess which is which ;)

8) And my find of the day... an entire box of mounted antlers.

KIDDING! I'M JUST KIDDING!

I think it needs to be a long time (and a few freelance gigs) till my next visit to Noordermarkt. It will be my ruin, I tell you!