Amsterdam

Its been awhile since Ive updated my blog...Summer flew by, I got my painting studio together and moved back to Tahoe from Berlin. Only after all these months, with a day off, a slight cold, and an empty schedule have I taken some time to browse through my eurotrip photos again.

This duo at the train station made my morning. They were chatting away and giggling with their eyes closed. I was really happy I was already going in their direction or else I would have had no chance but to follow them like a puppy and take the next train. 

HAhHA Wax statue of Tiesto. Hilarious. 

I AMsterdam :)

Bitter Ballen and beer. So lovely. After an afternoon of walking, shopping and exploring, we checked out some art and then went over to the highest vista Chrissta knew of to have drinks and watch the sunset over the city. 

Beautiful Chrissta was an incredible host and guide. Thank you girlfriend!!

Utrecht

Off to the Netherlands to reconnect with Chrissta and Bas! I havent seen them since their spectacular, week-long, Caribbean wedding last April and Im pumped to finally see their home in Utrecht.  Bas took us to this beautiful restaurant called De Zakken Drager. Soft light from various chandeliers and candles twinkled off cast iron details and ornate mirrors. The back of the restaurant looks almost like a greenhouse with slanted glass windows and lush, hanging plants. Id love to come back in the summer and sit outside. 

Next we headed over to Bas and Chrissta's favorite watering hole, Oliver's to sip on some Le Chouffe. Its an old building that used to be a church and looks almost like an old apothecary store too. I loved the high ceilings and old organ on the second floor. On game days, there is a big screen projected onto the wall so all can enjoy the action. 

 Bas said good night after a beer (hes a working man!) and his cousin Theirry came to join Chrissta and I at her favorite jazz bar. There was a jam session that night and a SUPER BABE of a saxophone player was belting out a funky version of a Bob Marley song when we entered. Sweet.

We ate, drank and were merry. So good to be reunited :)

Keukenhof Holland

On the last day of my incredible weekend with Chrissta and Bas (I know, Im going backwards, just cant wait to bust out these gorgeous flower pics!) in the Netherlands, we visited the Keukenhof. Translated it means "kitchen garden" and is essentially an enormous park devoted to various types of bulb flowers and greenery. Bas explained to me that the Netherlands supplies the majority of world's flowers and bulbs! Amazing.

The air was still chilly and the sun was peeking in and out from behind the clouds. Most of the bulbs were still underground or just beginning to flower, so the majority of the action was inside the greenhouses. 

Fringe-y tulips. SO eighties ;)

These were HUGE.

These smelled SOOO goooood. Actually the soft fragrance from each greenhouse was different. So soothing. Next time Ill bring some blankets and just camp out in the flower beds for a nap...

Lovebirds: Bas and Chrissta

Doing my best "Japanese tourist" pose. 

These were so interesting. They looked like plastic.

TWINSIES!

Happy Easter xo

Helmut Newton and the BaseMent

Last thursday I caught up with my new, bucket-list-blasting babe of a friend, Sunita, to check out the latest Helmut Newton exhibition at the Museum für Fotografie called "World Without Men/Archives de Nuit François-Marie Banier: Portraits".  Newton gained notoriety shooting editorials for major fashion houses and magazines beginning in the 1960's. His images are lavish, seductive and beautifully composed inviting the viewer into a world where women are powerful, rich, lean and aggressive with lots of bare breasts, pouty lips and pubic hair.

Helmut in action.

This makes me want to paint a life-sized, nude self-portrait with big hair and heels. Ill call it "After Helmut." I think Ill wait til the end of summer when I have some nice tan-lines ;)

This one if Twiggy is my fave. Look at that flying cat!

YSL

After the exhibit Sunita and I parted ways for the afternoon, planning to meet up later to find some trouble, so I headed over to Kreuzberg and sat down to do some writing and sip on a Kindl in my fav coffee shop. I was soon chatted up by a some dude who told me of a black and white photo exhibition opening down the street at a hair salon/bar called the BaseMent. Perfect.  Sunita and I rolled up later that night to a small, smoky venue with what looked to be gay, necrophilic porn plastered up all over the walls. Very "Marilyn Manson meets Diane Arbus" (and not really in a good way), but the music was good, the DJ was hott and the drinks were cheap. 

 I found that "Pornceptual" is the work of Brazilian artist Chris Philips after I introduced myself to him. It felt good to speak portuguese again.

LOVE the Givenchy piercing!!

Sweet Sunita

I was most happy to meet Valentino, an adorable Italian, who like most of us artists, is a photographer that has a day job as a hair dresser at the salon in BaseMent. 

After the show we hopped along down the road to a club and danced the night away. Just a lovely little thursday :)