The third hostel of the Stayokay chain in Amsterdam is officially open: Stayokay Amsterdam Zeeburg. The hostel is located in a residential area 15 minutes by tram or bike from the city center. It has 99 rooms, all with private bathroom facilities, and rates starting at 21 Euro per person including breakfast.

It has a restaurant, a bar, internet access and a big outdoor terrace. The hostel shares the building with Studio K which is a café, restaurant, movie theater and concert venue.
Timorplein 21

A secret place to go was recently revealed to me, and I share it with you now!

When friends come to visit me in Amsterdam, we don't always have the time to go to Club 11 on a Friday or Saturday night (the big club night). I still make it a priority however to visit the restaurant and take a beer at the bar, particularly in the afternoon, enjoying the view over the whole of Amsterdam.

My two friends above invited me to meet them their for a drink, and upon arrival, I couldn't find them anywhere. Finally I called and they said, "Come up onto the roof". Wha?

I went out the back of the restaurant, opposite the side with the elevators, and up the stairs to a rooftop terrace complete with beanbags and a bar. Even the bartender, suspiciously friendly, asked me, "How'd you hear about this place?"

The one way to top the view from Club 11 is to literally top it - move up on a sunny day and chill out in style!

I had never heard of the Amsterdam Underground Festival, but fortunately as a Trippist, I'm privy to some good tips from the powers that be. Starting September 27th, and lasting for 4 days; Amsterdam will open up some of its least known and unique underground spaces for art, dance, theater, and music.

Reading through the list of venues, I'm finding it hard to resist the chance to walk in spaces that may never again be open to the public in this manner. They include:

• A secret tunnel under the Ij (inner harbor) - Now it is common knowledge that you can drive under the Ij through the tunnel under Nemo. But apparently there's a second tunnel that is not normally used, but will be open to festival goers while featuring a special art exhibit.
• The Caison 1 tunnel - access tunnel to the new North South metro line that cuts right through the heart of Amsterdam. Soon it will be the exclusive terrain of subway cars, but not before being open to the public ONLY during the underground festival.
• Amsterdam's smallest bridge cellar. What's a bridge cellar? Nevermind that, just know that normally they're not accessible to regular people and on this special occasion, you can dance the night away there.

Prices for the events vary depending on what you want to see. But each ticket comes out to be under 10 euros, pretty good price for getting into such special places. Tickets are available now for purchasing online on their website, where you can also read additional info and get directions to each underground gem.

It is a basic fact that more and more people are changing from getting their newspaper delivered to their doorstep, to getting their newspaper via the internet. Paper to digital.
In the Netherlands, like most of Northern Europe and Scandinavia, a large percentage of the population traditionally had that newspaper subscription.

So now, faced with the threat of extinction or at least, lower subscription numbers, the newspapers all over the country are aggressively pursuing the person on the street. You'll surely notice the young people all wearing the same jacket, smiling your way at the entrance to the supermarket. They'll engage you in conversation and even when you inform them that you don't speak Dutch or that you're not from around here, they will still try and get you to sign up for a subscription.

They also try the free gift thing. The latest on my block is ice cream! What a delicious attention grabber - the newspaper-jacket guy rings the doorbell and says "I'm from the newspaper and we're just giving anyone free ice cream, what flavor do you like". So of course I'm a blogger so I'm home and I look towards the ice cream man and say two things -- "I don't want the newspaper but I do want the chocolate." -- No problem, the kid informs me, as he runs to the cart to deliver me a chocolate cone. A little small talk as I eat my ice cream, and onward he goes, to get some people to sign up for the newspaper and hand out lots of ice cream. For the kids in the neighborhood, and myself, he was the pied-piper of deliciousness.

Moral of the story: The ice cream man still pushes his cart down the streets of Amsterdam. OR - Don't totally blow off the newspaper guys, they might have something good for you. (?)

Recently I found myself browsing facebook for Amsterdam related groups. Groups can be very useful as depending on your interests, you could find yourself swapping stories and knowledge with people who are into the same thing. In this case, I was thinking Amsterdam. But alas.. the list is neverending, so let me just point out some of them:

First there's the I Amsterdam facebook group.. currently with it's wopping 4 members. Looks like it was started by or for the Amsterdam tourism office, but thus far, no facebookers are doing anything with it. So keep that one in mind if you like community building.

Much more popular is the Canadians in Amsterdam facebook group. Perhaps you want to hang out with our neighbors to the north. Or maybe you seek maple syrup, or something to watch hockey with. Join the group and join the discussions.

Naturally there's no shortage of university related facebook groups for Amsterdam, so I'll only mention the fairly popular UvA group. Might be the place to go for asking advice on all things student-life. If you go seeking a place to live, maybe aim a little lower, it is only a facebook group after all.

To wrap up the list for today, if you want both funny and informative, I highly recommend the "Things I Learned in Holland" facebook group. That includes such revelations as number 35: No matter how nice you try to look in the morning, you get off your bike and look like shit.

Now go forth and facebook... I'm sure you were going there next anyway.

Special performance for those curious about virtual worlds:
This Thursday (today) thru Saturday the Bellevue theater presents: "Real Life Second Life". It is said that the audience itself will transform as the performance is all about crossing reality with fantasy. Show starts at 20h30 and entry is only 1€.

For those interested in crossing music and theater:
This Friday and Saturday at De Balie, the Shanghai Jazz band will perform. They are a cross over of Dutch-Chinese jazz and theater. Blending old style music, traditional Chinese instruments, and modern jazz and pop, the show starts at 21h and will run you 10€.

Saturday late night you can find your way to the beloved Sugar Factory for a unique variation of Flamenco. The bill includes guitarist Sabine Van Den Oever and Russian flamenco dancer/percussionist, Yana Maizel, not to mention Flore Magnet & Phil Von, and the electro sound mixer Def. Things get started at 10h and the entry price is also 10€.

Rounding off your weekend, Sunday at the award winning OT301, Action Beat, the nowave/noise band, are performing. The words Sonic Youth have been used to describe in some way what this group does with 4 drummers and 4 guitarists. Experience it for yourself, Sunday 21h, 5€ entry.

I just had to share with you readers this nice picture a friend of mine took while walking in the streets of our favorite city. That is dedication! That is commitment! I can tell you what, I won't be getting a tatty that reads, "Melbourne, FL" any time soon.

My head was bobbing, my lips pursed a hand rolled cigarette and my hair was unkempt and wavy. I looked out across the sea of bearded intellectuals, stylish new mothers, hip sneaker wearing blonde women and slick urbanites; I knew I was in the right place. “The Seven Bridges Jazz Festival” was in full swing and as a nascent member of this society; I was excited to have found it. I quickly grabbed a beer and started off towards the lip of the stage. Shimmying my way through the crowd I locked eyes with the beautiful lead singer of The Soul Prophets of Amsterdam. As soon as her wandering eyes hit mine the music trailed off into the distance, the lights became glossy and for a moment she and I sat together in a luxurious room filled with fur coats and grand pianos. She wore a tight black dress and we discussed the world’s most beautiful chord changes until the sun rose over the city skyline. At least that’s what I wanted more then anything at that moment. I wish I could have snuck backstage, grabbed a guitar and busted out in the middle of her Stevie Wonder cover right at the chorus, “isn’t she Lovely…” I would have sung. Maybe my improvised romantic move could win me a spot in the group? I would gladly spend my next few months traveling with her, singing duets and becoming tangled in a band love-affair drama.

Good music makes you creative, it makes you think and muse and explore. The Soul Prophets of Amsterdam play good, good music. The saxophonist and the trumpeter are both chic white girls clad in tight jeans, tattered t-shirts and severe hairstyles. Whilst giggling at each other’s solos and waving at adoring fans they played all their bars loudly and on steep crescendos they went almost sharp with excitement. The pianist, bassist and guitarist are all skinny as a rail. The slender mop tops are obviously far less cool than the three main ladies upfront, so they were regulated to the back of the tent behind cymbal rods and mic stands. Funk cover bands tend to emulate the genre’s gritty, thick and masculine qualities. The Prophets made the funk sound posh and coy. They made all the grunts into moans and the slap bass into caress bass. The light, shy voice of their leading lady put an awkward, almost motherly comfort over otherwise dirty sex tunes. As they grooved on American soul classics I bobbed and swayed with the dedication of a child at a Disney on Ice performance. Every bass drum thump I matched with a footstep and every melodious twist I honored with a hand twirl or hip shake. Each moment was one of sincere revelation; “How can this sound so good?” I would ineloquently mutter to my friends almost every time a new song had reached the chorus.

At a jazz showcase common praise tends to come between ghandi glasses and a goatee and it usually revolves around the performers raw skills and undeniable abilities. People get so caught up in a musician’s aptitude, they forget to have fun or even forget to demand it! Most times, jazz enthusiasts are simply content with being impressed. The Soul Prophets of Amsterdam were not the most technically skilled band at the “Seven Bridges Jazz Festival”, but they were the coolest. With a new, sensitive, European funk sound The Prophets rebelled against the traditional monochrome nature of Jazz festivals. I for one would take up arms for this revolution.

The Prophets Myspace-

If you pass through Chinatown of Amsterdam, which is highly likely considering its strategic location in the center and alongside the Red Light district, you may be overwhelmed with the bounty of Asian food restaurants.

A Dutch/Philippino friend of mine offered to take me to her favourite. We walked along the Zeedijk up almost to Prins Hendrikkade, then hung a left and an immediate right.

On tine Nieuwebrugsteeg, KAM YIN offers delicious dim sums, Senegalese foods, soups, chicken dishes, and fragrant jasmine tea by the potful. The food we ordered that day was delicious and I've been back since. Once again, the quality was high with a low price tag. This place is recommended, The setting is less than inspiring, but its not bad either and the food makes up for it. Consider it a safe bet for anytime good Asian cuisine.

I'm gearing up for what I already know will be a fantastic concert at Paradiso this Wednesday. One of the most unique, under-rated, and all around wonderful musicians on this earth, Joanna Newsom is playing. Her voice and her harp are simply incomparable to anything I've ever known in the world of music.

She was actually here over the summer but got sick and was forced to cancel her performance. Like many ticket holders I was pretty bummed to hear the news and wondered, when, if ever, I'd get a chance to use my ticket to see Joanna. Sure enough, patience pays off, she's back!

Naturally I'll do a post concert write up and most likely share some video with you as well. But for now I wanted to add another bit of useful info. Paradiso, Amsterdam's finest concert venue and former church, also runs a site called fabchannel. Fabchannel is indeed FAB because on that site you can watch the complete show of any concert that takes place at Paradiso. This basically means all your favorite artists, big or small, at some point come to Amsterdam and play at Paradiso. Thanks to Fabchannel, even if you couldn't be there, you can watch and enjoy. What a deal!

(Joanna NEwsom is sold out by the way, so no price and time info)

Lets face it, whether you're in Amsterdam or NYC, as the years go by laws and regulations related to drugs, alcohol, and assorted fun are getting tougher. In Amsterdam I'd emphasize the drug part.

Haven't you heard? Yes some important people in Dutch politics, including the mayor of Amsterdam, are pushing for a ban on magic mushrooms. Why? Because a French tourist jumped off a building some time ago and her family says she had taken mushrooms. This sparked alot of talk about how regulated mushrooms aren't in our fair city. Rather than talk about quality control or public education, the talk seems to be all about banning them. Yes... it is the story of the world we live in these days.. when in doubt.. ban the thing.

If you'd like a critical blog post to go along with the article linked above, I recommend one of Amsterdam's finest political bloggers Progressive Gold.

My advice to everyone out there who is plotting a visit to the Netherlands and thought they might legally purchase some 'shrooms along the way... hurry up and get over here. Before you know it.. the infamous smart shops will be long banned just like the segway. (banned from the streets of Amsterdam.. sadly)

I've been going to Paradiso for several years... and I've never seen someone stop the entire room the way Joanna Newsom did tonight. Perhaps it was the fact that rarely does Paradiso actually put seats out for the public, or close down the bar during the performance, or perhaps it is just that Joanna, her harp, and her band are simply that captivating. The sounds of the strings, the voices, the pulse of the minimalist drums... the entire room was frozen in awe.

Here's 3 minutes of my favorite song which I recorded this evening.. please do enjoy:

This week's list starts with a festival of a very special name: The Klit animation festival. Yes chuckle all you want, but klit actually means tangled together, and the point is to feature short animation films. Animation films are a booming art in the Netherlands, so it's definitely worth checking out: Takes place Saturday the 15th; starts at 2pm and if you stay til the afterparty.. it goes until 2am. Tickets are €10 and for venue info, check out their site.

Meanwhile if it is music you seek on Saturday Night, perhaps classical is your thing. At the Concertgebouw they've got the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven and Debussy. Tickets for regular people go for €33, BUT, those younger than 27 can get in for €7.50 - what a deal!

Elsewhere on Sunday the 16th, the Hip-Hop Essentials party is taking place at the gorgeous TropenMuseum . It will include an exibition on the history of hip-hop as well as live performances by many old and new school national hip-hop groups. Tickets cost €7.50. Directions on the site.

But maybe you're not a hip-hop person.. you're more into old school hardcore kick-you-in-the-face music. For that you've got legendary Sick of It All at the Melkweg, sunday night at 7:30pm. Tickets are €16 euro plus membership. Moshpit is optional.

Lastly if you're really a unique person, next tuesday the 18th, the North Netherlands orchestra will be playing tunes by Pink Floyd. It's called Echoes of Pink Floyd, it starts at 8:15pm, costs €29.50, and takes place at the spacious Heineken Music Hall.

You might see a large white bus called De Burenwinkel around Amsterdam this month. De Burenwinkel means 'neighborshop' and in this tourbus, found in various neighborhoods throughout the month, you will find all kinds of neighbor-appropriate gift items. Need to reestablish some lost bonds, or rebuild a broken bridge? Perhaps you need the password to their wi-fi connection. Here you can buy a nice, comfy pair of shaggy slippers for that woman who always wears her sexy heels on the wooden floor above your bedroom. Or, some mutual party supplies for the next floor-wide bash. You can even pick up something for yourself and your own apartment. Look for the bus and spread the neighborly love.

The small city of Haarlem is a quick 15 minute train ride from Amsterdam CS. Plenty of people who work in Amsterdam also live in Haarlem. Since I know a few, every now and then I end up in Haarlem meeting people for drinks.

You've probably read about how quaint and picturesque Haarlem is.... because it is. Beyond the museums, the lovely streets, and the great shops.. I often find myself in one particular place I figure I should recommend.

It is called Het Wachtlokaal and it is a fine café for lunching, drinking, and waiting til the last minute when your train finally arrives. The menu is not at all shabby for a snack or a meal. Best of all, with quick sprint over to the station, you can still make the train back to Amsterdam.

PS- Their website features lots of useful info and some lovely photos of the interior.

As an ultimate frisbee player and a member of the Netherlands Frisbee Association, around this time of year on any given weekend I'm playing a tournament somewhere. In theory it is an excellent chance to see all the different parts of the country. In practice I see alot of universities, highways, train stations, and fields of all kinds.

So when I tell you that I was in the city of Nijmegen last weekend please forgive me for not having really experienced the center of the city. Though I can tell you it looks lovely as you cross the famous bridge into town (long, long ago they had the longest bridge in Europe). Incidentally that's also the bridge that was heavily fought for during WWII, as part of the infamous "Operation Market Garden". I also can't tell you how great the archeology museum is, complete with all its Roman artifacts, as Nijmegen was one of the first cities in the Netherlands, more than 2000 years ago.

I did however spend lots of time at some of the University buildings which are mindblowingly modern. Super cool architecture and plenty of smiling students everywhere. Damn good frisbee players too as they traunced our team from Amsterdam.

If all this doesn't convince you to visit Nijmegen then I'll just mention two more things that could appeal to special people out there: 1 - They have a bike museum. 2 - Eddie van Halen is from Nijmegen. I rest my case, take the train from Amsterdam Central Station and you'll be there in about an hour.

This summer a friend coaxed me into seeing the film Beerfest. I went in with an open mind and as a result I became more interested in my eventual trip to Germany and Oktoberfest than the plot of the film. A truly open mind tends to wonder, especially during Beerfest. As excited as I was, I never actually got around to planning my excursion. Alas, the occasional Youtube binge was all I could ever muster. As a result, my knowledge of the ceremony revolves entirely around people’s home videos and Beerfest. Now, with only a few weeks left until they pop that first keg, I’m in need of some serious council.

The girls across the hall from me are on top of their game. They saw Beerfest and instead of zoning out they went home, started booking things and signing up for stuff. I thought a train ticket and a hotel room would insure me a goodtime but I was dead wrong. Tents, tokens and reservations insure a goodtime, getting up at nine am insures a goodtime and apparently all of these things don’t actually guarantee anything! Now I sit here in my room franticly Googling with all my friends, trying to set a plan of action.

This post is more than just my rants and raves, it is also an appeal to the community. My dream of Oktoberfest is a dream of wanton disregard, drunken debauchery and German drinking songs. I certainly never anticipated such bureaucracy. I implore you; respond to this post and give me the straight scoop. Is Oktoberfest a divine reality or an overpriced hassle?

If you are shopping at Albert Cuypstraat market (the oft-mentioned and seemingly favourite Amsterdam street market of Trippist writers, thanks to it many colourful offerings), make sure you take time out for a healthy break.
The fresh squeezed orange juices, at 1 euro a pop, will give you a better energy boost than a coffee. Also available at certain stalls are blends (1.50), all with an OJ base. Sample the OJ and pineapple, OJ and kiwi, OJ coconut cream and pineapple, and OJ and strawberries. Delicious!

It has begun: RoboDock 2007! Put aside your museum guides and your souvenir shopping plans and all those other things you thought you'd be doing in Amsterdam this weekend. They can all wait. Robodock waits for no one and its something rare in this world of ours.

Here's a video of day 1. Ill be there Saturday... oh yes!

You could have seen Feist at the Melkweg tonight, but that shows been sold out for ages. So instead tonight you still have time to put together a fun late night and check out A Band Named Cash. Yes it is a Johnny Cash cover band, and yes I believe they're Dutch. But I've seen them and I love Cash and this guy... he's dam good at being Cash. The bonus is that Malo Melo is a low key place where no one is trying to look trendy or have you spend all your money on expensive drinks. 5 euro entry, the fun starts at 10pm and goes until late. Hell, depending on my night, I might end up there too.

If you need folk and you need it free tonight, head to Mulligan's for singer song writer night. 10pm start there as well with a lovely view of the Amstel river.

For Saturday you can start with the Dutch version of SXSW, only its called ZXZW and it can't possibly be as hip as the one in Austin. Still for 10 beans you can join the multiday music fest down in Tilburg, which is a lovely city. Every genre of music is on the bill and the fest goes until Sunday.

Also on Saturday night my personal fav's the Decemberists are in town, playing at Paradiso. Its not sold out yet, I'm shocked. 8:30pm and 17 euro tickets plus 3 euro membership get you in.

Maybe the reason they're not sold out down the street is because the legendary Angelique Kidjo is playing Melkweg at the same time. Jazz, soul, groove, pop.. she's not only a celebrated musician, she's also a respected human rights advocate. 9pm is when the magic begins and 25 euros + membership fee gets you in.

Sunday will be one of those days you thank the stars that you're in Amsterdam. First - It's Carless Sunday. No cars in the center of Amsterdam and tons of activities for all ages all over the city.

The biggest is the Dam to Dam Run, one of the biggest marathons the citycountry has to offer. Old-school trippist blogger Janelle should be there with a big number attached to her. Beware the marathon route and take lots of pictures.

As part of Car-Free sunday, you can expect to see the mayor and the city council biking around town... though to my knowledge.. you could see that any day. Still, over at the new library that was just completed next to the StedelijkCS building, they'll be trying to set a Guiness World Record for street art. Details are still sketchy but if you get there in the late morning you can join in, apparently, drawing on the street. Look for a trippist update on this one afterwards.

PS -- As part of the car-free day public transport in the designated car-free areas will be free. So if you need to get somewhere quickly.. take public trans.

Maybe I should do more thorough investigation on what the hold-up is, but as I'm too busy with life, job and writing for Trippist, I'll just take the time to complain!
When oh when will Centraal Station be completed? Why must residents and visitors alike endure this ugly scaffolding, hiding a city treasure and greeting us with a first and last sight of mismanaged renovation?
All over Amsterdam, a town filled with visual stimulations and precious buildings, tourists and citizens also cannot miss the long-term, seemingly permanet fixures of city reconstruction, renovation and road-building. Or tunnel digging. Or tram line repairs.
Please, new-comers, don't be bothered by these sightly disturbances. Just learn to ignore them as most of us do on a regular basis, and hope that perhaps, one day, Amsterdam will be finished and we can enjoy it's beauty in full!

Once upon a time I had a crush on a Dutch girl. Ok, ok, it happens everyday, but this one lasted a few months. She took Flamenco lessons at the very lively café known as Duendé. Therefore every monday evening after lessons, I would strategically make sure to be sitting at Duendé with an extra glass of sangria waiting for her. Being the good girl that she was, she always joined me.

Besides the crush, I grew to enjoy all the magic of this Spanish café in Amsterdam's Jordaan neighborhood. The tapas were delicious and on the average weekend night, a flamenco or salsa group would play and in the back room everyone would help move the tables and pile up the chairs to make more room for dancing.

In the months and years following, I lost track of that girl. Only recently did I end up receiving an email from her asking how I'm doing, and all at once I remember those wonderful nights at Duendé.

Lindengracht 62; consult the website for wine list, cultural calender and more.

The Dwaze Zaken street and art cafe, located at PrinsHendrikkade 50 across the street from Centraal Station, is a fun and tasty place to eat lunch or dinner, drink cafe or something stronger, and simply hang out. The menu is creatively designed with special meals on Monday nights, and the interior is funky, with loads of locally made art, comfortable sofas and stools, and really gorgeous bathrooms!

I like the place because of its location - I rarely spend time in the Chinatown/Red light districts, but when I stopped here while on my way to Centraal station- taking a friend there after a visit, we had just enough time for a hot chocolate with apple pie - I was impressed! It is a cool break from the more touristy cafes around this part of town.

You can even catch live music (jazz is coming up soon), so check their website for more details! I know I'll be back.

Some beautiful fall days and evenings lay ahead, which means fantastic things to see, do and listen to both inside and outdoors.

Friday:

it only happens every 3 years, the Output Festival celebrates the electric guitar in contemporary music. Starts Friday and lasts all weekend at the shiney new Muziek Gebouw Aan 't Ij and the lovely Bimhuis. Prices for specific shows vary but expect them to be around €14.

Elsewhere at Café Sappho there's DJ Suna spinning during their weekly women's night party. Free entry and remember womyn is better spelled with a y.

Melodic Darkwave Metal from Denmark? I'm not quite sure what that would sound like. But you can find out by seeing Volbeat at the Melkweg, 8:30pm, for €11 + membership.

Saturday

The Stars are in town and no one would dare miss it.. except wouldn't you know it, it's sold out. Thankfully the Stars are my friends, so I'm on yee guest list. See you there? Paradiso, €18 plus membership. (if you can get your hands on them)

The 29th is the last day to catch "Into the Woods" at the M-Lab Theater. Tickets run you €20 and the show starts at 8:30pm.

Early birds can find themselves at Pacific Parc over at the Westergasfabriek (Westerpark around 4pm. Why? To hear the festival entitled: Fanfare van de eerste Liefdes Nacht; music styles from Sicilian, Balkan, Hip-Hop, and South American influences. Free entry.

Sunday

Another guiness book record will be broken, this time for a good cause: International Breast Cancer Month. In honor of this occasion, people will assemble on museumplein at about 1:30pm. They will then form the largest pink ribbon ever. Participants will also take part in a city walk and there is some fund raising involved as well.

Mali's Habib Koité plays the Melkweg sunday evening at 9pm. Habib is fantastic. I know, I use the positive terms a bit too much, but seriously, some of the most beautiful music on this earth. €20 euro plus membership.

I'm sure most everyone that attended this year's Picnic (web 2.0) conference here in Amsterdam had a lovely time. Everywhere I looked there were smiling faces, good looking people offering you samples of something, and marketing nerds trying to look cool. (no offense marketing friends!) Anyone who's ever been anyone on the internetS was there.

But imagine you're hung over and woke up in a strange hotel room, then you arrive at Picnic with all its bling-bling and fancy people... it was a shock to the system. Also shocking would be the €400 euro plus pricetag for people (companies) to attend. Naturally I found a way in as a blogger, for free. Thought maybe I could take a nap during the European bloggers unconference... no such luck.. despite not being very inspired, I found good friends in the crowd and started chatting.

Somehow I missed both Woody Harrelson and Sir Richard Branson (king of Virgin lore) who were listed as keynote speakers. I know Woody won some award for his activism on the web, and apparently Branson was offering big money for the winner of a green invention contest. No clue who one that one, I spent my time trying to score food, visiting with my favorite French, German, and Dutch, Italian bloggers and vloggers. By the time lunch was over I decided picnic would not last all day for me, I headed home. Losing out on the booze cruise around town (I'll drive my own this weekend) and whatever else the very high profile internet conference had to offer.

Picnic 07 was probably declared a big success, but I'm here to tell you, compared to a blanket, some food and drink, and a loved one, in a park on a nice day.... Picnic the conference can't hold a candle.