Take for example EkoPlaza, which boasts locations in the Hague, Bussum, and Veenendaal. I've only visited the Hague location (in fact I've never heard of the other two cities) and I can definitely recommend stopping by.

Located on the Grote Markstraat (115) quite near to the Central Station, the Hague's EkoPlaza is large and cheerfully lit. It contains everything you'd expect from a supermarket, and everything's organic. They have a produce section, fresh breads and pastries, cheese, canned and boxed goods and even a section with some clothing items and household cleaners.

I have to warn you - the bill will run considerably higher than at a normal supermarket. But sometimes organic is just the way to go.

Image taken from the EkoPlaza website.

All of the treats are made in small batches at the original studio in Lauren. The cookies, chocolates and fruits are prepared at the beginning of the week and sold by the end of the week, so that everything is always fresh; there is no stock kept sitting around. This is also why the shops are only open Wednesday through Saturday. Anne-Claire Vermeer makes the chocolates and Jos van Velzen takes care of the pastries. Along with providing goodies for their three stores, they also supply desserts for some of the top restaurants in the Netherlands.

The shops are elegant and simple, with beautiful arrangements of the chocolate truffles, chocolate-covered fruit, chocolate-covered crisps, and so much more. Mix and match, or buy some of the treats already packaged. Just be prepared to lose all self-control when you start eating.

There are three stores in the Netherlands, and lucky for me, one is located here in Utrecht, just a short walk from home. It is located at Nobelstraat 215, and is open Wednesday through Friday from 10-6, and Saturdays from 10-5. There are also shops in Laren and in Den Haag. Check the website for addresses and opening hours.

Throughout Europe it is fairly typical that businesses are closed on Sunday. Even if a city isn't very religious, seems that the longstanding convention among shop owners is that Sunday is a day of rest. For the regular person or tourist, this also means don't figure on being able to purchase anything on Sundays.

In the case of the city of Amsterdam, it has long been possible to buy things in shops deemed related to tourism. Though, as many owners have complained, it becomes difficult to point to many types of shops as not tourism related somehow. Perhaps thanks to these complaints or the general feeling that people really want to be able to shop on Sundays, the deputy mayor of Amsterdam seems to be going forward with a plan to allow any shop that so wishes to be opened on Sunday. If the city council agrees, you will soon see a lot more activity on Sundays in Amsterdam.

Cars ranging from super-luxury to environmentally smart and modest are now on display at AutoRai 2009 in Amsterdam. Another feature is the 110 Years of AutoRai classic car section. There's also a chance to test drive some of the most powerful SUV's on the planet.

The show started today and will be running through April 11th. Tickets are €16.50/€18.50 on weekends. Kids 14 and under admitted for free.

The other day I realized I had a gift certificate to redeem at an Amsterdam-based travel bookstore called Pied a Terre. I headed down to Overtoom 135 and had a look around – and the store was a delightful surprise!

Not only does Pied a Terre provide the standard mix of travel books for worldwide destinations, but also it mixes English, Dutch and French options throughout each section. It has a special corner dedicated to biking trails and another for walkers. I saw a Jakarta street atlas, a wide selection of globes and travel journals and even globe-shaped bike bells.

A kid’s play area is tucked under the stairs and a small café in back boasted a coffee and apple pie special for under 5 euros. After an hour of wandering in awe, I chose a Vienna travel guide and paid with my gift certificate. This store is highly recommended for any kind of traveler…or book lover, for that matter.

Some months ago I made a new American friend here in Amsterdam. Turns out, he works at the hologram shop. Which got me thinking... most people who come to this fine city, don't know about the renowned hologram shop in the red light district.

Yes the hologram shop and gallery features all sorts of items, only these items are holograms: pens, notebooks, jewelry, portraits and more. My own room now features several small hologram stickers, courtesy of one very enthusiastic friend at this unique Amsterdam shop.

One more thing I shouldn't forget to mention, located right at the edge of the red light district, the shop also features adult holograms! Which immediately makes me think of little child holograms that have grown up.

Even if you're not in Amsterdam at the moment, click over to the website where you can watch a 3D Slideshow. (warning, 3D glasses required)

Wandering the center of Amsterdam last week with a friend visiting from LA, we stumbled upon what looked like a skateboard shop. Stepping inside it became clear that this was more than a shop, it was also an art exhibit, chronicling the history of skateboarding. It just so happened that my buddy is a old school skateboarder, so we wandered by the old shoes, photographs, and time line of artifacts while he explained how it was to be a skateboarder in the 80's.

Besides being a shrine to the history, this place is also a Nike SB shop, featuring all the newest and flashiest boards and gear related to skateboarding. It also seems to be a popular hang out for some young skaters, at least on this particular night. I've never seen so many shiney new skateboarding sneakers in my life... which by the way, used to be considered shameful (having new looking shoes) in that world. See, I learned a bit about their culture! (after years of ignoring my many skateboarding friends in high school)

According to the internet the exhibition should be over by today. However the space itself is so big, I predict there will be something equally as interesting going on over at the Made for Skate location.

Shop Name: Made for Skate
Location: Spuistraat 125a
Hours: 12 - 7pm Daily.

Rotterdam is normally Rachel's domain, since she lives there and I live in Amsterdam. But the nerd in me could not resist telling you about the new virtual flying taxi at the Rotterdam Port Experience.

At first I had just read that it took you across the Maas river at high speeds and gave you some panoramic views of the city. But after watching a video of it on a Dutch news site, it seems you get alot more than just some nice views, you get a nauseating and potentially fun virtual ride. Doesn't sound tempting? Watch the video for yourself. As for the Rotterdam Port Experience, looks like they're itching for visitors with lots of new installations and fun things for you to try. The website, on the other hand, not quite ready for any language besides Dutch, so far.

FIle this one under, "things tourists probably won't believe". As of December 1st of this year, barring some miracle, magic mushrooms will be banned in the Netherlands. Specifically that means no more shops, better known as smart shops, selling hallucinogenic mushrooms. A decision which has naturally stirred up alot of anger among smart shop owners, the labor party, and the mayor of Amsterdam, among others.

This decision goes back to an accident last year involving a French tourist who killed herself while high on mushrooms. That set off a series of events on a government level, led by a slim majority in parliament who aim to add mushrooms to the list of forbidden drugs under the category of opium.

This type of announcement will likely not be known by alot of tourists who appear in the Netherlands over the coming year, thinking that besides coffee shops, they can also pop into one of the many smart shops throughout the country. Tell your friends, as of December 1st, say goodbye to legal 'shrooms.

I'm no fashionista, but I did notice the story making its way in some Dutch media about the specially designed New Balance Rotterdam Sneaker.

In cooperation with a bunch of Rotterdam designers and artists, they rolled out a black, grey, silver, purple and teal limited edition shoe. Black, grey and silver for, apparently, the typical color of Rotterdam buildings. Teal for the Maas river. And purple to represent renewal. (I never knew purple means renewal?)

The sneaker is generating quite alot of attention among rabid sneaker fans, especially as only 150 pairs were manufactured. The shoes, named the kakkerlak, are tied to a larger design line of clothes made by Rotterdam designers. They will be available starting November 8th at this store.

Want to see? Watch this video (in dutch).