Shopping

I can write a lot about this cute little bakery, but only one thing is important…

Koekela has got the best cakes and cookies in town and I dare say, maybe even the country!

And now they’ve moved a couple of shops up the road to a bigger place where you can also sit and enjoy their goodness.

For muffins or cupcakes I’d suggest going a bit further to Alice in Cakeland (check the article), but stay in for the cookies and brownies! Don’t want to go out? They have a webshop!

One of my favorite shops in town is ‘La Bourse’. This perfumery sell beauty products of the better brands. The service here is so good and the staff is very friendly. They know the products well and know what they’re talking about.

Also, the prices here are sharp. You get a good discount anyway, but as a regular client (which I am) you get even more. They alway give you nice samples and you can choose if you want a perfume or cream sample, how good is that! I always leave this shop happy.

The only “flaw” might be that they sell ‘Essie’ nail-polish instead of ‘OPI’, but hey nobody’s perfect. La Bourse has three shops. The biggest one is on the Coolsingel, the other two are on the Meent (almost next to the Vlaamsch Broodhuys) and the Korte Lijnbaan.

The Netherlands Architecture Institute just reopened after a year of renovations. The museum has great new permanent exhibitions: ‘Dutchville’ where you can experience every side of the city and ’Treasury’ shows about 100 masterpieces from the NAI collection.

From April 20th two exhibitions (Making City and Smart Cities) of the 5th International Architecture Biennalle Rotterdam (IABR) are on show at The NAI, of which one (Making City) is the main exhibition of the IABR.

The NAI expanded with a new cafe, where you can get lunch, a good coffee or stay for something stronger. There’s a big sunny terrace which is great to relax. Coming with kids? They can play, build and create at a space above the Cafe called the ‘Hands-on Deck,’ while you enjoy your beer/wine .

Oh and don’t forget to visit the bookshop!

On the 19th of April the International Architecture Biennalle Rotterdam (IABR) opens at the NAI. From that date on  you can see the exhibitions ‘Making City’ and ‘Smart Cities’.

What do you do when you come to a country where they don’t even have good cupcakes? That’s right, you make them yourself and share it with the others. That’s what Rebecca did at least. She came all the way from Southern Virginia, via London and Bangkok, to Rotterdam and opened her store; Alice in Cakeland.

This fantastic cupcakes shop on the Van Oldenbarneveldstraat has two floors. Downstairs is the workshop area. About one or twice a month Rebecca organizes a workshop with a different theme. Themes go from SATC and designer handbags to Sinterklaas, Christmas and Easter. Anything you can imagine and that’s suitable for that time of year. The new workshop calender is online, plus there are more workshop theme’s coming.

Then there’s the shop on the upper floor. Here you can buy the most delicious cupcakes. Now you can buy cupcakes basically everywhere, but these cupcakes are the real American ones. My favorite right now is the Oreo with chocolate, but I still need to try the tiramisu one…

Unfortunately Rebecca is going back to the States this year. The brand is for sale, so hopefully someone will take over Alice in Cakeland. But just to be sure, come get the best cupcakes in the country before you’re too late!

In my old neighbourhood are some pretty cool things like, duo MishMash – for interior, colour advise and murals at Lombardkade 53A and the largest weekly market on Tuesdays and Saturdays you’ll find a gem named Little Italy.

A typical small Italian supermarket-caterer. Officially located at the Lombardkade 51A, but they use the back entrance at the Binnenrotte.

Little Italy is a pleasure to shop for delicious, affordable and authentic delicatessen or for a quick bite, get a pizza slice or a sandwich. They’re specialized in Italian Food and if it’s not too busy the staff is very helpful in giving tips. I like to joke that in Little Italy size does matter when looking for the right size spaghetti.

Little Italy is a good place to snoop around and anything you can think of, you will find here for your Italian cooking. Cheeses, cold cuts, wide range of red, white, sweet, bubbling wines and if you look closely you will find some biological ones too, pasta´s, different kinds of olives, olive oils, truffles, herbs, mouth watering antipasti like the dried tomatoes, sea fruits, grilled eggplant and tapenades.

No time to cook? Get their fresh Lasagna and heat it up at home. Do try their Tiramisu, available in small and large portions!

Finally after only being able to pay cash, you can pay your purchased edible goodies with your bank/credit card now.