Saturday - Rotterdam Unlimited Street Party

Rotterdam is a gigantic open air party venue this week and this weekend is going to be massive.

The programme is packed with parades, carnivals, samba dancers, battle of drums, fantastic food stalls and concerts.

Tonight at 20.30 Manu Chao is playing for free on the Hofdplein, but there are stages scattered all over the city all night long.

http://www.rotterdamunlimited.com

Friday - Come fly with me!

Today and Saturday the Royal Dutch Airforce will celebrate its 100th anniversary with a mega open day birthday bash on the Volkel aviation base.

Two days full of acrobatic flights (Red Arrows, Frecce Tricolori, Patrouille de France), aircraft displays and demonstrations, that would make any military-stuff nerd salivate with lust.

Free entrance and loads of stands to browse in-between the shows.

http://www.defensie.nl/luchtmachtdagen

Thursday - The bronze folks of Vollendaam

When you'll go to Vollendam to have your picture taken in a traditional costume, look out along the seaside's promenade for a series of statues representing local characters, such as this lovely fisherman's wife who must be in a million tourists' pictures.

The material of the statue is appropriate since from a walk around town it seemed to me that Vollendam's young residents have a penchant for the tanning salon (or maybe it's just all those hours spent at sea).

Wednesday - Follow the azalea path

The Clingendael park has several different beautiful natural spots, from manicured gardens to wild wood, but one in particular is worth a visit right now (and I mean it, next week it may already be too late).

Take the entrance on the Laan van Clingendael and you will already seen it on your right, starting from where they installed new bicycles parking racks.

It's a short path but the colours and the sweet perfume are worth going back and forth a couple of times. It's very quiet as well, especially during the week: the only people I met in half an hour were two octogenarians on mobility frames.

Tuesday - The groen light of Rotterdam

We stumbled upon this winkelcentrum-on-the-corner by chance while looking for a pizzeria in the area (about which more soon, btw) and what vgot my eye was the predominantly green color of the signs and the sleek and almost Scandinavian looking interiors.

Turns out it's the Groene Passage, an ethical and organic shopping arcade, with an organic butcher and supermarket, a fair trade shop, a bookshop and a social center organising meetings and courses.

There's a cafe too, serving vegetarian and organic food sold by weight (of the food, not the customer's, thankfully!) to eat on the spot or to take away.

http://www.degroenepassage.nl

Monday - Leiden's cabinet of curiosities

In Leiden, next to the Pilgrims' Museum, there's an antique shop that should actually be a museum in itself.

Unassuming from the outside, once in, you get through room after room after courtyard of the most amazing combination of antiques, bizarre and junk I have seen in a long time.

On the Nieuwstraat, opposite the church, next door to the museum.

Sunday - The sound of de Stilte in Breda

Ongoing till the 15 June, the Stilte* festival is in fact not about silence, but focusses on the expression of emotions without the need of using the spoken word.

The shows therefore are based on dance, mime and performance art and most of them are suitable for all ages and with some being for free and/or are street performances.

We watched a very lively performance from the Dutch-Catalan duo Plan D yesterday on the Markt and were surprised and amused by the amount of entertainment an old, battered and sawed in two VW Beetle, some eggs and two talented artists can provide.

http://www.destilte.nl

*= silence in Dutch