Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 14,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 5 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Announcements about the Festival Month of June, when for a month long we will be confronted with an embarrassing wealth of choice when it comes to music, has now been given an appetizer. In May a new initiative will hit the streets and wet the appetites of Hague residents. Culinary The Hague will take place for the first time from the 2^nd through the 8^th of May and foodies can take part in a culinary tour of the city. For the fixed price of 59.50 you can enjoy a four course meal, in four different restaurants – on one evening!

Wait, there is more, for the adventurous gastronome. After you reserve your ticket you will be told which of the four participating restaurants will be serving you which course, and while traveling from one to the other you will be given a route to follow, which will take you through some of The Hague’s historic points. Information about your route, what you will see, and where you will eat will be sent to you by email following the purchase of your ticket.

And, if this were not enough – each course includes a drink!

The participating restaurants are: Restaurant Des Deux Villes – Restaurant It Rains Fishes – Restaurant Dekxels – Decibels – Restaurant Max– Restaurant Han Ting – Brasserie Buitenhof

 Den Haag City Marketing and its partners have outdone themselves with this inspiring initiative. For more information, and more importantly to reserve your seat & tour visit  www.ontdekculinairnederland.nl – be creative though, or use google translate – the site is only available in Dutch ….

Bon appetite, and dare I say, happy travels!

PS The June Festivals include: The Royal Beach Concert (June 4th & 5th), Shopping Night (June 23rd) , Parkpop (June 26th), Den Haag Sculptuur (June 6^th through to September 1st), Vlaggetjesdag (June 11th), The Hague Jazz (June 17^th – 19th) , Festival Classique (June 14^th – 19th) and Dutch Veterans Days (Nederlandse Veteranendag) (June 25th). As of April 18^th www.thehaguefestivals.com will have all the up to date information.

Other attractions are the Casino, water sports, diverse museums with excellent exhibitions each year (such as Museum Beelden aan Zee) and walking routes in and around the dunes. If you are visiting with kids go to Sea Life and they are sure to also enjoy Glow Golf on the Pier.

Upcoming events – save the date:

• Sandsculpture festival 24 April 27 June 2011
• De Delta Lloyd North Sea Regatta 2011 31 May – 13 June 2011
• Royal Beach Concert 20114 & 5 June 2011
• VlaggetjesDag11 June 2011

Transport: Tram 1, 9, 11 & bus 22

* Parking can be a problem on sunny days, read here for info on where to park.

image credit: Photo by Martin Palmer

Mochi Restuarant is located just behind the Frederikstraat in the Willemspark area of The Hague. You are guaranteed a great night out with fab food at Mochi and friendly service. I have been to Mochi twice in the last 6 months, it really is a great place to have nice evening out.

While I am not a seafood person the highlight for me was most definitely their signature dish Frikandel speciaal! The chef’s menu is the most popular choice, allowing you to get the full Mochi experience. And for the dessert lovers you will not be disappointed. If you go to Mochi make sure you order the Frikandel and report back, and be sure to say hi to Lissette.

Location: Mallemolen 12-A, 2585 XJ The Hague
Telephone: 070 3635763
Website: mochirestaurant.nl
Transport: Tram 9 tramstop Javastraat; Tram 1 & 10 tramstop Alexanderstraat; bus 20 & 22 busstop Nassauplein

photo credit: charlottemeindersma.com

We were in the city center this Saturday and just happened to stumble accross the Chinese New Year parade. It was fun to catch the fireworks and see the rabbits and dragons in China Town.

CPC runners head towards the finish line.

My family and I are signed up for the ABN AMRO CPC (City-Pier-City) Run, which will take place in The Hague on March 13, 2011.  Once an intimate local race that allowed Dutch talent to shine, the CPC has become the stage for world class runners to set and break records, including Samuel Wanjiru who set a world record time in 2007 and legendary distance runner Haile Gabrselassie, and Sammy Kitwara who, after defeating Gabrselassie on the course in 2009, became the runner to watch. This year with changes made to the course making it even faster, the record making tradition is expected to continue.

Although the intense international attention shown to the race in recent years because of the world-class runners it attracts is exciting, the CPC is ultimately a local race defined by its intimate feel. In addition to the half marathon, other CPC events include the Ernst & Bobbie Children’s run, the Youth Run, the Schools’ Run in which students from local schools participate in a 1, 2.5, or 5 km run, the West 5 km Run, the AD Haagsche Courant 10 km Run and the Business Runs.

For more information on the race and registration visit the CPC website.

We would like to organize a ATH tweetup but over the last months we haven’t been able to find the right location for a FAB meetup. Do you have suggestions or recommendations leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you.

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

A Boeing 747-400 passenger jet can hold 416 passengers. This blog was viewed about 6,600 times in 2010. That’s about 16 full 747s.

In 2010, there were 75 new posts, not bad for the first year! There were 107 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 46mb. That’s about 2 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was September 20th with 169 views. The most popular post that day was Prince’s Day (Prinsjesdag) .

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were networkedblogs.com, facebook.com, stumbleupon.com, twitter.com, and hofstijl.nl.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for rem koolhaas, absolutely the hague, biggest market in europe, koolhaas, and the hague market.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

Prince’s Day (Prinsjesdag) September 2010
2 comments

The Hague Market, the biggest market in Europe August 2010
3 comments

M Building by Rem Koolhaas cancelled by The Hague August 2010
1 comment

Typical Coffee Candies from The Hague: Haagsche Hopjes September 2010

Ice is on it’s way to The Hague October 2010
4 comments

Molenstraat in The Hague

Every year we wait to see what will be in this little shop window in the lovely old Molenstraat in The Hague. And this year we were not disappointed. It is even better than last year and I am positive there are even more models whizzing and whirling. I took this photo today after waiting for lots of kids to stop gazing in awe at this wintry wonder world. I think the shop owner deserves an award for outdoing the displays in the big stores and I hear he does an excellent facial as well. I am not going to tell you exactly what number it is – let your kids spot it first. It appeals to kids of all ages by the way. And if you do find a better window, please let us know.

Also spotted today a lovely Gingerbread house at The Cheesecake Company on Torenstraat opposite the Grote Kerk. This gorgeous little creation is up for sale for a fair price and will help raise funds for research into Cystic Fibrosis. So do go and make an offer and have a slice of proper Cheesecake – it’s is the real thing, rich, creamy and decadent. But hey it is the season to be ever so slightly spoiled! And a quick tip for last minute presents for those last minute shoppers – Lemon Curd at De Bakkers Winkel on Torenstraat, Chutney at Kelly’s Expat Shop on Piet Heinstraat,  Stemless wine glasses & wine at La Buena Vida on the Fahrenheitstraat or some glorious fair trade crafty thingies at Waar by the Grote Kerk.

The Best Gingerbread house this year!

Enjoy!