The most beautiful country house in Curacao, Plantation Jan Thiel Lodge

in holiday Curacao, Travel mom

Hidden in the greenery on 2 hectares of land overlooking the salt pans is the historic “Landhuis Jan Thiel”. The history of Jan Thiel Lodge goes all the way back to the 17th century when the skipper Jan Thielen (hence the name) took possession of the plantation.

The estate has gone through several owners and impoverished over the years, but fortunately the mansion has undergone quite a metamorphosis since the last owners bought the estate in 2016 and decided to share this magical place with everyone.

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Beautiful private villa Vista Royal, Jan Thiel Curacao

in holiday Curacao, Travel mom

Good news, since May 15, Dutch citizens may officially travel again and Curaçao is back on yellow!  Curacao has also abandoned its lockdown period and all beaches are open again, so double celebration 🙂 In addition, TUI has increased its flight capacity since this week and you can now fly 5 days a week to Hato airport or every day with KLM. Curacao is one of the few countries in the world that is safe to travel to for the Netherlands. This means, among other things, that you no longer need to take a PCR test when returning back to the Netherlands.

If you go on holiday to Curaçao, then most people book an accommodation in or near Jan Thiel Bay, the beating heart of Curaçao. Here you will find many beautiful private villas in the district Vista Royal. Just perfect if you want to celebrate your vacation with your family or with a group of friends in Jan Thiel within walking distance of the beach. But which villa is really nice? After 3 months living in Curacao I ended this wonderful period with a staycation at Villa Solo in Vista Royal and I had better not, because after this I really did not want to leave. It was so beautiful!

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My second pregnancy: Sofie gets a sister!

in Travel mom

I am 38 weeks pregnant now and I have such a feeling that this little girl, just like her “big sister”, will come a bit earlier. At the last minute last week I did a nice maternity shoot on the Buurserzand (the Netherlands), together with my dear friend and talented maternity photographer Linda Krommenhoek.

Autumn has arrived and the colours of the leaves slowly turn red. As the sun slowly sets, I dream away how it will be to be a family of 4 and what it will be like to be a mother of 2 daughters. I keep finding my pregnancy very special and we are really looking forward to meet her. Look below further for more pictures.

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Croatia road trip itinerary with a baby

in holiday Croatia, Travel mom

Our first holiday with Sofie was to Ibiza when she was 9 months old. It was a very nice time, only flying was not such a success with her. That’s why we decided to go by car this time for a road trip of 4 weeks. In advance, we didn’t know how far we would get with a baby, but it ended up being a journey never to be forgotten 🙂

I always wanted to travel to Croatia and then preferably down the whole coastline to Dubrovnik towards the south. Croatia is located in the heart of Europe on the beautiful Adriatic coast bordering Italy, Slovenia and Hungary. On the coast of Croatia you will find more than 1,185 islands, most of them uninhabited. So enough to discover!

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Brac: authentic island life, Croatia

in holiday Croatia, Travel mom

The island of Brač (pronounced Bra-ch) is the third largest island of Croatia. Brač is best known for the most spectacular beach in Croatia, namely Zlatni Rat also called the “Golden Horn”. It has the shape of an escaping tongue and, depending on the wind, sometimes distorts to the right and sometimes to the left. What that looks like can be seen directly underneath in my blog

Brac is located off the coast of Split and is much more than just the famous beach where almost everyone goes. It is mainly an island to discover and where you feel like being a guest with the local islanders. Next to Zlatni Rat you will be enchanted by the impressive mountain Vidova Gora (778 m high), the many vineyards and olive trees, but also the crystal clear sea and picturesque villages where time has stood still.

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PREGNANT AND ON A JOURNEY? MY BABYMOON VACATION OF 3 MONTHS

in Travel mom

I have been on maternity leave for quite some time now, because I am now a proud mother of Sofie. I was only a few weeks pregnant when we embarked on our second 3-month far journey. We hadn’t planned this surprise at all and it only made our trip more special.

I remain silent to all the beautiful memories of our last trip (Maldives, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Bali) and it was a trip never to be forgotten, because it really surpassed everything. I had agreed with my midwife that I would do the ultrasounds abroad and with a pregnancy certificate in my pocket we started our adventure.

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