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Sea Cloud Cruises Goes Cycling

Next spring, for the first time, Sea Cloud Cruises will initiate something new and beguiling--- cycling cruises through Holland and Belgium aboard the River Cloud II. Three eight-day cruises during April are planned with prices starting at $3,340 per person. This will be old-world travel in the slow lane during the day and all the comforts of a luxury hotel at night. If you have marathon knees or hips, you should know that the biking will be on flat, flat country ---no steeps and at a leisurely pace.

Tags: Amsterdam, Antwerp, bike trips, keukenhof, river cruises

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How a Chocolate Easter Egg is Made

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining, Luxury Travel & Hotels

Last weekend, many of us ambitiously filled our Easter baskets with as many eggs as we could carry, and now we find ourselves with a refrigerator full of naughty things to eat.

Rather than feel guilty about the obligatory chocolate gorging going on, let's celebrate by learning from a master chocolatier at Burie how chocolate Easter eggs are made. The video above shows the step by step process.

This same step-by-step piecing together is used to create all kinds of different chocolate things, from chocolate celebrity heads to the famous Burie chocolate hands and chocolate diamonds ("for and by Antwerp"). Hans Burie even, quite famously, created an 1,800 pound Belgian chocolate car, complete with a life-like interior and completely edible.

Check out some more chocolate creations we saw in the Burie factory, as well as their charming Antwerp boutique, below.

Gallery: A Visit to Burie in Antwerp

My visit to Antwerp was sponsored by Tourism Antwerp and Cool Capitals, but the opinions expressed in the article are 100% my own.

Tags: antwerp, burie, chocolate, chocolate bar, chocolate eggs, easter eggs

Antwerp Super-Concept Shops - A Little of Everything You Love

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Ra's office, in what I can only describe as a Smurf house.

As Antwerp, Belgium continues to make its name in the fashion and art scenes, "super-concept" stores have emerged. These stores include everything from art galleries to organic cafes, vintage shopping and a selection of wares to wear from various designers. Basically, they're like smaller, hipstery versions of department stores -- and they're a lot more fabulous to be spotted in.

One of these spaces I visited was Ra, at Kloosterstraat 13. Ra has an 800 square meter space with an internet cafe, a bookshop reminiscent of what you'd find in a museum, an open art installation space with the latest exhibition, a kitchen serving a full menu of healthy food (the kind I like to call "aggressively healthy," like carrot soups and tofu), some antiques and two floors of carefully curated designer clothing, shoes, jewelry and other accessories, including some one-of-a-kind pieces from emerging designers. Catching on? Super-concept shops accommodate pretty much everything people of certain lifestyles want. They're one-stop-shops for their target demographic; and the kind of place you could spend a whole Saturday without getting bored.

Another super-concept venue I visited was Hospital, a scrap metal dealer's warehouse-turned-boutique. They have an art space, fabulous clothing for sale and a restored vintage car -- also for sale. I dined at the adjoining restaurant and wine bar The Glorious, which was glorious (see gallery for mouth-watering pictures), and mingled with a completely different crowd from the Ra-goers (Hospital is a posher, deliciously more pretentious scene).

Obviously, this idea is brilliant.

Gallery: Super-Concept Stores in Antwerp

Tags: antwerp, antwerp stores, belgium shopping, belgium stores, department stores, ra, shopping, stores, super concept stores, super-concept stores

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10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Diamonds

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry, Luxury Travel & Hotels

I recently had the pleasure of visiting Antwerp, Belgium, the city which handles 80 percent of the world's rough diamonds after they are mined and over 50 percent of the world's precious-stone-quality diamonds. If you're interested in diamonds, the 500 year old traditions in Antwerp are a must-see. You'll want to visit the diamond district, which is a relatively small area (only about a square kilometer), but packs a plethora of jewelry stores and diamond dealers, many at terrific prices -- even with the exchange rate being as unfavorable as it is.

If you're new to diamonds and concerned you might be swindled, you've still come to the right place; it's easy to do your research and learn the A to Z (or, rather, the D to Z) of diamonds in Antwerp. The first stop I would recommend is DiamondLand, an internationally renowned diamond dealer and diamond information center. Free tours are available daily at 11:00 AM, except Sundays, and include a lesson in where diamonds are mined, how they are made, the quality terminology and an opportunity to see a real diamond cutter at work. Secondly, for an even more in-depth look at the diamond industry and its worldwide impact, The Diamond Museum (open daily except Wednesdays) is just a short walk from there. Be sure and get the audio guide; you won't get much information without it.

Gallery: DiamondLand

With no further ado, here are 10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Diamonds, which I picked up in Antwerp:

1. Diamonds cut before 1950 are shaped differently from most diamonds cut since then (today). The "Antwerp Cut" was developed in the 50s; they found a shallower geometry which distributes more light (more sparkle). See the gallery for a diagram.

2. You can be a real diamond miner for a day in Canada. There are two mines in Canada, Diavik and Ekati. They are extremely difficult to get to, but if you visit, you can pick up diamonds, and they'll pay you for what you find.

3. If you do this at any other diamond mine, you will probably be shot. At least that's what my tour guide said.

Tags: accessories-pedia, antwerp, belgium, diamond museum, diamonds, luxist-awards, main-pedia

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Antwerp's Beautiful Reading Room

by Alison Wellner (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Books

There's only just over a week left for easy access to one of Antwerp's more hidden treasures: the Nottebohm Room. This reading room is in what used to be the City Library, recently renamed the Hendrick Conscience Library (or Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience in Flemish), for its location on Conscienceplein in the city center.

The Nottebohm Room is everything you'd imagine a traditional reading room should be, all dark wood paneling, inviting desks, and two stories of books that will bring a respectful hush over any book lover. The library's collection dates back to 1481, and includes more than a million books, with 6,000 rare books, folios and other priceless book-related artifacts, including a delicately calligraphed and illuminated history of Rome written by Eutropius . In the early 20th century, the Nottebohm Room was the gathering place for Antwerp's literati -- you can see some more pictures of it here, although the page is in Flemish.

It's my understanding that the Nottebohm Room isn't open to the public regularly, but it's currently hosting an intimate exhibit of modern hand printed books called "Mooi Marginaal", and the contrast between these modern and often whimsical works, along with the nostalgic presence of the entire sweep of publishing history is a fine reason to fit this in when you visit this jewel of a city in Flanders. The exhibit is on until June 14th, Tuesday through Sunday, and admission is free.

Tags: antwerp, antwerpbelgium, belgium, books, libraries, library, rare books, RareBooks

Diamond Conference Canceled Due To The Bad Economy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

How's this for a sign of hard times, the Antwerp World Diamond Centre has postponed their conference. The conference, scheduled for November 17-18 was to feature Richard Branson as a keynote speaker. Antwerp is still the world's center for diamond cutting and the conference was to bring in diamantaires from around the world. Antwerp World Diamond Centre CEO, Freddy J. Hanard is quoted by the AFP as saying that it was deemed prudent to postpone the conference and "allow the dust to settle first" after the recent global economic turmoil. The conference also would have include a lavish dinner which was seen to be a too extravagant display while the economic situation is so fraught with chaos. The conference will be rescheduled for some time next year.

Source

Tags: antwerp, diamond conference, diamonds

Diamond Divas Exhibit Shows Rare Pieces

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

Marilyn Monroe sang "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend" in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" and at the premiere of the movie she wore the famous Moon of Baroda necklace which has a a 24.04-carat canary yellow pear-shaped diamond at the center. You can see this necklace and many other diamonds worn by royals, high society and celebrities at the Diamond Divas exhibit at the Antwerp Diamond Museum. The exhibit, which runs from April 11 through June 8, 2008. Every piece in the exhibit has its own legend and the Antwerp Diamond Center relied on high-end jewelers, auction houses and private collections from around the world to put the exhibit together.

[via Diamonds.Net]

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Tags: antwerp, diamonds, jewelry, museum

Qbic, Hotel In A Box

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

Another hotel concept is launching this time in Antwerp and Amsterdam. The cutely named Qbic is budget-conscious chic. Each room is a cube-shaped living space called a Cubi. The Cubi is equipped with a Hästens bed, Philippe Starck bathroom fixtures, TV and wireless internet. The Cubi makes ample use of LED fabulousness, letting you set the color and theme of your room. The upholstery can also be changed with switchable panels.

The service is strictly hands-off. The hotel lobby has a digital kiosk with a screen that lets guests find infor on restaurants, movies and other attractions. There is also a "Grab-and-Go Corner" that will offer food and beverages as well as items such as toothbrushes, chargers, phone cards, magazines or condoms. Qbic will reward early reservations using a system where rates run from 39 to 139 euros per night. Checking in and paying is also done electronically on site. The first two Qbic hotels will open early next year.

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Tags: amsterdam, antwerp, hotel, hotels, travel, vacation

Lesotho Promise Sells For $12.36M

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

A 603-carat diamond, named the Lesotho Promise after the country in which it was found, was sold last week in Antwerp for $12.36 million. The giant raw diamond will most likely be cut into several smaller diamonds, which will have a collective value of approximately $20 million. The white diamond - the most popular color for a diamond to be - was the 15th largest ever found in the world, and the largest to be discovered this century.

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Tags: antwerp, diamond, diamonds, gem, lesotho, lesotho promise

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