Sofitel The Grand: A "Legendary" Hotel in Amsterdam

Sofitel's iconic Amsterdam hotel has been reincarnated after a two-year, top-to-bottom renovation.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

30 FREE Online Resources for Teaching and Learning ESL

Image
ESL Resource: Super Simple Song s During my time spent teaching ESL in Thailand , Korea and Turkey , Ive learned that even the most quality textbooks can use a little supplementing now and then. Thats when I hit the internet, hunting for worksheets and activities to keep my students busy. Theres a whole lot of teaching material to wade through online, but its worth it for those additions that make my lessons more engaging. Here is my master list of free online ESL teaching materials. The majority of these resources are for ESL teachers, but some would be helpful for ESL students as well. Grammar and Vocabulary 1. English Language Centre Study Zone This site, from the University of Victoria, has clear, concise grammar lessons. Readings come with interactive comprehension questions and tasks. 2. English Grammar in Use If you ask me, Raymond Murphys grammar texts for ESL learners are damn near perfect; they have clear explanations, lots of practice exercises, and are thorough. Ive b
Keep reading

A luxury trip to Machu Picchu

Image
24th July of this year marked 100 years exactly since Yale man and National Geographic explorer Hiram Bingham puffed and sweated his way up to the jungle-covered ruins of Machu Picchu. A century later, travelers who want to take in this true wonder of the world arent limited to explorer-style bivouacking; rather, there are now a wide range of accommodations, dining experiences, spas and adventures that rival the best in the world. So, in honor of Machu Picchu, Hiram Bingham and the incredible cultural patrimony of Peru, I would like to show you what a luxury trip to Machu Picchu looks like today. Most visitors begin their journey in Lima. A short stay allows you to soak in the glorious colonial past of Limas central plaza. Palms, tropical-yellow buildings with exquisitely-carved wooden balconies and Spanish palaces sweep you back in time. Before becoming too nostalgic, head for the modern and very hip Miraflores district. Hugging the green cliffs, Miraflores offers visitors an incredib
Keep reading

Guide to Swahili street slang in Stone Town, Zanzibar

Image
All photos by author. Mambo! Its the classic street slang for whats up? in Stone Town, Zanzibar and in most of urban East Africa. It literally means, things or issues? The upbeat term is often paired with the word vipi (how) as in, Mambo, vipi? How are things? There are at least 20 ways to answer the popular question that I never learned in formal Swahili classes. The gap between school and street could not be wider than in Stone Town, Zanzibars capital city, a UNESCO World Heritage site, that nearly 400,000 residents call home. Here, the lugha ya kisasa slang or lugha ya mitaani street language changes by the minute, mostly by young people who flip or shine an old word, or fashion a completely new one, inspired by hyper-local contexts, meanings, and realities. I thought I knew Kiswahili. Id earned an advanced certificate at the State University of Zanzibar. The program prides itself on teaching a kind of Swahili described as sanifu (standard) or fasaha (clean). It was rigorous
Keep reading