Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for Holland

  • Hotel of new type in Amsterdam

    Hotel of new type in Amsterdam

    CitizenM

    CitizenM is the hotel made of ready modules of rooms.

    The hotel of new type is constructed in Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. The design of the project was developed by the Holland architectural studio, “Concrete”.

    Each of two hundred thirty rooms has been constructed and arranged by furniture at factory. Then the received elements have been made together as containers by the ship — and the hotel has turned out.

    The concept assumes reduction of all unnecessary expenses and removal of all unnecessary details. As a result of visitors receive magnificent conditions and comfort for very moderate price. In hotel of 230 numbers, 14 square metres everyone by the area.

    Amsterdam hotel

    All elements-rooms are made at own factory SitizenM, are mobile and are easily transported. Rooms are placed over the building ground floor where the dynamical lobby is placed, a drawing room, creative rooms, restaurant and a bar.

    Company Concrete has thought up the concept which has defined new possibilities for creative process and a new way for all involved technologies.

    CitizenM wishes to clone the concept and to construct more than 20 hotels next year, with use of technology of blocks. The second hotel will be constructed in Amsterdam, the third - in Glasgow. Other European cities now are in the field of research.

    Schiphol Airport

    As, according to owners CitizenM, everything, that is necessary for us during a stop in road is an excellent bed and a pure bathroom, they have concentrated on these details.

    To save space, subjects from a bathroom are placed separately in a room. In the big glass cylinders are a shower and a toilet, in the small cylinder the bowl and additional space for storage of personal things is hidden.

    Interior hotel

    The space effective utilisation has given a life to effective decisions; for example, the mirror simultaneously is a place for storage. In a steel framework the mirror in full growth which, on the other hand, consists of a mirror for a make-up with illumination, departments for storage of sanitary articles, in hotel available the European, English and American sockets is concluded.

    On either side of a bed night little tables are located. Under a bed the huge locker for suitcase storage in an open kind or other personal things is placed. Sockets on a forward part of a bed allow to connect your laptop or phone.

    Hotel Holland

    Designers have tried to create as much as possible house conditions — zones for work, rest, meal. The design of rooms is created together with furniture brand Vitra. The furniture will periodically vary, that will allow Vitra to organise additional show-rum of production.

    Electronic terminal

    The philosophy of a new hotel brand is that:

    “Small rest in road is necessary to All travellers. To researchers, wise men, dandies, businessmen, adventurers and dreamers. They are independent and individual, but they are united by one — aspiration to travel positively. For all mobile citizens of the world. CitizenM”

    Hotel in Amsterdam

    VIA «Hotel of new type in Amsterdam»

  • Rumors

    Rumors

    I put off reading the second book in the Luxe series for awhile because I wanted to the savor the end of the first book. Luckily the beginning of Rumors by Anna Godbersen drew me right back into the dramatic ending of the first book. This review will not spoil anything in Rumors, but it will assume that you have read the first book in the series.

    At the beginning we are reminded that Elizabeth Holland is dead, of course we know that she actually is not dead. Instead she has traveled to California to meet her lover and her family's former footman Will. Will has it in his head that he will strike it rich with oil. Elizabeth loves Will and wants to believe in him, but her wealthy past and good sense tells her this might not be the case. She has a lot of time during the day to think about her life back in New York as well, so Elizabeth isn't as happy as she thought she might be. She takes solace in the fact that she still has her engagement ring from Henry Schoonmaker. If things ever got too bad, she could always sell that.

    And back in New York Elizabeth's sister Diana is desperately in love with Henry. Henry, however, doesn't know that Elizabeth is still alive. When he finally comes out of mourning he can't wait to get back to Diana, but his best friend Teddy assures him that he cannot fall in love with Diana. It just wouldn't be right. This gives the semi-evil Penelope the perfect opening to win Henry's attention... or bribe him for it.

    I love, love, loved 89% of this book. This of course is a completely false percentage because I'm horrible at math, but we'll say that is how much I loved. There was so much of Diana in this book that I couldn't put it down. I just adore Diana. Elizabeth was a little flaky to me. I was so annoyed with her faithless attitude towards Will. Poor Will though... such a dreamer. My two biggest complaints about this book are Lina Broud and the ending.

    Lina Broud is a side character. She used to be a maid and is also in love with Will, but when she is fired from the Holland household she lies about her past to everyone she meets. In this book Lina is climbing the social ladder in a completely idiotic way. Basically I thought there was too much Lina in this book. Her character is annoying. She is unappreciative (which makes no sense because she used to be a maid) and kind of full of herself. I liked her more in the first book when she was genuinely in love with Will. You will see in this book that she is not.

    The ending, you'll have to decide that for yourself.

    This novel earned a B.

    I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

  • Envy

    Envy

    This review is of the third book in The Luxe series, so it will contain spoilers if you haven't read the first two books in the series. Interested in my thoughts on those? Check out my reviews of The Luxe and Rumors. I still say The Luxe series gets better and better as you go on and Envy

    is the best yet in the series. Splendor, the final book is all I have left. I'm trying to savor the anticipation but at the same time I just really want to know what happens next! So when we left The Luxe girls in Rumors Henry and Penelope are married, to the great dismay of Diana Holland since Henry was clearly in love with her. Elizabeth Holland is very sad because her husband and former chauffeur has passed away, and her mother is trying to pass her off to a new suitor so the family can have money again.

    Basically everyone is unhappy in this book. Literally everyone is unhappy. And I love Diana even more in this book because she is actually trying to do something about it! I loved how everyone was unhappy because from the outside all of these people seem to have perfect lives, but they're all actually completely miserable and I think that is a great thing to consider. No matter how good something appears from the outside when you experience it, it might not be that great. There were times in the book where she acted stupidly to try and make Henry feel guilty for what he did to her, but what teenage girl hasn't done that before. Honestly, the Diana-Henry-Penelope thread takes up the majority of the book and it was so intense, that at one point when I was reading on my lunch break I forgot my sandwich at the restaurant because I was so upset with Henry. And if that doesn't make you want to read this book, I don't know what will.

    The ending is the biggest cliffhanger yet and while part of me thought, "Yeah, I'm so sure that would happen," part of me just thought, "These books are so awesome!" The ending really comes from nowhere, I was shocked by it. You can probably tell by my verbal typing diarrhea that I still don't know what to say about it. I just honestly can't praise these books enough.

    I give Envy an A.

    I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

  • The Luxe

    The Luxe

    This is a post I have been looking forward to for a long time. Anna Godbersen's The Luxe

    is the second book I have read for my 19 Going On 20 Self Challenge. The novel starts with the supposed death of 19th Century Manhattan socialite Elizabeth Holland. Then it goes back in time to a party at Elizabeth's friend Penelope's home. Penelope's family is new money, but they have moved their way up the social ladder and are now being accepted by the elite. At least kind of. Penelope is having a very saucy romance with everyone's favorite rich boy, Henry Schoonmaker. What Penelope doesn't know is that Henry's father has other plans for him. He wants Henry to marry the nice, from a good family Elizabeth, which is perfect for Elizabeth's family since they have lost money after her father's death. It does not make Elizabeth happy though, because she is in love with her carriage driver, Will Keller.

    This novel is full of dark secrets, backstabbers, and saucy love sessions. I could not put it down. This isn't the kind of thing I normally read. I don't read a lot of YA in general, but the novel's jacket caught my attention. I loved the idea of Gossip Girl in the 19th Century. I mean, how much better can it get? After the first chapter I was totally hooked. I'm dying to read the rest in the series and will probably do so very soon.

    My favorite character in the novel is Diana, Elizabeth's younger sister. She is obsessed with romance and fantasy, and loves reading. By the end of the novel she has a bit of a reality check, but overall lets romance and fantasy win. She can be a total bitch but usually has others best intentions at heart. This novel has marvelous characters. It is one of the few books I've ever read where I didn't feel like anyone was the "good guy" or the "bad guy." Honestly when you finish the novel you see everyone has good and bad in them. The only exception to this is Elizabeth, who is mostly good. Although she does steal her best friend's lover even if she is doing it to save her family.

    In short, if you haven't read this book stop wasting your time and READ IT!

    Pub. Date: September 2008
    Publisher: HarperCollins
    Format: Paperback, 464 pp

    I am an Amazon Affiliate. If you make a purchase using one of my links I will earn a small percentage which will then go back into this blog.

  • Review: Chemical Cowboys by Lisa Sweetingham

    Review: Chemical Cowboys by Lisa Sweetingham

    Book Description:
    For nearly a decade, Ecstasy kingpin Oded Tuito was the mastermind behind a drug ring that used strippers and ultra-Orthodox teenagers to mule millions of pills from Holland to the party triangle—Los Angeles, New York, and Miami. CHEMICAL COWBOYS: The DEA’s Secret Mission to Hunt Down a Notorious Ecstasy Kingpin is the thrilling, never-before-told success story of the groundbreaking undercover investigations that led to the toppling of a billion-dollar Ecstasy trafficking network, starting in 1995 when New York DEA Agent Robert Gagne infiltrated club land to uncover a thriving drug scene supported by two cultures: pill-popping club kids and Israeli dealers. Gagne’s obsessive mission to make Ecstasy a priority for the DEA and to take down Tuito’s network met with unexpected professional and personal challenges that almost crippled his own family. Woven into the narrative are the stories of Tuito’s underlings, who struggled with addiction as they ran from the law, and the compelling experiences of a veteran Israeli police officer who aided Gagne while chasing after his own target—a violent Mob boss who saw the riches to be made in Ecstasy and began to import his own pills and turf warfare to the U.S.

    My review:

    Although this is a non-fiction book, it doesn't read like one. Sweetingham's extensive research into the world of drug trafficking is very eye-opening. The detail she goes in to detail both sides of the drug trade are stellar. The reader learns a great deal about the DEA as well as the hidden aspects of the Ecstacy trade. While I don't read a lot of non-fiction, the first few chapters grabbed me and took hold. The detail on the characters lives is very insightful. This was a very entertaining and educational read. With Father's Day coming up in a few days, I can't think of a better book to buy as a gift.

    About the Author:
    Journalist Lisa Sweetingham spent four years following in the footsteps of DEA agents and Ecstasy traffickers to bring CHEMICAL COWBOYS to life. Previously, she covered high-profile murder trials and Supreme Court nomination hearings for Court TV online. Sweetingham is a graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism and her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Parade, Spin, Time Out New York, Health Affairs, and many other publications. She resides in Los Angeles. CHEMICAL COWBOYS is her first book.

    Check out the author's Web site: http://www.lisasweetingham.com/