Nieuwe Revu asked me to portray some of Holland’s finest webcam girls.
The issue is out now, pick it up at your local Albert Heijn!

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Eating in Louisiana can be, well, an experience. Last fall, when Julia and I first drove into Louisiana we stopped at a terrifying little truck stop just outside Shreveport. It was as if we walked onto the set of a Tarantino movie that was about to turn ugly. It was tiny and grimy, and every single person in there stared at us as if we came from another planet. Not the most comforting experience for two girls, new to the region. Our obese and slightly bearded waitress seemed as scared of us as we were of her. The greasy, mottled menu didn’t exactly inspire confidence either. But there was no backing out now. Just to be on the safe side, we ordered the traditional red beans and rice, and I don’t think we could have made a better choice. It was delicious. Of course, I am a fan of all things bean, but this was exceptional. And as we expressed our enthusiasm, our waitress overcame her shyness and showed us a glimpse of the famous Southern friendliness. As we continued on our trip, we had more deep fried truck stop food than we care to remember. A Southern diet is not recommended if you’d like to live past 60. But fried foods aside, Cajun cuisine is very comforting, and some of their dishes have stuck with me long after I returned.

Luckily, I got to return to Louisiana a few weeks ago, prepared with a long list of places-to-be when it comes to Cajun food. On of the best spots in New Orleans is most definitely Cochon. This heavily pork-inspired restaurant serves all the Cajun classics. One of their own concoctions is the Fried Oyster and Bacon Sandwich. It combines all of Louisiana’s favorite foodstuffs: oysters, pork, and all things fried. If served anywhere else, it might have made me throw up, but Cochon uses fresh oysters and meat cured in their own butcher shop – this makes for a very fancy heart attack. It certainly made it’s way into my top ten of favorite sandwiches ever.

Want to make Cajun food at home? I got Cochon’s cookbook and it does not disappoint. I made a mean jambalaya and an evil chocolate-condensed milk-coconut-pecan-birthday-cake from it and scored major points on both accounts.

I’m trying to sleep but I find myself once again staring at the ceiling, wide awake with a bittersweet US jet-lag. My biorhythm is so messed up that, at 3am, all I can think about is spicy, salty Cajun food. I got the chance to return to Louisiana, the place I instantly fell in love with when I traveled there for my hunting project. We divided our time between New Orleans and Lafayette, a small city in the heart of Cajun country. New Orleans was as impressing as it was the first time, with good food and music all over, but it didn’t quite steal my heart like Lafayette did. An isolated region in the deep, deep south, Cajun country seems poor, sad and ominous. The roads are so torn up that pieces of tire are scattered wherever you look, housing conditions are often dismal, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find non-deep-fried sustenance. But at the same time they have a culture all their own that is different from anything I’ve ever seen. They mash their English up with French into an charmingly incomprehensible accent, in between the fried foods you’ll find some of the most comforting, rustic dishes you’ve ever had, and the music, well… We’ve seen everything from a spirited performance by a four year old in cowboy-boots and a Stetson to a wash-board rubbing that knocked our socks off. Needless to say, we danced the night away, after a friendly introduction to line- and zydeco-dancing by the local dance-floor kings and queens. The friendliness we were met with was quite overwhelming. Back in Amsterdam, it doesn’t feel quite real at all, it rather seems as if we got to walk onto a movie-set. The one thing tangible about it is a suitcase full of cook-books, spices, sausages and hot sauces. Those should hold me over for a while.

It’s always great to sell a picture and see it up on someone’s wall, especially if it goes to such a fitting home.

If you are ever in London, make a stop at Fortnum & Mason. It’s a super fancy department store from 1707 and it makes you feel like you’ve traveled back in time. Wyne and I had some great wine in their wine bar and dinner in their gorgeous fountain restaurant, great times!

Today was my first time skeet shooting, a practice session of which I’ll probably need a whole lot more if I want to pass my hunting exams any time soon – so far I’ve only taken a theoretical exam. To my surprise, I did manage to actually shoot a bunch, that was a lot of fun. I must still be holding the gun badly though, my shoulder got some nasty bruising from the kickback.

Picture by Julia Gunther

2010 has been sweet and spectacular. My new book, En Masse came out, my worldwide hunting project got a great start, and enrolling in university to study English has been one of the best, most fun decisions I’ve ever made. Let’s have a drink and a dance to that tonight, and have great 2011!

Last night was the book launch of my latest book, En Masse: How Holland Holidays.
I held the first copy of the book yesterday, and I am thrilled! It sparkles!