Amayzine has a new editor

Spring is starting, summer is being unlocked. In the category of anticipation and hopefully inspiration, I asked all our editors and other colleagues for their most beautiful holiday memories and plans. Today it's Isabel ten Brink's turn.

Where are you going on vacation this year and why did you choose this place?
Actually, we do the same thing every year: we go to Tuscany for a week, then a week to Sicily (my mother was born there, so a lot of family lives there) and then we have Vlieland, where we just go as much as possible throughout the year, but especially in the summer, always a few days back and forth whenever we can. My horse is there at the riding school, so it's really nice to be away from the city for a bit. My life there is a lot more serene. At the end of the summer vacation, there is also always the festival Into The Great Wide Open, a bit of a hippie festival where people even take the smallest babies with them. Willem always comes along too, then we sit somewhere in a hidden spot in the woods, on the ground, listening to a live performance. Very magical.

Zoom in on that perfect evening. Where are you sitting, what’s on your plate, and who’s at your table?
We are overly close with each other. So, like the rest, I become very happy when we are all together. My parents, sisters, brothers-in-law, and all the kids, enjoying some wine while we eat spaghetti aglio olio. That's the best after a whole day in the sun, especially when my mother makes it!

Are you the type to plan, book, and fix everything or do you let it come to you a bit? What is already set and what is still open?
Vlieland is always a bit ‘whenever possible’ and often just a few days in between; if I have to go abroad, I really have to book, you want to make two weeks off for that. But once we are there, we see each day what we feel like doing. There is no weekly schedule of where we have to go and what we are going to eat? We'll see. If I'm tired, I want to lie on the beach after lunch, and otherwise, I like to go to a special temple or a museum.

Is there still a bit of movement or is vacation for you really ‘rest in place’?
Exercising? Yes, swimming or walking through the city/to museums/restaurants, but otherwise really lying on a beach bed. I can't imagine there are people who actually use the gym in a hotel.

Have you thought about your summer wardrobe? What’s going in the suitcase and how do you put your outfits together?
Usually, I start with clothes for ‘to the beach’, then I look at things I wear during the day before I go for a walk, and lastly the outfits for drinks and dinner. I always like to wear something nice in the evening. The inconvenient thing is that I always look at all the individual clothing items and think: those definitely have to come along. As a result, I don't really put outfits together in advance, which means that almost everything that is somewhat summer-appropriate goes along. So, you end up doubting every day about what to choose again.

Is there already a summer 2024 playlist made and what will definitely be on it?
I am really loyal to a few artists whose music I play to death as soon as it comes out. Since Beyoncé is busy releasing music again, I expect to have her new album (which comes out on March 29) on repeat this summer. My sisters Charlotte and Suus usually decide the music on vacation in the car or in the house; they broaden my horizon and I also have memories of certain songs: that was that summer!

Is there already a stack of books ready? If so, which ones?
Books are my biggest hobby (sounds very nerdy, but it's true). I love to browse through the bookstore, and I like to take some time for that shortly in advance. It's part of the anticipation. I usually choose books that have just been released, definitely one from an author I already know, one I've never heard of, and one classic that you just have to have read (like Madame Bovary).

Then a few either-or questions.

Bikini or swimsuit? Bikini, but I was quite happy with that high-waisted trend.

Cocktail or mocktail? Cocktail!

Museum or beach club? Still the museum...

Location recidivist (returning to the same place) or adventurer? Same!

Book or E-reader? Book. The smell of a new book is unbeatable.

Make a photo book or save everything on your iPhone and never do anything with it again? iPhone... But I do often look back at it!