Who are you?
I’m Ali, an American who has been living in Amsterdam for the past 10 years (it still feels insane to say that!) I travel, write, eat, and have a real passion for digital marketing. I regularly contribute to several travel publications around the web, and recently wrote the Amsterdam volume of The Hunt Guide. Amsterdam & Beyond is a travel diary and my own personal creative outlet. While I’m an encyclopedia of fun things to do and see in Amsterdam, also I regularly jet-set around Europe and am always looking to fuel my curiosity for new cultures and experiences. I hope to inspire others who are looking to discover something new, whether it’s in their own back yard or on a different continent.
How can I reach you?
If you’d like to get in touch with a friendly hello or a partnership inquiry, you can write to me at alexandra.ronca@gmail.com. I’m also an avid user of Pinterest and Instagram if you’d like to follow along or ask a question there!
Do you disclose freebies?
Sometimes I get invited on a press trip, to an event, or a gifted product. If this is the case, I will always tell you so in the blog post. Most of the time, I decline to work with brands. It’s hard to find just the right fit, and I want to keep the content here authentic. However, I have worked with a few brands in the past, such as KLM, Raddison Blu, and Come to Hamburg, as these travel brands have a similar creative vision and allow me to share content I think you (my readers) will truly find of interest. I will always disclose a freebie, and I will always make sure it’s the best fit before sharing it here on the blog.
Where are you from?
I grew up just outside of Boston in the USA. When I was twelve, my parents moved to a seaside town in Maine, and (luckily!) decided to take me with them :) I loved meeting new people and discovering the contrast between city life and country living. It was a huge eye opener to how life, even at a measly 200 miles apart, can differ greatly. I loved the opportunity to meet new people, find a new routine, and understand a different kind of living. Although I was young at the time, this move definitely fueled my passion for adventure and the new. When I graduated from high school, I went to college four hours away from home in Vermont, and when I graduated from college, I moved even further abroad to get my master’s degree in England. After a two year stint in the UK, I moved to Amsterdam where I have been for more than ten years now. Ik spreek een beetje nederlands en heb onlangs een appartement gekocht in de historische grachten van de stad! (Englaish: I speak a little bit of Dutch, and recently bought an apartment in the city’s historic canals!). The ‘where are you from’ question is hard, as I’ve left so many pieces of my heart in so many places around the world. Right now, the answer is Amsterdam, but five years from now, I hope the answer is very different but equally exciting!
Is blogging your job?
No, blogging is not my job. I work at an online travel agency called Booking.com, where I manage marketing and creative. I also regularly contribute to online travel publications, in addition to sometimes taking on a bigger writing or photography project here or there. I’m one of those people who rarely sleeps, and I thrive on throwing myself into my work, which also just so happens to be my passion. Blogging is the one creative outlet I have that is completely my own, and for that reason I love it. While I don’t update Amsterdam & Beyond as frequently as I would like, it gives me a space to be 100% authentically me, which is welcome after dedicating so much time and creative effort into the vision of others. And, Amsterdam & Beyond is a diary that I hope to look back on and truly cherish someday.
xo Ali
PS. These are the Terms and Conditions for Amsterdam & Beyond.
Wow. What a wonderful about and story. Thanks for finding me. I’d love to follow along. I’m an American expat too, but I live in Thailand :)
So well-written dear! Hugs.
LikeLike
Thank you very much!! I just started following your blog as well, looking forward to reading about your adventures :)
LikeLike
Incredibly in-depth. I feel like I know you after all of that. I wish others would put even a quarter of the work you put into your “About Me.”
LikeLike
Ha – thank you! I have to admit, I’ve been blogging for about 8 months and just got around to doing it now. Writing about day to day life is much easier than trying to sum up who you are in a couple paragraphs!
LikeLike
Very true. It’s stressful for me too. I use this as my resume/contact/professional biography and although I want to be cute with it and really let everyone know who I am, I don’t know how professional I should keep it. I decided to keep it pretty professional for now until I feel out the amount of fun I can put into it. I’d love the really share who I am in it, but employers may not look at me the way I would like them to. Eh. I wasn’t going to be denied the picture with my cat, though!
LikeLike
Good Meet! Thank you for stopping by my blog today and liking my post on “The Gift of Giving”. I just followed you and look forward to poking around and reading your site. Blessings!
LikeLike
Hi,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. Yours looks awesome! We seem to have some things in common: I am also an avid traveller, have met my British man on one of my adventures and we are newly engaged! And in October we are moving to Amsterdam!
LikeLike
oh my gosh I think I’ve found my travel twin!!
Good luck with your move, I’m looking forward to reading about your Dutch adventures :)
LikeLike
Great to have you stop by my blog. Yours is exciting and congratulations on selecting a venue for your wedding.
LikeLike
Hi Alexandra – that’s my name too! Thanks for having a look at my blog and liking my cheesecake disaster post. Your blog looks great and I have just signed up to follow. The Netherlands is one of my favourite places, so your posts and photos will remind me of the wonderful time I spent there years ago. Cheers, Alex.
LikeLike
Thanks Alex. It’s hard for me to not like anything cheesecake related ;) Love your content!!
LikeLike
So I love this, completely and head-over-heels-ish. Loveliness, Keep blogging! You have a new follower, and thanks for coming across my own blog today! xoxo!
Laura
LikeLike
Thank you – your space is quite dreamy, looking forward to following your adventures as well.
LikeLike
I lived in the Bijlmer for a couple of years when I worked in the Science Park and think of Amsterdam and the polders every day. Your situation makes me quite jealous.
LikeLike
Ohh cool! I love ridding my bike around that area – crazy how much the landscape can change in a 45 minute bike ride. Where are you living now? Promise to keep the Amsterdam adventures coming!
LikeLike
Yeah, Zuidoost rules. Now living in Swindon UK (from Bicester, after Stretham near Ely). Been working at Oxford nearly 4 years after a year at Cambridge.
LikeLike
Hey Ali, you’ve got a super sweet blog right here. Really well written, great shots, content and layout, well done, you’ve got some talent. Just wanted to stop by and say hey, feel free to check out my thoughts on food or my poetry. Hope to stay in touch and keep doing what you’re doing. Doug
LikeLike
Thanks for your kind words Douglas, and I will definitely keep up to date with your posts as well :)
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by on my blog. I enjoyed your writing on this site, so I am looking forward to read some more. ;-)
LikeLike
HI Ali–love your story! It sounds like a fairy tale!! When we were first married, my husband and I lived in Spain for 12 years– I’m a happy traveler as well. But now we’re mostly settled in California. Great post! thanks.
LikeLike
Thanks Rhonda, great to meet another fellow globe trotter :)
LikeLike
Thank you for visiting my blog.
LikeLike
Hi and thanks for the like on my blog – glad you enjoyed the read!! I’ll be back for info on Amsterdam and more!
LikeLike
What a wonderful story! Thanks so much for the like on my post on the Tatry Mountains. Garrulous Gwendoline, The Reluctant Retiree
LikeLike
Thanks for visiting The He Said She Said Experience and for liking our post about The Great Food Truck Race! I like your blog, too! :) -Kari
LikeLike
Your blog is such an inspiration and what a wonderful story indeed! I will be following you. I have dreamed of traveling to Europe someday. I have some friends who are living in Switzerland and hope to visit them as well. Thank you for visiting my blog and liking my post at annascuisine.wordpress.com. I hope you’ll visit more often. Have a great day! :)
LikeLike
I have nominated you for a Versatile Blogger Award. Thanks for creating such an interesting blog.I am so jealous of your travels. :)
LikeLike
Your blog makes me want to travel! If I can find a way to make money and travel the world for a living, I will do it! :)
LikeLike
Love it. Thank you for coming by to look at my blog and giving me the chance to find you. I’m going to have to follow you :). Ohhh and happy belated birthday.
LikeLike
Hi! I’ve stumbled upon your blog which I love. My sisters and I started our own about our life in London, but we’re actually Dutch. So interesting to read your take on our homeland x
LikeLike
Hey Ali, I know we’ve been fellow wordpressers for a while now but I was wondering as I’m thinking of learning Dutch in the future (my boyfriend is Dutch as you know) and I’m hoping to visit Holland in the Spring to finally meet the in-laws there, I was wondering do you know any free/cheap resources to learn some basic Dutch? I was trying to figure out who to ask this…as I’m a bit of shy of asking the boyfriend and I know you’ve probably adapted to Dutch life by also learning the language gradually, and it’d be a help if you could nod me in the right direction, if even a small part of the right direction! I know this could be a big ask but I didn’t know where else to turn, haha. Thanks if you can help me :)
– Jane xx
LikeLike
Hey Jane, I am ashamed to admit that my Dutch is horrible. When I first moved here I made every effort to learn the language, but because English is so fluent in the Netherlands, the moment someone picks you have a US/UK accent, they switch right over into English. That said, I did learn the basics before coming, I used: http://www.learndutch.org/Dutch/Dutch.html for numbers, the alphabet, phrases, etc. This is also a good cheat sheet: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/dutch-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html B took a year long intensive course and his Dutch is still quite primary, it’s a hard language to learn! I’ve found the best way to learn is by living here (grocery store signs, overhearing people talk, reading menus) and speaking to Dutch friends (when you’ve had a few drinks this is really fun!), so your boyfriend is probably the best resource :) I’m sure his family will love you either way! But there are a few cute phrases you could learn that are ‘house manners’, things like “uitbuiken” (to exclaim when you’re really full after a delicious meal), “smakelijk” (what you say before you dig in when a meal looks delicious!), and “dank u wel” a polite way to say thanks :) I’m sure you’ll win them over no problem! Xx
LikeLike
Thank you, it does really look like a tough language to learn haha. All those huge long words can look so scary :o And thanks for the tips, I’ll definitely look at those links you provided! You’re a star :D xx
LikeLike
Just thought I’d let you know how my Dutch learning is going since I asked you for some tips about learning Dutch! I finally got the courage and asked my boyfriend to teach me! :) Last night I managed to say my first 20 Dutch words in less than an hour, apparently I pronounced them great :D
Also just to let you know that I moved blogs (this is formerly infinityx17) but I now have a shared blog with my Dutchman :) http://davyandjaney.blogspot.co.uk/
I want to thank you as well, because if you hadn’t given me the advise you had I would have probably stayed in fear of asking to be taught by my boyfriend haha :)
Hope you and B are well! :)
– Jane xx
LikeLike
Hey Jane – what great news!!! Dutch is such a difficult language to learn – and pronounce! – so congrats on your progress so far :) I’m sure you’ll be fluent in no time. I’ll check out the new blog space :) Will be good to hear from you AND the boyfriend, and I’m so happy he’s the one giving you lessons. Good luck and I’ll be sure to keep up with your tales on the blog. Doei!
xo ali
LikeLike
Agreed haha. Must say I have had a few tears of trying to pronounce some words! Especially that guttural “ch/g” phlegm-like noise – it’s a pain but slowly getting the hang of it. Haha hopefully by the time my family and I visit Holland in June (managed to convince them to meet the in-laws for the first time with me) I can at least have a decent conversation :D
xx
LikeLike
Thanks for the like on my blog. You have a great blog, interesting stories, and some great photos! I traveled a lot when I was younger, Amsterdam was on my list, but I never made it. I will enjoy living vicariously through your blog.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I’m glad I found yours; it’s full of beautiful photos and great content. Can’t wait for the updates!
LikeLike
Hi Ali, thanks for dropping by my blog “42 Days Younger than Kylie” and liking my poem. You take beautiful photographs on your travels. Livingin Amsterdam sounds wonderful. I was fortunate to visit there for 5 days about 18 months ago and would love to return one day. Following you on instagram now. Stay Well.
Peter
LikeLike
We visited Holland a few years back and ate our way through the city. What fun. Thanks for dropping by “Honey.”
LikeLike
Thanks for liking my blog post. I really like your blog and the photos! It makes me feel like I’m travelling around the world with you. Will definitely refer to your old posts when I go abroad.
http://yummyyummyhungrytummy.wordpress.com
LikeLike
What an exciting life you lead! Thanks for liking my post, “Find a Frugal Partner.” This small town girl is still living in a small town.
LikeLike
I love your About story and your wonderful photos. Makes me realise I have to add some photos to my About page!
LikeLike
Hi Ali,
It’s great to know someone sharing the same interests and living so nearby.
Love to read more from you.
Groetjes,
Angela
LikeLike
digging your blog and your versatility and how you have traveled to so many places and had so many incredible experiences and its fantastic reading about your journeys thus far. really cool. peace
LikeLike
Thank you, Ali, to follow my blog and like my poetry. Hope you enjoy it :)
LikeLike
Hello, Ali! Great blog!
LikeLike
Greetings! I want to say that your blog is incredible and that I really enjoy reading your work.
LikeLike
Gracias!! :)
LikeLiked by 1 person