Bianka, the Jordaan Escort Who Listens

People notice Bianka's attention before anything else. She listens with her whole face, hazel eyes steady, and the question she asks next proves she caught every word. It is a rare quality in a city that moves this fast. Only then does the rest register: long light brown hair with sun-kissed ends, a curvy 165 cm figure, and the unhurried, sultry warmth of a woman in no rush to be anywhere but where she is.

She is 23 and lives in the Jordaan, the district of narrow canals, crooked gables and tiny brown cafés that Amsterdammers defend with real ferocity. It fits her. Bianka shops the Saturday Noordermarkt for tomatoes, basil and whichever cheese looks best that week, then cooks Italian for friends until the candles burn low. The Jordaan has always been a neighbourhood that eats together, and she keeps that tradition alive. Ask her about a proper ragù and she will tell you, firmly, that three hours is the absolute minimum.

Vintage fashion is her other obsession. The Nine Streets are a short stroll from her corner of town, and she knows every rail worth checking, from silk scarves to a cocktail dress from the sixties that fits as if it had been waiting for her. That eye for a well-cut evening look shapes her own style: sultry boudoir elegance, dark lace, heels, nothing loud. At a wine tasting or a long dinner she is in her element, and she can talk you through a Barolo without once sounding like a label. Luna shares her love of a good glass, if you want another wine lover on your shortlist.

Bianka speaks English, notices the small details that make an evening feel looked after, and never lets a conversation go cold. Bring an appetite, and bring your questions about the best plate of pasta between the Brouwersgracht and the Leidsegracht; she has answers. Tell us where you are staying and when, and she takes it from there.