Travel

50 most beautiful hotels worldwide

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HI  guys,

 Once again I found a reason to play the lotery !

Travel and Leisure guide published its 2011 list of the world’s 50 best hotels

I’ve gone through the list and I honestly feel like leaving for a world trip!!

So sit back and start dreaming…

 My personal top 10 out of these hotels would be: (Message to my girlfriend, “Don’t get crazy ideas :- ) )

  •  Mandarin Oriental Dhara Dhevi Chiang Mai, Thailand … I think the below picture speaks for itself….

  • Lodge at Kauri Cliffs Matauri Bay, New Zealand: I call it a room with a view 🙂 🙂

  • Hotel Caruso, Ravello Italy… as beautiful as Lucio Dalla’s version of the song. For me the Amalfi coast is the most beautiful place on earth!!! (but if you’re driving there, you’d better hope God is a good friend of yours as they show no merci in southern Italy. Red light is just a suggestion)

  • Couples Tower Isle, St Mary Jamaica. Feel like Bill Gates on your own little island

  • Turnberry, Scotland. For all golfers out there, Colin Montgomerie has got his summer Golf School at this hotel!!

  •  Intercontinental Resort & Thalasso Spa, Bora Bora. Well this is what heaven looks like (I think, or better I hope). If you would ever go there, don’t forget to check out the nice diving spots in one of my previous blogs

  •  SingitaKruger National Park, South Africa… But only if you don’t mind see lots of wilde animals 🙂

    •  Machu Picchu Pueblo Hotel, Peru. I could honestly already see me hear … surround by beautiful nature, Machu Picchu… Lucky you a train stops right in front of the hotel ;-), because that would have been a hell of a walk

  • One & Only Palmilla, Los Cabos. Well, just look at the below picture… I have no words

Tell me, which ones would you want to stay at?? What’s your Top 10?

How not to behave on an airplane: a passengers’ bill of rights

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Yesterday I read a really nice article about a survey conducted by  Lonely planet ! The aim of this survey is “to establish some basic guidelines for the traveling community to promote peace on airplanes”. This resulted in a ‘Bill of rights’.

“Article I: The right to remove shoes
Passengers shall be allowed to remove shoes from their feet, but only if the aforementioned feet don’t stink or present health risks to other passengers. The right of the passenger to go to the lavatory without shoes shall not be infringed, as it is really your own business should you want to stand in the urine of others.”

 68% of the people they asked, said it was ok to take of your shoes during the flight. And I’m one of the 68%, especially on  a long flights, because if you have a flight  for 10 hours or more, letting your feet get a bit of air can be really nice.  I remember one time flying back from Thailand I was wearing wrong shoes . Maybe you know this feeling when your feet are swelling a bit and  you feel like sticking my feet out of the window J… I know I do!! I really was in heaven (or close enough)  after taking of my shoes… man did that feel good   

BUT watch out when taking off your shoes….

 “Article II: Freedom from unreasonable aromatic assault
No passenger shall, in the time of flight, be subjected to unreasonable aromas, be it from powerful perfume, foods redolent of onion, or other fragrance wholly unnecessary whilst on an airplane.”

I can’t remember too many flights  where I didn’t have the pleasure to experience the great smells a plan has to offer. There was this one time (long before you could pick your own seats via internet) and they had put me in mid console 5 seat row and of course they gave me the seat right in the middle. Sitting at my right hand side Smoky Smokersen and at my left somebody they just picked off the street (damn strong cologne) … it was so bad I even lost my appetite (yes, my appetite), that’s how bad that smell was. And below graphic shows what the most irritating fragrances you will find on a plane:

“Article IV: The article of reclension
A well-justified act of reclining one’s seat shall not be prohibited at all times, apart from meal time and other times specified by the flight crew. All instances of reclension shall be preceded by a rearward glance so as not to unwittingly crush the patellas or portable electronic devices of the affected passenger.”

 Beeing a tall person, I really don’t like it when people in front of me recline their seat… because then I can’t move anymore. Although I have to admit that it depends which flight company you use, the planes having the most space (flying economy) would be South West and Jet Blue, for International flight KLM usually also has “reasonable” space. I’ve flown quit a lot and most of them are ok, but the really good ones you can count  on two hands…. (unless you fly business)

 “Article V: Freedom of no speech
There shall be no requirement for other passengers to listen to you drone on about your child, cat or other subject not directly germane to an immediate inflight emergency situation. The right of other passengers to give you the ‘book-off’ shall not be infringed, nor shall you assist with the answer to 14-across if unprompted.”

This Article actually reminds me of my flight back home from Toronto (connecting flight to New Delhi). I saw an older guy sitting next to me looking at the little display in front of him and thinking “how does it work”. So being a nice person I thought I’ll just help him… I should have NEVER done that, because for the next 9 hours of my flight he’s been going on about religion and tried to convince me to become a Hindu… I now understand why the Pope kisses the ground when he gets out of a plane! Lesson learned, the only moment I’m not social is on a long flight 🙂

I know I ‘ve skipped some articles, but if you want to see that whole blog post from Lonely planet, please click on Lonely planet blogpost

 What experiences do you guys have? I’m sure you have some!! Let me know

Monaco low profile

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Playground for the rich and famous you might say? I won’t be able to afford Monaco? Well people, you are wrong!! It’s not that you’ll be living there 🙂 I had the chance to go to Monaco on different occasions and none of those times ruined me. Monaco is a place that you can make as expensive and cheap as you would want… Of course if you are staying at ‘hotel de Paris’ or eat at Alain Ducasse, I’m sure your pocket will feel a lot lighter afterwards.  Follow my lead and I am sure you’ll enjoy Monaco in a normal, but still fancy way.

When you visit Monaco or Monte Carlo a few ‘must see’ attractions are obviously the place du casino and it’s casino (you won’t be able to enter in swimwear), the Royal Palace and if you like sea life I’m sure the oceanographic museum will be something for you.  The famous tunnel under the Fairmont Hotel where yearly the F1 takes brings you to the port. But did you know that Monte Carlo also has a normal beach? It is  not enormous, but big enough to fit some people. For car lovers, the Ferrari museum is a must. The limited edition beauties that you’ll find there are unique. A place where you can find your inner self Is the Japanese garden, right next to the Grimaldi forum, overlooking the Mediterranean sea (that would already be relaxing for me). Going the the open-air cinema (cinema d’été) next to the Oceanographic museum is also a thing that you should really do. Or maybe eating an ice cream in the Häagen-Dazs garden ice salon in front of  the casino sounds more appealing to you? A small anecdote to show that Monaco doesn’t always have to be expensive. Once I bought a special Ferrari toilet seat in Monaco,  as for the price I would pay in Belgium I could buy 3 in Monaco! (true story)

When going to Monaco you could of course stay in a close by city and just go to Monaco for a day, but you really have to try weekend night in Monaco in summertime. Two hotels that are nice and still reasonable of price are the Novotel and Hotel Ambassador (and good located right next to the underground train station). Check Booking.com for good prices. I’m sure once you’ve spend one or a few nights you’ll agree. The whole summer there is a fireworks contest between countries who send their very best firework specialists. In the weekends Monaco is really the place to be, you’ll see more fancy cars then you can dream of, you might also bump into a celebrity or two. In the weekend this Principality really comes to life.

But I’m starting to feel hungry, we didn’t eat yet. I don’t know if you have ever eaten a pizza with a Foi gras and asparagus toping? If you want to try this you should go to restaurant “Le Bambi”. Or maybe some “Gambas a la plancha” are more of your preference, in that case Le Baobab would be a nice choice. My first time in Monaco, I went to a very nice Italian restaurant in the street right in front of the Royal Palace, Il Pinocchio (lots of famous people love this restaurant). One of Prince Albert’s preferred restaurant is Sass Café, so who knows …  A friend of mine tried and enjoyed the “La villa” These restaurants are just a few of the places I’ve tried in Monaco. The three I’ve given are of a normal price range. “Sass” and “La Villa” might be a bit pricer, but still acceptable.  If would like more know more Monaco restaurants, don’t hesitate to ask or check the restaurants of monte carlo website.

Buon Viaggio!

Tragaluz

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Ever been in Barcelona? No? What are you waiting for??? Ok, it also took me some years to get there, but I really fell in love with this city. I’m not going to talk about this wonderful city, but about a great restaurant group you can find in Barcelona.  The group is called Grupo Tragaluz which in English would actually mean “Skylight”. My girlfriend and I have tried the Bar Lobo, Agua and Bestial. But I’m sure that the next time that we will be in Barcelona , we will go and try the other restaurants of the group. J.  The Group actually has all kinds of restaurants and they all have their own specialties. From a small tapabar to the Michelin star awarded Tragaluz restaurant. They now even have a hotel and I have to admit, it is quit tempting to go there as well.  Both Agua and Bestial are at the beach in Barcelona (Barcelonetta), although from both restaurants I would rather return to Bestial than to Agua.  I liked the food at Agua, and the restaurant is also mentioned in a lot of travel and restaurant guides, but  I think you pay more because of its location (but for Belgian Standard it is still in an affordable price range).  To start we  had the Iberian Ham (I really love ham) and some tapas. Followed by the  “Arroz con bogavante y butifarra” (rice with lobster and botifarra) and the “Langoustines” . We also  had a great regional wine. And I finished with my preferred dessert,  Tarte Tatin andsome coffee, basically a great meal.

 

As mentioned above, I preferred restaurant Bestial.  Maybe because of the great setting where all the trees were nicely illuminated and because had a table outside or maybe because of the nice service? It could have also been the really great food!!  We again started with some nice tapas  one of the “tapas” was a small wood oven backed pizza, some Iberian ham, tempura of vegetables, etc… after that we had the day suggestion  and we finished with these woooooonderfull pies.

 

And this leaves us with Bar Lobo , just a few minutes from the Mercat de la Boqueria. Sitting on a little square,  under an umbrella (as it was so hot at the time) enjoyed an endless choice of tapas with some local rosé and white wine (I think the picture below speaks for itself)and I think we almost tried all the tapas they had (besides the anchovies)… I got more hungry while eating, that’s how good it was

 

 

Rome’s trendy village of taste

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When in Rome do as the romans… Literally this time , but then for the trendier Romans.  Rome is a city I really love (surprise surprise). The history, the beautiful buildings, the fact it is in Italy, etc… I already visited the city a few times, and like in any other city I’ve tried to find good food . One of the restaurants I go to every time I am in Rome is restaurant Gusto. You could actually call it a restaurant village, as they have a Osteria (kind of a Italian snackbar), Winebar, Restaurant, Pizzeria, Formaggeria (cheesebar), a cookbook store and a wineshop.It is all on the same block at Piazza Augusto Imperatore, which is close to the Via del corso. Gusto is one of THE trendy hotspots in Rome and no matter which of the locations you choose, they are all great. For lunch the Osteria, in the evening the restaurant and afterwards the wine or regular bar to enjoy some live jazz music …. Sounds like a pretty perfect day to me!. But of course, do not forget to enjoy one of the world’s most ancient cities between your meals 😉

If I can’t convince you, just walk by the restaurant and I’m sure you’ll be very tempted. Booking a table might be recommended.

If you prefer a more traditional location, I’m sure I’ll post one soon

The LA vibe

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Los Angeles is definitely one of my preferred destinations during the winter… as in Europe it is freezing cold by that time.

From the second you then walk off the plane you feel the sun spreading its warm glow over California. I find it just wonderful; especially knowing it was –12°C when you got on the plane. I’ve already been a  few times to LA and thanks to a few buddies of mine I’ve been able to experience  LA at its best!! I hereby want to thank them for that  :-).  It might not be the most beautiful city in the US, but there is definitely something about this city that keeps attracting me. Everybody knows the touristy things like Kodak theatre, LA strip, Malibu, Rodeo drive, etc… which you of course have to see when you’re there, but knowing the real LA, that’s what it is all about !

When in Rome, do as the Romans…. So when in LA, do as the LA people!!  One of my favorite hangouts and for sure a ‘must do’ in LA is the Baked Potato, THE FUNKIEST PLACE ever!! An old LA underground club, where the most amazing artists have performed and had jam sessions. All the walls have pictures and autographs of every artist that played here. Ofcourse once you are here, you have to try one of the jacket potatoes!  Check out the calendar, you might be surprised who you’ll be able to catch playing! It is really worth the trip. You might also wanna check out King Chris and The Groove Thang at Backstage Bar And Grill. A trip to House of Bluesis also really nice.

Who thinks fast food, thinks US.  I re-quote when in Rome …. (Thank god my girlfriend wasn’t with me, otherwise the romans would have had different habits 😉 ) The best burgers are without any doubt the In n’ out burgers, no freezers, etc… Everything gets freshly made on the spot! Most of their restaurants are drive-in only. A restaurant that also has seating possibility is the one on Ventura blvd, Woodland Hills. On the corner of La Brea and Melrose you’ll find the world’s most famous and huge celebrity hangout  Pink’s hot dogs

Don’t know if they are the best, but believe me, they were really good!! I must admit that taking the 9inch chili dog was tempting … but I got my senses back and tried the normal chili dog, some mustard, chili & onions.. mmmmm (I bet my LA friends feel like jumping in their car and get one of those puppies). But for the ultimate experience you should really have the best pastrami sandwich ever at Johnny pastrami’s. Take the Johnny’s famous pastrami dip and you’re golden! By the way, this place is close the LAX, so get one before you head back home.  At this point, you might also wanna try some doughnuts?  I needed some convincing at first, but once I entered the Krispy Kreme’sshop I was sold. The time you would want to go, is when  they are freshly making them. The first bite you take out of a glazed doughnut (filled or unfilled), you really believe that sugar heaven exists!! WOW!! Although I have to admit I’m glad they don’t have a shop in Belgium, I wouldn’t be able to stop eating them.

The places above are obviously more a snack thing. In the evening I need something more consistent  :-). A few classics in LA or the States would beThe Cheesecake factory, the red lobster, etc… but I’m always in for something new. Most of my friends know I like this, so my buddy Rick and his wife have taking me to a few authentic Korean restaurants in Korea town and thank god Rick’s wife is Korean, as everything happens in Korean. The first restaurant we went to had like this big grill in the middle of the table on which they put really thin meat and countless little cups with different kind of dishes on the table like spicy stuff (not to their standards) , sweet-sour, etc… it was endless, but it was a great experience and I am definitely going back!! The second one had, the Seoul garden, more or less the same amount of side dishes, but this time it was, it was a kind of fondue pot filled with fish or meat broth (bouillon)   where you would ‘cook’ the fish or meat instead of a grill … again a really nice experience. It is actually called Shabu Shabu.

You cannot go to the US and don’t try some BBQ meat, ribs or burgers… you should really go to Tony Roma’sor Wood Rangeand taste their baby back ribs. Normally I’m not really into spareribs, but man were they good!!

My list could go on and on with great places my friends took me. But if you ever go to LA and you are interested in more info, just let me know!!

 

 

 

Catalonia à la française and so the story continues…

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The first night we decided to go to a restaurant of the Le Neptune . We went to the La voile du Neptune, with nice overlook over the little port/harbor of Collioure. Where we first had the Serrano Ham with Manchego Pan Tomato and the range of forgotten Tomatoes of “Pezilla-de-la-rivière”, Parmesan chips and Mozzarella. Followed by Gambas à la planxa deglaced with Xéres (sherry) and Entrecôte 1er choix snackée, beurre à la moutarde à l’ancienne (I know, no meat at the seaside, but I just wanted it so bad) and to finish with a Fondant au chocolat and a café gourmand. Overall a very nice dinner. Although I never understand why at some restaurants the seranno ham (or Parma) sometimes gets cut quit thick? I really prefer when it is thinly sliced… but maybe that a personal taste.

But never the less, it was some goooood food and of course all of this was accompanied by a nice local rosé wine. I would indeed recommend this restaurant, although it slightly more expensive.

We stayed 3 nights in Collioure, sadly we didn’t really felt like visiting too many cities or villages, although this region has lots of nice places to visit like Perpignan, Port-Vendres, Andorra (although still quit a drive).  And there are also from “routes des vins”  to visit some nice vinyards. During our stay we mostly drank wines from Cave Veuve Banyuls and honestly these wines were very good, we tried the Collioure Rouge and Rosé.  As I said, we decided to relax our few days and enjoy the sunshine.

 The 2nd and 3rd day we went to the same 2 restaurants for lunch we want to Argelès-sur-Mer at “La Vieille Cave’ in Avenue de la Liberation (51 bis) and in the evening. Very nice little restaurant with a terrace with a very good price- quality-quantity value. They serve a big variety of tapas, salads and bigger courses. The first time we tried some fish and the second time tapas and both times we were really satisfied and had enjoyed our lunch for 100%. And we assure you that 1 dish is more than enough as the portions are really generous.

In the evening we went to restaurant ‘Le Clocher’. This restaurant was by far the niced place I have been in my 2 weeks in the South of France.  Typical Catalonian refined cuisine for a very normal price, served by very enthusiast and friendly staff. At restaurant ‘Le Clocher’ for tapas o/ first cours, main course, dessert, wine and apero you should count between 50 and 70 EUR for 2 persons. What to my opinion a very good price, knowing that you are still in the south of France. I actually discovered a very good champagne in this restaurant,  champagne from ‘Besserat de bellefon’ . We both days started with the tapas, where I can recommend the Serrano con pan e tomate (thin sliced ham J ) where you get the garlic, tomato and bread separate so you can decide how much of each you want on your toast. For main courses everything is recommended as everything looked and tasted amazing!!

So for everybody who wants to discover the best of Pyrénées-Orientales should definitely visit Collioure. Bon Voyage!!

Catalonia à la française

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For an Italian it is not always easy to admit that other cities, countries or villages are breath taking if they are outside of Italy. Collioure in the French département Pyrénées-Orientales along the Côte Vermeille is one of those places. Only a 20 minute drive from the Spanish border, to my opinion this is what makes this region so wonderful. The best from both French and Spanish (Catalonian) culture.

About two weeks ago, when I was driving towards Collioure, from Montpellier onwards I was astonished from the beauty nature has created there…..At your right the hills with the vines enjoying the sunshine wresting on its leafs at that same moment you also notice the amazing view over the Mediterranean sea… And as cherry on top of the cake The blue sky overlooking all this beauty. The more I drove the better it became.

 The hotel we chose was 2 minutes (by car) outside of Collioure, in a little town called Argelès-sur-Mer in hotel Les Mouettes. A nice hotel with pretty spacious rooms, but what makes this hotel even better is the stupendous views:

As you can see on the picture above, just wonderful! Afterwards we also noticed that the group to which this hotel belongs, also had a hotel right in the center of Collioure and according to the comments it gets on booking.com  It is/was also a very nice hotel. The only thing that could be negative is that both hotels don’t have elevators… but personally, it didn’t bother me… as the rooms were nice, the hotel had everything one could want; swimmingpool, Jacuzzi, etc… (all free for use) and all with view over the sea. Plus the hotel staff was also very kind and helpful.

 In the evening after having enjoyed some southern sunshine, we headed towards Collioure city. What actually happens to be the world capital of anchovy (ansjovis), so I was already a bit scared that everything on the menu was anchovy related. Driving towards the city center we enjoyed a nice short drive surrounded by vineyards and overlooking the sea we entered in this picturesque little mediaeval town with 2 sights that immediately catch your eyes are the Collioure Notre-Dame-des-Anges church and the Château Royal (in the summertime there are open air concerts in this castle). Something that also fascinated me about collioure is that in the early 1900’s, it was a center of artistic live as lots of artists made it their meetingplace, artists like Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, etc…. as they were all inspired by this wonderful town.

 When I visit a town or city, the thing I refuse doing, is eat at a so called ‘tourist trap’ restaurant. We could have of course asked at the hotel where to go (as they have the menu carts from most of the good restaurants), but I always see it as a quest to find a nice spot myself, which sometimes can annoy my girlfriend. When looking at some menu’s my fear was already over, although they indeed had some dishes with anchovy, but most dishes were southern French- Catalonian tinted. And so we started our first search for good food.

 To be continued…