Christmas Market in Brussels

There is a very special time of the year, when dreams come true, hearts are full of love and faith and magic is pervasive.

 This special time is just around the corner – Christmas.

No matter where you are, no matter if it’s sunny and warm or snowy and cold, there is no better place to feel Christmas atmosphere that a Christmas Market.

Glass of mulled wine, cornet of chestnuts and a portion of tartiflette followed by churros dipped in the chocolate… my treasures.

You can find it all going to the Brussels Christmas Market, which is always located close to la Bourse and at the Place St. Catherine.

 Glass of mulled wine will cost you 2 euros and a portion of tartiflette 7 euros.

Milky Chance - Down by the river

Lazy weekend in Barcelona

Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, finely combining tradition and modernity. Art nouveau townhouses, modernism, sky-scapers, all seasoned with the flamboyant art of Gaudi; make up the picturesque landscape of the Catalonian capital. A hint of sea breezes, a taste of red wine and the exquisite Mediterranean cuisine all create an irresistible combination.

There are so many things to see in Barcelona, but when the time is very limited you need to pick only a few. This time I decided to spend a lazy, slow weekend and just roam around streets of the city, enjoying the atmosphere, sun, Christmas Market and the smell of food. Yes, the city really smells like herbs, meat, seafood, cookies and during this particular time of the year, pine trees and I love it.

Walking around and looking for a friendly, charming place where I could drink a good coffee I found a wonderful Portuguese cafeteria.

In there you will drink delightful bica and any other coffee you might be willing to have. Even if you don’t see something on the menu, just ask and you will probably get what you are looking for.

But the place is not only about coffee. You have to try their tasty patisserie – Nata – egg tart. Watch out, once you try, you will ask for more!

Address: Calle Mallorca 277, 08037 Bracelona

Nata cookie is a cost of 1,7 euro

Seduced by the taste of Nata I continued the yummy afternoon walking on La Rambla. This pedestrians promenade, located in the very center of the city links Plaza de Cataluna with the entrance to the harbor, the site of the Columbus Monument. Halfway is located my favorite part of La Rambla - La Boqueria – a huge local market with local delicacies. The mix of colors and smells you can find there is unforgettable.

Antoni Gaudi, an architect, artist and a visionary whose spirit is visually present in Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia church was conceived in his studio and its curvilinear Art Nouveau suggests an enormous life form that has become a symbol of Barcelona. Park Guell, part of a housing estate designed for the Spanish bourgeois, but never finished. Casa Mila, an apartment building in the city center, which takes us into a fairy-tale world, those are places always worth coming back to.

With all temptations around, my appetite was much sharpened. Catalonian cuisine is dominated by seafood, game meat and fowl, seasoned with olive oil and aromatic, mountain herbs.

Breakfast is time for coffee with milk, biscuits or toast.

Around 11 am the Spanish have their second breakfast usually consisting of tortilla: an omelet with potatoes or pan tumaca: a slice of bread with tomatoes, olive oil and garlic.

Here you will find an argentinian variation about late breakfast.

Address: Carrer de Sant Pere Més Alt 4, 08033 Bracelona

Argentinian breakfast which consists of 3 tosts + marmolade + dulce de leche, alfajor cookie and coffee or tea  - cost 5,9 euro

French breakfast which is set of 2 croissants + marmolade and freshly squeezed orange juice + tea or coffe - cost 6,5 euro

 Lunch is around 2 or 3 pm and dinner very late in the evening.

If you don't want to spend a fortune and eat good seafood in a typical spanish restaurant you should consider going to La Bombeta.

Address: Calle de la Maquinista 3, 08003 Barcelona

Prices of the starters begin from 3,9 euro and dishes  from 5,7 euro, with the average of 9 euro.

And of course you can't miss a tapas bar.

In this case, whichever place you will pick you will not be disappointed.

Bakermat - Zomer

let summer never ends

Pearl of the Semois valley - Bouillon (Ardennes)

If you are looking for an interesting weekend gateway idea to the Belgian mountains, Ardennes, called the 'Pearl of the Semois valley' Bouillon city is without doubt the place worth going.

You will find there perfectly preserved, fortified medieval castle, which cut above the town. Its construction started in the 8^th century and till now, it is one of the oldest and most interesting remains of feudalism in Belgium.

Castle is open every day.

Entrance costs 6.5 euro for adults and 4.5 for students.

English-language theatre in Brussels

If you are looking for a nice cultural experience and you don’t necessarily speak French or Dutch, Brussels Light Opera is a place to go.

In Brussels Light Opera shows you will not find worldwide known names or actors but a quite big, enthusiastic group of expats passionate about the theater and musicals. 

The effect of their work is really impressive. Scenography is very well done and costumes are carefully chosen. Life orchestra gives a wonderful libretto accompaniment. 

If you wouldn’t know, you would never say that actors are not professionals. In the repertoire you will find musicals like Evita or Sweeney Todd.

November gateway – Gran Canaria

When the weather starts to be gloomy and the sun doesn’t want to shine any more there is nothing better than escape to the south. Following tickets sales and cheap airlines connections you can easily find good deals for more or less popular destinations. My goal was to have as much sun as possible before the winter will come for good, do it for a reasonable or even low price and not fly more than 4h to the destination, because I had only a long weekend to spend.

Gran Canaria is very diverse in terms of landscape, climate, architecture and atmosphere. South is a typical tourist destination. Beaches are sandy (however not everywhere) and ocean is warm. Distances between cities are small, so you can easily move around. Unfortunately it’s a challenge to get in touch with local people, find local, typical restaurants or dishes. The south is designed for foreigners, but if you are up to nice cocktails, spending days on the beach or swimming pool and party all night long, this is a place to be.

Good restaurant to go:

Time, Risto Lounge Bar

Maspalomas, Avenida Oasis C/C La Charca, 9

Excellent italian cuisine with a big choice of pasta and pizza. There is as well daily menu with a variety of fish and sea food. Desserts are yummy, staff welcoming and the owner adorable.

Fresh dorada

Shrimps

Tiramisu

Center of the island is a real adventure. In the very heart of the island you will find its symbol and its highest point – Roque Nublo. To get there you will hike about 4h, but the landscape from the top is breathtaking. Following the picturesque path to the north, full of streamers leading through the mountains, you will reach an old city named Teror. The temperature drops as higher you climb, so even though the south it is very warm, it’s worth having handy a longer trousers and a sweater. People here are very friendly. They don’t necessary speak other language than Spanish, but will give you a hand whenever you will need it. It’s easy to find local specialties such as sausage, served as paste (chorizo teror), cheese(queso terno) and potatoes with a delicious red ‘mojo’ sauce (papas arugadas). It’s worth spending some time moving around small villages. Hereabouts you will find a charming city – Arucas with the beautiful cathedral and a hill, which is a very romantic viewpoint on the ocean and the city located below.

Tapas to try:

Chorizo teror

Papas arugadas

Queso terno

Going to the north you should stop at Galdar. The city is bigger comparing to Teror or Arucas, so you will experience more local movement.

The Capital – Las Palmas is a delightful city with a wonderful architecture. Its old, historical part named Vegueta is a must see. You can forget yourself walking the narrow, cobbled streets and travel back in time to the world where pirates and Christopher Columbus are still present.  In terms of culture, the city is very active. There are quite some interesting museums to see, impressive cathedral and a lot of restaurants serving really good local food. A must try is gofio, corn flour made of roasted grains (typically wheat or certain varieties of maize) which is added to whole variety of dishes. I tried gofio fish soup and a desert.  Both were delicious.

Dishes to order:

Calle Mendizabal is a very good place in Vegueta to have a dinner and taste local food.

'Scalded' gofio (mixture of toasted wheat flour with fish stock)

Gofio (toasted wheat flour) base mousse

Public transport system is quite developed and you can reach most places, but the trip will require more time. Buses are more or less following the schedule; however in the evenings not even night to mention, you will be obliged to take a taxi or sleep over and wait till the next morning, so I decided to rent a car to facilitate and accelerate my moves on the island. The whole trip took me 4 days from which I actually could spend only 2 exploring the island. Below I made a small map, indicating places where I have been and that are worth going and yes, you can do it all in one weekend, not spending a fortune.

A - Las Palmas

B - Maspalomas

C - Puerto Rico

D - Roque Nublo

E - Teror

F - Firgas

G - Arugas

H - Galdar

I - Las Palmas

Astounding Gent

There is always an open question, which city is more beautiful, Bruges or Gent. 

I don't know if it's the Christmas atmosphere around the corner or just my personal preferences, but I am totally amazed by Gent, which become my top Belgian place to visit.

The smell of good food in the air, easy going people, cosy restaurants, all together creates the homy atmosfere and attract like a magnet. 

With every step you take, you discover spots, that are whispering to you, come in and try me. It's definitely worth it.

Good ideas for a lunch or dinner:

Gentse Stoverij (Beef Stew)

or wild boar / deer stew with poached potato and cranberries

Good Whisky Bar in the heart of Brussels

Very good idea for a relaxing evening in the cosy atmosphere.

The choice of whisky is really impressive. The menu has a whole variety of whisky from all around the world. There are as well some special drinks, from out of menu. Below one of them. Realy tasty.

Real african taste in Brussels

Close to the metro station Porte de Namur, there is a neighbourhood called Matongé. You can try here real african food. Places are owned and appreciated a lot by people of african orgins. 

You can make a choice between food from Camerun, Senegal, Kongo or Ivory Cost. 

In some of those places there is no menu and dishes are changed every day, depending on what the cook has in the kitchen. 

Place worth trying while being in Brussels.

Nothing can give you a better taste of local food than local people. 

                             Thank you guys for the company during the dinner.

Below are few dishes that we had for the dinner (might be useful if you will go to the place with no menu available).

    

 goat with chikwague (manioc)

attieke (fermented cassava pulp that has been grated, served with tilapia)

yassa (chicken with onions and rice)

bananes plantains

All above taste the best with fresh ginger juice.

Flamenco 'Au Salon'

It is such a pleasure to discover small, hidden places, that would never come to your mind, that they exist. In this small, hidden places you will find people with open minds, passion, in love with music and in love with art.

Friday night in Brussels couldn't be better than live flamenco concert in the sitting room.

Guitarist: Yves Vandewalle

Singer: Laura Castro

Maná - Mexican rock band from Guadalajara

A touch on melancholy in the rainy, chilly evening.

Fascinating Indian Art Exposition in Brussels

The event is taking place in BOZAR in Brussels as a part of Europalia India function.

You will be presented with two main expostions. The first one is Indiamania and it will take you for a journey to the amazing world of widely recognized painters inspired by indian culture and tradition. The other one, called the Body in Indian art which will approach you with the history of culture and main streams of beliefs, religion.

Excellent Italian food in Cagliary, Sardinia

Italy is a synonym of delicious food, however finding a good place for a nice dinner is not always obvious.

Those are my recent Sardinian discoveries - definitely a must try.

Walking through the streets of Cagliari I was looking for a typical regional dish. It turned out to be quite challenging to find a typical Sardinian restaurant, but on my way the 'Ristorante Sa Domu Sarda' appeared, it serves wonderful pasta with wild boar, home made ravioli, a good choice of meat and tasty panna cotta.

Restaurant address: Via Sassari 51, Cagliari

As my apetite for Italian culinary adventure was rising, I reached out to my Sardinian friend who advised me to go to Ristorante 'Fantasma 2'. There was a rich choice of pizza to choose from, I decided to go for an unusual mix called Madonna. This pizza is served with figs, sour cream and caviar, the taste, excellent. Prices are very affordable, guests are only locals and pizzas are enormous. You can order half and half and try even more. The place doesn't look fancy but it is really worth trying.

Restaurant address: Via San Domenico 77, Cagliari