Mangiare e Dormire

Categories: Accommodations · Europe · Florence · Food · Italy · RomeTags: · · · · · · · ·

“Eat and Sleep“ Good food and good wine are plentiful in Italy. Even a simple pasta dish with just olive oil tastes extraordinary. Here are a few restaurants I tried — mostly recommended by friends and locals.   Osteria Del Cinghiale Bianco (the White Boar) in Florence serves good reliable typical Tuscan cuisine.   Enoteca Pitti Gola e Cantina is a quaint wine bar located across Palazzo Pitti that also serves traditional and modern Italian cuisine. They specialize in small production, high end wines.   I was at Cibreo Trattoria when I last visited Florence 13 years ago and the experience was…

Another Gotham Weekend

Categories: Accommodations · Architecture · Food · New York · Travel · USATags: · · · · · · · ·

Another weekend of what felt like an unending gorging in New York! My first stop was the Gotham West Market. A retail and food destination that opened late last year in New York‘s Hell’s Kitchen neighbourhood and features eight food purveyors. It was a paella lunch at El Colmado – Seamus Mullen’s classic Spanish tapas bar. And an after-lunch cup of mocha at Blue Bottle Coffee.       Located in East Village is Van Leeuwen artisanal ice cream store. Again, I just came across this place while wandering around. Van Leeuwen started out with two ice cream trucks in 2008 and has…

New York

Categories: Accommodations · New York · Travel · USATags: · · 2 Comments

I’m in New York for three days.   For this trip, I stayed at Hyatt 48 Lex and was pleasantly surprised. This 3-year old hotel is not like the other standard flagged hotels. It is more of a boutique-hotel set up with only six rooms per floor and several original artwork throughout. There is a compact lobby on the ground level and a more comfortable lounge on the second floor.  One cannot complain much for a decently-priced hotel room located in midtown Manhattan.  

Shukran

Categories: Accommodations · Marrakech · Morocco · TravelTags: · · · · · · ·

To this day, I still say “Shukran” or Thank you to Morocco for an unforgettable experience three years ago. I hold fond memories of my journey through Marrakech and Central Morocco and here are some of the other sights to take in. For centuries, the unique and extraordinary square of Jemaa el Fna has been the centre of Marrakech. Meaning “Assembly of the Dead“, the name refers to when the square was a place of execution until the 19th century and severed heads were placed on display. Today, the open square is the heart of Marrakech. Every night, it fills with musicians, dancers, storytellers,…

Recoleta

Categories: Accommodations · Argentina · Art · Buenos Aires · TravelTags: · · · · · · · ·

Adopted by upper-class porteños (or locals) after yellow fever broke out in San Telmo in 1871, the barrio of Recoleta has grown into a model of bourgeois refinement as one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Buenos Aires. Recoleta has a distinctly European feel with its French and Italian architecture, tree-lined streets, big-name international brand stores, restaurants and galleries and of course, the barrio’s famous cemetery — the Cemeterio de la Recoleta.   Cemeterio de la Recoleta has earned its reputation as one of the world’s great necropolis. Occupying an area of 14 acres, the Recoleta Cemetery is a labyrinth of more than 6,400 tombs and mausoleums…

Cappadocia

Categories: Accommodations · Cappadocia · Türkiye · TravelTags: · · · · 2 Comments

A short one hour flight from Istanbul to central Turkey will bring you to the breathtaking region of Cappadocia. There are many other interesting cities to visit in Turkey, but during my trip a few years back, I decided to visit here instead. Often described as a lunar landscape or an open air sculpture, the erosion caused by wind and water that started 60 million years ago, carved out the topography in this area. It was also in this region that early Christians following the footsteps of St. Paul took refuge and established colonies in the area.   The Caravansaries (or “Caravan Palace“) were used as military bases during the wartime and…

Ayasofya & Chora

Categories: Accommodations · Architecture · Istanbul · Türkiye · TravelTags: · · · · · ·

Known in Greek as Hagia Sophia and in English as St. Sophia, the Ayasofya in Istanbul was designed to surpass the grandeur of any other monument to God. Built in A.D. 537 as the greatest church in Christendom and symbol of the Byzantium, Ayasofya was converted into a mosque in 1453 during the Conquest, where adjustments were made that included covering of the frescoes and mosaics and the addition of minarets. In 1935, Ayasofya was turned into a museum. Definitely worth a short drive outside of the city centre of Istanbul is the St. Savior in Chora. The original church in this site…

Arkoun!

Categories: Accommodations · Cambodia · Siem Reap · TravelTags: · · · · ·

“Thank you!” in Khmer. After visiting a dozen temples in and around Angkor under close to 40C degree heat — I say goodbye and thank you to Cambodia! The temples are simply impressive, breathtaking and should be in every traveller’s list of must-see. The people are very friendly and helpful. There are many tourists in Siem Reap and Angkor and it is apparent that every effort is being made to cater to them. Costs are relatively reasonable, probably with the exception of hotel accommodations – but there is a variety of standards to choose from. The U.S. dollar is the currency being quoted and accepted by…

Hasta Luego, Colombia!

Categories: Accommodations · Bogota · Colombia · Travel · Villa de Leyva · ZipaquiraTags: · · ·

See you later, Colombia! The land of gold and emeralds, the mythical yet inspiring quest for El Dorado, the delicious empanadas, ajiacos and lulo fruit, and more importantly, the easy-going and always cheerful people! I stayed at the Hotel Morrison 114 located at Avenida 19 No. 114 in the northern area of Bogotá. This boutique hotel opened 16 months ago and is managed by Eduardo Sanchez, a very affable gentleman who used to be based in Calgary, Canada. There is a great Spanish restaurant, Chef Julian, next door that serves excellent paella. And last but not the least, muchas gracias, Señor…

Tot straks

Categories: Accommodations · Amsterdam · Europe · Netherlands · TravelTags: · 2 Comments

See you later ! After four weeks as my home base, I say good-bye to Amsterdam. It was a most enjoyable and relaxing stay. People are extremely friendly and affable (and everyone being conversant in English helped a lot too!). The relaxed pace, the bicycle bells, the warm smiles, the amazing seafood and Indonesian cuisine, the pastries from Holtkamp and Pompadour, Heineken beer, cheeses, and of course, the canals! Zie je later! I stayed at two wonderful well-located apartments during my stay in Amsterdam. Both were from Pied a Terre Properties of Amsterdam. The first apartment was located on the second…