Ghent

Categories: Belgium · Food · Ghent · TravelTags: · ·

A day trip to Ghent from Brussels proved to be quite rewarding, despite the rain. A city rich with medieval buildings and treasures inherited from its days of a prosperous trading centre. First stop was the St. Bavo Cathedral which houses one of the greatest cultural treasure in Northern Europe – Jan Van Eyck’s “The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb“. This huge polyptych is a 12 panel former altar masterpiece, that has been moved to a side room for preservation.   Stopping for lunch at Coeur d’Artichaut is highly recommended. An elegant old mansion by the canal serving high standard cuisine….

Flemish Art, Food, Etc.

Categories: Accommodations · Art · Belgium · Bruges · Food · TravelTags: · · · · ·

Two museums in Bruges that house some of the world’s finest collection of Medieval and Flemish art are the Groeningemuseum and the Sint-Janshospital. Both museums contain an impressive collection of Hans Memling and Jan van Eyck.     For food lovers, there are quite a number of excellent restaurants in Bruges. Many serving Flemish cuisine. There are also tea rooms that dot the city, serving tea, coffee, pastries, and of course, Belgian waffles.       I stayed at the Grand Hotel Casselberg Brugge, consisting of a 19th century building and a new wing, with rooms that face the canal. The hotel…

Bruges

Categories: Belgium · Bruges · TravelTags: · ·

Awarded a World Heritage status by UNESCO, enchanting Bruges is a charming confluence of canals, medieval streets, and Gothic architecture. In the middle ages, Bruges was one of Europe’s most prosperous cities and it has been restored and preserved to its former glory. It is a wonderfully walkable city with enchanting views from every corner.  

Cape Town

Categories: Cape Town · South Africa · TravelTags: · · 3 Comments

I have taken the so-called “long road” to reach Cape Town in South Africa. A circuitous route from Kilimanjaro (Tanzania), I fly northwest to Nairobi (Kenya) and then head back south to Johannesburg, and connect further south to Cape Town. Never mind the 10 hour travel it takes to get here as I have always wanted to visit Cape Town – the oldest city in southern Africa and by far the most cosmopolitan in this country. The Mother City occupies one of the world’s most stunning locations, with the iconic Table Mountain in its centre, surrounded by beaches and vineyards. Driving through the Cape…

The Great Migration

Categories: Serengeti · Tanzania · TravelTags: · · ·

The main reason I went to the Serengeti National Park is to witness what has been dubbed as the “greatest show on earth” – the annual migration of the hoofed animals. Of course, I wish to spot the Big 5 game animals as well, namely, the lion, elephant, buffalo, leopard, and the black rhinoceros, but that was not my main purpose. This time of the year, the herds are to be spotted in Northern Serengeti close to the Maasai Mara (by the Kenyan border), as they head south in anticipation of the rains. The hillier and heavily vegetated area in this northern…

Serengeti

Categories: Serengeti · Tanzania · TravelTags: · · · · 1 Comment

The 90 minute bush flight from Arusha takes me to the Kogatende airstrip — to my final destination in Tanzania — the northern section of Serengeti National Park. This 14,763 sq. km. wilderness park is where Africa’s mystery, rawness and power surrounds you. Meaning “Endless Plain” in Maasai, Serengeti was named a UNESCO Heritage Site in 1978 and an international Biosphere Reserve in 1981. The ecosystem here supports some of the most plentiful mammal populations left anywhere on earth. The sense of vastness and expanse of short-grass plains is broken by occasional rocky outcrops or elegant solitary acacia trees — that would remind one of giant bonsais….

Tanzania

Categories: Accommodations · Arusha · Tanzania · TravelTags: · · · 2 Comments

Jambo (hello)! After a 10-hour flight from Toronto and an 8 hour stopover in Istanbul, I board another flight — this time for another 6.5 hours to bring me to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. And no, I am not here to hike the mighty Mount Kilimanjaro. Arriving at 1:20 am local time, I am driven for an hour to the city of Arusha for a short shut eye before I catch a bush flight to my final destination in Tanzania. Arusha is a cool, lush and green town near the foot of Mount Meru and fringed by coffee, wheat and maize estates. So it is no wonder that…

Dublin Eats (& Sleep)

Categories: Accommodations · Architecture · Dublin · Europe · Food · Ireland · TravelTags: · · · · · ·

Dublin is one serious food lover’s destination. Chalk it up to pure ignorance, but I was delightfully surprised at the number of excellent restaurants and eateries in town. My very first stop after I landed and checked into my hotel was to have the hotel concierge book me a late lunch at The Greenhouse located off St. Stephens Green. Chef Mickael Viljanen, who was crowned the Best Chef in Ireland 2015, prepares innovative Irish cuisine that is both sublime and “art” in itself.   Etto on Merrion Row was added to the Michelin Bib Gourmand list that recognize restaurants that offer…

Temple Bar

Categories: Dublin · Europe · Ireland · TravelTags: · · · · 1 Comment

Everyone hears about the Temple Bar area of Dublin. The city’s erstwhile down-at-the-heels neighbourhood that is now crammed with cafes, bars, pubs, clubs and trendy hotels – a mix of the old with the new. During daytime, Temple Bar is an artsy and cultured district full of hip shops and modern art galleries. At night, such refinement gives way to a non-stop party atmosphere with its 30+ pubs and bars.     The River Liffey separates the north and south sides of the city. Dublin takes its name from the southwest of the city when, in prehistoric times, there was a dark…

Art and Soul

Categories: Architecture · Art · Dublin · Europe · Ireland · TravelTags: · · · · · ·

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) is housed in what was formerly the Kilmainham Hospital. Built in the 1680s as one of Ireland’s Classical-style buildings modelled after Les Invalides in Paris, it is considered the finest 17th century building in the country. The hospital was handed to the Free State in 1922 and served as headquarters for Garda from 1930 to 1950. It was beautifully renovated in 1991 and reopened as IMMA. Christ Church Cathedral as it stands, is a 19th century restoration of what was originally a wooden church. Dublin’s first church was founded here in 1028 by…