#so I didn’t get to try all the restaurants/patisseries/cafes I wanted

[waugh-bao]

France: Week 3 (Bayonne)

[chaletnz]

Haikyo Urbex: Obihiro’s Gluck Kingdom

My alarm was set for 4.30am however I woke up just before it anyway due to the sunrise and heat starting to peak into the car. I had been bitten in the night by bugs that presumably found their way inside via the cracked windows that had been opened to allow some night air inside to cool down the car from it’s extra hot temperature built up during the day. I got dressed, packed my bag, and filled up with as much water as I could drink before taking the remainder with me. As I was brushing my teeth beside the car I heard more rustling but I was able to see this time! I saw a large dark figure leaping from one tree to another and then scrambling down onto the forest floor before disappearing in thick brush. Instantly, I assumed it was a bear, although possibly a small cub. It was too big and clumsy to be a monkey and I didn’t know what other animal that large around Hokkaido could climb trees... I sat in the car silently watching and waiting for it to emerge from the forest but it never did and after a few minutes there was silence.

I had driven all the way to Obihiro, a 2 hour detour solely to try and explore Gluck Kingdom – a German-themed amusement park that had been opened in 1989 and then abandoned in around 2007 and indicted to Japan’s haikyo Hall of Fame thereafter. It’s a popular spot for people like me who like to see how nature reclaims these kinds of places once humans disappear. Haikyo is a Japanese term used to describe abandoned buildings and there are well known ones throughout the country.

Not far from my parking spot, I entered a long gravel path through some farmland towards one notable theme park building towering over the forest in the distance. I noticed a small shed-like building with curtains drawn and a car parked outside so very quietly I snuck past, trying to avoid the gravel and walk on the grass instead. As I approached the forest I could hear the distinct sound of bears growling and grew a little concerned, but the noise was from much further north than I would be going... A fog covered the fields in the distance and I stopped to take some photos before approaching the bridge. In front of me were many warning signs in Japanese, English and even German declaring that entry was strictly forbidden. I checked over my shoulder quickly, but there was nothing to be seen for miles at 5am! After picking up a discarded metal signpost stick (for some protection in case of bears), I carefully climbed over the barbed wire fence and weaved between the signs to get into the forest. After only about 10 cautious steps inside I heard a car pulling along the gravel road. Naturally I assumed there were cameras and I had been seen and security had come to intercept me, I ran inside quickly and found a place to watch my entry point from a distance although no one came through. Once inside the forest, the cool sunrise had disappeared and it was hot and muggy with bugs everywhere trying to eat me alive despite coating myself with repellent earlier. A nearby building had a door left ajar so I carefully had a quick look around, it seemed like a hotel reception area, an elevator, some chairs and tables, everything covered in mould and a ceiling and staircase on the brink of collapse. Outside I wandered around what seemed like a courtyard, although it was almost fully overgrown with trees and bushes so I couldn’t see the concrete tiles anymore. I found a fountain without water, some German-style statues and a rubbish bin that appeared to have been kicked over. It looked like a real German bin with “Bitte halten Sie den Park sauber!” written on the side. I’d found the bin outside a row of buildings that resembled what I remember of Frankfurt’s old town and they had been filled with bakeries, patisseries, sweet shops and so forth. The insides were destroyed, floorboards rotting and buckled, smashed glass and other explorers rubbish everywhere (not adhering to the message on the bin clearly!). I could’ve pushed open a door and gone inside but everything looked like it could crumble instantly with just a minor upset. Next I discovered a Trabant that had once been parked in the middle of the park, I remember seeing many souvenirs dedicated to this iconic East German car when I had visited the capital a few years ago. A mannequin sitting inside had been adjusted so that it was pulling the finger. Not too far from here was a model Lufthansa airplane with its wings ripped off grounded for eternity on the forest floor, and an eerie chapel filled with ants and mosquitoes. There were more old German-house type buildings through the trees but the brush was thick and covered with spider webs so I left them alone. It was difficult to get a sense of direction so I headed back to the entrance to try going the opposite way than I had run initially. I could hear a car idling where I’d come in – possibly they were planning to wait it out for me to come out the same way (not my plan anyway) or it was just some unassuming farmer that was up at the crack of dawn to tend the crops at coincidentally the exact time I’d gone inside the park! Anyway I didn’t want to find out so I went the other way but it was a dead end, possibly the main entrance walkway. I was already in the heart of the park it seemed. There were a few other buildings possibly cafes, restaurants, theatres, a toilet block, a wall painted with an arrow and the words “Zum Ausblick” (to the viewpoint) however the Ausblick was inaccessible, the outside staircase must’ve been destroyed and a rusty ladder leaned into a rotted door frame on the second floor. No thanks! I probably wouldn’t have seen anything through the trees anyway. Due to the heat and bugs, and fear of bears I didn’t want to go any further north in the park and started looking for an exit point a little further up from where I had come in. I managed to sneak out through what seemed like a caretakers office with an abandoned car, truck, and some kind of machine possibly a snowplow, and took another long road through farms back to the main road and then back to the car. As I walked out I saw a huge Ferris wheel further north, the park must’ve actually been huge if I had kept on going. Maybe I would’ve discovered rides and attractions (and bears) up there too if I had more patience, although it was so overgrown that I could barely see the buildings that had looked so impressive to me when I had searched on Google earlier. It had been abandoned almost 15 years ago and I guessed that many of the great urban explorer photos had been taken only a few years since closure.

In summary:

Was it worth the trip? Yes. It was an interesting place to visit although a little difficult and scary to venture into bear territory alone.

Is there security monitoring it? Maybe. I’d read online there was loads of security hence why I decided to go at 5am during the pandemic. That car that pulled up after I entered – who knows!

How accessible is it? Easy to get in from the airport side if you are not seen. From the northern entrance it would be riskier as it’s a main road and the walk is much longer to get into the heavily forested areas. Buildings can be entered if you want to risk it, but they’re covered in mould throughout so take that into account.

How much is still visible? It’s all still there. But in 15 years it really doesn’t resemble the cool urbex photos anymore. The trees have grown taller than most of the buildings, brush is thick and it’s difficult to capture the scale of the overgrowth without a drone.

[soranihimawari]

the truth is...

“Kindness is free. Love is free,” I said triumphantly raising the bottle of sake in the air.  Today was one I didn’t see coming at all. As fate would have it, running into my high school crush was not particularly high on my to-do list when I left the cafe I worked in earlier in the afternoon. I was hired on as one of the patisseries which specialized in parfaits and seasonal tarts during my last year in culinary school. Tonight, I was drunk on celebrating this latest turn of events.

“Of course,” my company teases me right as he raises my hand to his lips. he lets go of my hand with a cheshire cat like grin. “How could I ever forget that. C’mon, let’s get some food in you before you suffer the worse hangover in your life. I know a great place not too far from here.”

I took another swig of the sake bottle before I nodded.

“Lead the way Atsumu-san.”

I swore those hazel eyes never looked so inviting as they did at that point in my life. I recalled my coworkers’ conversation earlier in the middle of our shift:

“Say, y/n-san,“ the interning barista, Haruna, began.

“Hmm?” I hummed my response. “What’s up Haru-chan?”

“I was, well we were all wondering about something,” she said.

I picked up a towel to dry another cappuccino mug beside her. The other members of our cafe were within earshot when their senior intern asked her question.

“How come your boyfriend only comes in after we leave? When are you gonna introduce us?”

“Boyfriend? Haruna, I hate to break to you, but I don’t have one.”

“No, you do,” she begins to state her case. Haruna nervously twiddled her thumbs while our other coworker, Senna, approached us. “Tell her Senna-senpai.”

“We didn’t want to say anything, but there’s this hot blond guy who looks eerily similar to Miya Atsumu, y’know. From the MSBY Black Jackals? Anyways, he stops in here every once in a while right at closing time when it’s Erina’s turn to lock up the cafe. And apparently there was one day he asked me if you worked here,” Senna confesses. “You went to Inarizaki too, right?”

“Yeah, so?” I asked. My small smile was caught by both of them before I picked up the next mug to dry.

“You should of seen the relief on his face when Senna told him that you did and now he hasn’t stopped coming by on random mornings, but you’re never here when he comes by,” Haruna says with a dreamy sigh.

“Listen,” I said. I placed the second mug upside down on the drying rack and folded the drying towel before continuing. “The next time that blonde pretty boy walks in here is the day I will need to buy a bottle of really strong orange flavored sake to get through any sort of time with him.”

“You liked him didn’t you?” Haruna giggled.

“I do not.” Oh fuck, they’re both going to pick up on that slip, I thought.

“You’re blushing really hard now, Senpai,” Senna teased. “You still find him really hot don’t you?”

***

A couple of days go by without Miya stopping by the cafe. I had reminded my fellow cafe employees the MSBY team had a few away practice matches while promoting a newly signed member of their team. Even with this knowledge, their collective curiosity got the better of them inquiring about my relationship, or lack thereof, with the good looking setter. 

It wasn’t until two weeks later Miya Atsumu stopped in for his usual. Apparently there were perks of his frequent visits one of them being on his social media account pages tagging our cafe location with the quote “she always makes the best parfaits”. Business actually had been steady since then. After all, it helps when your three coworkers all had conversed with him once or twice before.

One Saturday around four forty-five in the afternoon, I was in the middle of setting my fudge in a star mold when Erina, Haruna, and Senna texted me to come out of the kitchen saying that there was a regular who had a question about the menu. Judging by the messages I received, I rolled my eyes. 

“Unbelievable,” I muttered before patting my hands on the apron; I had a coy smile on my face when I opened Haruna’s photo message. Damn Atsumu, you still are as handsome as ever. I pushed through the swinging kitchen door walking toward where my former classmate was standing on the opposite side of the display counter.

“Miya-kun?” my voice maintained its curious tone.

The blonde professional athlete stood in the middle of the cafe reading the menu wearing a casual sponsored street attire that included a hoodie with his team’s logo stitched on (along with a pair of cotton jersey shorts and running shoes). Compared to me being dressed in a humbling combination of tapered royal blue jeans and a sunflower yellow blouse paired with nonslip ebony ballet flats, the setter looked like he was in athleisure campaign.

“Hey there dollface. Long time no see.”

I folded my arms over my chest when he sat down in front of the short counter space near the espresso maker. I was skeptical of his presence here, but my brain kicked into fight or flight mode ever since I heard him poke fun at the odd shaped friendship chocolates I left for him on his desk when we were fifteen (to be fair, it was my second attempt at making sea salt chocolates at home, but apparently, the Miya twins were going through their high school jerk phase). I watched Atsumu from afar trash them without even tasting one in favor of his fangirls’ fancier box saying something about how he had to avoid excess sweets for a week because of some stupid bet he had going on with his twin.

Does he need to know he was the reason why I wanted to perfect my sweet making skills? No. Absolutely not. Because if he did, that ego of his would skyrocket and I’m actually ok with not letting that bit of info reach his ears. Damn it Miya, why are you still as good looking as I remembered you being? The fuck was I thinking when I was fifteen...Gods do I need a drink. I thought.

“What’re you doing here? Shouldn’t you be off training or at practice or something?”

“Nope. I got the day off and thought I should come by to see what’s the newest parfait my favorite old classmate made for me.”

“Bold of you to assume it’s for you, ‘Tsumu.”

Me saying his nickname caused him to raise an eyebrow at me before he closed his eyes and I watched his lips draw back into a wider smile.

“Erina, Haruno, mind staying behind to help Senna clean and lock up tonight? It seems the owner of this cafe and I have dinner plans.”

“You’re not their boss Miya, so you can’t tell them what to do.” I pushed my finger against his shoulder which caused a chortle to come from him. I turned around to face my coworkers with an amused stare.

“Erina, Haruno, mind helping Senna out tonight? I’m leaving early. Apparently I have plans with the starting setter for the MSBY volleyball team.”

That was at five-thirty that afternoon...

---THE NEXT DAY, 9:56a.m.---

The soft chirping of an alarm located on the nightstand next to the plush king sized bed where I found myself waking up in. I am by no means a rich lady and for the life of me, I couldn’t even afford a place like this with a killer view of the neighborhood. Suddenly, as I hoisted myself up from the sheets, my memory came back in little flashes. Memories ranged from me getting drunk with Atsumu at the local pub next to his brother’s restaurant to Atsumu’s declaration on which onigiri his brother makes was the absolute best in town and how not one of his ex-girlfriends could ever replicate it properly.

I don’t recall much of what we talked about at Onigiri Miya when Osamu left us to ourselves for a little bit, but I could of sworn Atsumu tell me how he was searching for the cafe I worked at trying to formally apologize about dumping out the chocolates I had made when we were in high school:

“I heard you made them at home, right?” he asked, watching my nose twitch before I rested my head in my palm on the table. When I nodded, I didn’t notice he was pouting when he muttered an, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, hah. I did. It was my second batch too. I made them look like stars because those were the only molds I had. If I had known they’d wind up in the trash, I wouldn’t have tried to make you feel better after the results of the spring tournament that year,” I said exhaling a sigh. I leaned my head against Atsumu’s shoulder gently reassuring him I had long since forgiven him. “But it’s in the past. Don’t worry about it so much, ‘tsumu. C’mon, the night is still young and I need at least one more bottle of sake before the convenience store stops selling them.”

---

“Oh my god,” I groaned when I flung the blanket off my top exposed body. My bra was still on, which was a good sign I guess, but instead of wearing my sapphire slacks, I noticed they were replaced with an older pair of white with black striped sweatpants (the color combination of the sweatpants reminded me of my high school’s volleyball team). I snatched the closest shirt I could find, yet I didn’t have enough time to throw that over my shoulders since I heard the bedroom door creak open.

“Good, you’re awake,” a disembodied voice called out from behind me. Give me a damned minute, I thought. I know that voice; it belonged to one of my classmates whom I recalled walking into my cafe yesterday asking me to spend the evening with him. Inhaling a sharp breath when I felt the mattress dip behind me, I barely remember him telling me to confess about something when I was sober in the morning and for some reason I had agreed.

“You’re really pretty, y’know.” Miya stretched his arm around my shoulder before he stood up to help me to my feet. I was a bit skeptical at his compliment, yet he squeezed my shoulder twice allowing me to know that he said was true.

“You flatter me, Miya. Why don’t you try complimenting me when I’m sober, yeah?” I tapped the left side of his cheek when I hopped off the stool. 

“Fine,” he chuckled. “You’re drunk enough as it is. Let’s go. Later ‘Samu.”

I shook my head right as I felt his arms wrap around me from behind, I let out a shaky laugh when he pulled me to lean back into him. I was quick to notice the soft fabric of his shirt when my head came into contact with it. There’s no way in hell we’d ever sleep together because I might have let it slip we should try to avoid a publicity scandal...

“How’re ya feeling dollface?” his voice whispers into my ear. A shiver ran up my spine when he did this, allowing me to focus on anything else besides the sun peeping through the blinds of the window.

“Better now that I’m here, ‘tsumu,” I replied in a groggy tone, my voice was barely above a whisper. Honestly, I’m not as hungover as I thought either, so he must have coerced me into eating some left over onigiri he had when he offered his place to me to crash, I thought. Then, I made a mental note to add a few extra half dozen macaroons for his brother when I see him next time. What Atsumu said next threw me for a loop:

“That’s good because I want you sober to remember this,” his voice taunted me right before I felt his lips press into the sides of my neck, down my back, and onto my shoulders.

“Mmm,” my voice hummed. “’Tsumu, you’re~aah~gonna leave a mark.”

My lips curled in amusement at the map his kisses left behind. He mentioned something like he wasn’t going to stop until I properly forgave him, to which I replied with a resounding, “If I didn’t did you think I’d have accepted your offer of spending the night out on the town with you?” I held onto his hands when he paused for a moment to think.

I raised my head up when he stopped, a smug smile tugged his lips upward. I felt my eyes blink a few times processing what he was trying to ask me to do. Thankfully my partner was a patiently affectionate person this morning because he didn’t leave out much for me to figure out when I twisted around his hold to plant my lips over his own. Yet although I claimed I was sober, I was already drunk off this warmth radiating from him.

You would think that after all the hours I'd spent with Atsumu last night - watching him talk, laugh, and frown (and the same with the way I noticed his stolen glances for a few seconds when he wandered into the cafe I worked in)- that I would know all there was to know about his lips, but I hadn't figured how kind they would feel pressed up against my own just yet.

When I pulled away first, I watched the way Atsumu looked down at me, his face a little flushed from my kiss. He smirked before pressing his lips on mine again and this time, the kiss was just as invigorating as before; his calloused hands roaming every inch of my body and with one of his hands becoming lost in my hair. Eventually I crawled into his lap, using his shoulders to steady my balance when he hoisted me up prompting me to straddle his upper body. My arms looped around behind his neck, running my fingers through his hair in a coquettish manner. I blew short streams of air onto the side of his neck causing his breath to hitch in his throat right before I burrowed my face in his neck kissing the space under his ear, causing me to feel his chest rumble when I heard him chortle. I seized the opportunity to guide Atsumu’s lips back onto mine. 

We were both lost in a sea of bliss after that because from what we both could tell, this was the starting point of a hard-earned love that took it’s sweet time to develop and gods be damned was his love worth it.

[snarkystarkybby]

Sugar and Spice. Natasha Romanoff x reader

Hi all, 

juts another Lil sweet fluffy story for yall, 

please send me requests xo 

isabella x

It had been a hard mission. Civilians were hurt, Clint was hurt and Nat felt like it had been her fault. If she had of just looked a little harder, thought faster, maybe nobody would have gotten hurt. After a sleepless night of tossing and turning in the ever-so-slightly-too-soft-sheets, she decided to clear her mind by going on a walk through the city.

It was barely dawn but the streets were already bustling with the early risers and late-nighters and Natasha took in everything. The sounds of sirens and the early morning traffic, the sour smells of the city and underlying sent of coffee which roamed the streets and lingered in small cafes and takeaway cups.

The tiny hole in the wall bakery was a blink and you miss type place. Something about the buttery yellow painted bricks and the hand-drawn decals on the glass captured her attention and she found herself pushing open the door and smiling at the tinkering of the bell.

“just a minute” the sweet voice called out from far behind the counter and Nat could barely make out the hair twisted up delicately into a messy bun with a pin stuck through. As you turned around Natasha smiled at the small speck of flour? Across your cheek which you bashfully wiped off as you greeted her.

“Morning, what can I get you?” Your infectious smile and cheery tone were unexpected for so early but definably not unwelcomed, she found herself matching your smile as she ordered,

“oh uh just a black tea, and um whatever you recommend” in all honesty she didn’t care what she ate, everything looked amazing it was like every single pastry was a piece of handcrafted art and she was sure if you had created it would taste like heaven. Someone and gorgeous and warm as the girl in front of her couldn’t possibly be capable of baking a bad pastry.

You just smiled your mouth going dry at the beautiful woman in front of you. Your mind attempted to keep the focus on making her order, by keeping the small talk flowing smoothly between you it stopped you from getting too caught up in the ruby haired goddess. Nat was thankful for you talkative nature because no matter how hard she tried, the normally composed redhead, couldn’t think straight anytime you looked at her and smiled.

“you know it’s nice seeing someone so early, my first customer typically doesn’t arrive until 7 ish”

“why do you open so early then” She enquired as Nat glanced back to the door where it clearly stated the Sugar and Spice Patisserie opened every day at 6am.

“Because the first ones are always the most intriguing, here’s your order…”

“Natasha”

“well Natasha, I hope you enjoy”

“I’m sure I will” you watched as she eyed for a name badge, which you never wore, being the boss and all you made the rules,

“Y/N, I’m Y/N”

“Nice to meet you Y/N”  she called out softly, as the beautiful redhead walked out the door and something within you screamed for not getting her number or Instagram or something to at least be able to contact her by. Because you would be dammed if you never saw that stunning redheaded angel ever again.

It was hardly long before you saw each other again and eventually, Tasha, who you had nicknamed her (it made her stomach flutter every time it would pass by your lips)  became your most regular customer. Every morning just after you would flip your handmade sign from closed to open, she would walk through and order her black tea and your daily recommendation.

Each day you would hand her the steaming cup and a different pastry for her to try, and you two would chat whilst she sipped and ate, and you finished up the last few batches of the delicacy you were creating.

Your ongoing routine went on for months and eventually she asked if you wanted to catch a movie and dinner, which typically you would turn down dates but as she said the words your knees felt like jelly and the words “yes’ came out a little too quick and too enthusiastic for you to even hold a slither of dignity.

That afternoon you closed the café early and spent a decent two hours trying on every possible outfit you owned. Tasha had only ever seen you in your work outfits which were always paired with a messy bun and flour-covered apron.

When she knocked at your small apartments’ door to you with your hair down and curled, in a flowy white dress and jean jacket her jaw almost physically dropped. You invited her in and quickly scurried off to put on the final touches of your makeup and grab your purse. 

Natasha smiled as sure looked around your apartment, it was everything she expected. Bright colours, soft pillows and polaroids you who she assumed was your friends and family. She spotted a few small house plants and the knitted blanket thrown across your sofa, which she remembered you telling her about and how you had spent all of the winter learning how to knit only to not finish the blanket until mid-summer when it was rendered useless. She smiled at the memory.

The pair of you walked ate at a small Italian restaurant before heading to the cinema to watch,

“whatever you want to see” you shook your head at how sweet Natasha was but you insisted she chose so I the end you watched the lasted comedy film and shared popcorn and soda. When you arrived back to your apartment and it took hardly half an hour before you two were sitting cross-legged laughing at the silly story about Natasha friend Steve, wine glasses in each of your hand and both of you slightly tipsy.

After exactly three more dates and an accidental hook up you and Natasha became official, she explained who she was, and you scolded yourself for not realises sooner but it hardly changed anything. She still came in each morning sometimes with a friend (not going to lie you fangirled a little when you met THE CAPTAIN AMERICA. Your 9-yr. old self was screaming with excitement)

She was your favourite customer, best friend and girlfriend. Not a single part of you could understand how you had become so lucky to have her, but you would be dammed if you ever let her go. Natasha, on the other hand, had finally found and accepted her happiness, in the small yellow Sugar and Spice Patisserie. Something within her thanked the sour smells of the city and early morning traffic for directing her straight to the love of her life, and the future she would have with you- flour-covered cheeks and all.  

[marilyninparis]

An Insider’s Guide to Paris

As I sit in the London Heathrow Airport waiting for the plane that will carry me away from one of the best experiences of my life, I’ve decided to compile a list of things you need to know about traveling to Paris—and perhaps some do’s and don’t’s based on situations my class encountered.

DO go to the fireman’s ball if you are in Paris around Bastille Day! All of the firehouses hold what are essentially block parties for the community. They’re a super fun and unique experience. I almost didn’t go, but my friends in the class convinced me and I’m so glad I went! Don’t stay behind. Go to the ball! It’s Paris!

DON’T only eat food you know you like. Try new things! Try things that you think sound gross! Buy stuff from the outdoor markets! Wander into patisseries or bakeries or fromageries and just see what they have; you’ll find a new favorite food, I promise.

DO take time to take time. Go somewhere and sit. Find a park and read. Order a coffee and sit at a cafe for a couple hours. The best parts of Paris are often run past in the scramble to get from one tourist attraction to the next. Don’t overlook them.

DON’T expect any A/C. Bring a fan and some cool clothes if you come in the summer!

DO learn some basic French. French can be an intimidating language, but you’ll feel so much more confident if you know some basic phrases before you arrive. And if you have allergies (like me) learn how to explain what you’re allergic to in French! It’ll make your life a lot easier.

DON’T expect to eat an early lunch. Lunch/dinner restaurants typically open at noon in Paris. You won’t find many non-breakfast options before then.

DO make Paris yours. Go off by yourself. Get lost. Find your way back anyway. Wander. You’ll soon find that once you lose yourself in Paris you’ll never want to come back.

[myopenroad-blog1]

More Facts

[I stole one of those quiz things people do on here where they answer one that their followers ask - and I answered them all. A little more about me] sleep: what is the most comforting thing at night time for you? Hm. A dark room. Quiet. Or the sound of rain.

visitor:what creature visits your dreams most often? Mine are also mostly people. Maybe my dog.

chimes:what sounds are your favorite? Rain, a fire crackling, anything that crunches. 

times:when do you normally awaken? During the week: around 6AM. Weekends I don't usually set an alarm. So it's anywhere from 9AM when my body naturally starts waking up to sometime in the afternoon. Depends on my night.

reverie:think of somewhere otherworldly u wish to be within, what is it like there? I always picture somewhere with magic. Something like the world as it is now, but just a little more magical. It's funny. I'm not sure if I just don't have a very good imagination or what... 

warmth:what do you find most charming in others? Optimism and a sense of humor. Openness and sincerity. 

treat:your favorite sweets ? I like Reese's Pieces a lot for candy. Or chocolate chip cookies. I'm not big into sweets.

nestle:your most precious plush toy? Don't have one.

posy:your favorite herbs? Cilantro. Hands down. There is one thing that I like to make using cilantro and the smell is... amazing. I always wish I had more use for it.  

stories:books you remember from your childhood? Goosebumps, mostly. My parents never read to us or anything like that.

elder:what do u expect to be like in your elder years? I've always wanted to become an actor when I'm old. All you have to do is swear and suddenly you're instantly funny. I imagine I'll still be very young at heart. I've never really felt my age.

home:in what type of environment do you feel most safe? There aren't too many environments where I feel unsafe. I like being at my parents' house.

finds:what kind of item would you most likely buy from an antique store? I've gotten mirrors from antique stores before. They're much more interesting.

offering:how do you show others you are fond of them? Physical contact. Time. I like to do things for people.  

lore:if your life were a tale, how do u expect it would end?? If I had my way? In a burning blaze of glory.

Sugary Carnival: Have you ever been considered popular? I was popular in college and in the years since then. Before that I had a solid group of friends, but wasn't popular.

Milky Planet: Besides earth, what planet would you come from? Mars. The planet named for the god of War 

Rose Toilette: Your signature perfume?   Aero 1987 - as someone has picked on me for.

Whimsical Vanilla-chan: What pets do you have/want to have? I have a dog and that's all I want. Girl has a cat who is an asshole but somehow loves me. 

Dreamy Dollhouse: Describe your room with just 5 words. Not big enough. Organized. Plain.

Melty Chocolate: Favourite type of chocolate? Just regular Hershey's milk chocolate. I don't like dark chocolate and I like white chocolate even less.

Sugar Dream Dome: What do you like most about Winter? When it snows on Christmas Day.

Milky Berry: What do you like most about Summer? Everything. The heat. The sun on my skin. The beach. Everything.

Happy Garden: What types of things would you plant in a garden? I would probably have a vegetable garden. Tomatoes, green beans, peas.

Magical Étoile:  Favourite attraction at a carnival? The food trucks. lol

Toy Parade: What toys did you play with as a child? Matchbox cars, ninja turtles. 

Holy Lantern: Describe the darker side to your personality. I do think sometimes about if I could kill someone and how I would feel about it. I think I could.

Melody Doll: What types of music do you listen to? Pretty much everything. It depends on my mood and the day. 

Wonder Party: Favourite type of tea? Snapple peach. I know it doesn't count.

Glass Bottle of Tears: What, without fail, makes you cry? That one's tough. Yeah, I think other people crying - especially family or friends. That will sometimes get me. I wouldn't say "without fail." Because I often try to be the strong one.

Cinema Doll: What makes a movie really enjoyable for you? When something unexpected happens. Everything is so formulaic these days. 

Memorial Cake: What is your ideal romantic experience?   Alright. I pick you up at your house. I'm a little early, because I want to be punctual. Never late. Flowers, of course. I drive. We're going into New York. The car is parked and we walk around the streets seeing... everything. Wandering. Street vendors, sidewalk fairs. It's a beautiful day. Warm. Showering and changing at the hotel. You're wearing an incredible dress. One I've picked out for you, bought for you. Daddy likes to be relaxed, but for this... I go all out. We get ready in separate rooms so that I don't see you until you're ready. Walking again. To a tiny little place, in the lower level of a building. Somewhere only a handful of people have ever heard about. Amazing food and wine. Good conversation. Heavy flirting. Lots of touching. We leave the restaurant and I can't keep my hands off of you. But that's alright, because you don't ask me to. Kissing in the dark shadows just out of the reach of the street lights' illumination. Laughing when a car's headlights catch us. Humor come and gone so quickly, replaced again by the need to have my lips, my hands, over every inch of your body. Car service back. Impatience. Hours and hours of incredible sex. Falling asleep and waking up again for more. The sunlight on your skin. Staying naked and satisfied the entire next day.

Star Night Theatre: If life was viewed as a theatre stage, what role would you play? Well, I've actually been the stage manager and lighting designer. But, going with the metaphor... I think I'd be the spotlight operator. Lighting other people up makes me better.

Cotton Candy Shop: If you had your own shop, what things would you sell? Sex toys. ;)

Decoration Dream: Favourite way to decorate a cake? I've never decorated a cake. A good friend of mine once made me a birthday cake decorated to look like Captain America's shield. That was kickass.

Fancy Box: What gift(s) did you get for your birthday last year? Last year... I remember going out to dinner for my birthday. I'm not sure about gifts.

Misty Sky: What is your favourite type of weather? A cloudless sky and a light breeze on a warm day.

Dreamy Horoscope: What is your zodiac sign, and do you relate to it? I'm a Leo. Google says: "Leos are one of the most confident and aggressive signs. " The descriptions fit pretty well. I'm not sure I put stock in Zodiac signs. I just like my birthday because it's in the summer. Oh, and also: "Leo men are amongst the more kinky"

Symphonia of Birds: Favourite type of bird? Robins.

Day Dream Carnival: What do you daydream about the most?  I definitely daydream about my little girl the most.

Royal Cards: Name a game you are really good at. Hm. I like card games. I'm good at Battleship. That's the only game I can think of right now.

Milky Cross: Are you a religious person? Not particularly anymore.

Cream Cookie: What kinds of snacks do you munch on? I like chips as far as snacks go. But I don't snack much anymore.

Drained Cherry: What emotionally exhausts you? Arguments. Repetitiveness. Lack of appreciation.

Fancy Paper Dolls: What accessories would come with a doll version of you? Sunglasses. Maybe a beanie.

Holy Night Story: Favourite thing to do when it’s night time? If it's hot out, I like to go swimming at night. Typical night, though, is spent on the couch with movies.  

Candy Treat: Favourite type of candy? Reese's.

Fantastic Dolly: What cosmetics do you use? None. I don't even use anything when I wash my face. Just plain water.

Drink Me: Favourite drink/beverage? Water has become a favorite. Coke. Lemonade. When I drink, cider.

Merry Making Party: Describe the biggest party you’ve ever been to. I've been to some big block parties that were fun. I've thrown parties that were way over capacity.

Country of Sweets: What countries would you like to visit? All of them. But my top 3 are probably Italy, Ireland, and Thailand. One down...

Fruits Parlour: Favourite fruit? I've always liked watermelon because it reminds me of summer.

Dream Sky: Have you ever seen a shooting star? Yes. At night on the beach in Maine.

Soap Bubbles: How do you like to bathe/shower? My shower usually starts off warm and gets hotter as I keep adjusting it. Hair first, then body and occasionally "manscaping." Something you didn't know about me yet.

Jewelry Jelly: Name 3 of your favourite jewellery pieces. I don't really wear jewelry. Lipring.

Dream Fantasy: What is your wildest fantasy? Depends on your definition of wild.

Milky-chan the Fawn: Favourite forest animal? Wolf.

Honey Cake: What do you normally eat for breakfast? Banana and peanut butter. Or an apple. Protein shake.

Dreamy Baby Room: The most childish part of your personality? I get pretty needy when I'm sick.

Chess Chocolate: What piece would you be on a chess board? The Knight.

French Cafe: Favourite thing to eat at a patisserie? Fruit tarts.

Sugar Hearts: How is your love life right now?  Complicated.     

Wonder Story: What types of things do you like to read about? Really anything. I like to learn. I also like reading for leisure, as you know.

Twinkle Mermaid: Favourite type of fantasy creature? Dragons

Gloria: Name a very rare item that you would love to own. I wouldn't mind a few first-editions.

[wanderbitesbybobbie]

REAL TALK: When you want to enjoy the Holidays, but you're a Pastry Chef

“Go home, Barbara. Go home.” It was almost 10:30 PM and I was the only chef left in the kitchen that night. It was almost December. Abdulah, the head of the kitchen-hands was urging me to go home as he started clearing out all the dirty dishes left. I stared at the docket machine in front of my section and no order dockets were coming out still. I knew I still have to plate about five desserts in total as there were still two tables left. Abdulah kept on peering at me, checking if I was done with my section so he can clean the floor next. “Can you plate the remaining desserts for me?” I joked. “Give me your salary, I’ll do your job.” We both laughed. My joke was half-meant though since I badly wanted to go home and go straight to bed. I just felt like a zombie. It was a very busy Italian Fine Dining Restaurant situated by the lake in Sydney. That day, I had to come early as there was a function at 11 AM. I was the first chef to arrive in the kitchen because I needed to bake my ciabatta earlier than usual. I was there an hour earlier than everyone else. Not even the head chef was there, not even the entree chefs, who usually have more preps than I have. It was a loooong tiring day, and I didn’t expect that I would be the last to go home. FIRST TO COME, LAST TO GO. That was my “normal” hustle. For my readers who have been following this blog since Day 1, you all know the hustle I’m talking about. This was the job that offered me a full-time pastry position and a possible Australian sponsorship, I couldn’t just bounce and leave as I please.

It’s funny, looking back.

It was almost summer in Australia, the breeze was starting to become warm but I didn’t mind. I was used to it. My section was usually warm even in spring, as I had a big commercial oven few steps away so I relied on an industrial fan for ventilation. Christmas was just around the corner, big functions are happening in the restaurant and I was one of the only two pastry chefs they had that time.

I stood by the pass, trying to get a clear view of the servers on the floor. I wanted to tell them to push the diners to order their desserts so I can close my section and go home. Luckily, one of the servers saw me and nodded. I don’t usually stand by the pass as my section is at the back, but when I do, the servers knew that I’m the only chef left in the kitchen. I was hoping their desserts would be easy, something like Trio of Gelato, so I can just scoop the ice cream from the tubs and place them in bowls. Finally, the dockets came out and it wasn’t my lucky night. They ordered for two Chocolate Fondants, Apple Galette, Petit Fours, and Panna Cotta. I quietly placed the hot desserts in the oven, set two different timers, plated my remaining cold desserts, and patiently closed my section after. That night, I was re-thinking and re-evaluating what I really wanted in life. Do I really want this? I was home by 12, took a shower, changed, went to sleep, and got back in the kitchen to do the same routine. Bake ciabatta, do preps for desserts, plate desserts for lunch Ala Carte, do more preps, take a break, plate desserts for dinner Ala Carte, and wait until the last diner finishes for dessert. My routine changes somehow when the restaurant is holding a big function, because then I would have to prep for the function and plate all 200 or 300 dessert plates in one go. I spent 4 days in a week as a pastry chef in the Fine Dining Restaurant, and the remaining three days? I was at Pastry School, balancing life as a working student in a foreign country, still doing pastry at school on my free days. The hospitality industry was my playground. That was my life for almost three years, and the next thing I knew, I was on the plane back to Manila to build (yet again) another pastry shop.

Since 2012, I was in the pastry business. I had a pastry cafe, making cakes and dessert buffets. My career as a pastry chef started after I finished Culinary School in 2011, realizing that I wanted to specialize on a more exciting but more difficult track. I wanted to be in the pastry department. Thus, I flew off to Australia to study more of it. Pastry was more liberating for me, as I get to showcase my art through my plates, my cakes, and my desserts. At the same time, I can master unique flavors, and incorporate them with something I wanted to create. Pastry chefs play an essential part in the kitchen. Being one requires distinctive set of skills, massive patience, knowledge, and exceptional organization to succeed.

When I worked in a commercial pastry shop in Sydney (a year after my job in the fine dining and a short stint as Head Pastry Chef in a health cafe), I was one of the three pastry chefs to fulfill certain roles. We bake the cakes, we decorate them, we bake artisan breads, rolls, croissants, and whatever pastry it was on the shelf. I remember my head chef telling me… “Pastry Chefs are usually slow because you guys work with finesse. You are very precise and you pay close attention to details, while us hot-kitchen chefs, we tend to be more rustic and fast. We don’t mind if the french bread is a bit crooked.” For some reason, I wanted to prove him wrong.  I wanted to show him that pastry chefs can work fast too, but still refined at the same time. I was baking 10 big carrot cakes and small mandarin cakes that time. It was November, almost Christmas again. Orders were loading up. I was working like a machine, trying to go beyond my usual speed. I ended up with a long stinging burn on my arm in the process. The battle scar is still on my arm until now, and I remember that very moment each time I see it. A baking tray accidentally slid on my arm right after I took it out from the oven. I wanted to be fast, but I paid a price for it. I didn’t want to admit it. But it’s probably true. PASTRY CHEFS TEND TO MOVE SLOWER THAN THE REST OF THE CHEFS, BUT WE ARE SLOW FOR A REASON.

We have to get every ingredient in the exact amount. Pastry is NEVER similar to cooking. In the hot kitchen, you can add ingredients and dilute and reduce anytime of the day. If your dish is bland, add more salt. If it’s too salty, dilute it with water. If it’s too runny, make a reduction. However in Patisserie, you measure all ingredients in one go, bake it in the oven, and hope and pray that your recipe is not f*cked up. You cannot just open the oven, check if it’s runny, check if it’s salty or too sweet, you cannot just add baking powder and hope it rises how you want it to rise. There’s only two things in Pastry: SUCCESS OR FAIL. It’s either you get your perfect cakes and cookies out, or you get them flat and dry. There’s no addition, dilution, reduction, whatsoever in pastry. This is why we are slow, because we have to get every detail right. 

Being a pastry chef is never a glamorous job, but it is very fulfilling. Especially in the Holidays, when you get to see your loaf boxes, your cakes, your desserts in the middle of a party or family table. It is very gratifying, seeing people receive special cookie boxes from your regular clients.

What is it like to be a pastry chef during the Holidays anyway?

In a commercial restaurant set-up, it is more often than not massive numbers of desserts to plate, huge amounts of preps, and tiresome hours spent standing and walking right and about your kitchen section. This is probably the part when you start working on auto-pilot while your brain is somewhere in The Bahamas. I have experienced being both, an employed pastry chef and a business owner. The difference? With being a part of a restaurant kitchen team, YOU NEVER DEAL WITH CLIENTS FIRST HAND. You have the servers and the floor-manager to do that for you. Sometimes, when the encounter gets a little bit close, the Head Chef handles it. It’s never you. You are but a chef of the pastry section, the higher-ups can do the “talking” while you do all the pastry work. But when you are a business-owner… It’s another twisted story. Ask me again.

What is it like to be a pastry chef and a business owner at the same time during the Holidays anyway?

Here it goes. It is numerous inquiries on your page, asking for your location, menu, lead time, and delivery details. It is triple the number of your usual orders, Christmas parties, corporate events, family gatherings, name it… your dessert is the star of the show. You have to make this right, honey. It is countless hours of reviewing orders and making sure that the raw materials that you have ordered is enough. It is a whole day spent with suppliers, shopping and ordering for the ingredients that you need. It is hours and hours being physically stuck in traffic while your mind and soul is in your pastry kitchen. It is a daunting process of making sure that all your packaging and preps are of the perfect shape. It is staying up late, baking whatever it is on the order sheet, making sure that the orders will be delivered to your clients’ doorstep in the best possible quality. It is several days of doing your preps, but no matter how hard you try, you end up messing up something unintentionally and you have to do the entire process all over again. It is having no social-life, because you spend your days talking to your clients and delivery partners, making sure that every delivery runs smoothly. It is constantly having nightmares about plumbing, kitchen failures, and pest-control. It is a battle between baking powder, baking soda, and icing sugar… and wondering why they all look the same but taste and reacts enormously different. It is accidentally putting the wrong powder on the pastry, pulling out the deliveries, and having no one to blame but yourself (no boss/head pastry chef to yell at you, no kitchen hand to point fingers to). It is immeasurable hours of reading and researching the perfect recipes hoping that what works in France works in your kitchen in Asia too. It is straight hours standing and sauntering in your own kitchen, listening to whatever that will wake you up to keep you focused. It is a roller coaster joyride waiting for a client feedback, hoping it is positive and winning. It is seeing your piled-up bowls, scrapers, wire whisks, and spatula in the sink, wishing they get washed and dried in a blink of an eye. It is sleepless nights and days, eating lunch in the afternoon, and dinner as midnight snack. It is trying to get comfort with Christmas songs, hoping that everything would be over soon… but still wishing that next year is as lucrative (or more) as this year. It is feeling guilty turning on Netflix, when you have preps waiting for you in the kitchen. It is delegating responsibilities and tasks to your staff to ensure that your workflow is as organized as possible… and if you don’t have staff, it is waking up really early in the morning, pre-heating the oven yourself, and cleaning your kitchen counter to start your day (maybe a chance of having breakfast if the time allows it). It is months and months of costing, calculating every cent that goes into your work (ingredients, electricity, water, packaging, shipping fee, overhead… lalalalalala. Yes, that pinch of salt is worth a penny). It is constantly thinking of your worn-out set of equipment and dreaming of upgrading them through the fruits of your labor. It is concocting and stabilizing the perfect mixture, for what it’s worth. It is continuously asking yourself whether you really want to pursue this or not? It is having trust issues with everything (including that opened box of cream that has been in the chiller for 3 straight days). It can go on and on forever. It is an exhausting, draining, emotionally challenging, life-sucking profession, but there’s no way you will exchange it for anything in the world.

You sit there in one corner, maybe with your family, or maybe alone in a foreign country (or taking a break from your kitchen duty). Thankful, you still have a bit of energy left to enjoy the festivities. You know deep inside, it’s not the money that pays you. It’s the thought of having your desserts out there, bringing delight and pleasure to anyone you serve.

BIG SALUTE TO ALL THE KITCHEN WARRIORS WHO CHOOSE TO WORK DURING THE HOLIDAY SEASON!

Through out the years, it’s a challenging but joyous battle we all have won. It’s the service we provide that completes every occasion. If you’re an aspiring pastry chef/executive chef/business owner, we all start from somewhere. Have faith and never give up. If you feel like you are experiencing failure, remember FAIL means First Attempt In Learning. The best teacher is not your books nor your degree. May your sweat and tears bring you to success. Like I always say in my previous blogs, BE BRAVE. TAKE RISKS. NOTHING CAN EVER SUBSTITUTE EXPERIENCE.

This is probably the last blog post I can ever write for this year as I’ll be back to “pastry-chefing” a few hours from now. The holidays is a yearly challenge, but it allows us to grow, improve, and learn from previous mistakes. To you reading this… JUST KEEP GOING! YOU’RE SLAYING IT! 🙂

Happy Holidays everyone and enjoy the rest of 2019. All the best for 2020!

CHEERS!

    REAL TALK: When you want to enjoy the Holidays, but you’re a Pastry Chef was originally published on WanderBitesByBobbie

[jaegerandmikeineurope]

Day Three in Paris

Today we had every intention of having a chill day just walking the streets and eating our way through Paris. Instead we smashed our previous record by doing over 28,100 steps.

After such a big day at the Louvre and a late night at Crazy Horse, we had a bit of a sleep in and took our time getting ready. We were out the door just before 10am and caught the metro up to Notre Dame as this was the furthest landmark we wanted to visit from our accommodation and most of the food places we wanted to visit were located around here. It was going to be a beautiful 27 degree day and the sun was shining in the clear blue sky. 

We got off the metro and immediately went in search of a patisserie for a morning snack. I have been on the hunt for a creme brûlée but have had no luck just yet. We bought a chocolate mousse slice and a lemon meringue pie. We walked with our pastries for a little while past the Notre Dame, which was now mostly covered in scaffolding and surrounded by fencing so we were unable to get too close. We checked out the front of the church from a nearby bridge before moving on.

We found a place to sit down and enjoyed our pastries which were both delicious. We ended up sitting near a building called the Palais de Justice de Paris which had these beautiful ornate gates. After our snack we began to walk the beautiful, narrow streets of the Le Marais area which upon reflection would have been a really nice area to stay in. There were shops and little cafes and restaurants everywhere we looked and it was fun walking amongst them.

There were a couple of vintage shops too, and I bought two scarves however didn’t manage to find much else that caught my eye. All the vintage seemed to be about the same average quality as back home.

We continued walking now in search of a lunch spot, we tried a few places that were on my list but they were either closed or too busy, eventually we settled on a place called Benedict which specialised in their many versions of eggs benedict. We sat at the bar and ended up ordering the same dish as it looked like the most delicious one on the menu - eggs benedict with crispy potatoes, onion and turkey bacon with a side of french fries. It was delicious, super rich and very filling. Mike and I really enjoyed relaxing in the restaurant and eating amongst the locals.

After lunch we set off again in the direction of some consignment stores that I had looked up, however the first couple we visited weren’t as impressive as I was hoping for with very average brands or just old clothing - most things seemed to be from the 80s and 90s but not in a good way. Along the way we stopped for ice cream as a bit of a palate cleanser - Mike had chocolate while I had a mango and passion fruit sorbet.

We then went to this famous patisserie that I follow on Instagram - Fauchon. The store was massive and didn’t just include a patisserie but a mini grocery and fine meats section. The pastries were a little pricey and it was around the middle of the afternoon so there wasn’t much selection left so we ended up just buying one caramel eclair to share. The eclair was tasty but not mind blowing as I had hoped. 

So we then continued walking closer into the touristy section of Paris when we began noticing a pretty heavy police presence, with heavily armed police and vans everywhere, some were even blocking off certain streets and not allowing anyone through. We looked up what was happening and read that the police were set up in anticipation for any Yellow Jackets protesters that were apparently trying to stage a protest along the Champs Elysees that day. This was making it difficult for us to go in the direction we were aiming for, plus our feet were starting to ache so we decided to hop on the metro back to our accommodation for a while. 

We arrived back after a little bit of a journey - the station where we were meant to make a connection was closed due to the protests, but we eventually made it back. Here we just lounged about for an hour and shared a couple of shandies. There were a few more consignment stores that were closer to our accommodation that I was hoping to visit as they were going to be closed on Sunday and Monday, so off we went again.

We walked over the bridge and in the direction of the area that I stayed in last time I was in Paris, Passy. We arrived at the first consignment store where everything was still quite expensive and being in the store felt super intimidating due to the lack of ambient music, the shop owner just sitting behind her desk watching us and the fact that we were the only ones in the store. We continued walking to the next store, making our way through busy little streets full of restaurants and little boutique food shops - it was a very nice atmosphere. 

Unfortunately despite what Google had told me, the second store was either not located where it said it was, or it was closed. So we set off for the third and final store. This store was by far the best store we had been to that day with a much larger selection of clothing and bags and accessories, however again most of the pieces themselves were underwhelming and nothing caught my eye as hard as I was trying to look. Everything sort of felt picked over, like people had already come through and bought all the best bits and left all the old stuff behind. 

Finally giving up, we turned around an began our long walk home. It was now close to 7pm and the air was feeling very humid, making us feel even more tired. On our way home we saw a hectic Paris traffic jam where people were just constantly tooting one another, achieving nothing. Everyone kept trying to cut in front of one another in every direction meaning the flow of traffic just wouldn’t move - it was insane to watch and try to understand why people couldn’t just be patient. 

We arrived back home and basically collapsed with our sweaty bodies and aching feet. We cooked up the rest of the food from last night and had cheesy potatoes again before falling fast asleep. 

[loiswolf]

Day 12 May 31st Anagni - Rome 76kms

Day 12 May 31st Anagni - Rome 76kms

Not too far to go today so I slept in a bit since my little loft was blacked out with the windows shut. I didn’t know it was day time until my watch alarm went off at 7. Breakfast was provided on the ground floor, my food was in the fridge a floor below and all my stuff 2 floors up in my room. Yes, there was a lot of running up and down stairs getting my preferred breakfast organised and packing up. Fortunately my host appeared when I was finally ready to go and helped me get Shirley up to the road where I loaded her up.

Riding down the other road ( the one I didn’t go up yesterday) I could see that it was much the same as the one I did climb. Pretty awful either way.

My aim was to spin out the ride a little today as I didn’t want to arrive in Rome too early. I succeeded! I only did about 22kms before stopping in a little town when I saw a pretty looking cafe/ patisserie. I’ve leaned that these are the best kind, not the cafe/bars.

My selection of three small cakes was quite delicious and after a good break I headed off again.

 Already I had missed the road I had meant to take but there were others so I didn’t worry.

Making sure I didn’t miss the next one I turned left at the right place and couldn’t help noticing I was heading for mountains. Sigh...I had thought today was going to be easy. The road was fairly quiet and tree lined but also populated with prostitutes at regular intervals. Not sure how they do any business up there. After several kilometres of slow climbing I did a bit of a dog leg then continued on a similar road ( more prostitutes ) for a similar distance but thankfully flatter.

It was getting close to lunchtime so I started looking out for somewhere to stop. A food van by the side of the road at the corner? Nah, not good enough. A little further on a fancy restaurant with dressed up people looking at menus? Nah, too good. Another kilometre and I found the perfect place. Some sort of cafe with sandwiches and rolls and delicious looking raspberry tarts. Perfect! Even better there was an English couple I was able to talk to who lived down the road. I haven’t found anyone who speaks English for several days. Lunch was excellent and the fact that it had to be nearly all downhill from there helped motivate me to keep moving.

It was all downhill with some spectacular views across the lake.

 Of course my progress was slowed by many map checks both going downhill and again travelling into the city. Lots of map checks!!

I am staying at the home of an Italian student we had live with us for 3 months in 2017. It’s been lovely catching up with him but I’m not looking forward to waiting until 10pm for dinner tonight. Matteo insists that their work / food schedule is the best but I definitely don’t agree.

By the way, if you have tried to leave a message on tumblr, don’t bother. I tried to find them the other day but only succeeded in accidentally reposting one of my blogs. ( I’ll try to fix that sorry ). The app is really difficult to use so if you want to ask me something or just say hi, write to me at loiswolf961@hotmail.com.

I’m not sure when the next blog will be. I’m taking the train up to Bolzano Bozen on Sunday to do some hiking in the Dolomites. It might be a week or so before Shirley and I hit the road again.

[withabackpackandcamera]

January 18th, 2019

Day 1: A Quick Trip To Our Southern Neighbor!

I can’t believe I’m finally making that long-awaited journey to Mexico, our southern neighbor! For the longest time, I pushed Mexico down my list of places to go knowing how close it was and how easy it was to get there for a short weekend trip. But the perfect moment finally arrived when I had a lighter-than-usual schedule that allowed me to be flexible with my location and gave me 4-5 days of travel, what I thought would be the perfect amount of time to check out Mexico City. And luckily for me, Cynthia got to come along too since she had a long weekend this weekend due to MLK Day on Monday. Double score!

Anyhow, after a long but productive work-at-home day for me and a long day for Cynthia, we made it to the airport without issues and with little to no traffic. Thank goodness. We ended up getting there early enough that they hadn’t released info on our departure gate. We hung out until it was finally time to board and were quickly thereafter off to Mexico City. The flight was long and sleepless but after about 4 hours, we landed in Mexico City.

Getting out after customs and immigrations didn’t take too much time, luckily, and we were able to find and use internet near the exit to make some plans and figure out how to get to our AirBnB. We ended up taking an Uber without issue to our place for the next few days.

The drive from the airport was long, because of the ridiculous traffic and driving of Mexico City. We weren’t all that far from our place but the ride ended up taking close to 45 minutes to an hour. But it ended up being pretty pleasant because we had a nice driver who was telling us things about Mexico City. After checking in and dropping some of our things off, we went in search of breakfast and decided to check out Los Bisquets Obregon, a fast food brunchy place that a friend of mine recommended for quick food. We had the chilaquiles there, which are essentially tortilla chips topped with cheese and chicken with green chili and beans. So, like nachos. It was good and good enough to fill both of us up and get us through the morning.

After brunch, we walked around La Condesa and had the opportunity to see two monuments, The Angel of Independence and Diana The Huntress Fountain, along our stroll before entering Chapultepec Forest. We strolled through there and looked around at the different sites there, including the castle, the many benches in the park, and other different attractions inside the park before walking back home. At this point, we were dying of exhaustion and sleepiness since we didn’t sleep on the plane at all and definitely needed a break.

We rested for a while and got some energy after a long nap into the late afternoon. We stayed in bed afterward to figure out what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go, and Cynthia had some things to figure out with her phone and internet. But once we were up, we were ready for the second part of the day’s adventure.

And the first stop: dinner. Our nap drained all of the nutrients we got from the chilaquiles we had earlier in the day and we were pretty hungry by the time we left the house. So instead of looking around before dinner, we went straight to a restaurant Cynthia had found online called El Tizoncito, labeled as “the creators of the Al Pastor taco.” The restaurant wasn’t too far a walk from our AirBnB thank goodness and we got there in no time and got seated outside at an open table facing street side. It was pretty busy with lots of people already seated and enjoying their tacos. After looking at the menu for ten minutes, we finally decided on some items we thought sounded good (of note, no English menu requested lol): a Taco de Choriqueso dish with four tacos filled with sausage and cheese, an Ah Dorados taco dish of three tacos which were filled with pork and top with lots of cheese, and one order of the most popular item, the Taco del Trompo, also an Al Pastor taco. And because that wasn’t enough, we ordered an additional Taco del Trompo and Pollo Al Pastor with a orange Fanta to enjoy with he meal. Yum! Our first of many tacos this trip! And at a reasonable price too!

Overall, good food and a neat dinner experience. It was nice to sit street side and eat yummy tacos as we watched people walk by but it was slightly annoying to have to keep saying “no gracias” as we turned people away from continually asking us for money for their performances and products they were selling. But I found that being direct was the best way of handling them.

After dinner, we strolled around the La Condesa neighborhood and watched as the night started to come alive in the neighborhood. Musicians were playing music outside of restaurants. People were selling food at street carts. And others were lining up for food, drinks, and entry into night clubs. We strolled through a nice park called Parque España and watched as many leashless dogs ran around playing with each other and their owners. In the park, there were also nice wooden-railed bridges that gave the park a nice look. Then we slowly made our way to El Pendulo, a well-known bookstore cafe that had a great cafe and chill/hangout vibe with books all around. Wish we had more of those types of cafes in Los Angeles.

From the book cafe, we walked over to take a look at Parque Mexico, yet another beautiful park made to chill in and walk through. There, we found neat little benches where couples and friends were sitting, catching up, and spending time with each other. The park also had a cool pathway with awnings that had decorative flowers hanging from them. Really pretty to walk under on a nice, cool evening.

By the time we had finished our brief exploration of Parque Mexico, we turned back and headed towards home with two stops along the way. We stopped at Ficelle, a boulangerie and patisserie where Cynthia grabbed a chocolate eclair and fruit tart for us to bring home to enjoy post-dinner. We also stopped at Superama Pachuca, a grocery store, to get some water before heading home and calling it an early night.

Though today was a tiring day given our jet lag and lack of sleep on the flight, we actually saw a good bit of the neighborhood and sights around La Condesa. I’m hoping that we’ll get another shot at seeing the pretty neighborhood during the day before leaving because I can imagine everything looking that much prettier by daylight. But as of right now, no clue what’s on the clock for tomorrow but I’m sure we’ll figure it out tomorrow morning. Night!

5 Things I Learned Today:

1. On some major roads, there seem to be no real lanes for driving. At least they aren’t marked. And because of that, it’s a free-for-all for drivers and I imagine that only locals can manage the organized chaos.

2. Police are densely populated in tourist areas and sometimes are not as helpful as they intend to be, per our local driver. Because of that, there are not as many police officers patrolling the areas outside of the city that really need policing.

3. In Mexico, there are baked goods everywhere! Around every corner. And Mexicans really love their condensed milk and pastries!

4. Mexico City is a city of parks. There are so many of them located everywhere throughout the city. The parks are great to hangout in, stroll through, etc. And they are designed in a way that welcomes people to come and enjoy the park, which is awesome!

5. When eating street side, be ready to have dinner interrupted by people trying to make some money by serenading you with music or selling flowers and rugs and other things to you.

[realbackpacking-blog]

First Stop - Melbourne

So we arrived in Melbourne following a 21 hour flight from London Heathrow with a 3 hour stop over at Guangzhou, China. We flew with China Southern and booked through Omega Flight Store. Although we had read some terrible reviews about Omega, everything went as planned and was exactly what was sold to us by the company. The flight cost us £518 and we were all impressed by the service and comfort on China Southern as we had read very mixed reviews. The food catered to both Chinese and Western taste, the cabin crew were attentive and there was a good choice of inflight entertainment. However, the worst part of our journey was undoubtedly the stopover in Guangzhou; the airport was dull and appeared dirty, even though it had apparently been recently 'refurbished'. There was a very limited choice of shops and places to eat (literally two restaraunts) and people didn't seem bothered about coughing in our faces. When we finally touched down in Melbourne everything was quick and easy; passport control can be done electronically via a number of machines which airport staff directed us to. We filled out our landing cards on the plane and just handed these in as we entered Australia. The airport was easy to get around and our bags came out quite quickly. We then made our way through to the arrivals where we found a pay phone to call Base hostel in St Kilda in order for them to provide us with a code for our transfer bus. Everything went smoothly and Base directed us to the bus stop (although we did end up walking 10 minutes in the wrong direction), the main bus stops are directly in front of the Arrivals- just across the road from the terminal. As we had paid STA Travel £250 for our travel starter package which included our first week of accommodation, transfers, wifi, breakfast, tax file number, Australian bank account and Australian SIM card, there was little for us to worry about when we arrived at Base. The transfer took about 45 minutes and we couldn't check in our room until 2pm; so we left our backpacks in Base's luggage storage and headed for McDonald's (or in Australian 'maccas'). After sampling the local cuisine - cheese and bacon fries with a frozen Coke - which cost about $7, we took the short stroll back to Base. Base Melbourne was a great hostel, pretty clean and spacious, our room had an ensuite bathroom and all bunk beds came with a large drawer underneath which we were able to lock with our backpack padlocks. Although we attempted St Kilda beach for a couple of hours after checking in, the jet lag soon slapped us in the face and we were off to bed for a 12 hour nap. Waking up at 5am wasn't too bad at Base as we were able to grab a drink and a snack from the vending machines and wander downstairs to the chill out area which is equipped with large comfy sofas and a TV. After a couple of hours down there and having used our wifi to FaceTime our families, we made our way up to the bar around 7ish for breakfast. We were impressed. On the first morning I ate probably about 6 pieces of toast with butter and marmalade, 2 bowls of cereal (one with yoghurt), saw off 2 or 3 coffees and 4 orange juices. Although there is no hot food included in the breakfast, it is all you can eat and mainly carb based so a good way to bloat yourself out and save some money on food if you're on a budget. I wont go through our activities day by day while in St Kilda but I will try to mention everything that may not be necessarily interesting but definitely helpful for fellow backpackers. The main theme of our first week in Melbourne was jet lag! We just assumed that we would be over it within 3 or 4 days, but looking back on our time in St Kilda, I'm pretty sure we were some sort of jet lagged for the whole 2 weeks that we were there. However, it didn't stop us from exploring as much of Melbourne as we could on our budget. Just to make this easier to read I'll break the next parts down into sections... St Kilda St Kilda is a vibrant beachside town which thrives on it's ever growing backpacking community. There's plenty to see and do on a backpacking budget, however, what I will tell you is only of my own short stay in St Kilda. Having spoken to a few of the locals we learned that St Kilda used to be quite a rough place to live; although it doesn't appear so anymore; you can still see the remnants of what it used to be like near to St Kilda Junction leading off Fitrozy Street. The first thing you'll notice when arriving in St Kilda is how different their way of life is compared to ours back home. Almost everyone seems to be into their fitness, whether its using one of the outdoor gyms in the parks, running, cycling (everyone in Melbourne seems to cycle EVERYWHERE), swimming, paddle boarding (SUP) or kite surfing. To accompany this healthy lifestyle are a number of smoothie bars, sushi bars, vegan cafes and general takeaway joints offering various salad boxes for around $10. Don't get me wrong, if you want to be fat and unhealthy St Kilda will cater for that too. There's a Maccas (Mc Donald's) just a 5 minute walk from the beach, a number of patisseries selling amazing but calorie filled cakes and pastries; along with a number of fast food takeaways on Fitzroy street; usually offering a burger, chips and a drink for $10 or $12. To accompany the food, St Kilda boasts a number of bars and restaurants which are reasonably priced - probably around $20 for a meal on special and glass of house wine or beer. Happy hours are usually from around 3pm to 6pm with most pubs and bars offering $5/$6 wine and house beers; or a bucket of Corona (usually 5 bottles of Corona in an ice bucket) for $20. Finally on the subject of notable things about St Kilda and Melbourne is that they LOVE their coffee, and it is good! Most cafes will sell a great coffee for around $3, however my personal favourite is the $1 coffee from 7/11 (7/11 is like an Aussy version of our Spar). Transport Getting around St Kilda and Melbourne is pretty easy although it takes a while to adjust to the various routes; the good thing about Melbourne and Sydney is that most of the streets are set out in a grid form, which makes it much easier to navigate. So the main point on travel is... the MYKI card; it's pronounced like 'Mikey' just so you know. The MYKI card costs $8 to buy and can be topped up at various shops (including 7/11 which is EVERYWHERE). There is an $8 per day limit on the myki card and as far as I'm aware if you use more than that in a day, the myki card will stop charging you. The myki card works on a 'tap on and tap off' basis; so you board a train, bus or tram, tap your myki card on the reader and then tap it off again when you exit...pretty simple. Also, once you enter Melbourne's CBD (Central Business District) so 'city centre', there is a free tram called the city link which you can ride around the entire CBD and not get charged. The tram stops also clearly state when you're in and leaving a free tram zone. From St Kilda to Melbourne the tram is the easiest form of transport and takes about 20 minutes and costs around $4; you can catch either the number 16, 3 or 3A from Luna Park or Fitzroy Street and a number of stops in between. Balaclava train station is also accessible by bus or tram and provides links to suburbs such as Brighton and Hampton (for if you want a more 'Australian' experience). Finally if your feeling fit, Melbourne has it's own version of London's Boris Bikes. There are various bike stands costing $3 to hire a pushbike and helmet for the day, it will charge slightly more if you ride further than 30 minutes from where you hired the bike. The bikes can either be returned to the same place that you hired them from or docked in any free spaces near your destination. I would recommend hiring a bike from Luna Park and riding the approx. 8km into Melbourne; it's a great way to see the City and find your way around the surrounding areas. Accommodation As we were only in Melbourne for 2 weeks I only have 2 hostels to give my thoughts on. First off Base, which I mentioned earlier; this is a great hostel for meeting people and I would definitely recommend it if traveling alone. The hostel puts on entertainment every night such as trivia, beer pong, live music and a free bbq. There is also a travel and work rep present most days if you need help with anything or would like to book any day trips. However the hostel is quite expensive - averaging around $35 a night for a 8 bed ensuite. For our second week in St Kilda we moved to The Ritz for Backpackers located on Fitzroy Street, about a 10 minute walk from the kite surfing beach. This hostel was slightly cheaper, working out around $210 for the week in a 6 bed dorm. The Ritz was good value for money with free self-serve pancakes every morning and certain nights offering a free bbq and free wine and cheese. However The Ritz is definitely a hostel for long stay/ working backpackers and I maybe wouldn't recommend it if travelling alone. Although the location is pretty good, with Woolworths (not the wooly's we know, its a supermarket) just across the road and various shops, bars and restaurants along the way to the beach. Things not to be missed... St Kilda's graffiti - take a walk around the town with your camera and pap some great art. SUP -(stand up paddle board) - $25-$30 an hour, make sure it's not windy. Eureka Tower - tallest building in Melbourne offering great views of the entire city - $20 admission. Federation Square - rooftop bar, free live music and various events. ACMI - Australian Centre for Moving Image - admission and galleries are free - definitely worth a visit if you're into films or art! PHILLIP ISLAND TOUR - roughly $115 will get you admission to Moonlit Sanctuary, Koala Sanctuary, The Nobbies, a bbq lunch, Churchill Island, Smith's Beach and finally the Penguine Parade where you can watch 100's of wild penguins returning to the beach and follow them up the boardwalk to their hides. St Kilda Festival - free music festival all along the beachfront with great food, drink and a range of market stalls - something for everyone. Brighton Beach - A short train ride, the beach huts are a must-see and the beach is pretty nice too. Royal Botanical Gardens - located next to Federation Square the gardens are a great way to pass time on a budget.

[vsplusonline]

A place to sit and chat: Enchante Cafe

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A place to sit and chat: Enchante Cafe

Tucked in a lane in Jubilee Hills and nestled among trees is Enchante Cafe. This cafe cum patisserie would be your go to venue if you want to be at a less crowded place — away from the noise of the city. Its outdoor seating, in particular, with an artificial lawn makes for a good place to hang out once the sun is down. Apart from the outdoor seating, this cafe has two other indoor seating options. The interior is done in a mix of blue and white to which they have added quite a bit of quirky pictures of beaches, boats at one level. On another level, the wall is filled with pictures of various places and their iconic buildings or structures. Another wall is done up with wall decor accessories that look like travel bags. So, if the theme of the interior is to be guessed, it has to do with travel.

I would say, the staff is little informed about what is available and what isn’t. But that could also be because I happened to drop in just an hour after the cafe opened. On Zomato, the food suggestions to try here were almost the same. Suggestions that poured in ranged from Caesar salad with ‘flavoured mayo.’ So, I said no. Because mayo doesn’t go with caesar salad. Then came a suggestion of mozzarella sticks. Potato popcorn, pav bhaji fondue, chicken popcorn etc.

On a previous occasion when I had dropped in, I had tried the Penne arrabiata and had nothing to complain about, though it was a very average cafe pasta. The sandwich however, was a delight. This time, with a wish to try a few more options from the menu, I dropped in hoping to try some finger foods and a pizza.

The mozzarella sticks were unavailable, and so was the case with a few other things that I asked for. Because there was a power cut, all the oven food was out of question. But I really wonder why a kathi roll order was refused.

With few choices left I ordered the grilled chermoula chicken. It was pan-seared and over load with herbs. The meat was tender and even though a little sharp on salt for my taste, I didn’t mind eating it with the beautiful mash and a melted cheese dip instead of the mushroom sauce. I, however, like my chicken trimmed well before cooking, since this wasn’t trimmed I had to do that while being on the job of eating. I would have ignored it all, then towards the end of finishing my chicken, I saw a part that was absolutely raw. I lost my appetite and gobbled the veggies instead.

Since I am not a big fan of desserts and am rather picky about the places where I eat my desserts at, I skipped this course. To give it one final try, I went again and ordered a frittata, which was more like a cheese omlete.

If you are a fan of fusion food do try masala risotto, dal khichidi, cheese kulcha and maggi. The restaurant recommends these.

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[clamjumper5-blog]

A Healthy Hedonist’s Guide to Paris: Gluten-Free Eats + Sights in the City of Love

Paris has been a gluten-free beacon of love and carbs for us over the last two years.

I’m usually not that into Hallmark holidays, but last year, for whatever reason, when Charlie told me he’d be traveling on Valentine’s Day, I got a little diva-like pit in my stomach.

I pictured myself sitting alone watching Sandra Bullock reruns with a 3-course meal of matcha truffles, modestly-priced steak, and salted caramel pudding. Then I immediately moved on to a superior alternative that made me a lot less sad: having dinner with my OG Valentine, my dad.

I don’t know why I cared so much about doing something special last year, when on most other Valentine’s Days my preference is to avoid prefix menus like the plague and do nothing at all. But I’m sure it had something to do with all the book-related work that left me craving an evening of being coddled and pampered. Other sugar daddy to the rescue!

The biggest reason I can’t give Charlie a hard time is because for my birthday this year, he already showered me with the most romantic gift a girl could ask for: a long weekend trip to Paris. Had he pulled that super Romeo move on me on February 14th, I probably would have rolled my eyes and barfed a little in my mouth (diva!). But in November it was the perfect gift. And come December, when we finally woke up on the tarmac of Charles de Gaulle airport, it was the beginning of the most make-out and food-filled trip I’ve taken in adult life.

(see?)

Paris is the city of love, yes. But for me it’s always held memories of a different type of romance. Back when I was three years old, my OG Valentine (along with my mom) moved our small nuclear family across the Atlantic for a few years. We lived a stone’s throw from Les Invalides on the Right Bank, which I used to call the Emerald City because of its gold dome and sprawling Oz-like greenery.

So my favorite moments of our trip were not the pounds of steak frites or kisses shared under the Eiffel Tower, it was getting to share all those childhood fragments with Charlie as we covered the city on foot from end to end, having him humor me as we played the game my mother and I always used to play of guessing what color the seats would be at the following metro stop, and humoring me even further when I wanted to take us another mile out of the way to relive what a chocolate eclair tasted like in gluten-free form.

Speaking of being gluten-free in Paris, it’s a lot easier than it used to be. I’ve included some of the recommendations below, but just know that like in the States, not every loaf of GF bread is created equal. Take a detour to Chambelland early in your trip and buy a loaf and carry it in your purse for the rest of your stay. I tried the ones at Eric Kayser, No Glu and Helmet Newcake and they weren’t as good. This is key, because you’re going to need something to soak up all that restaurant butter.

If that’s recommendation 1.a. for the GF folks. 1.b. for the rest of you is to balance your trip with a mix of old and new. You’ll see in the itinerary I laid out below that I didn’t give you a back-to-back bistro highlight reel. There’s some incredibly inventive cuisine happening in Paris right now that is worth taking a break from cassoulet and soupe l’oignon for. Plus, if you eat on the healthier end at home, you will burn out from this particular French brand of hedonism very quickly. Pace yourself, folks.

My last recommendation is to walk as much as you can. It’s truly the best way to see the city. We managed to log 10 miles a day! Pack your shoes accordingly, and bring a second pair, since you will inevitably get blistered from your first. We loved the little AirBNB we stayed in on the 5th floor of a immeuble in the 9th, even if it meant many more blisters walking up all those stairs!

This time around, it was definitely a sobering experience for us bourgeois lovers of Parisian oat milk to experience the Gilet Jaunes lighting the city on fire literally and figuratively with their anger. You can see some of the scenes below, juxtaposed of course with my favorite 3 euro macarons. Needless to say, I couldn’t feel more grateful for the life I was born into that allows me to see the world, and savor every morsel.

Just being able to reminisce about this trip feels like a gift. And let me just say for all my Galentine’s: you don’t need a date to have the most glorious time in Paris. My last two trips 7 years ago and in college were both solo, and I had an equally magical weekend reading, wandering and day drinking in cafes.

Read on for my favorite gluten-free finds and ways to spend a long weekend in the city of luuuuurve.

From one healthy, Francophile hedonist, to another,

Xoxo Phoebe

THE BEST PARIS FOOD DESTINATIONS (& WHAT TO EAT IF YOU’RE GLUTEN-FREE)

Afternoon

*Breizh Cafe, The Marais.

This was our first food stop in Paris, after fighting our jetlag to make it through two floors of the Pompidou Center on an empty stomach. Needless to say, I was extremely hangry by the time we arrived at this little gem in the Marais, and almost had a meltdown when we were told there was no table available. Luckily, the maître d’ took pity on us silly Americans and found us two seats next door at the small to-go shop. We actually got the better experience, I think. As we waited for our gluten-free buckwheat crepes to arrive, we sipped a carafe of their in-house hard cider and drooled over all the delicate tins of sardines, cases of smoked meats, rich butters and countless products made from the restaurant’s signature buckwheat. Just make sure to read the back of the packages, as many of the pastas and crisps also include wheat flour. As for my order, I went with the special, which included cured duck, mushrooms and comte. But you can’t go wrong with the complet.

L’As du Falafel, The Marais.

Back when I could eat gluten, this was a very necessary stop when visiting the old Jewish quarter of the Marais. The streets are worth visiting anyway, as the trendy boutiques suddenly tapper off into a jam-packed block of Judaica. The falafel is the best in the city, but they also have schwarma for the GF folk.

Miznon, The Marais

Down the street from all the falafel shops in the Jewish corner, is this Israeli outpost with creative spins on classic sandwiches. The lamb pita is excellent, but they will also do any of their sandwiches as a plate for the GF folk. I got the beef bourgingnon, which is not something I would think to try at an Israeli restaurant, but their take on it was incredibly light and flavorful, especially with a dousing of green sauce on top. The highlight for healthy-minded folks is the whole charred cauliflower, which emerges still attached to its leaves and roots. New Yorkers: you can also find a stand in Chelsea Market, but it’s not the same as the original.

Chambelland, 10th.

This gluten-free bakery was the only place I found that did French bread the right way. It had the same crispy exterior and tangy sourdough flavor that characterizes the best of the table baskets. Get a loaf to-go, or simply enjoy a tuna sandwich or square of focaccia (tomato-olive is amazing) as a mid-afternoon snack. Also, get a bag of the mini financiers.

Helmut Newcake, 1st.

In addition to being the best-named patisserie in all the land, Helmut Newcake has the type of highfalutin pastries that make you think you’re staring at a jewelry case—and they’re all gluten-free! It was such a treat to get to have a chocolate eclair after all these years. The chocolate chip cookie is also insanely buttery and decadent.

Claus, 1st.

Breakfast isn’t as much of a “thing” in France as it is in the states. Usually, people just grab a croissant and cafe on the go. One morning when we were craving eggs, we ended up at this cute spot near our hotel. Honestly, the breakfast was pretty underwhelming. But it’s worth a visit for the gluten-free green tea financiers, which were the most delicious treat of the trip. Had we done it over, I would have saved my breakfast for when we visited Canal St. Martin (see below).

Holybelly, Canal St. Martin.

We didn’t manage to squeeze in some eggs or black rice porridge from Holybelly, but walked around the cool and quaint surrounding area of Canal St. Martin, where there are a bunch of up-and-coming juice bars (Bob’s) and gluten-free cafes (Ten Belles) popping up. This is definitely the neighborhood to go to if you want a break from butter. And I loved capturing the heart-shaped lock picture above.

Hotel L’Amour, 10th.

This hotel restaurant has a quaint fashionable interior with a beautiful garden to sit outside in warmer months. It’s an excellent spot for brunch, with a whole array of vegetarian options. The vegan butternut squash soup was delicious, as was the poulet roti and plate of scrambled eggs.

Ellsworth, 1st.

This brunch spot has all the usual Southern fixtures—French toast, fried chicken, duck hash—but they’re prepared in a distinctly French way. The hash was a gluten-free favorite of mine, and I also loved the beet salad with homemade light-as-air Greek yogurt.

Au Petit Tonneau, 7th.

We wandered into this little neighborhood gem during our day of exploring the right bank, as we made our way from Musee D’Orsay to go make-out under the Eiffel tower. It was everything we wanted in a bistrot: small tables, chalkboard menus, old ladies ordering whole bottles of wine at 2pm, and husband and wife waiters, who took breaks in between busing our tables to enjoy a bite of lunch with their family at the back table. The most notable dish here is the veal stew, which is served over cardamom scented rice. Unfortunately, it’s thickened with flour (hey-ho France), but I snuck a small taste of the sauce and it was mind-blowing. Equally good (and gluten-free): the escargot, salad Paysenne with thick lardons, and the sautéed scallops.

Le Comptoir de la Mer, 6th

The two small bars next to one another, one dedicated to seafood, the other to meats, are a fun concept based on basque-style pintxos, where you order small plate after small plate, standing up, before heading to the next joint and doing the same. I love that they serve butter in a giant ball on the counter that you can scrape off to your heart’s content.

Pierre Herme, 6th

Perhaps the most famous macaron purveyor in Paris, Pierre lives up to all the hype. The cookies are light and tender, while the filling isn’t too sweet. More importantly, they offer a variety of surprising and creative combinations. My favorite was the half raspberry, half pistachio, and the pomegranate and cream.

NoGlu, 6th

As I mentioned above, I was not overly blown away by the bread at this gluten-free cafe. Still, it’s a nice place to grab a sandwich, and if you’re craving a croque monsieur, theirs certainly hits the spot. I’ve also heard good things about their quiche and madeleine’s, but generally prefer chambelland and helmet newcake for GF goodies.

Evening

Le Grand Bain, 9th

The menu changes daily at this veg-centric small plates joint. The chef is young and inventive, but also can turn out French classics like moules with aioli that rival the best bistros in town. They were willing to adapt almost the whole menu to be gluten-free and also had plenty of vegan options. Besides the moules, my favorite dish was the broccoletti with caviar. Charlie could not resist the fois gras stuffed quail.

Balagan, 1st

We went for lunch at this upscale Israeli restaurant near The Louvre, but it’s chic design and cool lounge in back would make it even better as a nighttime destination. The kale salad with turmeric aioli and Mediterranean take on steak frites (both GF!) were fabulous. The waitstaff was also very knowledgable about my allergy.

Le Villaret, 10th

Right down the street from Chambelland, is this classic bistrot that serves up impeccably cooked steak and other French fare. It’s been renovated to be slightly more modern on the interior, but still feels homey and cozy. It’s a great option for a casual, yet refined meal that’s unfussy and worth the price tag.

Bistrot Paul Bert, 11th.

Though a bigger operation than Tonneau, it doesn’t get more classic than this French institution. It’s a little off the beaten path, but worth a visit for a traditional meal of all the things you came to France for: sole meuniere, steak frites and soufflés. Gluten-free folk are good to go on the steak and fries and simple butter-soaked scallops in their shell, but sadly have to sit out dessert. My favorite part of our meal is that they decanted our wine into a giant wine glass, which made for some wonderful photo opps. I’m pretty sure they stuck us in the front room with all the other English speakers for this very reason.

Le Clown Bar, 10th.

This was both Charlie and my favorite meal in Paris. I was skeptical at first, as I’m not one to opt for trends or novelty over the classics (in Paris, no less). But this meal was truly the most inventive and delicious one I’ve had in any city in recent memory. Much to my surprise, the highlight of the night—in addition to the whole pigeon that arrived talons-on, and still smoking on a plate—was the bowl of brains. As you can see above, they did very little to distract or disguise the main ingredient, which I suppose is what good French cooking is all about. The texture was similar to tofu, and combined with a delicate dashi broth, each spoonful melted in your mouth. It’s best to get a reservation in advance, but there’s a great little hipster cocktail bar around the corner called Bespoke if you have to wait.

Le Relais de Entrecote, 6th

An institution with locations in New York and London, this steak and frites chain never disappoints. And somehow, there’s nothing like the real thing in Paris. It’s also a perfect venue for celiacs, since the famous secret sauce is gluten-free and there’s nothing else on the menu but salad, steak and fries, so the fryer is also fair game. Save room for dessert, as their sundaes are legendary!

Le Servan, 12th.

I loved the neighborhood vibe of this place, which made me feel like we were back in Brooklyn. The food was simple, elegant and if I’m being honest, slightly underwhelming. We ended up here because of this Eater list, which said that the clams were one of the best dishes in Paris. Unfortunately, said clams had soy sauce in them (wah wah). Add it to your list if you want to check out a new neighborhood that’s more residential and bohemian. The one dish that really stood out and was worth returning for was the scallop with butterscotch. The menu changes daily, though, so perhaps we just ordered wrong.

Cocktail Hour

Le Mary Celeste, The Marais

If you’re looking for a great spot to grab oysters or deviled eggs before or after dinner, this divey spot in the Marais is it. Compared to most cocktail bars in Paris, this one is a nice mix of tourists and locals.

Le Syndicat, 9th

Another small cocktail bar with creative drinks, including one with kombucha and cucumber that I enjoyed.

The Hemingway Bar, 1st

If you like 30 euro cocktails in a lavish setting, nothing gets more classic than this hideaway in the back of The Ritz. Go early and put your name down. Be prepared to take out a second mortgage to cover your martini.

Le Meurice, 1st

Slightly easier to get into than Hemingway, and equally expensive drinks in ornate surroundings. Charlie swears by a lunch time burger here as well.

ITINERARY: AN IDEAL LONG WEEKEND IN PARIS

If you have an extra day, the Louvre is an obvious must. It’s so ginormous though that we chose to cross many of the smaller museums off our list and spend more time walking between neighborhoods. Another favorite that we didn’t fit into this itinerary is Sacre Coeur, which has an unparalleled view of the city at sunset and is a fun neighborhood to grab a pre-dinner glass of wine. Definitely go if you have one more night. Also, it should be noted that we went to Paris in December. If it’s warm out, a meat and cheese picnic in the Tuileries or Jardin du Luxembourg is also a must. But the gardens around the Louis Vuitton Foundation are also beautiful for a picnic or romp.

Friday, the Marais + Left Bank >>Start the day at the Pompidou center and explore the contemporary and modern collections >>Spend the afternoon exploring the Marais neighborhood; stop into Merci for home goods and decor, and wander the shops and boutiques. >>Have an early lunch of gluten-free buckwheat crepes at Breizh, along wtih a cup of one of their hard ciders (you’re in Europe, after all!). >> Pop into Musee National Picasso >> Grab a mid-afternoon snack at L’As du Fallafel or Miznon >> GF folks should make a detour to the 10th to grab a midafternoon snack at Chambelland, along with a loaf of gluten-free bread for the rest of the trip >>Head to dinner at Bistrot Paul Bert or Le Villaret for an authentic Parisian experience with all the typical fixings. You’ll be too buttered out by day 3 to handle this.

Saturday, the Right Bank >>Start the day at Musee D’Orsay to take in the vast impressionist collection and early work of Manet and Van Gogh. >>Wander through Napoleon’s old stomping grounds, Les Invalides (with optional detour to either the Musee De L’Armee or the Rodin Museum around the corner) >>Stop for lunch at Au Petit Tonneau for a classic red gingham tablecloth meal of escargot, salad Paysenne and veal stew. >>Continue walking off your meal to the Eiffel Tower for your requisite photo opp. >> Either pop in for more contemporary art at Palais de Tokyo, or metro back to the St. Germain-des-Pres area and enjoy a cafe at a one of the old literary haunts – Les Deux Maggot or Cafe de Flore (touristy, but fun!).

>> Check out Musee de L’Arme for French firearms and battle garb or to say hey to Napoleon in his tomb >> You can also make a pit stop at Bon Marche for some foodie keepsakes >> Take a break from all the butter with some nouveau French cuisine at Le Clown Bar or Le Grand Bain. Get past the ick factor and order the brains—it’s a must. >>Have a nightcap at the Hemingway bar at the Ritz.

Sunday, Further Afield >>Start the day with a Franco-American brunch at Hotel L’Amour or Ellsworth (make a reservation in advance), or if you’re feeling overwhelmed by 48 hours of French food, a healthy bite at Holybelly, where you can also stroll by the water in Canal St. Martin. >>Venture further afield to check out the new Louis Vuitton foundation near jardin d’acclimatation, i.e. the coolest kid’s park that ever was. You can also swap this for a day at the Louvre. >>Enjoy a mid-day cafe and pastry at Helmut Newcakes, which has the best GF eclairs in Paris! >> Head home to wherever you came from, carrying all the shoes and baguettes you can fit in your carry-on.

READER RECS

I got a lot of recommendations from readers on gluten-free and healthy restaurants in Paris. Especially in the Marais and the 9th, there are a ton of Brooklyn-esque smoothie and avocado toast spots cropping up. I didn’t find many of them to be worth it, including Wild & The Moon, which is now a chain. Their GF scone and acai bowl were sub-par, if I’m being honest. The produce in France is better across the board, and I’d personally, much rather enjoy veggies in the context of butter, cooked simply and traditionally, doing what Paris does best, than another culture’s attempt at avocado toast. That said, I’m including the full list below in case you want to try any of them, along with some more restaurants that I’ve been dying to try but haven’t been able to get to!

Gluten-free restaurants and healthy cafes:

Sitron (GF bakery) Echo Deli Cafe Woodies Le Coulauncourt Maisie Cafe The Broken Arm Republique of Coffee Cuppa Cafe BigLove (GF pizza) Cafe Berry Cafe Mareva Cafe Mericourt (shakshouka) Jay and Joy (vegan cheeses!)

Nouveau French restaurants and wine bars: 

Vivant CAM Brutos Frenchie Clamato

***

Have any of you recently been to Paris? Any new or old haunts or must-see’s that I should add to my list for next time? I’m dying to go back! Let me know in the comments section

Source: https://feedmephoebe.com/healthy-hedonists-guide-paris-gluten-free-long-weekend-city-love/

[jayfurr]

[spacer height=”20px”]Saturday, August 25 was our last port stop on our 9-day Baltic Sea cruise, not counting our final stop at the end back in Copenhagen.   We docked in Nynäshamn, a port some 40 miles outside Stockholm, for the simple reason that Stockholm doesn’t have the capacity to dock every cruise ship that wants to pay a port call.  There’s absolutely nothing in Nynäshamn other than trees and rocks, but we weren’t there to see the port, anyway.  Our real destination, obviously, was Stockholm proper.

We took a bus from Nynäshamn to Stockholm and I must have been pretty tired, because I fell back asleep on the ride.  All those days of running around crowded museums and cathedrals and such were catching up to me.  When we got to the city, Stockholm turned out to be Paris, only set on a bunch of islands separated by stretches of water.  Very cosmopolitan, modern city.  Carole and I both thought it looked beautiful.

Only, there was a serpent in the garden.  There was ongoing unrest from the extreme left.  Or the extreme right.  Or the extreme someone.  And a big public protest/riot/assembly was planned for that Saturday… and the Swedes were taking no chances.  Everywhere our bus tried to go, we ran into police barricades.  Or police officers on foot.  And at one point, police officers on horseback.   Our poor tour guide was getting more and more apologetic with each attempt the driver made to get us to our first stop on the itinerary, the Stockholm city hall (where they give out the Nobel Prizes, among other things).

We finally got there after over an hour of backing up and trying side streets and going around and this and that and the other.  And the Stadshuset, as it’s called locally, turned out to be worth the wait.  The building was erected in the early 1900s but was constructed to look much, much older.  The architect had something of a sense of whimsy and incorporated numerous off-the wall-design elements and art fixtures.  Changes were made here and there along the way during the 12 years it took to build the place, resulting in a “Blue Hall” with nothing blue in it.

After that, we went to see the wreck of the Pride of the Swedish Navy, the Vasa — which had been so over-built and so over-weighted and so badly designed that it rolled a bit during its very first voyage, took on water through open gun-ports, and sank to the bottom of Stockholm harbor before it’d even traveled a mile.  The ship sank in 1628 and was located again in the mid-1900s, when serious recovery efforts were begun.

They have the ship all pieced back together, with as many original fittings and materials as possible, in an enormous building.  Various floors of the building give you vantage points to see the bottom of the ship, the deck of the ship, the rigging and superstructure of the ship, and so on. It’s a beautiful ship and an admirable restoration job, but still, one can’t entirely resist the urge to giggle at the whole sinking-on-its-first-voyage-before-even-leaving-the-harbor thing.

We had lunch on our own after seeing the Vasa.  Our guide had the bus park in a busy downtown district right around the corner from a Swedish royal palace, and gave us what time he could to go find restaurants, forage, and come back.  I’m sure we were originally allotted a lot more time, but the whole driving-around-Stockholm-running-into-police-barriers thing ate up a lot of the morning, and that left us in a hurry.  We had to scoot by any number of nice little cafes with street-side tables and find a place we could get food to go.  We wound up scarfing open-faced sandwiches and salad from Styrofoam containers while sitting on a curb around the corner from our bus.

We got to drive around a little bit more after that; we were taken to one harbor overlook where you could see just about the whole city, all the interconnected waterways, and an amusement park.  Photos ensued.  Then it was back to the highway and the drive back to the ship in Nynäshamn.  I was groggy and tired and slept the whole way.

Once we got back to the ship, it was actually still early enough that we had time to visit the ship’s coffee shop/patisserie and then relax on the deck for a while before dinner, which was kind of nice.   Dinner was a repeat at the “Le Bistro” restaurant.  Carole likes that place, but for some reason I didn’t find anything appealing and ordered a cheeseburger and fries off the kids’ menu.  Then it was the usual — wandering around the ship, doing not much of anything.   The following day would be a day at sea as we headed back to Copenhagen, and then our cruise would be over the day after that.

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What We Did On Our Summer Vacation, Day 11 (Stockholm) Saturday, August 25 was our last port stop on our 9-day Baltic Sea cruise, not counting our final stop at the end back in Copenhagen.  

[thegloober]

Royal Caribbean OVATION OF THE SEAS: Top Things to Do

Just a day after the cruise ended, I already missed it. I woke up to my bedroom moving as if lulling me to sleep again. I thought I was still on a cruise, but no. I’m not yet ready to go back to my daily grind. Where have all those chill days gone?

Although my teammates here at The Poor Traveler have gone on a cruise many times before, this was my first cruise ever. And it’s on Ovation of the Seas, no less. I was invited by Royal Caribbean International to join one of their cruises before the season ends. Going on a cruise was a novel concept to me. I just thought that I was not cut out for it. At some point, I thought I was living someone else’s dream, but as I spend more time on the ship, the dream eventually became mine. And I was living it. You may say that I’m overreacting, but the experience conjured up this unbelievably insane desire to spend the rest of my life on a cruise ship. I didn’t want it to end.

It’s a common misconception that you can’t do much aboard a cruise ship. But doing a staycation and touring multiple countries in one go? That’s having the best of both worlds! The industry aims to give the best holiday for the guests, crafting and preparing onboard activities and events that will satisfy them and keep them entertained. Here are some of the things I enjoyed doing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas.

WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS GUIDE?

Top (L – R): Windjammer, Chic, The Grande; Bottom (L-R): American Icon Grill, The Cafe @ Two70, The Silk

This was my favorite thing to do: EAT! The wide selection of food was something that my weak heart and strong appetite couldn’t resist. Windjammer Marketplace offers an international buffet for breakfast, dinner, and lunch. It’s literally having (inhale) pasta, bread, pastries, meat, burgers, hot dogs, fries, cookies, fruits, salad, rice, noodles, and soup (exhale) in one place.

If you prefer a more relaxed dining experience, you may choose from any of the complimentary main dining places like The Grande, Chic, American Icon Grill, Silk, and Solarium Bistro. If you are staying in one of the suites, you may also dine at Coastal Kitchen. I’ve tried The Grande, Chic, and Solarium Bistro. You just need to reserve a table beforehand since they are complimentary fine dining.

(Left) Wonderland, (Top Right) Jamie’s Italian by Jamie Oliver, (Bottom Right) Itzumi

If you are in the mood to splurge for some specialties and unique items on the menu, you can select from the signature restaurants such as Izumi, Wonderland, Chef’s Table, Jamie’s Italian by Jamie Oliver, and Chops Grille. I’ve tried Wonderland’s creative offerings and Jamie Oliver’s Italian cuisines. These restaurants require door charge and fees for other services.

Sometimes, you just want to grab some food and eat them somewhere else or store them in your room and eat them later. Cafe Promenade has the best cookies, and it also offers coffee and milk. It’s open 24 hours. Adjacent to Cafe Promenade is Sorrento’s Pizza, which operates until after midnight (3 AM). I was guilty of hoarding cookies and milk from Cafe Promenade at nighttime. Haha! Sorry, not sorry.

(Left) Café Promenade, (Top Right) Sorrento’s Pizza, (Bottom Right) Seaplex Dog House

Grab some soup and quick bites at The Cafe @ Two70 or munch on your favorite hotdog sandwich at Seaplex Dog House, which also has gourmet options. These are all complimentary. If you want to treat your sweet tooth cravings, you may do so at La Patisserie for a fee.

Note:

Dress code applies when dining. It varies from casual to formal, depending on the restaurant.

This one is a game changer. Two robotic arm bartenders mainly run this bar. To order, you just have to tap your card on one of the tablets located around the bar area, and then choose from the classic cocktail menu or craft your own mix. Watch the robotic arm bartenders fix the drink for you! For an introvert like me, I really think this is convenient, especially when I’m not in the mood for small talks and such. The Bionic Bar is powered by Makr Shakr and is truly making big waves.

Other bars and lounges on board are the Pool Bar, Sunshine Bar, North Star Bar, Two70 Bar, Schooner Bar, Vintages, and Boleros. These bars are not complimentary, so you need to open your wallets if you want to quench your thirst for alcohol. The Diamond Club, however, is exclusively for Diamond, Diamond Plus, and Pinnacle Club Crown & Anchor Society members only.

Note:

Age restrictions for alcohol consumption is 21+ on sailings coming from North America and 18+ on sailings coming from Europe, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Is skydiving one of your bucket list items? Then grab the chance to experience a bit of what it feels like through this onboard simulator by iFly. Just let go and dive. This is a must try! Just check the schedule/operation hour on the daily cruise planner, then head over to the registration area near the RipCord and Flowrider facilities. Sign up, do the orientation, suit up, and fly.

Note:

Fee: Depends on the season. In some seasons, it’s FREE (complimentary) but you need a prior reservation as the slots get sold out fast. In other seasons, an additional 29 USD (per hour) will be charged to your card.

Wear socks and avoid wearing open-toe footwear. It’s best to wear sneakers/rubber shoes.

Guests as young as 3 years old can try this.

You don’t need to worry about getting waves good enough for surfing because you can always say, “Surf’s up!” You can either ride the waves standing up or do boogie boarding. Or you can do both! Check the daily cruise planner for the operation hour as it differs every day. No need to reserve, but you need to register before you queue.

Note:

Fee: Depends on the season. In some seasons, it’s FREE (complimentary) but the queueing cut off is 30 minutes to one hour before the reflected closing time on the daily cruise planner. In other seasons, an additional 69 USD will be charged to your card.

Guest height requirement for stand up surfing is at least 58 inches, while boogie boarding requires at least 52 inches.

And you’d think that the fun would stop there for the thrill-seekers who are always on the move to challenge themselves. For active guests (as young as six years old), stretch your limit as you try reaching the top of this 40-foot tall wall while feeling the ocean breeze graze your body and pausing for a while to enjoy the view. Wall difficulty varies from beginners to speed climbers.

Note:

This is a complimentary activity.

You just need to check the operation hour on the daily cruise planner as schedule may vary. No need for prior reservation, but come as early as you can to register/sign up because the line will close 15-30 minutes before cut off time.

Participants must wear socks.

Guests from all age group will never run out of fun things to do here. Just imagine an onboard full-size basketball court that can be transformed into bumper cars space, roller skating area, and trapeze school? As kids nowadays express it, I was “shookt!” And that’s not all, Seaplex also has Xbox gaming area, table tennis area, air hockey table, table soccer, and the first-ever onboard hotdog food truck!

Just beside Seaplex is Challenger’s Arcade where you can race, kill zombies, try your luck getting something from the claw machine, and more! To play, you just need to tap your SeaPass card for a minimal fee. It’s open 24 hours!

Note:

Seaplex activities are complimentary. You just need to register/sign up for the activity of your choice.

For bumper cars, guests must be above five years old. Parents or guardians must accompany kids 5-8 years old. Kids must be eight years old to ride alone.

For roller skating, guests six years old and below must be accompanied by parents or guardians. All participants must wear socks.

Overall, parent/guardian supervision is required for kids 13 yers old and below.

Ovation of the Seas has a total of eight pools. It has two indoor pools and two outdoor pools, including H2O Zone perfect for kids. Aside from the normal pool, it also boasts four whirlpools. You can also read a book while lounging at the Solarium, which is strategically located at the front of the ship, offering a great view of the sea.

The pool deck is also the venue for outdoor movies! I got the time to watch a movie with the other guests one night. It was so cool!

Note:

Get your towel from designated towel station by presenting your SeaPass card.

Don’t forget to shower before you get into the pool. There are shower areas near the pools and whirlpools.

Infants who are not toilet trained or are wearing diapers are not permitted in the pool for public health reason.

It’s hard to watch your diet if you are on a cruise. The struggle is real! But if you want to catch up on your fitness routine, you may do so at Vitality Sea Fitness Center located on Deck 16. For those who are in the mood for some extra pampering, you may avail the services offered at Vitality Spa on Deck 15.

Note:

Vitality Fitness Center access is complimentary.

For Vitality Spa services, fees vary depending on the service you choose.

One of the best places on board for great views is the revolutionary North Star, a viewing pod which can go at an altitude of up to 300 feet above sea level. The ride will give you a 360-degree view of both your current location and the ship. Also, if you booked a room with a balcony or an ocean view, you can enjoy breathtaking views inside the comfort of your own stateroom.

Other viewing spots aboard the ship are the outside pool deck, Deck 15, and interior areas where there are glass windows like SeaPlex, gym, restaurants, Two70, Solarium, and more.

Note:

Fee: Depends on the season. In some seasons, it’s FREE (complimentary). There’s no need to reserve. Just fall in line and wait for your turn. In other seasons, an extra 40 USD will be charged to your card.

Kids must be at least four years old for them to ride the North Star.

The North Sat may not be suitable for guests with health conditions such as vertigo and claustrophobia.

During our cruise, there were a lot of great deals and promos for items like watches, wallets, perfumes, bags, and jewelry from different brands, including luxury brands. A shop or two did clearance sale. Ovation of the Seas has four retail stores: Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Cartier, and Omega.

Scheduled Activities and Performances

There are lots of new things to do everyday, even when you’re just going to spend the whole day at sea. Check Cruise Compass where you can find daily deals, review shore excursions highlights to help you pick the tour that suits your interest, learn more about the entertainment and activities for the day, and have your own directory of the onboard amenities and facilities, and find other special offers.

The Daily Planner displays the dining guide for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This also includes snacks, bars, and specialty restaurant schedules. You will also find the complete list of all-day activities, covering the morning, afternoon, and evening schedule of events. I was able to see the Pixels show.

Other activities and shows are Live Love Legs, pool parties, scrapbooking, nightlife, guest lectures, salsa dancing and other dance classes, language lessons, Adventure Ocean (for kids), folding artistry, theme nights, live bands, outdoor movie nights, game shows and other sports competitions, and Royal Caribbean’s original productions.

Shore Excursions

During ports of call, why not join in one of the tours offered by partner local travel agencies. Just visit the Shore Excursion Kiosks on Deck 5 to inquire about these tours prior to the day of docking. Our group was able to join three shore excursions during our Vietnam leg — Hoi An Tour, Nha Trang Tour, and Ho Chi Minh City Tour.

Keep yourself updated with Cruise Compass where you can find great deals for the day, other special offers, and important announcements. For performances and events schedule, you may check the Daily Planner. You can also use it to check the time for available fun activities or free lessons. You can get both the Cruise Compass and Daily Planner at the Guest Service Area on Deck 4.

Keep your SeaPass card with you at all times. It’s your ticket to everything while on the cruise. It also serves as your charge/credit card aboard the ship.

Wash your hands at all times, especially if you are entering and exiting restaurants or food places. This is to prevent avoid sickness and disease caused by the speeding of bacteria.

Each deck has a directory to help you navigate around the cruise ship.

An ATM is located on Deck 4, near Guest Services. Service charge per transaction applies.

You can get big discounts when you plan and book your next cruise on board. Just set an appointment and head to the NextCruise Office on Deck 5. Operation hours is 9 AM – 9 PM.

For internet connection, there’s onboard WiFi connection provided by VOOM. You can go to the Internet Help Desk on Deck 4 if you have any inquiries regarding your connection or how to get one. It’s open from 4 PM to 8 PM.

What’s next for Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas

Ovation of the Seas will have its pioneer cruise in Alaska, named the Last Frontier, starting May 2019 through September 2019.

This post is brought to you by Royal Caribbean International.

Royal Caribbean International is an award-winning global cruise brand. Its many achievements include the “Best Cruise Line Overall” for 15 consecutive years (TTG Travel Awards) and the “Best Cruise Line” since 2015 (Travel Weekly Asia’s Reader’s Choice Awards. It boasts 25 of the world’s most innovative cruise ships to famous destinations such as Bermuda and the Caribbean, Europe, Canada and New England, Alaska, South America, Asia, and Australia and New Zealand.

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Source: https://bloghyped.com/royal-caribbean-ovation-of-the-seas-top-things-to-do/

[charllieeldridge]

2 Days in Paris: The Perfect Weekend Itinerary

Paris. The name alone conjures up images of decadent food, sumptuous wine, Renaissance architecture, and of course, the iconic Eiffel Tower. Many people dream of visiting this famous city, and for good reason! Spend 2 days in Paris and see for yourself what this magical place has to offer. 

With a weekend in Paris, you’ll be able to enjoy the history, art, food, wine, markets, and shopping — there’s a little something for everyone in the French capital.

We spent 5 days in Paris during our travels around Europe, but not everyone has that amount of time to spend in the city. Even if you have just 2 days, plan a weekend in Paris — you won’t regret it! With so many cheap (direct) flights from North America and Europe, getting to Paris is simple. 

The beautiful River Seine runs through Paris

Here’s my perfect itinerary for 2 days in Paris to help you plan your trip.

Day 1 in Paris

Waking up in Paris is such an exciting feeling! You’ll want to start your day off right with a tasty breakfast and coffee. Unless you’re a real breakfast person, I suggest doing as the Parisians do and keeping your first meal simple — pastry and a coffee. Then, get on with your day.

Morning

I don’t know about you, but having an authentic, Parisian croissant or a pain au chocolat was high on my list when planning our trip to Paris. Start your day with a buttery, baked good at one of the many Patisseries. I recommend Notre Patisserie in the 7th Arrondissement which has delicate baked goods on offer. 

All the yummy pastries at Notre Patisserie

The women working in this cute little shop are kind and welcoming. A croissant with and flakey pain au chocolate will set you back about €2.50.

For coffee, if you find yourself in the 7th, I recommend the Bleu Olive cafe (the staff here speak English and the coffee is good), or Terres de Cafe — the owners pioneered specialty coffees in the country. If you’re in Le Marais area (the 4th), check out The Caféothèque of Paris and if you’re in Montmartre (the 18th), don’t miss The Hardware Société.

Insider tip: coffee is quite pricey in Paris (think €4 – €6 for a small latte), so you may want to see if your hotel or Airbnb accommodation has coffee on offer or a coffee maker in the room. 

After you’ve had some breakfast, it’s time to go on a free walking tour of Paris to get yourself orientated with the city and to learn some of the basic history. Free walking tours are the best thing to do when you first visit a city, and Paris is no exception. 

There are a few companies that you can go with, but we chose SANDEMANs and enjoyed the experience. There are a few time slots throughout the day, but try to join the 10:30am one so you can maximize your 2 days in Paris.

The tour ends outside of the Louvre and the Arc de Triumph, which, since you’re trying to see a big city in a short period of time, means this would be a good time to visit the Louvre Museum.

The impressive Louvre Museum

But first, lunch.

Afternoon

By this point in the day, your pastry will have worn off and you’re probably ready for a meal. 

A great lunch spot that I recommend is Bistrot Victoires, located in the 1st Arrondissement just an 8-minute walk from the Louvre. This buzzing spot offers delicious, affordable meals. And, there is an English menu available.

Order the tender duck confit with garlic fried potatoes and salad (€12.50), or the fall-off-the-bone roast chicken with homemade mashed potatoes and gravy (€10.90). You can thank me later!

Wash it all down with a glass of wine, or a craft beer and you’re all set to keep exploring.

Before you enter the Louvre, walk 7 minutes from the restaurant to the Église Saint-Eustache — an impressive gothic church, which is free to enter.

The incredible Église Saint-Eustache

From the church, it’s a 10-minute walk to the Louvre Museum, which is the largest art museum in the world — housing around 38,000 objects.

Now, if you’re an art lover or a historian, you’ll want to spend some time here admiring all of the pieces. You may even want to join a guided tour to fully understand all that the Louvre has to offer (and to not get lost in the 72,734 square meter / 782,910 square foot building!). 

Since we’re not big on museums, we only spent 1.5 hours in the Louvre ticking off the highlights — the Crown Regent, the Mona Lisa (from a distance because the line up was massive), Venus de Milo, Victoire de Samothrace (Winged Victory), and many more paintings and sculptures. 

If you don’t book a guided tour, you’ll need to purchase your entrance ticket beforehand and I recommend getting a skip-the-line ticket, as the wait times can be huge. We purchased this ticket and were able to enter right away. Click here for details.

The amazing ceiling in the Louvre – we only spent about 1.5 hours, but you could spend a whole day in here…

Late Afternoon

From the museum, make your way to the Eifell tower, the iconic symbol of Paris!

While we personally didn’t climb up the tower, many people want to get that amazing view of the city and enjoy the experience of being in the Eifell Tower. You’ll need a special ticket for that, click here for a skip-the-line pass with access to the second level. 

After checking out the Eiffel Tower, it’s time to hop on a boat and take a 1-hour cruise down the River Seine (which departs from near the Eiffel Tower). Pass by famous monuments, such as Les Invalides, Musée d’Orsay, the Notre Dame, Louvre Museum, and Grand Palais — while learning about these sites from your audioguide. 

The one hour boat ride is a great way to see the city from a different vantage point. Not to mention, it’s very affordable. Click here for details and to book your boat ticket online.

The iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris!

Evening

Finally, to round off your first day in Paris, enjoy dinner at Constant Cafe.

This restaurant is located in the 7th Arrondissement and is run by Michelin Star chef Christian Constant — who owns 6 restaurants in Paris. Plus, he was actually a judge for 4 years on the French version of Top Chef.

To be honest, I didn’t know any of those things about the restaurant before we decided to visit. I just read one blog that suggested going to Constant Cafe, and I’m glad I found that article. 

The small Bistrot style restaurant offers comforting, hearty, French dishes at affordable prices. It’s a casual place, so you don’t have to worry about dressing up in your finest clothing to enjoy fantastic food. 

With homemade dishes such as French beef filet with mignonette pepper, scallops roasted with salted butter, and free-range chicken roasted with herby butter, and potatoes with bacon and baby onions…the only problem is deciding what to order! 

This beef stew at Constant Cafe was so tasty!

I personally recommend the beef stew, escargot, cream of pumpkin and chestnut soup and the profiteroles with chocolate sauce. Make a reservation as this place fills up fast. 

Day 2 in Paris

Get up early and enjoy your last full day in the city.

Morning

If you’re enjoying a weekend in Paris, you’ll definitely want to visit the Bastille Market on Sunday Morning. If you’re spending 2 days in Paris during the week, this market is also open on Thursday.

The Bastille Market opens at 7:00am, but since you were probably out a bit late last night, you don’t have to arrive when it opens. Plan to be at the market around 9:00am, which is when many locals arrive as well. 

This is a proper market with residents stocking up on their food for the week. 

The outdoor Bastille Market is one of the best we’ve ever been to. Located on Boulevard Richard-Lenoir with the Place de la Bastille’s Colonne de Juillet (monument commemorating the Revolution) as the backdrop, you’ll find over 100 stalls selling everything from artisanal cheese and meats to fresh fruits and vegetables.

The bread stand…one of our favourites!

Plus, there’s an area of the market dedicated to housewares and clothing. 

After browsing and shopping (and sampling!), it’s time to move on.

Make your way by foot to Le Marais neighbourhood (in the 4th Arrondissement), passing through the stunning Place des Vosges, and the National Archives Museum and Garden.

Continue wandering through the narrow, crooked alleyways, while passing by boutiques, vintage shops, museums, art galleries and more. Prior to Napolean, all of Paris looked like Le Marais, but these days, this quarter is all that’s left of the medieval streets and pre-revolutionary buildings. 

Stumbling upon this National Archive Museum was a nice surprise

Spend some time here enjoying the twists and turns and unique shops before grabbing a bite to eat. Keep lunch simple today and grab a falafel to go at one of the many popular shops on Falafel Street in Le Marais — I recommend Chez Hanna for its falafel. Or, opt for a tasty crepe at the highly-rated La Droguerie.  

Afternoon

In the late afternoon, it’s time to explore another beautiful neighbourhood in Paris — Montmarte in the 18th Arrondissement

Walk to the Etienne Marcel station in Le Marais and take Metro 4 to Montmarte. Perched on a hill, this is the artist district of the city and is a place where you’ll see artists painting in the plazas, musicians on the street corner, and street art on the walls. In fact, famous artists such as Picasso, Modigliani, Monet and Van Gogh all lived around here. 

Montmarte is an area of Paris you don’t want to miss on your weekend visit

Since the neighbourhood is on a hill, there are quite a few steps to reach the Sacré-Coeur — the 1914 basilica that towers over Montmarte. If steps aren’t your thing, you can always hop on the funicular and ride up!

After wandering around the quiet lanes and visiting the Sacré-Coeur, make your way to Le Mur des Je t’aime (Love Wall), which is a wall painted with “I Love You” in numerous languages. Snap a photo and carry on.

If you’re looking for a little “pick me up” at this point, pop into The Hardware Société for a coffee. 

The Sacre Coure dominates Montmarte

Evening

To round off the weekend in Paris, enjoy a fabulous homecooked meal by an awarded French chef! We found this experience on Airbnb and can’t recommend it enough. 

Chef Nick greeted us at his atelier (private workshop/studio) and immediately, we felt like we were having dinner with a friend.

Nick is welcoming, funny and full of interesting stories about Paris and France as a whole. I won’t give away the menu or share any photos as he likes to keep it a surprise, but it’s a stunning 3-course meal with wine. I’m a bit of a picky eater and I loved everything on the menu — so I’m sure you will too!

This won’t be a private dinner (unless you book it that way), and we had one other traveller who joined us. It’s a great way to meet new people from around the world, while dining on tasty food in a fantastic setting. Click here to learn more. 

Other Things To Do With 2 Days in Paris

The weekend in Paris itinerary I set out above is pretty jam-packed, but if you’re the type of person who can get up early and go to bed late, you might have time for more. Or, maybe you’re not interested in the suggestions above. Here are a few other fun things to do with 2 days in Paris. 

The Catacombs

Descend 30 meters below ground into the catacombs of Paris. These are the old limestone quarries, which were turned into mass graves when the cemeteries became full. There are 200 miles (320 kilometers) of tunnels under Paris, housing the bones of between 6 and 7 million people! 

The catacombs are an eerie, but interesting experience to have in Paris

If you get claustrophobic or are creeped out by skeletons, this tour won’t be for you. We both really enjoyed the eerie experience and recommend getting the audioguide, otherwise, you’ll have no idea what you’re looking at. Click here for a skip-the-line ticket with an audioguide. You can find the Catacombs here on the map.

Walk Along The River Seine

If you don’t want to take the river cruise, it’s still nice to walk along the river. This is a great way to get away from the traffic of the busy streets and enjoy a quiet stroll. 

Pantheon

Yes, there’s a Pantheon in Paris, not just Rome! Located in the 5th Arrondissement (Latin Quarter), this stunning mausoleum houses the remains of many important French citizens. While the exterior is stunning, inside you’ll find pillars, decorated domes, and artwork. Find it on the map, here. 

Luxembourg Gardens

These gardens are huge! Dating from the 17th century, these formal gardens (which spans 25 hectares) are a great place to relax and people watch or go for a walk. Here you’ll find ponds, trees, orchards, greenhouses, 106 statues, and much more. If you’re feeling active, you can also play tennis here. Find the gardens on the map, here. 

The pretty Luxembourg Gardens are a great spot to chill out for a while

Getting to Paris from The Airport

Before you can enjoy your Paris travels, you first need to get into the city from the airport. You should know that there are 3 airports in Paris, and I’ll list how to get from the airport to Paris for each one.

Charles de Gaulle Airport (the main one)

If you’re flying in from North America, Australia, South America or Asia, you’ll most likely land here. This is the major international airport in Paris, it’s also one of the largest in Europe.

To get into the center of Paris, you can take the Metro (RER), a taxi, the bus, Uber, or a private driver.

Metro (RER): The metro (RER B) operates from Charles de Gaulle to Gare du Nord (in the 10th Aronndessemont). It’s about a 35-minute journey. That the metro runs from 04:50 to 23:50, so plan your trip accordingly. Click here for a detailed post on getting from the Charles de Gaulle Airport to Paris.

Taxi: If you’re arriving late, or if you don’t want to deal with figuring out how to take the metro (while being jet-lagged!), then just hop in a taxi. Follow the signs from arrivals towards the taxi stand. There’s a flat fee depending on which part of the city you are in. Rates are between €50 – €65 euros, with the journey taking about 45 minutes to the Eiffel Tower (7th Arrondissement).

Bus: The Roissy Shuttle bus takes about an hour to get into the city and runs from 6:00 am to 8:45 pm, every 15 minutes, and 8:45 pm to 00:30 am every 20 minutes. The bus picks up from Terminal 1, Terminal 3, Terminal 2AC,  Terminal 2D and Terminal 2EF, and drops off at Opera in Paris. 

Orly Airport

This is the main domestic airport in France, with Air France and Transavia France operating out of here. 

From this airport, your best bet is taking the Orly bus which links the airport to Denfert-Rochereau in the 14th Arrondissement. The bus runs from 6:00am to 12:30am, with departures every 15-20 minutes. The ticket costs €8.70 one way.

Another bus option is Bus Line 1, which runs from Orly Airport to Gare Montparnasse (with stops at the Eiffel Tower, Trocadéro, and Etoile/Champs Elysées). This journey takes between 30 and 40 minutes. It’s €12 euros one way, or €20 for the return journey.

Paris Beauvais Airport

If you’re taking a budget airline such as Ryan Air or Wizz Air, this is where you’ll arrive. While the cost of the flight might seem cheap, you have to take into consideration that this airport is farther away from the center, with longer journey times, and that you’ll still need to get from the arrival point in Paris, to your hotel. 

From the Beauvais airport, hope on the Beauvais shuttle bus which departs from the airport and arrives at Porte Maillot. The journey is 1 hour and 15 minutes (traffic permitting), and tickets can be purchased in advance or when you arrive. From Porte Maillot, you’ll need to take a taxi, or the metro to reach the center.

The cost is €17 euros each way. Click here for details.

Street art in Montmarte

Enjoy Your Weekend in Paris!

The City Of Lights truly is a dream destination, and if you get the chance to visit, jump at it. While two days isn’t a lot of time, it’s enough to see the main highlights of Paris…and eat some delicious cuisine while you’re at it!

My biggest tip would be to walk as much as you can so you see all of the “in-between” bits. It’s about the journey as much as it is the destination. Paris might not be the cheapest destination in Europe, but it’s worth every euro. Bon voyage! 

*The lead image in this article is courtesy of Shutterstock, a top website for finding royalty-free images and videos. 

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