Meeting The Beast

I use to be marked by the facts I hear or the images I see, especially if they are linked to food and traveling. One of these situations has as subject a burger restaurant; namely Grisen in Copenhagen.

I first saw pictures and read short posts about it on social media channels as Facebook and Instagram. However, the posts I remarked about Grisen were not just some boring ones, but something which were made to attract views and mark memories.

Baring in mind this place, I had chased the chance to visit it, and inevitably I have finally got to eat there.

It is not the common restaurant you may think about, but it is still pretty close to the Danish style: diversity in unity, with different chairs, sofas, lamps etc in a not very large but not small either place. Moreover, there are plenty of pictures all around the walls, pictures representing the staff and the food. The menu is already sat on almost each table, having the style of the menus you may find in kebab or pizza places in Denmark. Moreover, the menu is not very large, but it offers enough for all tastes of burger lovers. On the menu there is also a corner for drinks, not very rich in offering either.

The action goes like this: enter the restaurant without having a booking, take a place at any table you find available, grab a menu, decide upon what is that you want and go the the counter to order. It sounds like you have been there isn’t is? it does to me at least! To me it sounds like a fast food restaurant at a better quality, more money and better looking.

I got the beef burger with fries and a lager. It sounds common, but it was not, due to the fact my beef burger was not like any beef burger but I chose to have it with double, and so I turned it in what is called on Grisen’s menu as “The Beast”!!!…and it is true, it looked like the beast… the beast of all the burgers!

However, it looked amazing but when it comes to the taste, I would say you can get a better one at the Greasy Spoon Restaurant in Copenhagen.

All in all, I had a great time at Grisen, a place which I would say offers a new concept; something in-between fast-food and family restaurant! A place just perfect for a cheap burger at a good quality, grabbed just on your way to a party or a meeting with friends.

My bill was thin: 240 Dkk for two burgers, one portion of fries, a beer and a cola.

PS. Bare in mind that the payment is done only in cash or Mobile Pay.

Shrimps à la Alabama

Today has been a long day out: walking, walking and again walking. The day couldn’t go on without refueling our bodies (mine and my wife’s one).

We didn’t choose any random place, but we considered some of the places we have had in plan to visit anyway. However, we decided to visit a place based on the pictures we saw on Instagram; it is Alabama Social.

As we found out ourselves, the restaurant is located in central Copenhagen, just over the most crowded bikes bridge in the world, in the direction Nørrebro.

There is a terrace, tables, chairs, people and good food. I can say this based on my visit.

I am not a big fun of lunch menus; I consider them very scarce in offerings; something like a second league in football comparing it with the first one. This experience didn’t contradict my opinion.

The lunch menu at Alabama Social has more or less six dishes and three desserts. Yet, two of the dishes captured our attention, and we went for them: chicken waffle and shrimp sandwich.

We received them quick, almost as quick as you continue reading from a paragraph to another in this post.

I had the sandwich; it looked good and big enough. Without tasting it I squizzed the lemon over it. Not a inspired moved, because the sandwich has already pickles in, and thus I turned it in a double sour sandwich. Yet, in some parts there were enough shrimps to overcome the sourness of my lemon.

While eating our main dish, I saw the waiter taking two jars with some very good looking  stuff in, to a table next to us. In his way back I asked what were those. I found out there were cheese cakes; and I ordered a jar instantly.

We had wine with our main dishes, but we ordered a bottle of water for the dessert, expecting get some very sweet cheese cakes.

The jars looked very appealing with the dessert in, arranged in layers: biscuits on top, blackberries in the middle and the cheesy-cream at the bottom. It was sweet but not as sweet as we expected, so the water was not really need it. However, it looked enough, and it proved to me much, since I barely eat it, and my wife had only half of it.

All in all: 2 mains x 2 desserts = 550 DKK…a fair price for a decent lunch.

Romanian food experiences disappointed me this time

In this post I am going to present shortly my culinary experiences I have had during my holiday in Romania. I will be talking solely about the experiences I had while eating out, not about the ones eaten home at my family.

My holiday lasted about one and a half weeks, time when I was road-tripping Romania, crossing 14 counties, traveling from Dambovita up to Maramures, and then down again to Dambovita (my home county) from which I went one more time up the country, this time in the eastern part of Romania, in Bacau County.

I traveled all these areas because there were many points of interest (tourism wise) for me, points I have never traveled so far, eg. to the Merry Cemetery, Timisoara, Corvinilor Castle etc. However, apart for this points of interest, food was another goal of my trip. I use to travel for food, and I am very interested in tasting local foods, or just eating out and trying the talent of different chefs or the level of service different places have to offer.

I am quite used with the local food in Romania, but I am still excited about eating out -in Romania- as often as I can, looking for exciting experiences both through the places and service, but also through the dishes.

This time I was pretty disappointed with most of the experiences I have had in Romania; and here starts my story:

Me together with my companions first ate out in Baile Herculane, a touristic destination in the western part of Romania (very popular not long time ago). There we had dinner at a place named Restaurant Pizzerie Cristal; a random place we discovered in the middle of the town. From the street the place looked clean and appealing, with plenty of guests inside, and a menu of interest for me (with grilled trout and the traditional papanasi).

The disappointment started here from the very first moment, with waiters being inattentive at us, letting us stand in the middle of the restaurant without welcoming us or having any kind of interaction with us. After some moments when we waited for their attention, we decided to go to them and ask them. Just then we got a table. That was also the moment when we began to discover more about the places. There was water on the floor but nobody cleaned it, or place a sign of slippery floor. The waiters seemed to be all very uninterested in their guests. Moreover, some of them just used our chairs to support themselves while discussing about their guests or arguing that some guests left the place without paying. Then some of them began a fight with another guest who apparently didn’t received its order for a long time. At a moment I received the food I ordered; grilled trout with boiled potatoes. If the fish was good, the potatoes were cold and not very well boiled. The first positive aspect from waiters’ side came only when my wife received hers papanasi, and the waiter decided to give us two spoons instead of one, since there was only one person who ordered it. At the end of the dinner, on one side, we paid a cheap price for a dinner, but on the other side the food and the service matched the price we paid; both being very low.

The next time we ate out properly was in Timisoara. This time we chose the place that was recommended to us from our hotel’s receptionist. The restaurant is named Casa Bunicii. It is located in downtown Timisoara, and it has a very lovely garden; a perfect place for a dinner in a nice summer evening. Although there were many guests, we managed to get a table without having a reservation. The waiters seemed to be guests-orientated, apart from one of them who seemed very uninterested in working there, waiter from who we had never received back any answer to our requests, so we had always to ask one more time another waiter. Yet, the food was delicious and comes in the right portions.

In Cluj -the next major city we stopped in- we asked the receptionist of our hotel for some recommendations of good restaurants, but we were not able to receive any hint; we were sent however to the historic center of the city, being told that there are plenty of restaurants. It is truth that there are many restaurants and eateries, and after a long walk around them we decided to eat at Bistro Vienna, a bistro with terrace and a menu close to the Austrian menus. However, from the first interaction with one of the waiters we faced the same problems: poor service and extremely long waiting time. The waiter was quite irritated by our questions related to the menu or availability, closing the discussion with a invitation to stay only if we want to wait about 45 minutes until we receive the order. We stayed! We chose a table for ourselves, order and then wait. The drinks came first, and the food came after a long waiting time. I got a portion of Bistro ribs; the food looked ok, but it tasted not very good. The ribs were kind of plain; the cabbage was fade, while the boiled corn was almost sour. Then, the waiter forgot about the portion of papanasi my girlfriend asked for, so I had to go and order it again. When it finally came the waiter realized he had never cleaned our table after we finished the main dish. In the end we paid about 40 euro, and left the place disappointed, wondering whether we’ll find a decent place with a good service or all the places have the same issues in Romania.

Next stop was at Spanata, in Maramures, a place very popular for the Merry Cemetery. After we visited this tourist attraction we head for lunch at Complex Pastravul, a place recommended to us by a local. Complex Pastravul is a guest house somewhere close to the nature. It looks very clean and well maintained with a terrace behind the building and two deer in a small garden in front of it.

The menu is quite exciting with many dishes representing Maramures’s region. I decided to go for a goulash soup, a portion of warm polenta with sheep cheese and scarps, and a lemonade. The excitement was very high, but it was cut off be the news that the waiting time for the food was of about 45 minutes; and it proved to be no more and no less than 45 minutes. The waitresses were running all the directions, but they seemed not to be enough. I saw guests disappointed and leaving, but me, together with all I traveled with, decided…again…to stay. In the end it was all worth it, because the food tasted very good. However, the disappointment remains for the lack of attention businesses pay to services.

One of the best experiences I had, was the coming morning, when I had breakfast in the restaurant of Maestro Hotel in Vatra Dornei. There I had for breakfast food most of you’ll like to have for lunch or dinner: fried chicken livers, and fried cheese. Here the place was clean, the menu was rich, the prices not bigger than other places I was eating before, but the service was very good -at least in comparison with the other places: the waiter was welcoming, polite and customer-minded. The food came in good time, but I have to mention there were not many guests either. However, this was the first place I left tips at a restaurant in Romania, after driving about 1000km and eating in many different restaurants; the tips was worth it.

The last part of my holiday in Romania I spent it in Bacau, my wife’s city. There I use to ate at my wife’s mom -who cooks very well- but it happened to eat out three times. First time I ate at Restaurant Manhattan. There I had a portion of lasagna and the Romanian traditional dessert profiterol. Beside I had a glass of fresh orange juice. The atmosphere was very decent, and the service as well. There was a waitress who behaved nicely, and the food came in good time, especially if compared with the other experiences I had in Romania before. The food was good, though the orange fresh juice tasted a bit “not fresh” and the profiterol was a bit different than what I knew it should be like; moreover, it was very big, more than enough for a hungry man.

The second place I ate in Bacau was Pizzeria Luca. Luca restaurants have spread around Bacau and now they can be found all around the city offering different goods: from pretzels to sandwiches and pizza. I discovered this place by driving by it and it caught my attention with the crowds present on its terrace, and through its appearance: made of wood and clean. The first impression on spot was still not satisfying: we entered the restaurant, passed by some waiters without being greeted or asked anything, reached a reception where the waiter in charge there didn’t even looked at us for about 2-3 minutes although we were just face-to-face. In the end, we were sent to a table, with a cold voice. The waitress who served us was quite professional though, and together with the quality of the pizza we had, we declared the dinner to be ok.

The last dinner out we had in Bacau was at restaurant Piazzetta, located on the way to the town Roman. The place serves as a restaurant and bed and breakfast. From the street it looks just like a big house, but after making few steps the footpath takes you to the entrance in the restaurant, terrace and parking lots. Here I first made a reservation for the dinner, and we arrived there at 19:30. The staff at a first impression was professional. Once we got at our table we had to wait about 40 minutes for the waitress to get our order; at that moment she said that it will take maximum 30 minutes to receive our dishes. In the end it was 2 hours of waiting for the food, and I am not exaggerating. It is the worst experience I have had. It is a pity for the food and the place which both deserve more.

My holiday in Romania ended with a coffee in Otopeni Airport, at a lounge which name I don’t recall. However, although the prices are high -as it usually happen on airports- the service satisfied me very much. The waiter was welcoming, helpful and prompt.

All in all, after all these experiences I had in Romania, I can say I was very disappointed and I believe all the businesses activating in the service and hospitality sector in Romania have to improve seriously if they want to attract more tourists to them. I was surprised unpleasantly by the lack of training of the staff in the restaurants I visited, the lack of personnel and the lack of quality and creativity when it comes to food, situation I met in most of the places I ate.

Next time I will travel to Romania I plan to try some of the restaurants in Bucharest, and I have already higher expectations; based on the experiences I had in Bucharest before leaving Romania to live abroad, but also on the fact that being a capital city there is a bigger diversity and more people with money willing to spend them on quality stuff, including here food as well; so where there is demand for a product or a service, I expect that there are also companies willing to bring that on market.

As soon as I’ll get to visit any of the restaurants in Bucharest I’ll write about it here!

Sol over Gudhjem

Almost all the materials presenting Bornholm as a tourist destination, as well as most of the persons who have been there will tell you that you should try Sol over Gudhjem once you arrive on the island.

This happened to me as well, and honestly speaking it was a fact that I liked, since I am always interesting and wiling to try new dishes at the destinations I visit.

My girlfriend and I traveled Bornholm for about three days, but from the first moment I stepped on the ground of the island I became impatient to get to eat Sol over Gudhjem.

However, on the island, almost in all the urban/rural areas there are big buildings special designed for smocking herring, in particular, and other spices of fish, in general. Yet, the most famous one is the one in Gudhjem; so, together with my girlfriend we decided we wanted to try this dish from the most popular smocking house.

Sol over Gudhjem can be translated in English as “Sun over Gudhjem”; from my knowledge of the Danish language I would even go further and translate the name of the place -Gudhjem- in the house of the God (“gud”=god; “hjem”=house).

The smokehouse is situated in the harbor-central area of Gudhjem, and it is easy to find, since it is in the touristic area of a very tiny village.

Once we discover it, we weren’t surprise to see it was very crowded, because it is a very popular place, as I mentioned before. The place is huge, but is not a restaurant, but more of a fast-food where you wait in line to order, pay and receive a device that bips when the food is ready, moment when the food can be picked up and enjoyed. We followed all the steps of this ordering chain, with the mention that being very crowded the waiting time was consistent as well.

The dish itself is composed of smoked herring, with green salad, chives, onion, radishes and raw yolk, all of them on a slice of rye bread. I am not a big fan of the raw yolk, but once mixed with the fresh salad and the herring, it doesn’t really taste as it is mixed there. It might sound the dish is not consistent, but I would say it is just enough to let you enjoy the area after the meal ;-)!

Yet the Sol over Gudhjem dish can be found and eaten not only in the smokehouse in Gudhjem, but all over the places in Bornholm, even in restaurants. However, I would recommend you eat at least once at a smokehouse around the island.

Bon appetit!

Restaurant Kadeau (Bornholm) seen through my eyes!

Even before I booked the tickets to Bornholm I had the wish to eat at restaurant Kadeau, the only Michelin-stared restaurant on the island. Then, once I booked the plane tickets, the first thing I did was booking a table at Kadeau; with about one month prior the visit there were some available spots in the restaurant, but only after 20:30, yet we booked one for the evening of our arrival on Bornholm.

Me and my girlfriend arrived on the island on July 26, a sunny day for the sunniest region of Denmark. Our plan from home was to rent a bike and ride it to the restaurant and back, thinking that it would be an enjoyable way to visit the restaurant and explore its surroundings. Another option was to travel there by public transportation; however, once we got on the island we realized that public transportation is very poor on Bornholm; first it took us more than an hour to get to our hotel located in Rønne, only few kilometers away from the airport. Then, once arrived at the hotel we learned from the receptionist that the public transport on the island -in the direction to the restaurant Kadeau at least- runs until about 18:00, so there were no real chances to get to the restaurant by public transport. Then, the bike-shops were also closed at that time; they close at 18:00. Last option was a taxi, but we learned that from Rønne to Kadeau the charge is 450 Dkk for one way, too expensive in our opinion. In this circumstances we decided to call to the restaurant and try to reschedule our booking, or if not possible to cancel it because there were no way we could get there in time. Although on the website there were no available tables for the next day, when we called we were able to receive a table; however all this chain of facts didn’t affect, but rather intensified the greatness of our night at Kadeau.

The second day we rented a car so it was easier for us to move around. Only driving the car to the restaurant we realized what a uninspired idea could be to ride on a bike there and back. This is because there are about 24 km/one way till the restaurant, with short distance through a sort of a forest where there is not any road for bikes or lights at night.

Now to talk about the experience at the restaurant; it was beyond the words. What enhanced my experience was the location of the restaurant. As I said it is located in the middle of nowhere, at some kilometers from the main road, on the rocky coast of Baltic Sea. The view is superb, the atmosphere is quit and relaxed. The deign of the restaurant is not fancy, but it has something that made me like it: the big windows around all around the dinning room; beside this the tables outside are also contributing to a pleasant evening, for those who choose to seat there.

When it comes to food, the menu is offered in two options: eight courses menu or five courses menu. Beside them there are three appetizers offered before the first dish of the menu, coffee and sweets for coffee. I opted for the eight courses menu, while my girlfriend chose the five courses. Generally the food is delicious, although I can not say there were any exceptional dishes. The food is enough, so that after the first four-five dishes I was full, so the remaining ones were an extra.

An amazing fact about the food was to see one of the kitchen members going outside the restaurants and picking some flowers from the “garden” to use them later for the dinner’s menu; that was a boosting moment to my experience. This note comes as an example of the fact that all the dishes are based on local products from Bornholm.

When it comes to drinks, because I drove I went for juices only. However, there are pairings for both juices and wines. I didn’t take the pairing because I knew I couldn’t drink so much, but I had three bottles of juice locally made (Bornholm Mosteri).

All in all, for one large menu, a small one, a wine pairing for the small menu, and three juices we paid 2680 Dkk. It was reasonable for that level I would say, or at least I was satisfied with it.

I would end this post by encouraging any of you reading this post -if you have the chance to visit Bornholm- not to hesitate to visit this restaurant; you would thank yourself for this choice. However bear in mind that Kadeau Bornholm is open only a few months a year, during the touristic season.

Ven island – the perfect destination for a day trip

Ven is a tiny island in the Øresund stright, belonging to Sweden. Being an island it can be visited only by ferry, and there are three possible departing points towards Ven: Landskrona (in Sweden, with scheduled departures all year round), Helsingør in Denmark, and Copenhagen (only on summer time).

Me and my girlfriend took the ferry from Copenhagen. The tickets we booked online with only a couple of hours before the departure; then all we needed to do is to get ready and show up at the ferry a bit before its departure time. There is no check in or requirements regarding any arrival time prior boarding.

The ferry is not huge, but it has a sort of a restaurant and place for bicycles, if one wants to take the bike with him/her. However, there is a 90 Dkk fee for the bikes, the same fee one pays for renting a bike on the island of Ven.

I have not mentioned that the little island of Ven is a perfect destination for tour on bike. Thus there are many tourists who take their bikes with them or rent them on the island. We decided to rent bikes on the spot, so after a ride of about one and a half hour with the ferry we arrived on Ven. There we walk for about five minutes uphill until we arrived at the shop where the popular yellow bikes are rented. There is a huge parking lot full of all kiind of bikes (tandem; with support for kids; classic etc.).

The weather was not great but the enthusiasm was high; it was the first time when I was about to start a trip on bike. So we took a map of Ven from the bike shop and we were gone. There are many tourist on bikes, and very few cars. There is harmony and relaxation because no matter the way one take there is no risk of getting lost. There are few houses, many cafes and beautiful nature. Our first stop was a little harbour, just under the old church of Sankt Ibb. There are many little shops with ice-cream snacks and possibility for picnic. After an ice-cream, we head to the church from where we took a beautiful picture and stunning sight. Then we continued riding around the island, discovering many cozy places and beautiful nature. However, due to the weather we didn’t stop for picnic, but we stopped for lunch a Pumpkin Delicatessen and Cafe. It was a very good experience: I had a great pizza with goat cheese and many glasses of organic apple juice, one of the best I have ever drunk. After the lunch the sky broke and and we head back to the harbour, not before we returned the bikes.

The ferry from Copenhagen lives at 09:15 and returns at 16:30, so it is important not to miss it. If missed, there are many camping opportunities on Ven.

There are many positive aspects about Ven, and it might be worth it to visit it for more than one day, but we didn’t have more time; yet, we want to go back there one day.

St. Jean Cap Ferrat & Eze village

Two days ago it was the outdoor adventure day. This is because we decided that instead of laying on one of Nice’s beaches we would rather discover more of Nice surroundings. Thus, we decided to visit St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat, and walk around that peninsula.

The place is not far away from the city center. However, we traveled there by bus a it took us about half an hour. There was bus 81 that we took from a station close to Acropolis, and we got off at it last station. The route offers a great scenic view which made us many times want to get off and walk around, but we knew that if we would have done that, we would never get to walk  around the peninsula. So we resisted the temptations and we got off at bus’s last stop. 

From the bus stop itself the view was breathtaking, with the view of the sea with its turquoise spots, many small and large yachts, and the sights of the fancy houses on the hills around this place. Our first stop though was the tourist information. With the tips we got from there we started our walking journey expected to take around three hours. We started with the little peninsula on the left of the main St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula. This little one has two beaches along its coast, and a chapel. However, after passing the first beach, instead of taking the path along the cost we took the road to the chapel, road that is not spectacular. At the chapel, there is not much to do or see -for my taste- only a chapel which is nice to see, but nothing else, and there is no way to continue the rad to the beach, but to walk back to the walking path. Coming back to the walking path, it is quite rocky so you feet would thank you if you have some comfortable, maybe even outdoor walking shoes on, we didn’t have and at the end of the day we had pain in our feet. The walk along the little peninsula was refreshing but nothing spectacular.

When we completed the walk around this little peninsula, we continued the big walk around the St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula. The walk happens in the same conditions as on the little peninsula: rocky path with unspectacular sights. However, after completing about half of this walk, the sights and the walk in general becomes more pleasant. There are still rocks but they become suddenly interesting, with many creeks were one can walk down to the water, great rocks on the sides of the walking path, and towards great views of Nice’surroundings.There were also a place where one could drink water or fill his/hers bottle for the rest of the walk. Moreover, at the end of the walk there is a little beach with a restaurant so one can get some rest and drink or eat something after such a nice outdoor experience.

After we completed the walk, because there was only 2PM we decided to visit the Eze Village. So, we made a short stop at the Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild, after which we hurried to catch the bus 83, not before getting something to eat. I know it sounds as a busy plan, but apart from the visit of Villa Ephrussi de Rothschild where we didn’t have time to enjoy everything in a low tempo, we had plenty of time to follow all our plan and to enjoy it in the same time. 

The ride with the bus 83 towards the Eze Village follow the curvy roads up to the mountain, offering some amazing scenic views over the valley and the bay. While in the way up it looks like there is nothing super spectacular, but once at the medieval village of Eze all these feelings are gone because around the little and fancy medieval village, there are plenty of restaurants, hotels and tourists, making the village look like a vivid tourist destination.

The medieval village is very close to the bus station, and it is the main major attraction of this place. Walking along its narrow streets with plenty of restaurants and shops it is a great experience and I would say something that everyone visiting Nice for a holiday shoud do. Moreover, there is also an exotic garden, for which there is a 6 euro fee required. The garden is pretty nice with many different plants and flowers, and with the possibility to enjoy a great view over the bay. Yet, at the time we visited it the weather was not as great as the view might be; there was rain and clouds which hindered the great views of over the bay, or the view of the village. We waited there for a while hoping the weather will turn better, but it didn’t so we decided to take the bus back to Nice. One thing to remember is that there are not so many buses running up to the village, and for example, the last one to go back to nice was at 19:57.

All in all, we had a full day with many kilometers walked, but with great memories and appreciations for the sights we saw. Without having time to enjoy any of the beaches, the walk around the St. Jean-Cap-Ferrat and the visit of Eze Village can be done in one day if anyone want to do that. If yes, don’t forget the comfortable shoes, camera and enthusiasm. 

Bon voyage!

Monaco? Yes, please!

I am in a short holiday in Nice, France. However, due to the fact that Monaco is only 13 km away from Nice, I couldn’t resist and book a trip to this famous place, and check it out on my own. So, early morning put the clothes on, walk about ten minutes to the Nice train station and I was ready to book the train towards Nice, together with my girlfriend.

Before my trip started I had the surprise effect, because for a couple of days now, there have been a sort of general strike across France; strike that struck the transportation network, which in my case meant less trains running between Nice and Monaco! However, after a 30 minutes long waiting time the train has finally arrive. However, I was only partially happy; this was because there were so many passengers waiting for the train that it was a real struggle to get all in the tinny train. And that was not all, after we all boarded the train, we were stuck like sardines in a can, so people could hardly get off the train in the stations down to Monaco.

The ride between the two cities takes 19 minutes; in our case it took about 30 minutes. However, we were still very excited about this trip, so we were looking forward to discover the city.

From the Monaco’s train station itself the passengers are welcomed with a great view over the bay. However, we were not satisfied with that view, and went for more in the city. The city is not huge, so it is easy to walk around it.

Whether it can be considered as being like or not, but the city is still marked these days by the signs of Monaco Grand Prix hosted here last weekend; so now there are still many constructions and signs of that event, which in some points hinder a super experience. At a point we decided that we want to take the Hop on Hop off bus just to see the main touristic points and that we could continued walking around. We saw many such buses but we were all the time at the wrong point. We got a buss only at Fontvieille.

The ticket for one person with such bus is 22 euro, but it is valid for the entire day. However, a tour takes no longer than one hour. At the end of the tour we were happy with the experience and, as planned, we continued our trip on the food. We thus walked around the beautiful surroundings of Fontvieille, were we also decided to have lunch at restaurant Constantine, a place by the bay.

The sun shinned, the atmosphere is so boheme, clean, colorful and luxurious that it made me not want to go further. Then, we moved slowly towards the Larvotto Beach, a distance of around two kilometers filled with beautiful sceneries at each step. The time went rapidly and we saw ourselves in the position where we had to head to the train station; a way that we made along the shopping centers and the Casino…sliding between luxurious cars like a skier down the slopes.

We didn’t want to go, but on the other side we were cool with the situation, satisfied with all the memories and the pictures we took there.

As a last thought of this day, Monaco is one of the places I would definitely love to visit again; a place that I would recommend to everyone, because it doesn’t disappoint.

Don’t skip in New Zealand: Southern Scenic Route!

I have just done with driving the whole Southern Scenic Route. For the ones who don’t know what this is; or where it is, I can shortly say that is the road beginning in Queenstown and ending in Dunedin; road with a length of about 610 km. Along the route, as the name says it too, there are many natural and cultural attractions. However, for more info, our friend “Google” can help. Moreover, there is also a webpage for this route, http://www.southernscenicroute.co.nz/  !

When I began driving this route I didn’t even know about it; it was only at Te Anau, when I first heard about it, and I decided to drive on it to its end.

The route is magnificent, because it takes you through the great nature and scenery of New Zealand: mountains, sea, hills, cities etc. This also means that driving is more entertaining and requires more attention.

In some segments of the route, the distances are not very big, but it takes time due to the roads: either very sharp curves, or gravel roads. For instance from Invercargill to Dunedin, it takes about four hours and a half, if one wants to stop by most of the many natural attractions on the way, of which most of them are at driving distances on gravel roads.

It is also important to pay attention to the gas level of the car, since in some parts of the road there are long distances between gas stations.

Today, like I said, I’ve driven between Te Anau and Dunedin, and I stop among others at Waipapa Point, Bluff, Purakaunui Waterfall and Curo Bay. The scenery is amazing in all these places. Moreover, I got to see fur seals at Waipapa Point, but there was a very hot day and the seals were laid on the sand, or better said. covered in sand. At Curo Bay the beach is breathtaking: large, golden and fine sand, turquoise waters…still, no seals or penguins as expected. The Purakaunui Waterfall was a bit disappointing for me; it is a small waterfall with nothing spectacular, although it is promoted as the most photographed waterfall in New Zealand! At Bluff, I was to visit the debated southernmost place in New Zealand. There is a sign to mark this fact, and many tourist coming to see it too.

The above paragraph mention a couple of attractions I visited while driving the Southern Scenic Route. These together with the rest of the attractions, good weather, a camera and enthusiasm leads to a great experience. I hope everyone will enjoy it as much as I did.

 

 

 

 

Christchurch – a boring city for tourist!

This is the post ever with no featured picture! It is not a mistake, but it is the effect of my stop in Christchurch.

I knew and I acknowledge the difficult times a region or city has to recover after earthquakes – in this case the big ones from 2012, but the image of the city now, make me doubt about its offerings for tourists even before the earthquakes.

We stay at a hostel located at about 10 minutes walk from the center of the city, so we decided to walk around the center and enjoy the sights. However, from the moment we had a chat with the receptionist, I kinda had the feeling that there is not much to do here as a tourist; the receptionist started -when talking about the city- with the mall, restaurants, and ended with the cathedral; Nothing more. So, once outside the hostel, we headed to the city center. Seeing that nothing interesting appear, we got disappointed but hoped for the best the closer we got to the central area!

However, we got into the center, but there was nothing appealing. Even the streets alone are unappealing and ugly; there were not even as nice as the city centers of the small towns we had driven through down here. So disappointed, we turn back to our hostel, not before having something to eat on Victoria St.

We had planned to spend a bit more time tomorrow in Christchurch, but I have the feeling I have seen enough, so we will have a coffee and then we will hit further south.

Hope the next stop will be as exciting as the rest of the places we have visited in New Zealand before sopping in Christchurch.