California, here we come!!!

I am so excited!

The hotels have been booked, time off has been given and on Friday we will depart on our 10 day road trip to Central California and Las Vegas!

We will be visiting the following places:

1. Lake Tahoe, CA
2. Monterrey, CA
3. Paso Robles, CA
4. Santa Barbara, CA
5. Santa Ynez, CA
6. Ventura, CA
7. Las Vegas, NV

So much to see, so much to do, so many places to visit, so many meals to eat and so many different wines to taste - all-in-all, one great trip that will result in hours of blogging fun! I will be quiet on the blogging front next week, but once I'm back I'm sure I'll be so inspired by all the experiences that it will be difficult to get me to do anything else.

All that's left to do is pack our bags, throw them in my little blue beetle, and hit the road!

Only 4 sleeps left...

Special Shout-out to my Lindt

I'm on a-block-a-day and I can't help it.

During the Master Chef challenge at the Beaver Creek Master Chef Classic, we were offered a slab of Lindt "A touch of Sea Salt" Chocolate. I looked at the pack, pulled up my nose (on the inside), did my best to not make a face and said "no thanks". Chocolate and Salt - it sounded pretty icky to me. Luckily my hubby was not so narrow minded and thought it might be interesting, so he took one.

As the chefs were cooking up a storm, we opened up the chocolate bar because the wonderful food smells were making us so hungry. I took a bite and in the challenge of Moi vs Sea Salt chocolate, the chocolate won hands-down, fair and square. I was in love.

So, this is a special shout-out to the people at Lindt - Thank You! Thank you for being so inventive/creative/forward-thinking! Thank you for making such a wonderful fabulous treat. I'm hooked.

WARNING: Could become addictive!!!

Antwerp - throw that hand...Brabo!

The first time I went to Antwerp was with my friend Jip-and-Janneke and her dad. I was visiting them in The Netherlands and they thought that I just had to see it. They were right. It is a beautiful city and even on a cloudy/rainy grey day, I couldn't help but notice its beauty.  

The next time I went there the weather was fabulous - it was a sunny spring day and the city was livelier and buzzier than before and if possible...even more beautiful.

City Hall with Brabo in front of it (on the left)

I love the Grote Markt (square) with the guilded houses that surround it.  You can find loads of restaurants and open air cafes, a beautiful church and the stunning city hall on the square as well as the fountain with the statue of Brabo, which is the legendary symbol of the city. (according to the legend, a giant called Druon Antigoon charged the people who crossed the bridge over the Scheldt river and if they couldn't pay, he would cut off there hand and throw it into the river. Brabo killed the giant, cut off his hand and threw it into the river too. This is where the name Antwerpen comes from - it means "hand throw/ to throw the hand").

I've had the best Belgian waffle in my life at a cafe on the square - I start craving that waffle whenever I hear the name Antwerp. Yummm

Great city - loads to do and see and just all in all - a great place to visit.

Really...is that what you decided to call your company...really???

After a great day in Brussels - great shopping, fabulous food, wonderful sights and loads of beers - we walked back to hotel and found this gem.

I just couldn't stop myself from laughing out load. I was just thinking..."really...is that what you decided to call your company...really???? Don't you do any type of research??" Afterwards I realized that the name was not what I thought it was, but still...

If you look at the email address at the bottom of the company name, you see what it is supposed to be, but the logo makes it look like a completely different word. A very naughty word. Not the type of word that you want as a company name.

Brussels - fun & style!

Our trip to Brussels was bitter-sweet. A few days before our trip we received some really bad news from home, but we decided to city break to get our minds off of everything.

Cafes on the Grand Place - Perfect for beer tasting!

 

Brussels was the perfect place for that. It is a beautiful city with loads of history, a few really cute and funky things like Tintin memorabilia and Manneken Pis. Tintin is a series of comic strips by a Belgian artist - Georges Remy - we grew up with the images of Tintin in South Africa and I loved seeing all of the cute souvenirs that you could buy in Brussels.

Beautiful Guilded buildings on the Grand Place

 

Manneken Pis is a bronze statue of a small boy urinating. Sounds a bit weird, but it is a big tourist attraction in Brussels. Best thing about Manneken Pis is that he gets dressed up into little outfits/costumes every few days. You can see the costumes displayed in the City Museum. Just a bit of a warning…don’t expect the statue to be big…it is almost like the Mona Lisa in a way…you build it up in your head and when you see it for the first time, you are so shocked about how small it is, that you don’t appreciate its greatness.

During our visit to Brussels we had such a great time. The Grande Place in Brussels is a beautiful square with guilded buildings. I love the whole vibe. While we were there it was so lively with a great buzz and sitting outside at one of the cafes on the square was a pleasure. The beer menu in Belgium is something out of this world and even though I am not traditionally a beer lover, I did the beer tasting thing with my husband and loved it. The flavored beers like Kriek (Cherry) and peach beers were just divine!

 

The Restaurant area close to the Grand Place

Just off the square is a small restaurant area - it looks great with loads of atmosphere and an almost Mediterranean feel, but most of the restaurants are totally overpriced and the quality of the food is nothing to write home about. Rather ask around or go to traditionally Belgian restaurants, because there you will have quality food at good prices.

We really enjoyed the Galleries Royales St Hubert, which is a small little shopping arcade close to the Grand Place with cute little shops, but there are also many great shopping areas where you can find anything from high end designer to cheaper shops. I’m not sure if this is still the case, but when we were in Brussels, most of the shops were closed on Sunday, so just as a precautionary measure, don’t leave your shopping for that day because you might be disappointed.

We really enjoyed Brussels - it is a beautiful city with a lot of character and ample opportunities to take loads of fabulous photos.

Welcome/Welkom/Bienvenue/Wilkommen to Belgium/Belgie/Belgique/Belgien

When you speak about Belgium to other Europeans, they often make some negative comments - off course it is said in jest, but the most common comment is “the Belgians are dumb”.

Antwerpen

I don’t know what they did to deserve that “title”, but I have a very different opinion about the country and its people. To me it represents the best of both worlds. I love France and I love The Netherlands - Belgium is a combination of the 2. (There is a small German part too, which makes it really iteresting, but I have not yet been there). My first language is Afrikaans, so I understand Dutch (The Netherlands) and Flemish (Belgium) quite well and thanks to the thousands of Rands (South Africa’s currency) that my mom paid towards my education, I can understand French pretty well too. Most signs in Belgium are in both French and Flemish, so if I don’t understand it in the one language, I’m bound to understand it in the other.

How great is that!

Okay, now I know that this won’t help any English-speakers, but the great thing about the people of Belgium is that most of them can speak pretty some pretty good English, so you never have to get lost or struggle with ordering something in a restaurant.

Brussels

The Belgians are a nation of gourmands - which basically means that they appreciate great food - my kind of people. The majority of Belgians that I know personally are either chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers or is connected to something in the food industry in some way and they have all contributed to hours of dining pleasure. (I’m thinking Stoemp (mashed potatoes mixed with vegetables - like carrots or brussel sprouts - cream, herbs and/or bacon), Belgian Endive, Moules Frites (mussels & chips/fries), Waffles, Belgian Beers and off course their famous chocolates).

The Belgians don’t only eat well, but they shop well too. If I have to describe them as a nation in one word, it would have to be: Stylish. With some great shopping and one of my favorite designers: Dries van Noten, its easy to see how they achieve that description.

I have only visited a few towns in Belgium: Brussels, Antwerp, Kortrijk and Ghent - I’ve enjoyed all of them - the history, beautiful buildings, welcoming squares, fabulous restaurants and overall vibe. I’ve also heard such good things about other towns like Bruges, Leuven and Liege, that it is definitely on my list of places to visit again soon!