Tag Archives: Holidays

Scuba Diving @ The Hillside Beach Club, in Fethyie, Turkey

Hillside Beach Club-Turkey-Fethiye-Scuba Diving-Refresher-3A-Blog-Mademoisellelek.com

I haven’t dived for ages!

What an indescribable pleasure! Invited by the Hillside Beach Club in Fehtiye, I enjoyed to do a scuba diving refresher and a “real” dive during my stay.      

When I enter the water after the theoretical part of the refresher, I feel some apprehension (unbelievable!) and hesitate. What if I couldn’t remember the right gesture … I’m certified Advanced Open Water Padi.           

Musti, the excellent diving instructor, gently challenges me: if I don’t feel to dive, I can stop it at any time. Everything is finally going great and no question to quit before the end of the refresher, with the famous “mask clearing” and tutti quanti

     

We schedule a dive in the early afternoon 

with Musti and Philippe, my buddy. We are the only divers aboard the boat of the Move Diving Center, where our bottles and equipment wait for us (last photo)!

The visibility is okay and the dive is not very deep, less than 15 meters. I found back the feeling of the intense blue. 50 minutes of pure bliss! Few dives to get more fluidity in the water …  

Important: when I dive, I never touch fauna or flora, as we learn it in the PADI course. The sea urchin that I have in my hand was placed by Musti who is also an engineer of the sea sciences and knows how to approach the fauna and flora of this part of the Mediterranean.      

Like many divers, I am very respectful of the ecosystem of seas and oceans, considered as our rubbish for too long. Please do not touch living organisms except if a competent person shows you how to do it! EXCELLENT DIVING TO ALL OF YOU!

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Photos: Thanks to Philippe Berkenbaum for allowing me to use his underwater photos and videos taken with a GoPro. More photos: Mademoiselle Le K – copyright 2014, tous droits réservés.

Informations

Hillside Beach ClubScuba Diving @ Hillside Beach Club

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DESTINATIONS & LIFESTYLE 

I was invited by Hillside Beach Club. As always, these are my opinions! Big thanks to all the team and for the great diving experience to the Move Diving Center.   

Vila Vita Parc, Portugal: Stunning Gardens & Beaches

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-2-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

A blessing to wake up with a such a beautifuf sun

and blue sky! We arrived the night before in a light rain at the Vila Vita Parc, fearing for the weather of this long weekend.

Fantastic brightness! What a great feeling! On my way to the Atlântico restaurant, for breakfast, I discover a multitude of trees, plants and flowers. As a symphony of colors where green predominates and nature is sublimated.

The art of farniente (doing nothing and enjoy), we immediately found this elevated hut as our “place” to chill out, close to the small hotel beach (photos below).

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-3-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014 Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-4-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-6-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

Around noon long visit of the stunning gardens, 

maintained by more than fifty gardeners. The sun is at its zenith and I am happy to be in the shade in the kart! Strong light reveals the different greens of vegetation.

We stop first at a small wrought iron gate to reach the second public beach near the resort. One of the best spots to watch the sunset! And check out here the first beach of the resort.

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-7-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014 Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-8-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-11-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

We head to one of five luxurious villas

with buttler: photo above the roof of one of the vilas with a traditional fireplace of the Algarve.

Then we stop at Aladin Bar: my favorite ocean view terrace, inspired by Moorish and Arabic design. This is the place to enjoy a fruit cocktail in the evening (open from 6:30 p.m. till 1:30 a.m.)!

For the lazy ones, let the blazing sun and sunburns to athletes, LOL! And try these amazing Pool Bar‘s swing beds (last photo)! Trust the Queen of the “hammocking” (the art of hammock) ; )

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-10-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Gardens-Beach-Bar-13-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

Photos : Mademoiselle Le K – copyright 2014, tous droits réservés.

Informations

www.vilavitaparc.com 

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DESTINATIONS & LIFESTYLE 

I was hosted with a friend by the Vila Vita Parc and as always these are my opinions. Many thanks to all the team at Vila Vita Parc.

Vila Vita Parc, Portugal: Restaurants & Wine Cellar

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Cellar Cave de Vinhos-2A-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

Breakfast overlooking the ocean 

at the Atlântico restaurant: exhilarating (picture 1)! Around 10 am, the sun is already pretty strong and the day before we were afraid it would rain! The green garden bordering the coast, draws perfectly on the ocean blue.

The view is stunning: picture 2, taken at the Ocean restaurant, the ocean view is quite similar to the terrace of the Atlântico! Every day we choose a new table at breakfast with a different view of the ocean.

The buffet of the Atlântico restaurant is varied: excellent fresh fruits bursting with sunshine, with a friendly discreet service. Photos 2, 3 and 4: Ocean, the famous gourmet restaurant with two Michelin stars! Photo 2: Empty wine decanters, like in an alchemist’s lair … Photo 3: A giant Fabergé egg in malachite!

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Cellar Cave de Vinhos-5-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

The best fish in the world

I dreamed of a great fish to change (LOL!). We dine “casual chic” in Adega, the restaurant of Portuguese specialties. Discovering my huge dish, I am impressed by the size of the fish (picture above and on the last picture of this article : photo 1, the terrasse of Adega)! 

I learned that chefs of gourmet restaurants in London and New York charter aircraft with fish caught in the area the same day. This year, the fish of the Algarve have received the title of best fish in the world.

I’m not a foodie, but I can appreciate some great ingredients: my fish is excellent! As a starter, I chose delicious shrimps! A kind of proteins orgy : ) 

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Cellar Cave de Vinhos-6-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

Do you know the Portuguese Pétrus?

No, this is not a Madeira wine, but a grand cru of Douro, North of Portugal: the Barca Velha (picture above).

At seven meters under ground (the adventure begins!), we meet the sommelier José Figueirinha for a private tour of the Vila Vita Parc wine cellar. Exceptional cellar in Portugal, with an average of 11,000 bottles (pictures below 2 & 3).

Many great Portuguese and French wines (including Château Latour), but also Italian, Spanish or South African wines … And a room especially dedicated to Porto Vintage.

Vila Vita Parc-Restaurants-Cellar Cave de Vinhos-10-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

Photos : Mademoiselle Le K – copyright 2014, tous droits réservés

Informations 

www.vilavitaparc.com, the restaurants : Atlântico, OceanAdega & the Wine cellar, Cave de Vinhos 

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LIFESTYLE, HOTEL REVIEWS & DESTINATIONS

My friend and I were hosted by the Vila Vita Parc. As always these are my opinions! Many thanks to the Vila Vita Parc team.