Tag Archives: Leisure

Thessaloniki, Greece: Restaurants and Nightlife

Posted on June 23, 2015 | Leave a comment

Restaurants

B. Restaurant

If you’re a fan of Mediterranean cuisine, you will be delighted in Thessaloniki! Here are some restaurants I’ve tested and much loved during my (too) short stay. Let’s start with B. the restaurant of the Byzantine Museum that I have unfortunately not visited for lack of time.

As soon as I came, I really liked the decoration of the courtyard and the cosy atmosphere (above and below pictures). The dishes prepared by award-winning chef Sotiris Evangelou change with the seasons. Excellent Mediterranean cuisine enhanced by French and Italian elements: tasteful, lightweight and gourmet.

Daios Bar-Restaurant

Located in Nikis Avenue, this restaurant of the Daios hotel offers a very pleasant view to the blue Mediterranean sea. Close to the famous Proxenou Koromila street (shopping area), the place is chic and casual.

The beautifully presented dishes are delicious (below pictures), inspired by a combination of modern Greek cuisine and Mediterranean cuisine. Excellent! I took the opportunity to visit one of the suites on the top floor with stunning sea views (yes the sea, always the sea!).

Navona Restaurant

Interesting decor, I liked the circular bar and wall panels (above and below pictures). I had a very good dinner, we laughed a lot! The Navona is one of the Makedonia Palace restaurants, located on the waterfront.

Italian cuisine and friendliness: in my plate, a succulent grilled chicken with a very good pizza. Go there with friends or family. Unpretentious atmosphere.

Ouzou Melathron

The Ouzou Melathron is a classic in Thessaloniki, nestled in a quiet pedestrian street with empty bird cages hanging in the air. To discover traditional Greek cuisine in a Greek ambiance! The night I was there, Cretan customers danced the Sirtaki.

On the principle of meze, I’ve tasted many different dishes all very good (and a little greasy). Meatballs, salads with feta cheese and fresh vegetables, potatoes baked with lemon and olive oil … A treat!

Thessalonique by night

Thessaloniki is a student city, full of bars and terraces where to go out at night. The best is yet to have a walk and choose a bar according to the inspiration of the moment. Go with the flow and enjoy!

Informations

Visit Greece, Thessaloniki Hotels Association & Ryanair

From Ryanair flies to Thessaloniki and ten other destinations in Greece including Athens and Santorini.

Related posts : DESTINATIONS & HOW TO PREPARE YOUR TRAVEL

Many thanks for this beautiful invitation to Visit Greece, Thessaloniki Hotels Association and Ryanair. As always these are my opinions.

Centre of Portugal: Côa Museum and Ribeiro do Mosteiro

Posted on June 13, 2015 | Leave a comment

Fundação Côa Parque

Successful Mix of Paleolithic Art & Contemporary Architecture

Early in the morning we leave the Casa da Cisterna to Vila Nova de Foz Coa: my second visit to the superb Côa Museum of archeology, opened on June 30, 2010. My first visit was in 2010, as part of a reportage on the architecture.

The building designed by two Portuguese architects, Camilo Rebelo and Tiago Pimentel, blends into the mountains covered by terraced fields. Unfortunately I didn’t have time to visit the sites that house the rock art of the Côa and Douro valleys. It’s a must see, so plan enough time during your visit!

In the museum, we discover reproductions of engravings and sculptures of the surrounding sites. Always extremely exciting and impressive to learn a little more about our mysterious past back more than 30,000 years! We can feel so tiny …

A museum to visit. All information here.

Picnic Beside The Douro

Ribeiro do Mosteiro

Our Second Hike : The “Calçada de Alpajares”,

or Calçada do Diabo (: the Devil’s Road!). In the afternoon, we follow the path of a Roman road that crossed the Douro and Mosteiro Rivers. The walk begins in a pleasant “easy” way, a bit bucolic (I’m so naive!), to quickly turn into a succession of steep climbs.

In total, an accumulated climb of 393 m, under 34° Celsius (and some cactus)! Level of difficulty: medium (distance: 8 km). Fortunately, the sky is overcast. I really suffered in the steep climbs, with the stifling heat, ~~LOL~~! Thankfully the beauty of landscapes very different from the reserve of Faia Brava, helps to enjoy the walk ; ))

Wilderness Dinner

Back to Casa da Cisterna in early evening, barely time to shower as we leave for a surprise dinner organized by Ana Berliner, the owner! The only clue: we have to keep our walking shoes … While we take a track through the countryside (the real one!), speculations are rife. But none of us guessed right.

We get off the car atop one hill, lost in the middle of nowhere. Glowing light, golden brown ruins of a small chapel … and I discover hidden by small trees, an elegant dinner table facing the mountains! Gorgeous! Cinematographic view of the sunset, I think of Visconti. Panoramic sequence … Nature, nothing but nature, all around!

Informations

Visit Portugal, TCP/ARPT Centro de Portugal, TAP, A2Z Adventures, Historical Villages

Related posts: DESTINATIONS & COMMENT PREPARER SON VOYAGE

Many thanks for this beautiful invitation to Visit Portugal, TCP/ARPT Centro de Portugal et TAP. Thanks to Manuel Franco and Ana Berliner and the team of Casa Cisterna for this amazing dinner on a hilltop. As always these are my opinions.

Germany: Traveling & Wellness Weekend in The Black Forest

Posted on May 17, 2015 | Leave a comment

Offenburg et ses alentours

Would you like going to the countryside? Follow me time to a traveling and wellness weekend in the Black Forest. On my way to my first stop, the Waldhotel Gruener Baum in Oberkirch-Ödsbach: the road is lined with cherry blossoms and vines. What a gorgeous landscape! Summer temperatures, the Ortenau county enjoys a microclimate.

Gengenbach

The next day I discover the small medieval town, Gengenbach, famous for its Christmas market and carnival according to the German tradition (picture above: view of the city hall from the Niggelturm tower of the carnival museum). Pictures below: old beautiful buildings with trompe l’oeil facades (of the Benedictine old Abbey) and timbered houses.

Then I do a wine tasting of the Gengenbacher Winzer eG cooperative (which includes many small growers). It’s always pretty fun for me who doesn’t drink to taste new wines. Here are the two wines I really liked: the elegant Riesling Klingelberg Kabinett Riesling Klingelberg Kabinett (2013 er Gengenbacher) and the very fruity fresh white wine Grauer Burgunder (2014 “Herz & Hand”), a Pinot gris.

The Lake Titisee

After having spent one night at the Elztal Hotel in Winden im Elztal, I hit the road to the lake Titisee of glacial origin, for a short boat ride with a group of Chinese tourists. On the road, I enjoy the traditional farms and barns roofs and rolling hills and conifer forests (above picture).

I arrive to my last stop, Erfurth’s Bergfried in Hinterzarten in the early afternoon (last photo). Hinterzarten is a ski resort where ski buffs can also visit the ski museum. And I highly recommend you to visit Freiburg. I only crossed the city that seems very interesting.