Tag Archives: Wine Tasting

Germany: Traveling & Wellness Weekend in The Black Forest

Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Vineyards-1-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K

Offenburg et ses alentours

Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Vineyards-2-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K

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

Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Gengenbach-5-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K

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.

Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Gengenbach-1-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le KGermany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Gengenbach-2-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Gengenbach-4-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K

The Lake Titisee

Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Road To Titisee-1-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K

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.  

Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Road To Titisee-2-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Titisee-1-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K Germany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Titisee-2-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le KGermany-Bade-Wutemberg-Sharzwald-Black Forest-Fom Titisee To Hinterzarten-Photo ©Mademoiselle Le K

Photos : © Mademoiselle Le K – Tous droits réservés

Informations

Wellness Stars, The German National Tourist Board, the hotels : Erfurths BergfriedWadhotel Grüener Baum & Elztalhotel

Related posts : DESTINATIONS, HOTEL REVIEWS & BEAUTE 

Many thanks to the Wellness Stars and The German National Tourist Board for the invitation. As alwyas these are my opinions.

Antwerp: Spring-Sum 2015 Trends at The UPR Press Days

Antwerp-UPR Pressdays-Club Med Lunch-Chef Pascal Devalkeneer-1-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

I left early in the morning without knowing …

Arrived in Antwerp, I waited and waited for the bus … almost one hour! Note that by walking, it would have taken half an hour max! On the bus after two stops, the driver asked us to get out because he ended his service and invited us to choose to wait for his colleague or take another bus, explaining that today there was the strike. 

I chose to walk twenty minutes under a drizzle that ruined my hair! When I finally arrived at UPR, nearly 2 hours late, I had a scarecrow head! Big thanks to the new hair products (completely ineffective) I’ve tried the night before to have the impeccable hair!

Never mind I’m right on time for the lunch organized by Club Med, for the presentation of its new Spring-Summer 2015, along with the CEO of Club Med Belgium and Luxembourg, Hadi Kamouh and his team. On the photo montage below: No. 1, the new catalog of Club Med.

The dishes cooked by the starred chef Pascal Devalkeneer are really delicious, my favorite: a dish consisting of thin slices of octopus (photo above). While the sommelier Eric Boschman is horrified seeing that I drink Coca Zero. “When you want to return to civilization …” he says to me serving me a glass of wine, LOL! 

Antwerp-UPR Pressdays-Club Med-Swarovski-Necklace-Sam Edelman-Boots-Ferragamo-Sunglasses-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

As I almost exclusively communicate through the Internet,

I have little opportunity to meet the people I work with. So it is always a pleasure to go to press days and put a face to familiar names : )

And of course discover new collections and labels that I didn’t know, such as Rado and Bell & Ross watches, the German brand Dorothy Schumacher, with simple lines and beautiful materials. And the Luz jewelry, really trendy.

On the photo montage above: No. 2, suspense! The beautiful Sam Edelman ankle boots, very soon in one of my fashion posts. No. 3, the Swarvoski necklace with 700 mini cristaux very soon in an upcoming post on a series of selfies I realized. And No. 4, the Ferragamo beautiful sunglasses, very Dolce Vita. 

Antwerp-UPR Pressdays-Pronails-Sopolish-Manicure-Photo Mademoiselle Le K-copyright 2014

As you know I am a huge fan of sunglasses

And beauty: shortly on the blog, my new tests of l’Occitane products. I also had the opportunity to test the famous Sopolish of Pronails. Stickers to put on nails, on which the polish is applied for a perfect finish for three weeks! Without damaging the nails. To remove the polish, just remove the stickers!

Since the stickers and nail polish were applied (one week), my nails remained perfect! With my usual polish, after 2 days, it’s a disater. On the above photo montage: No. 1, the different sizes of stickers. No. 2, stickers placed on the nails, before limiting. No. 3, the ultra glam and flashy red that I chose. And No. 4, the catalog of the beautiful Spring-Sum 2015 collection of the Swedish brand Philippa K.

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

Related posts : 

  

HOTEL REVIEWS, DESTINATIONS, MODE & BEAUTE

Many thanks to the UPR’s team.

Brussels: Tasting of the Avondale’s Wines from South Africa @ La Quincaillerie

Funny to taste wines for someone who doesn’t drink! Naturally curious, especially since my photo shoots in the Douro and Bordeaux, I enjoy discovering through the wine: travel, know-how, culture and landscapes. Invited by Chacalli Wines, I discovered the South African wine, Avondale (pictured above) at La quincaillerie (a great restaurant with the Japanese Chief Minoru, sugoi ne!).

Jonathan Grieve, passionate  proprietor of Avondale wine estate, near Cape Town, keen on ecology and biodynamic farming, presented several of his wines. Instead using chemical pesticides, he prefers a squad of Pekin ducks. Large white ducks that look like geese. A regard to the environment that reminded me the South African holistic environmentally-friendly cosmetics brand,  Africology. Before this tasting, I didn’t know the principles of biodynamic and felt a bit lost at the benning of Jonathan’s presentation. In each wines presentation form, there is an introduction that refers to biodynamic, with “cosmic influences” and “astronomical on soil …” (like for La Luna 2006 wine). Really interesting and innovative and clever marketing, like the contemporary sorber labels on the bottles, positioning these wines in a mid to high range. They are rooted in their time. About grapes, for La luna 2006, I was nicely surprised by the presence of Petit Verdot (referring to my SF experience in a blend workshop in Bordeaux, lol).

So what about the wine tasting Miss never-without-my-spittoon? Far from being an expert, I really liked Anima, a white wine made ​​with an organic Chenin Blanc : very fruity aromas (including pineapple!) and light acidity. Cyclus 2009 is more aggressive, more acidic and less elegant than Anima. La Luna 2006, is a blend of grapes I know: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. This is the subtlest and most sophisticated between the different nuances of aromas. The most classic too, quoted by Jonathan as a “vintage”. And finally Samsara, a strong character wine: spicy (white pepper, clove, cinnamon), fruity (mulberry), tannic. Conclusion: now I really have to discover this land of wine close to Table Mountain… Is the globetrotter awake, Mademoiselle Le K?

www.avondalewine.co.za 

Photos 2 & 3 : La Quincaillerie (source photos: www.quincaillerie.be – Lay out: Mademoiselle Le K). Photo 1 : Avondale’s wines (source photos: www.avondalewine.co.za – Lay out: Mademoiselle Le K).  

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DESTINATIONS