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Nuraghe Palmavera
Day two in Sardinia was my favourite of the five. We learned a bit of history, saw some fantastic beaches, made beautiful flower find and even did a tad of rock climbing.
We were up and on the road early to visit the Nuraghe Palmavera. Sardinia is dotted with over 8000 nuraghe but despite their prevalence on the countryside, little is known about these megalithic structures.
Sunset over Alghero
I am a huge fan of spur of the moment travel. While it’s great to tick destinations off the ‘Life List’ of travel, visiting somewhere you never considered travelling to can offer some wonderful surprises. My trip to Sardinia last weekend was one such surprise.
The trip was instigated by a friend and fellow photographer. “Want to go somewhere warm for Easter where we can photograph and escape Belgium?” Yes please! Our criteria were simple – affordable, sunny, and picturesque.
So, long before the sun came up, on Thursday morning, we found ourselves waiting for our Ryanair flight to Alghero.
Stockholm, Sweden © Hector Melo A.
Aside from a trip to Helskini, Finland a few years ago, the majority of my travels in Europe have taken me south. However, today’s guest post by Ben of offtoeurope.com has me dreaming of adventures to the North.
Moving forward or standing still?
In another couple of weeks, it will be April, 2010. This will mark the fifth anniversary of our expat life in Europe. I can’t help but feel introspective about this milestone.
In fact, I never really intended to have a five year anniversary of life in Belgium. Our plan was always to try and move on to a new location after three years or so. Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.
A beautiful pink box of Wittamer Chocolates
Every good chocoholic knows Belgian chocolate is the best in the world. But while tourists flock to the shops selling chocolate Manneken Pis statues around Grand Place, locals and in-the-know travelers head to Brussels’ chocolate Mecca – Grand Sablon.
Grand Sablon (Grote Zavel in Dutch) is a small square (a triangle actually) with the beautiful Notre Dame de Sablon church at its head. Lining the streets are cafes, bars, restaurants and shops – most notably the best selection of chocolate shops in Brussels.
Here’s my rundown of the chocolate shops of Sablon.
Berlin, Germany is a dynamic, artistic city that has shed, but not forgotten, its tragic past. We share how to spend a weekend in Berlin with plenty of things to do and see in this fascinating city.
Empire des Lumieres (Empire of Lights) The first Magritte I saw in person in Brussels.
Almost a year since its grand opening, I finally managed to visit the Musée Magritte Museum in Brussels, this past weekend.
For those of you unfamiliar with René Magritte, he was a surrealist painter and probably the world’s most famous Belgian artist. His paintings depict everyday objects such as apples, men in bowler hats, umbrellas, stones and pipes in odd arrangements and juxtapositions.
MGM Grand Hotel
The last half of our Vegas visit was as good as the first half and included just as much good food.
On Thursday night, I tagged along with Andrew and some of his work colleagues for supper at Shibuya, a Japanese restaurant at the MGM Grand. Although, not quite as good as Okada, it was one of the better meals we had at the Grand.
View of the Strip from our room at the MGM Grand
Vegas, I owe you an apology and I am deeply sorry. I imagined you were still a land of $5.99 all you can eat buffets that bake under heat lamps all day long, gathering the germs and bacteria of a thousand semi-comatosed gambling junkies. I thought there would be little to do but waste away the day at the one-armed bandits, while sipping watered-down, comped drinks. I’m sorry Vegas, I was wrong.