amastravels

What is your favourite hotel in Brussels?

I would say a combination of different hotels : the Berger to be trendy and close to A&F... the Dominican for a drink after work, the Hilton for their Bien Belge restaurant, the Crowne Plaza for the Art Nouveau style and the free wifi, what's yours?

I just read this article in the Independent that 66% of British people would suffer from nomophobia : basically, it is the fear of being separate from your mobile, either  you take it to bed, or you have a second one as a back up, or you check it every minute in case you missed something... is this you? is this me?

Last Monday, the book club met at the Crowne Plaza Brussels Le Palace for a wine tasting dinner. It was very good and nicely arranged and we tried 4 different wines, my favourite rosé the Pink Elephant, the Tarango, the Amancaya and a very good white wine that I cannot recall. The drink was Sparkling Pink elephant.

I took the opportunity to present Colombia basing the evening around the book 'amor en tiempos de colera' from Gabriel Garcia Marquez. We all agreed that the book was tough to read, a bit slow sometimes, many long descriptions but all were convinced that Colombia has more to offer than risk and drug.

AMOR EN TIEMPOS DE COLERA.docx

To me, this is great that Zambia won the CAN on Sunday! It means that this is still sport to watch football, any team has a chance to win, and that's great, no one was betting on them and they made it. I am very happy

It gave me a chance to investigate and find out that this is a country with no access to the sea, I was not aware that Victoria Falls were in Zambia (for some reason, I thought they were in Zimbabwe), the GDP per capita is $1600... so sad, but then checking further, I found out that Congo is even worse with $600, how can that be?

as colonialist, were we so useless that we did not leave any structure in place, any basics for those citizens to build up from there?

Back to Gent for a dinner in town with clients, it is great even though the roads are covered in snow or ice, Belgium is a northern country to my standards and people, boroughs or government can decently expect snow yearly round here. Why is there no plan for that kind of weather in Belgium?

that's it. I am back!

It would be unfair to make a statement based on 3 days spent working in Tel Aviv. However,  my impressions are :

- climate is just wonderful, it has no price to enjoy blue sky, plenty of light and sea view, this is when I realize how much the grey sky and lack of light affects me here

- food in the mediterranean is almost the same everywhere, it is good for me as I enjoy kebab and hummus, I had a diet based on warak einab, hummus, babaganoush, and kebab for the week! I did not see that many fruit and veg around I must say

- people are hospitable, they really want to change the image of the country to a nicer one, which is true. Their culture and history makes them sound bold and aggressive, once you go through this, it is ok but their pace of voice can sound a bit sharp sometimes for us used to diplomatic approach at all times!

overall, I enjoyed it, I must come again and visit the country, it looks lovely and there is so much to see.

I just felt I was only seeing one side of the coin, I must all sorts of Jewish people from so many countries (Iraq, Romania, France, Belgium, US, Argentina, Uruguay, Russia, Uzbekistan) but no Arabs, no non jewish even 76% of the Israelis are Jewish, where were the 24% left?

For the first time, I did not know what to expect about my travel experience to Israel. Everyone was telling me how difficult it was to enter the country but I made it safe and sound tonight.
Let's see what happens on the way back!
First impressions : how is that that roads all seem new, bridges, motorway. We entered Tel Aviv by Old Jaffa and i cannot say i saw any nice block around. It looked like Mexico rather...
I have already seen so many different nationalities, it is amazing, and the fun thing was that my taxi driver, Moshe, Russian from St Petersbourg is a fan of French music so we drove all the way with vanessa paradis, patricia kaas, notre dame de paris, so funny! It was a bit unreal
NO ONE in the streets, this is weird to me in this part of the world, made me think of cerphew or potentialmproblem even!
See what tomorrow brings. 1st things first : lunch with Dan!

dear Friends,

I am considering renting my house to friends and contacts for short breaks and holidays, would you be so kind to have a look through this document and let me know your feedback. Would you rent it? do you think this is bookable by any one of you?

I look forward to your comments

ama les fayes.pptx

I am hoping to take a week off for myself in early March and would love to go to a spa, I am hesitating between Brides les Bains in France, the hotel Miramar in Port Crouesty and the Sofitel Quiberon, anyone has feedback on this?

I am also wondering why the Sofitel is twice as expensive as the others, is it so much more?

I would love to try out those breakfasts around Brussels in 2012 : any one interested to come along?

http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_fr/brusselicious/culture/...

2 days and we will be over Christmas, I always have this strange feeling. End of November, all seems very dark and quiet, gradually, I can see the houses lighting up and Santa Claus climbing the facades. The last week before Christmas is all about running around with a check list to get the gifts, the food, the turkey and the drinks. The houses are all decorated, light is everywhere.

From the 26th, all seems back to normal, grey, people even take off the decorations straight away. In Brussels, the townhall takes away the christmas trees on the 2nd which I find very sad, the 3 kings come on the 6th so to me, it is a nice period of the year that we should make as nice and long as possible to brighten up this cold and dark season : from 1st Advent Sunday to after the 3 kings is nice or no?

Reading Femmes d'Aujourd'hui over the week end, I found this nice article about their top 10 panorama in the world http://www.femmesdaujourdhui.be/femmes/loisirs-et-culture...

It reminded me about many experiences as the top 3 listed are

- Valle de la Luna en Atacama - Chile, by far, my favorite travel so far, I found this moment unique, the silence, the colors, the light, the sunset, everything was peaceful and the people seemed so fulfilled up there even though their daily life is not spoiled

- Great wall of China - of course a beauty even though I felt stressed out by the grey stones, and the crowd all around

- Banff in Canada : a great time for me, the trees, the altitude, the lakes, I saw this in the winter by -38° and would not mind a summer view

- on my to do list, remain the Lofoten, definitely something I would love to achieve once

Today, Paris for one day. First thing : I really like the new Thalys style with those pink red and purple colors, very nice and comfy but it can look dirty very quickly, on the way back I had a feeling the seats had not been cleaned for the whole day I was not too happy with Paris though as I walked through the underground and streets, people seemed sad and grumpy, on the edge of being aggressive, it is bad for such a beautiful city to have sad people, maybe the crisis is hitting harder than they say… I had also forgotten about how fond of the Parisians are about brands, I had a sandwich lunch with clients, those were average BUT at least they were coming in a lovely package with a name and that, believe me, was making the difference! Lol

Here we go again, the month of all fairs and exagerations! I was in England last week and find it great to keep some traditions around

- mince pies (yummi)

- stilton with port

- xmas pudding

I cant get tired of this

this week end I will bake cakes like in Alsace or Germany to share with neighbours and friends, next week, Belgians will celebrate St Nicolas, the week after, we are going again to Up North, great Norwegian restaurant in Brussels to have a kind of a Sainte Lucie evening,

where does it stop? but so nice no?

Winter Wonders have started on Saturday and it means Brussels takes another look for over a month. May I recommend you skip the commercial bit on the Place Ste Catherine : where is the point of buying Greek stuff in Brussels for Christmas franquely? Instead, dont miss the lights and music on the Grand Place every evening, it is marvelous, despite of the cold dry weather, I try my best to attend at least a couple of times, it is enchanting, and then go for a walk through the Galeries St Hubert, full of Belgian produce and the great bookshop Tropismes, I find this area bucolic and charming when it is not overwhelmed with Chinese and Spanish tourists : what about Saturday morning for a walk and Sunday evening for the lightshow? enjoy!

what a beautiful city! the atmosphere is great, many people around and they have free wifi around town. The buildings are stunning and there are loads of boutique, we had lunch at Max in front of the novotel and it was great value for money with a fantastic soup.

by the end of the day, it was charmed by Gent

Just spent a few days in Auvergne and I am impressed by the downturn in France. I dont know where we are going but we are on the way to a major downturn. People are sad with no perspective, the level at school is low if not poor, children dont see the benefit, teachers change all the time and are depressed by the lack of education.

I noticed that many workers are now coming from abroad, where are the French? this left me very dubious on the whole atmosphere, the government says they are taking steps to stop the economic crisis and the financial situation, will it be enough? I have a feeling they are just making public announcements with hardly any effect until the presidential election, that is a concern.

Having said that, my house is up for rent again, anyone interested?? nice location, nice views, very peaceful! I wonder if i could rent it to you guys for a holiday? anyone would be interested in spending a week holiday there? it is ideal for family with children as is very quiet, very safe, ideal to go for walks in the woods, visit Aubusson and the tapestry, Limoges for the China, Vichy for the shopping and spas, 2 tiny spa towns in the area with both offering one-week spa treatments at very competitive rates, here is the poll : who would? let me know

I flew back from Las Vegas using United this Friday and let me tell you!! You can really see they are only making money and trying to make the most of it, passengers are truly bums on seats, the stewardess would not even look at me, no eye contact from Washington to Brussels, food is ugly, bad, breakfast comes in a bag.

I wonder why the american companies provide such a bad service when service is usually so good in restaurants and shops across the country. I wonder why european airlines provide a much better service on the same route for the same price

The only one that is exception and provides a great full service on intercontinental flights is air canada

Jan and I had a gourmet week-end in August around the Amalfi Coast. What an amazing area? My expectations were not so high and I only thought it would be a nice beach area!

I was wrong.

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Sorrento Coast, lovely hotel, lovely people, lovely breakfast

On the Friday, we decided to drive to Positano for a unique dinner facing the sea and the bay, it was marvelous and we had a fab dinner.

On the Saturday, we had the recommendation for a restaurant in Sorrento and that was absolutely amazing, quality was there, as well as a friendly service, we discovered a fantastic spumanti : Tenuto il Bosco Phileo Rose

This week is a tough one. After less than 4 months fight, Humberto gave up against the disease on Saturday. It is a very difficult moment for all of us to go through and I feel very very sad. From the beginning, I planned to go and had postponed for various professionnal commitment, I have missed my chance to see him and chat as good old days. I will go there in October and be with the family again but I feel empty.

If it was not for him, I dont think I would love Mexico as I do now. I started to go to Mexico in 2000 with no trust in the people, with bad feeling in the streets, an unsafe atmosphere, I could not walk in the streets on my own, taxis were weird. Then, thanks to him, I started to discover the country and the different regions, the people, I started to make friends etc. He changed my view on the country and I learnt a lot from him. In exchange, I convinced him of the beauty of Colombia, he was always teasing him that I loved Mexico but was even more in love with Colombia!

He was a big lover of France and knew so much about the country. He knew Britanny like no one else and surely much better than me. His french was so fluent and perfect, it was heartbreaking for me when I realised he could not speak it any more being so exhausted.

I feel like part of the company, part of the family and will always associate him to Mexico. this is a huge loss for me, everyone says we can have many relations but few real friends, he was one of my 4 unique ones and this is the end of a chapter.

This August, after weeks of browsing catalogues and the web, we decided to visit Magnus in Norway. I love Norway, it is among my favourite destinations, people are nice and friendly, patient, quiet, laid back. Nothing beats their landscapes, and I really enjoy Oslo.

After spending 2 days to Oslo, we took a train to Trondheim to spend the rest of the week with Magnus and had the opportunity to visit Rockheim, the new museum in Trondheim that covers the Norwegian music. The architecture is modern and funky, colourful at night, the interior very interactive with loads of different spaces featuring different atmosphere. there was a German TV shooting while we were there.

I will try to update this blog again and hope I can do so on a more regular basis, so sorry I let you down for a while. Starting with Scandinavia and a fab time we had in Norway a couple of weeks. what a country! landscapes, people, way of life, everything is there, no wonder why it is rated as the happiest country!

Barcelona es bona si la bolsa sona, they say!!!

I spent a couple of days in Barcelona at the beginning of October. This city has changed dramatically in 20 years. I used to live there in 1989-1990 when it was all upside down preparing for the olympics. The city was turned to the interior and it lives now towards the sea. It is trendy and hip!

The new venue I discovered is the Espace Cultural Ample, a gallery in the historic town (el casco antiguo) run by a young chilean couple, modern art but nice place to organise an event, a patio.

We had our event there and were lucky enough to enjoy El Bulli food from their catering department. What can I say?? It is so sophisticated that I am still wondering if it was good or bad!! I loved the olives stuffed with concentrated olive juice in an seaweed juice, that I know!!

This week was national day in Mexico. This is a time where you have dance, fireworks, family gatherings around the country, el grito on the 15th, "Viva Mexico", it is a nice moment. This is also the time to enjoy the Chile en Nogada, national dish gathering the colours of the flag on a plate.

However, I just read there was a bomb attack in Morelia on the 15th where at least 8 died, what a shame! Don't they have enough with the Chiapas, the mara salvatrucha, the narcotraffic, AMLO, etc...???

Morelia is on the colonial road, the capital city of Michoacan, where the famous butteflies, I have been there once and I remember having dinner in a very elegant restaurant facing the cathedral. Every Saturday, there is a sound and light show on the cathedral, but that time, they also performed on a Tuesday for a governor visiting the area

I also remember a little anecdot, I had just landed from Bogota on the same day and was still connected on the Colombian way of speaking. My friends Humberto and Jesus as well as the waiter had a great laugh on me when I asked for a Hierba buena after dinner... (literally good herb)

When we went to Egypt, Sacha had spent his week drawing octopus on a book, all sorts, all colours

In 2007, we hear that there is a kite festival in Berck, during Easter week end, and the theme will be octopus. We could not miss that!

This was our Easter holiday that year. We left Birmingham on the wednesday evening, visited Boulogne, staid in Le Touquet at Axelle's. On the friday, we visited Le Touquet, the market where Sacha had an opportunity to chat with the fishmongers, discover and touch crabs, lobsters and all sorts, frighten himself as well. Then, we went to Berck along the coast

Berck : it is a classic northern city with blocks along the coast, I like the north of France for the people, the accessibility of people and not the architecture but there you go... All along the beach, were activities, and kites of all sorts, it was marvelous, we could only stay and watch for hours, had a great time

On the Saturday, we left back to Britain to Brighton, spent the afternoon at the Pier and, on the Sunday, drove to Portsmouth. We had initially planned to drive to Cornwall but loved Portsmouth so much that we stopped there. There is so much to visit and see, why go further?

We came back home on the tuesday, happy, with plenty of nice photos and information.  

The Month of Ramadan started this monday. This is such a special moment for us as well and I would like to thank my friends who taught me how to enjoy this month. I have been fasting for the last 8 years now, and, because I am not moslim, I follow for about 2 weeks only. It gives me a taste of what it is mentally. The great thing about it is that you must not moan or say negative things and that is for me something so important to keep doing.

In the past, we would do this along with Mohamed and Magda who moved back to Beni Suef. Last year, in Birmingham, it was great to have Ratbil, Mbareck, Lahsen, Tassadit, Samira and Saida, having soup, then organising dinner together, chatting for hours. This year, the situation is different as we moved again but we have Ali!!!

To all my friends, enjoy this month

There is a place in Paris where I really enjoy going, at métro Arts et Métiers, Plaisirs d'Arts. Virginie opened this back in 2006.

Open on Sundays, I like the concept, you can pick up either wooden objects to paint and varnish, or china to paint and they will cook them for you or teddy bears to fill.

The teddy bears is really like the british shop thingy, BUT, you really do it yourself, you choose the bear, you also fill it yourself until you are happy with the feeling of it, you insert a heart to give it life, Virignie will sew it for you and will then give you an adoption certificate. You may want to add clothes or even paint them

 What I like about it, is that you can stay as long as you want, children love it as much as adults, you can even decide to start painting and come back another day to finish it. It is friendly, a nice time in Paris

Granada, was the aim of our holidays 2007. I had booked the tickets in early Apil for a visit at the end of May.

We arrived there at 11h00, to take our tickets, wander around, and queue!! I was really impressed, I never imagined there could be so many people there, from all around the world, so many people queuing for possible tickets, so many that leave without visiting. There is a limited number of visitors per day, once it is reached, there is no way in any more. We went in at 13h00 with our audiophones, and, without stopping, constantly walking, following the guides, we have been visiting for 3 complete hours. Sacha loved it, he listened to all of it, he was indeed very interested. We will go again to have a proper visit.

My dream was to visit the Generalife, and have a look at what was this famous mauresq architecture. I got it! I have loads of photos to browse until the next visit and we will try to get a guide.