Aaaah, February 14th. Known more commonly as “Valentines Day”. A day of lovers and chocolate and public displays of love that really should be shown on every day of the year, not just one popularised by Hallmark cards and florists. But hey, any excuse to go out for lunch with your sweetheart, right?
‘Twas a lazy Saturday morning and as 10am rolled round, hubby and I made the decision to head into Northbridge for brunch, with a couple of reasons driving us – firstly, the Tuck Shop is one of our favourite breakfast spots, and secondly, that way we could walk into the CBD afterwards to view the Giants (massive marionettes from France). Continue reading
Word of a new breakfast hotspot in town spreads pretty quick around Perth, and before you know it, there are lines out the door and a twenty minute wait at somewhere that has only been open a few months.
This was the case when hubby Dave, my sister Mel and I ventured to Flora Terrace’s Tropico in North Beach on a warm Saturday morning.
As an avid follower of many of the very popular Perth foodie blogs, the Prophet Lebanese Cafe has been at the top of my ‘must dine at’ list for a couple of years now. Located in East Victoria Park, it is on the south side of the Swan River and that, combined with the difficulty in securing a reservation with less than a day’s notice, probably explains why I hadn’t yet made the journey to sample the highly recommended authentic Lebanese cuisine. According to the numerous reviews, this was a red hot restaurant – on the casual and relaxed side – relatively small and with the added bonus of BYO beer and wine. I mean, no wonder it is always booked up well in advance! Continue reading
For my 30th birthday, we were fortunate enough to be in sunny San Sebastian in Spain, and high on my list of ‘must do’ dining experiences was the famous degustation at Martin Berasetugui’s namesake restaurant, Martin Berasetugui.
Consistently rated as one of the world’s top restaurants, the restaurant is very exclusive and we had made reservations months in advance. Upon arrival at 9pm for our reservation (we tried to book for 8pm, but they told us nobody dines so early in Spain, so 9pm it was!), we were shown to our beautiful candlelit table right in the middle of the restaurant – best seat in the place!
It was fine dining all the way, from the lovely “two waiter” introductions through to the footstool that was placed at our table next to my chair… for my handbag of course! No placing handbags on restaurant floors in here!
Biarritz is beautiful. Flat out gorgeous in fact. We had planned on our time in Biarritz being all about the food, the beach and some much needed relaxation, and I am pretty sure we hit the mark on all fronts with our short, but very sweet time there.
Leaving St Emilion was bittersweet. On the upside, we had tasted (and purchased) an extensive selection of Bordeaux wines; on the downside, we didn’t have enough time to really see the medieval town, explore its underground caverns or venture on a cycling tour of the nearby wineries. But, you live and learn, and the experience of regret as we were leaving certainly solidified my strong preference to never spend just one night somewhere – it is just too much of a tease!
Given our love of food and exploring off the beaten track, I searched high and low for a different kind of tourist experience to undertake while we were in Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, depending where you are!).
Trusty ol’ Tripadvisor came up trumps again for this, this time delivering me to XO Tours who were “the first all-female motorbike tour company in Vietnam, offering the most unique and highest ranked tours in Vietnam”. After reading the reviews, it did not take long for me to register and confirm our bookings on the “Foodie Tour” – seemingly they most popular. Continue reading
After a few days in Hanoi, we zipped over to Halong Bay for our three day/two night tour on a traditional Vietnamese junk in this stunning archipelago. Jess was still with us and so we booked a triple suite on board our beautifully restored junk, the Paloma.
According to Lonely Planet, Halong translates as ‘where the dragon descends into the sea’, and legend claims the islands of Halong Bay were created by a great dragon from the mountains. As it charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouged out valleys and crevasses. When it finally plunged into the sea, the area filled with water, leaving only the pinnacles visible.
Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, this mystical landscape of limestone islets is stupendously spectacular, especially as the eerie fogs roll in and you fell as if you have been transported into a dream.