TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Rouen, pronounced through the nose as “Ro-wah” is the capital of the Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) region in France known for its beautiful and large number of surviving half-timber houses. Striking, pastel-coloured and playful half-timber houses in Rouen... so lovely to look at! These buildings were destroyed during the Second World War and were painstakingly restored to its former glory in the 1950's. The city is also known for a couple of significant personalities and historical events. Firstly, for its Cathedral being a favourite subject of Claude Monet’s series of paintings. Secondly, Rouen was the capital of the once powerful Anglo-Norman empire. And thirdly, for Jeanne D’Arc (Joan of Arc), the national heroine and patron saint of France. Jean D’Arc was burned at stake in the old town square of Rouen. More fotos of the old historical town of Rouen. Unfortunately, Rouen is a large city and I am not really fond of large cities but the old town is pretty and compact, so trul...

I still have 2 more France travel entries to post: Rouen and Honfleur, the latter together with Le Mont Saint Michel were my favorite. I will post them soon after I have edited and uploaded the fotos online. For now, let me show you a bit of the open-air Vredenburg market on a Saturday in Utrecht Centrum. Vredenburg Markt in Utrecht Centrum (you can't miss this when going to Bijenkorf) is open 3x a week during Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Saturday is the busiest and the biggest market. Dutch markets are not like their southern counterparts where lots of produce from the ground are brought on sale. There are very few fresh produce stands in the markets as most fruits and vegetables here come from other countries. The Netherlands import them as far as South America. The local farmers in the country are also directly contracted with supermarkets. This could perhaps be a preference as this business strategy yields steady income. So if looking for fruits and vegetables, it’s bett...

Friday – went to gym and worked out for 2.5 hours, then ask for and signed my “uitschrijving” because I am moving gyms. Thought its better to train nearby home during the weekends, plus Dutchman and I will be going together so that would be good I hope, hehe. He’s not into fitness though but swimming. After the work out I had this insatiable hankering for hot spicy chicken wings, and since Dutchman is off skating for the evening, I really have no desire of getting my hands dirty in the kitchen, so here I come KFC! Yeah, KFC on my birthday, lol. Saturday – picked up our blonde curly haired 11- year old nephew. We are borrowing him for a day to the Luchtmacht Dagen (Royal Netherlands Air Force Air Show) in Volkel Airbase down south in Brabant. The impressive red and yellow act represent the Spanish flag. These are Spain's Patrulla Aguilla, one of the air show acts that I really like. Next foto is the British Avro Vulcan with his 2 escorts, famous to have served during the Cold War...

In April I was in Morocco with Blondine and we visited Ouarzazate which is located in the eastern part of the country near the Saharan Desert. We hired a tour guide for our visit to Kasbah Tourirt and the medina. It was well worth it. At the end of the tour, our tour guide brought us to a tapestry shop outside the medina. We witnessed how carpets were weaved the traditional way. Just by using their hands and a wooden frame weaver. We saw 2 women busy on their weaving by hand tasks while 1 was taking a nap. They have shifts here as well =) The women were on the top floor (open terrace) of the shop. At the open terrace where the women are weaving one can sight beautiful views of the medina. We were then led down to the main hall with walls adorned in stunning bright rugs designed with beautiful weave work patterns. At this point, we already knew what’s going to happen – they will sell carpets to our group. It can be pretty annoying but in Morocco, everywhere you go som...

OK I turned 39 today but I still feel like 18, hehe. Because it’s my birthday, I brought treats to the office today. This is by the way typically Dutch to treat colleagues on your birthday with a cake – usually with a Dutch taart or vlaai. Filipinos do the same thing, they order noodles (means long life, got the practice from the Chinese) and the favorites are Pancit Palabok or Pancit Canton. So I brought Strawberry filled tart, Apple Cream tart and SOESJES ! Pronounced as soo-shuh (singular), soo-shuhs (plural). Soesjes are small doughnut balls filled with cream, custard or ice cream. They’re a bit like cream puffs (used to buy them at Le France in Cebu during my younger years, just 2 decades ago!) except that soesjes are softer in texture. They are very popular in the Netherlands as snacks and desserts. I’ve also read that this pastry actually originated in Italy during the Medieval Period. The Dutch would probably argue that it’s theirs. The French I am sure too. .

I was on my way to Rouen from Le Mont St, Michel and Camembert , and this little town called Bernay that I read before the trip was along the way, so I thought, why not combine the journey with a quick stopover? Stretching my legs by doing a short walk around town is a good idea. Bernay is about 65 kilometers to the south of Rouen and is part of the Haute Normandie region (Upper Normandy). Half-timber framed houses in Bernay, and most of these houses are in the same colours, beige with brown timber stripes. Bernay was not what I expected. It is literally a ghost town on a Sunday (early) evening. On the other hand, I’ve read that on Saturdays the town holds a bustling and colourful market. Unfortunately I was somewhere else on a Saturday... can’t have everything right, must choose. Anyway, I was here around 7:30PM Sunday for a quick driving break and apart from the steady flow of French and English plate numbered cars that seem to have lost their way, there was almost no one in ...