TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES -

Hi, I am still in Geneva, Switzerland right now. I’m using Geneva as my base and truth be told that I am a bit disappointed why I didn’t book my hotel somewhere in Lavaux, or Lausanne, or even in Vevey instead. Geneva is quite boring and not particularly pretty; well, it’s all about the money here. What Geneva is all about - the Swiss banking secrecy, it is all about the money here. Swiss Francs are really colorful! So just quickly want to post my only ‘Swiss Meal’ in this entire stay. I don’t know but I seem to be drawn to Italian restaurants every time I am hungry! I did not want to try fondue because I don’t want to wake up dehydrated in the middle of the night in my hotel room. Raclette was tempting and I saw the ‘portion’ on the menu which was perfect. Need to taste just a little bit of Swiss fare in this trip, so I ordered a small portion of vegetarian raclette. My very simple Swiss dinner! Just a portion of Raclette - bread and boiled potato (inside that red basket) ...

Hi there--Bonjour! I am off for a looong weekend in Central Europe (Geneve)—looking forward to enjoying the charming villages, learning a new culture and tasting the local fares. All I am wishing is good weather and I so hope the forecast will change because I can’t change my flight and hotel booking now.

Auschwitz I is now an open-air museum and a UNESCO world heritage site. The once concentration camp is free for everyone to visit, however I would strongly recommend taking a local guide because it will make the visit smooth and meaningful. The guide can give a recap of the history and some interesting tidbits that are not heard of from TV, as well as this will save time from being all over the place because the guide knows the important museum buildings to visit. The Nazi’s are unbelievably the most organized mass murderers that ever walked on planet earth. The Nazi slogan for this Holocaust extermination project—nothing must be laid to waste. Every bit of every belonging of the Jews was recycled, from shoes to eyeglasses to pots and pans. Even their hair (hair was said to be cheaper than wool) were shaved off and packed, ready for shipment for reselling, and to my shock—their ash remains as well! To be used for farm fertilizer. Inconceivable! Arbeit macht frei means 'Work liberat...

Sigh. I can’t just let go of Brussels for now... Belgian Street Food: Yummy strawberries and bananas, dipped in three chocolate choices: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate. Vendors on every corner of the street in Brussels selling yummy waffles... plump strawberries dipped in chocolate—dark, milk, white, choose whatever you want... and even though I don’t really particularly love eating them as I can’t stand too much sweets, I am happy to say that I am content witnessing other people gobble them up with gusto, as well as breathing in to that ‘waffle-ing’ aroma wafting in the air. Mmmm.... ! Ooohh, yummylicious waffles! Have a feast, they come in different varieties. Here is moi, while waiting for our table for lunch. I stole this foto from my paparazzi friend in facebook hehe. Brussels just smells so yummy, but that goes to any Belgian city I think. When you step into the Centrum, the dominant and lingering syrupy odour of waffles instinctively whisks yo...

I was In Brussels this weekend and saw the every two years event, ‘Zinneke Parade’ only by coincidence. Haven’t really done my research that well because Blondine and I just planned to eat mussels then go for a little shopping. When we were finally ready to shop, we were caught off guard, the streets were barricaded by a mob of enthusiastic spectators and we were bombarded with colorful confetti flying all over the place. The Zinneke Parade in Brussels. An artistic social event by the multicultural communities of Brussels. The parade started at 3PM and it went around Brussels Centrum passing through the Grote Markt/Grand Place, the beautiful main square of Brussels. Theme of the parade was ‘A Table’ (Aan Tafel in Dutch, which is also the same phrase when calling everyone at home to the table to eat). Too bad, because of the parade Blondine and I were not able to shop! There will be more fotos and stories of Brussels coming soon but will try to finish my Poland entrie...

Poland I would say is the cradle of the Holocaust. There is no other country in Europe that lost so many Jews and suffered the most than Poland. The country was torn apart during the Second World War and they were not only under the Nazi jurisdiction, but the Slovaks and the Soviet Union as well. The Nazis have concentration camps all throughout Europe, from Norway down to Italy. Italy (Mussolini) and Spain (Franco) were allies of Germany and have cooperated well with Hitler. These concentration camps range from being labor camps to transit camps, prison camps, collection points, sometimes ghettos and lastly, extermination camps. The Nazi design was to have Poland pigeonholed for the build and execution of extermination camps. You can just imagine the atmosphere in the country during that time—the thick aroma of death was everywhere. People feared for their lives as well as for their loved ones. I’ll expound more about this in my Auschwitz entry soon. When the Nazis invaded Krakow, th...