TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Aren’t we all guilty of procrastination? I have been putting off going to Oudewater, the little ‘witch-free’ town famous for its ‘Witches Weighing House’ (Heksenwaag) now a museum located not very far from Utrecht simply because—it’s not very far! Well, I have finally conquered my procrastination alibi and went there. Eetcafe Lumiere from the Witches Weighing House. But before I talk further about the lovely town and the witch tales in my next entries, I am going to have some lunch. Lunch in Eetcafe Lumiere : salami and brie cheese panini, the usual green salad with alfalfa and fruit sidings, and fresh mint tea as well. Helaas, there was no salad on the menu =( Here comes my fresh mint tea. Mint tea using fresh mint leaves have in recent years become popular owing it to the Moroccan mint tea tradition. The square in Oudewater with terraces and the cafe restaurants where you can order food and drinks. This lunch is 4 stars out of 5 stars. During the wa...

Dear Flanders (Dutch speaking part in the north of Belgium), Please reconsider divorcing Wallonia (French speaking part in the south of Belgium) because she is just awfully, spectacularly, ooh so magnifique-ally LOVELY! Her countryside is so amazing. It would be such a shame, an immense loss if she goes sovereign or returns to France. AUB niet laten gaan. Niet loslaten. It is a sin! Sincerely, Dutched Pinay I swear on OVI Maps, best thing ever when I switched to Nokia Mini (I ‘had’ Nokia Navigator with Route66). FREE GPS/Maps to all countries! How can you not fall in love with that scenery? Fields of barley, they shine like gold under the daylight sun. Cattles are so organised. Follow the leader! Lovely countryside views. Can you tell these white cows were enchanted by my presence? Lavender fields, it smells so divine here! More cattles grazing the fields. Barley for the winter. Pretty much I went euphoric with the scenic panorama I encountered on every bend. I couldn’t help but stop t...

Finally, our long-awaited Andalusian summer holiday is booked! It will be a 2-week holiday of sun, relaxation, fun, beach, culture and gastronomy. We will be staying on the southern coastal province. I deliberately picked this location because it is right in the middle of Andalusia giving us between 100 and 150 kilometers distance (1 to 1.5 hours) from the other capital cities and important towns of the other 7 provinces. Spain Map and its 17 Regions Andalusia (Al-Andalus) Region and its 8 Provinces: What’s more, the hotel we are staying is perfectly located on the beach coast, has a free WI-FI so I can continue documenting my travel entries at the end of the day, that is, when I have the time and I am in the mood. When holidaying, I sometimes get lethargic you know =) And aren’t we lucky? The annual 10-day ‘Feria de Malaga’ (Malaga Festival) starts on the second week of August! This is a fun-filled colorful cultural event where locals revel on the streets in traditional co...

In most of my travels, I almost never blog about the hotel I stayed in, perhaps because my passion when traveling lies on discovering the country, the culture, the local culinaire and the people, and not my hotel bedroom or the hotel lobby and restaurant. I don’t stay in the hotel most of the day anyway—well, only to sleep. I am outside exploring new places, new things, new experiences and new ideas. For this short trip in Wallonia, I wanted some nature. I wanted so badly to be surrounded with vegetation and mountains. I saw Chateau de la Poste, a lifestyle resort in the Ardennes mountains in my favorite hotel booking site and was right away attracted to its location. What I am trying to say is—I find this hotel very relaxing and very interesting as well, maybe because it’s a castle, so I took fotos of the interior and would like to share them here. The chateau is located in the village called Maillen in the Assesse municipality of Namur province (Wallonia, Belgium). This is...