Super Sized Fries-Indulging in Ghent Belgium

Grant and I got cheap Eurostar tickets-£54 return to Brussels!

I found Brussels to be the least interesting in my travels but it was the gateway to Brugge and Gent. In just three hours from Kings Cross St Pancras, we arrived in Gent. 

The city is tranquil, almost like it was closed on Sundays everyday. But indeed the shops were open and people millling about inside. The old town a bit livlier. There are canals, traditional Flemish architecture and lots of places to eat and drink. Best of all, there were not many tourists. 

Hailed as having the best fries in Ghent, Grant and I pigged out at Frituur 't Puntzakje. The fries were cheap. It's 1 EUR for your choice of sauce. A regular fries was 2,70 EUR and a large was 3,10 EUR. Of course Grant wanted to upsize but when he saw how many fries they shovelled into the fryer, his jaw dropped. When the fries were cooked, almost a quarter of the fries missed our tray when emptied from the fryer basket. This is how much was got for a "regular" serve. They were crunchy and delicious! 

I asked what was in their veggie burgers and "I don't know" was the answer. I passed and lucky I did. Grant's cheeseburger was not great. The patty was DEEP FRIED. It was dirty hangover food so I say stick to their fries instead.

Grant and I had dinner at Cafe Des Arts, a brasserie opposite the Opera House. It was wonderfully Belgian with plenty of beer and delicious food. There were only locals dining and drinking at this place. 

For my starter I ordered half a dozen oysters that came with a huge glass of white wine. I had a Mystic cherry beer as an aperitif and practically inhaled the oysters. I realised after that wine went with the oysters beautifully and I should have taken my time instead of scoffing them down. They were so fresh and plump, it was hard to resist.

Here are my drinks. Mystic fruit beer, white wine and when I asked for "a real beer" I was given a pint of Charles Quint. 

Our food was totally delicious. I broke my diet and had chateaubriand steak (it was worth it). Grant had generous serve of scampi and we shared a creme brulee for dessert. 

Ghent by night. 

Random pic taken the next day as we were walking from Simon Says for coffee to the flower market in Kouter. 

The market wasn't anything special but that was a given as its the middle of winter. Grant and I spent our last hours in Ghent chilling out the Wellness spa in our hotel, the Sandton Grand Hotel Reylof.  

It was sad to check out and leave for Brussels. (But not sad to leave Brussels for London!)

Snaps From Luzern Weekend

It's my annual trip to Luzern. There was not much we could do since it was cloudy and it hadn't snowed enough for skiing. But I would not trade any day of doing nothing in Luzern for any other place. Thanks to the hospitality of my Swiss friends, Luzern is like my second home in Europe.

Behold, the wall of chocolate at the Migros in Zurich. It was like a vision from my dreams. Then I was told off for taking photos in the store. 

Fabs took me charity shopping and the Swiss donate great stuff. Found a box of raclette coupelles in the kitchenware section. It was a reminder of a joke we had in the chalet when we had raclette night and they looked like Darth Vader. "I am your father!!!"

A glut of skis at the front of the Salvation Army. I repeat, the Swiss donate quality stuff. I bought a backpack for CHF2, cheapest thing I bought in Switzerland that wasn't food.

Fabs and I met in Colmar for one day last summer and now I'm back in Luzern again!

The iconic Kapellbrucke bridge in the middle of town. Every now and then I could catch glimpses of the mountains through the fog. A totally amazing backdrop. The Luzernians are blessed for living in such a picturesque city.

The eats and drinks of the weekend. Fresh salad, home brewed beer, our fondue pot and huge eggs and ready made rosti from the farmers market. 

A lazy Sunday morning on the couch. Fabs made fresh squeezed vegetable juice. The flat was spacious, quiet and had an amazing view of Lake Luzern. It was a heavenly retreat from London.

We went for a walk along the lake and snacked on roasted chestnuts. Lake Luzern is so clean you can see the bottom. I'm coming back in summer to swim in it!

A special mention for the amazing water that flows from the taps. Its from the Swiss alps, aka the fountain of youth. I would pay good money to drink and take showers with it in London. I drank alot of tap water in Luzern. It's clean and fresh-its actually delicious. And does wonders for the body inside and out.

5 Reasons To Move To Switzerland

Of all the European cities I've been to, there are two close to my heart, Paris and Luzern. While the French capital is cosmopolitan and sexy, I consider Luzern a home away from home. 

Here are 5 reasons why I would move to Switzerland:

1) Safety-Switzerland has one of the lowest crime rates in the world. I feel safe as soon as the plane touches down in Switzerland. The country is practically beggar and dodgy people free.

2) A blend of European cultures-the combination of French, German and Italian cultures in one small country. Catch a train from Geneva to Basel and listen to the languages change from French to Swiss. German.

3) Healthier lifestyle-I'm not even counting the delicious Swiss chocolate as a reason (because that's healthy, right?) The food here is fresh and there are no mass manufacturing shortcuts-just good honest food. The quality of the produce at the supermarkets is better than what can be found in the UK. Often it's produced organically. The tap water is the best in the world, so clean I will drink loads of it and make point of washing my hair before I leave. No wonder the Swiss have amazing skin and hair. The finally the air quality is excellent. It must be that fresh alpine air and lack of overcrowding.

4) Natural beauty-the country is clean and natural. All the lakes are crystal blue, the mountains are breathtaking and the wildlife live harmoniously there. The cities seems to clean themselves. It's as if everything was designed with efficiency and cleanliness in mind.

5) Infallibility-at least seemingly so. Everything works marvellously, meticulously and reliably in this country. I've never had a cancelled or delayed train and everything runs ON TIME to the minute. There is a natural order in the way that everything is predictable. Everything works like clockwork.

While a fling with Paris has its appeal, I call Luzern home for the above reasons and for my good friends there. Fabs, my friends for whom I'm so thankful for her kindness and hospitality. And Marianne who holds fondue night in her home everytime I'm in Luzern. I  have to take my "anti-cheese pills" (as Fabienne calls them), but it's a small thing compared to the joy of sitting around pot of molton cheese with friends, eating bread and potato until that wonderful "grandmother" crust forms. 

The town of Luzern is a beauty in itself, so picturesque with its fairy tale architecture. The lake is vast and crystal clear. Watch this if you're not convinced.

There are however five downsides to this utopia. 

1) Everyone looks behaves and dresses similar. There is not much diversity and even authentic ethnic food is hard to come by.

2) The cost of living is high. A train ticket costs CHF 28 one way from Zurich airport to Luzern and that's a 50 minute journey. Mind you the train system is the best in Europe, if not the world. I wouldn't like to think how much a weeks worth of groceries would cost! I spent CHF 30 on just a small bag of things to take back to the UK.

3) Cultures are segregated by language. The only German words I know are hello, goodbye, please, thank you and sorry. If I moved to Switzerland, realistically my new friends would be English speaking expats.

4) There not as many indoor things to do compared to London. Even if you went to Zurich.

5) As a non EU citizen, it would be difficult to get a visa to work in this country. And that's past the stage where an company would want to go through the rigmarole of employing a non EU citizen. They need to prove they tried to find the right candidate but no Swiss or EU citizen could fit the bill. Which generally leaves it to the highly skilled niche jobs or the type which the Europeans wouldn't want to do long term like working in a ski resort. 

But overall I would still try to move to Switzerland, even for a short while :)

My Pescetarian Journey So Far- I Made Nutroast

By the end of 2013, I had gone back to eating meat because it was too time consuming to make two versions of dinner. In the snows I ate whatever was served in the chalet and the meals were meat-heavy. 

There was a vegetarian among us and I wished I had her nut roast for Christmas dinner instead of turkey. For boxing day, it was the chalet hosts' night off so we ate out and I ordered a steak which was humongous. It was delicious but I only needed a tiny bit to satiate my steak craving. 

I haven't had meat since I came back from France. Because Grant's in New Zealand for a month, I got to cook just for myself. I've only had pescetarian meals. I'm going to continue with meatless dinners after Grant comes back. 

Tonight I made my first nutroast. It took forever chopping up the onion, carrot, parsnip, celery, mushroom and sweet potato. I flavoured it with Vegemite, sage and thyme. I served it with leek and mushroom gravy. Absolutely scrumptious. There is now a new Sunday roast tradition!

Le Tania Days 6 and 7 - Farewell Winter Wonderland

Day 6 was our last day skiing so I made the most of every minute. The sky was clear and blue. It was perfect.

It was also the day of my last lesson. I refused to skip despite it being my only chance to go with others to Val Thorens. 

Our last lesson was mainly cruising down red runs and Keff took us out to Le Praz, a smaller village with an extremely icy run. I slipped alot and the other guys in the class were so kind to help me up. Amy and I left the class early to get a head start to Meribel for the rest of the day's skiing. 

Bye bye Keff, I will never forget your twinkling blue eyes and smile. The stuff you taught us however...

Amy and I bumped into Will on the way to Meribel.

A jaw dropping view of Meribel.

We had lunch and skiied to Saint Martin where there was a run I wanted to do. It was called Jerusalem but it was closed due to lack of snow. We did an alternate run which was higher up. The area of Saint Martin was open and treeless, it looked like it was covered in white fondant frosting. 

On our way back to La Tania, we passed an awesome party at La Folie Douce in Meribel but it was past 4pm and we had to make a beeline for the last lift. Booooooo...

As it was our last night, our chalet hit the town and what a fizzer that was. No one were in the pubs since it was changeover night, the night before the next influx of weekly tourists. We all managed to have a shot of chartreuse and crashed our other friend's chalet on the way back to ours. 

The next morning would have been completely sombre had it not been for snowman making. We made a snowman outside our chalet before taking the bus back to Lyon airport. 

The Chalet Mongellaz crew.

The ride back was depressing as we watched the snow fade from our sights. I felt heartbroken as we departed from Le Tania and ended our week of snow paradise. 

So many thrills and fond memories in the French Alps. My best Christmas ever. 

Le Tania Day 5 - Rescued By Ski Patrol

I'm kicking myself for not conserving enough energy to blog in the last days of the trip. (As I'm typing this, our bus back to Lyon is gridlocked in traffic.) 

On Boxing Day we got our Christmas wish. I woke up and our balcony covered in fluffy snow. It snowed lots overnight. Finally!

All the pine trees and mountains were dusted white. The picnic bench on our balcony was buried in snow. And it was still snowing, my first this season. 

Even Vari, our chalet host was taking pictures of the new snow and low hanging clouds from our balcony.

A magical view!

The downside was that it was freezing and windy at the top of the mountains. Visibility was poor and after our class, we took a few newbies in our group to Meribel. My favorite run, Blvd Del La Loze was closed due to avalanches so we took an alternate route, just as scenic had it not been for the fog. 

The powder was heavy so it was easy to stay in control. The moguls are fun too. We had great runs in Meribel. There was some moments where the world was so scenic I could cry. There were tree lined runs which were all white. Meribel's gingerbread houses had "frosting" on the roofs.

We headed back to La Tania when some of us were tired and wanted to take lifts down the slopes. But when we got to the top of the mountain, the chair lifts were closed and the conditions were terrible. There were strong winds that whipped snow in our faces and fog so thick we could only see 1m away. 

We followed the run markers one by one and found a steep run which was carved in ice by the wind. I actually avoided this run on a clear day. It was daunting for the experienced skier let alone the newbies. We held steadfast against the wind, procrastinating the inevitable-we had to go down.

I watched other skiers go downs and if they could do it, so could we. I skied down the ice and thankfully 15 meters below was powder. I looked up to see one of our newbies temporarily paralysed with panic at the top. 

It took a few tumbles but thankfully we all made it down. I was skiing in near blindness because my googles frosted over. Another newbie nearly blacked out due to motion sickness from skiing in a whiteout. 

At 4pm I wanted to ski back to La Tania but the others wanted to take a bus from Courchevel. I left them and took the last chairlift towards home. As I was by myself it was freaky when it suddenly stopped. Surely they wont close the lift with me still on it? I gulped as it was getting dark and very very cold.

Luckily the lift started but that was just the beginning of my problems. When I got off, it was dark as night and the winds pushed me around in my skis. 

After staring helplessly at a sign post which didn't have the run I had in mind, I scanned the area for people and when I couldn't see anyone, I forced myself to put on a brave face. 

It was like being blindfolded and blown in all directions. I tried to track my way to the adjoining red run to get home but as I inadvertently slid down a slope, I realised I was drifting back towards Courchevel. 

It was a long and foggy retreat back to Courchevel and I actually wondered how I was going to dig a shelter in case I got stranded.

Then I heard someone say: "hello, hello." 

I turned around and thank The Lord it was'nt a trick of my imagination. There was a ski patrol person asking me where I was going. He said I should go back to Courchevel to take a bus. I already missed the turn off to La Tania and the conditions are unsafe, especially for a lone skier.

I hesitated. I don't know why I was unappreciative of the circumstances but said: "I'm not a beginner and don't want to take the bus. I'd rather ski home." 

The ski patrol guy offered to walk me back to the turn off I intended to take. I backed out and then he had a conversation on his Walkie talkie in French. He told me to wait in the nearby resturant (which I couldn't see before) and another ski patroller who would take me back to La Tania. 

He accompanied me in and it was like a mirage from where I was ten minutes earlier. It was a opulent safety zone, warm and cosy with staff quietly clearing the restaurant for the day. Completely oblivious to the conditions outside. 

The other ski patroller took me back to the top of La Tania gondola on his ski mobile. It was a fun ride. Such lovely French gentlemen they were, carrying my skis and giving me plenty of assurance with their beautiful French accents. I now have a even bigger soft spot for French-ok...men now. I was most appreciative of their chivalry.

I still had to ski down Folyeres to get back to La Tania but it was safe and protected by trees. It was a wonderful experience, skiing when there was no one else (knowing that ski patrol was not far behind).

So on that day, I thanked my lucky stars that ski patrol had found me or otherwise I might not be telling you this story!

La Tania Days 3 and 4 - My First White Christmas

At least three people complained about sore tummies the next morning. My insomia as it seems was due to a stomach bug.

I carried on feeling a bit light headed for my class. Keff, my ski instructor checked to make sure I was feeling ok and Fabienne mocked running away from me when I told her that I was sick. 

I keep seeing these trees with red things. They are so pretty in the snow.

After our class Amy and I took a few newbies to Courchevel for a few green runs. It was expected to snow in the evening and the skies were grey so I took an early mark from skiing. 

In the evening there were fireworks in Le Tania and I watched from our balcony. We had a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner prepared by our hosts. They served duck confit and it was divine!

I did'nt sleep well again. Our chalet was invaded by a drunk guy (who we know) from another chalet and I woke to him sitting on my bed trying to get me up. I told him to p*** off and he went to bother the other rooms. 

It did'nt snow overnight so there was no new cover for Christmas morning. I scratched my skis on the red run into Le Tania. Amy didn't make it to class because that same drunk guy was snoring loudly in their room and she needed to catch up on sleep. This meant that I was the only girl in the class and every now and then Keff would make sure I was ok as I was the runt of the pack. He even said: (insert French accent) "ah Emma are you ok...you're so little." 

The conditions had deteriorated and there was low visability at the top of Courchevel. It was raining in Le Tania, making the snow sluggish for turns. 

The past days skiing has taken a toll on my knees and I had to make it a half day. I stumbled home and filled the tub straight away. 

I took nap as Christmas songs were being played in the kitchen by the chalet hosts and went for a walk to Le Tania shops. When I could'nt find food I liked, I returned home where Vari (one of our chalet hosts) made me a Camembert baguette. 

Christmas dinner was lovely. We had a roast turkey dinner with all the trimmings and a flaming Christmas pudding for dessert. 

After our sumptuous dinner, we went to one of the other chalets (of 20 people) for a mass Kris Kringle in our Christmas jumpers and onesies.

Kris Kringle gifts entailed of mini speakers, earphones, nerf guns, a very large bottle of personal lubricant, books (one which I stole) and scarves to name a few. There were forty odd of us and most received gifts they actually wanted. It was a good night until there was a nerf gun skirmish which resulted in a blood nose by an innocent bystander. Lucky there was a doctor among us.

We returned back to our chalet promptly after, feeling relieved to be staying in the lovely (and slightly more civilised) Chalet Mongellaz.