Paris Diaries: The Louvre

Paris... the city of love. It truly lives up to its name. Since there is so much to see and do, I will be publishing a series of posts about my time spent in this gorgeous city. 

The Louvre 

I M Pei's Pyramid

A trip to Paris would be incomplete without popping by the Louvre. Had I planned properly, I would have probably purchased my ticket online. The queue was long. No worries, however, as I managed to get good pictures of IM Pei's glass Pyramid (which is the entrance) while waiting in the queue. First there is a security checkpoint, once you're in you are literally under the pyramid (Yay! for more pictures!) in the entrance hall and in the heart of the museum. I then purchased my actual museum entry ticket from a machine. 

Map in hand and my head sufficiently confused about where to begin, I started exploring.

Pilanesberg National Park

I'm sure "Safari" is on most peoples to do list when traveling to South Africa. But which reserve to visit is the big question. Travelers to SA usually limit their trips to Cape Town and Johannesburg. Kruger National Park is most people's (including me) first choice Game Reserve, the amount of wildlife you see there is incomparable. But travelling to Mpumalanga/Limpopo may be a bit far out for some.

Pilanesberg Game Reserve - taken from Lenong View

One of my favourite getaways offers a convenient alternative - Pilanesberg National Park. I've visited here many times in the last few years, and I love it. Being a mere 2 hour drive from Johannesburg, means that its feasible to do a day trip. Its Situated in the North West Province, which is Malaria free, and its right next door to Sun City - added bonus! 

Budapest Must See: The Hungarian Parliament

 "The city is so Beautiful, you almost feel too embarrassed to look" 

Budapest is one of the most under marketed cities. I also truly believe it is one of the most beautiful cities on our planet, having justly earned the label of being the "Paris of the East." Its a wonderful mix of history, art and modern culture, making it one of my favourite vacations. The city's beauty will leave you in awe.

I've decided to blog about Budapest, to share my experience with others and if possible, inspire others to visit this incredible city. Pictures and text do not do justice to the feeling you get of the city and atmosphere, when you are actually there.

The Hungarian Parliament

The Hungarian Parliament

Isabella's Cake & Food Shop

I saw a pic of the bunny chow served at Isabella's Cake & Food shop on twitter & I just had to have it. So hubby and I popped by the Northcliff branch over the weekend. All I can say about this place is that everything is so darn cute. From the display of pies and cakes at the entrance to the different tea sets that they serve their tea in. The shop itself is was bustling but cosy, and I'm just crazy about the damask decor - the walls, the chairs, the counters - its everywhere! There's also an upstairs area where you can host private events and there's WIFI (whoop!).

Isabella's Cake & Food Shop Northcliff

Chocolate, Coffee & Seafood

We headed to the coffee and chocolate expo held over the weekend at Monte Casino. You can imagine my excitement. As an addict of both chocolate and coffee I though I'd be entering a state nirvana at some point. We went for the afternoon session on Saturday. The expo itself was good, for example the Belgian Chocolate stall was fun, tasting little bits of chocolate. We bought the 70% dark chocolate and the ginger & blackcurrant - both excellent choices. There was a wide variety of products and workshops on offer - I loved the craft burger stall! Of course there were crepes, we tried these (Italian crepes made with 21 ingredients, cream, nutella, strawberries and kiwi - delish!):

An Italian style crepe

With 4 different tents, a smoking section and beer garden, there was enough to keep you going all afternoon. But the organizers messed up big time with regards to the number of people allowed to buy tickets. Surely if a place can only accommodate x amount of people, only x number of tickets should be sold? I can honestly say inside some tents, it was worse than being in home affairs. At least home affairs has structured queues. We could barely walk from point A to B. We left after an hour or so, not because it wasn't good, but it was just too crowded.

Fahrenheit Seafood & Grill

This weekend we also headed over to Fahrenheit Seafood & Grill. This is fast becoming one of my favourite seafood spots in Johannesburg. We've been here a couple of times, but I finally decided to review it. The ambiance is warm and family friendly, but if you're in the right spot, it can be romantic too, what with the bustling fireplaces. Being brought up in Durban, I am used to not only fresh seafood, but also big seafood. Many restaurants I've been to in Johannesburg serve up prawns that are just not juicy enough. At Fahrenheit though, when you order queen prawns, you can be sure to get queen prawns. I opted for the prawns, calamari & hake combo while hubby went for the ribs and prawns - both very large portions but still great quality:

The Prawns, Calamari & Hake Combo

Ribs & Prawns Combo

Until next time!

-P

Honeymooning in Phuket

After our wedding the hubby and I jetted off to Thailand for our honeymoon. We spent the first half in Phuket. We decided to stay in the Hilton Arcadia on Karon Beach. Much hype is made of Patong, but for a honeymoon we felt Karon was much more serene. The Hilton Arcadia itself was an amazing resort. We had a sea facing suite, which had an excellent view of the beach. The room was spacious and clean and the bathroom was huge! The resort was massive! It boasts tennis courts, a spa, 4 pool areas and there's even a shopping area within the resort. 

A Nice Touch by the hotel staff

Best Burger Hunt!

It was my husbands birthday recently. He visited Belgium earlier this year and came back raving about a lamb burger he had at a family-run roadside cafe, the burger was called "Mary had a Little Lamb." He declared that it was the best burger he's ever had. Since then, we've been on a hunt to find the best burger in Jo'Burg. So as part of our search he decided to celebrate at a well known burger joint that we had never tried before, Gourmet Garage.

The Gourmet Garage  @ Monte Casino