Travel - My Pleasant things

January 18, 2024

Baratti & Milano – A Chocolate-box Confectionery

In this final post of the year, I would like to mention a historic chocolatier and confectionery in Turin, the capital of Piedmont – a region of Italy bordering France […]

General, Europe, Travel Alexandre Dumas, Ava Gardner, Baratti & Milano, Battle of Oranges, bicerin, Caffè Al Bicerin, Caffé Elena, Caffè Gelateria Fiorio, Caffè Mulassano, Caffè San Carlo, Caffè Torino, Carnival of Ivrea, cremino, De Gasperi, Einaudi, Ferrero, Galleria Subalpina, gianduia, gianduiotto, gianduja, giandujotto, Il Festivo chocolate cake, il Valentino, King Carlo Alberto, Lavazza, Merande Reale, Napoleon, Nietzsche, Palazzo Madama, Parco del Valentino, Paul Caffarel, Pavese, Pepino, Pfatisch, Piazza San Carlo, Piazzo Castello, Piedmont, Royal House of Savoy, Savoy, Stupinigi Palace, Torino, Turin, Umberto Eco, Wonka 2 Comments

December 15, 2023

A Stockholm Visit – Colored with Jazz, ‘Fika’ and A Royal Touch

Visiting Stockholm was on my target list after a Swedish film I watched during the pandemic titled “I Love You – A Divorce Comedy“. The film is a sweet romantic […]

General, Europe, Travel 50th jubilee, A Divorce Comedy, ABBA, Agaton, Americain Bar, angel chime, Artipelag, Astrid Lindgren, Berså, Blue Hall, cinnemon bun, Djurgården, Drottninggatan, Drottningholm Palace, Ekstedt, European Green Capital, Fasching Jazz Club, Fika, Fotografiska, Frantzén, Gamla Stan, Gerald Clayton, Golden Hall, Greta Garbo, Greta's, Gröna Lund, Haymarket By Scandic, Hernö Gin Bar', Jag älskar dig - En skilsmässokomedi, Junibacken, Kanelbulle, kardemummabulle, King Carl XVI Gustaf, Köttbullar, Kungsgatan, Lake Mälaren, Liffey Irish Pub, Lucy's Flower Shop, Mamma Mia!, Nobel banquet, Nobel prize, Norr Mälarstrand, Östermalms Saluhall, Paul Urbanus Bergström, Paul's, Pippi Longstocking, princess cake, Princess Victoria, PUB Department Store, Restaurang Prinsen, Restaurant Sturehof, Skansen, Smörgås, Smörgåstårta, Södermalm, Stadshuset, Stig Lindberg, Stockholm, Stockholm archipelago, Stockholm City Hall, Stockholm Concert Hall, Stockholm Jazz Festival, Swedish meatballs, Värmdö Island, Vasa Museum, Vette-Katten, Villa Villekulla No comments

August 19, 2023

Normandy – Apples, Half-Timbered Houses and Castles

The D-Day anniversary was celebrated about two months ago. D-Day is the name given to Allied invasion of western Europe launched on June 6, 1944, by the landing of US, […]

Europe, General, Travel 2 Comments

May 29, 2023

A Coffee Shop in San José, Costa Rica

It has been a rainy spring. Although the freshness of spring is felt in its back notes, cloudy and misty weather allows me to write one more post I associate […]

General, Latin America, Travel Allegory of the Coffee and the Bananas, Alma de Café, Azotea Calle 7, Barrio Amon, Barrio Escalante, Cafe Miel Costa Rica, Cafeoteca, casado, Costa Rica, empanadas, gallo pinto, Hotel Presidente, Isolina, Mercado Escalante, olla de carne, President Kennedy in San José, Pura Vida, Rávi Gastropub, San José, Silvestre, Soda Tapia, sodas, Tarrazú, The National Theater of Costa Rica No comments

May 14, 2023

Gleneagles, Scotland

It is spring time here in Istanbul but the weather is still not that warm and raining cats and dogs from time to time, as if to let me write […]

General, Travel, UK / Scotland / Ireland Andrew Fairlie, archery, Auchterarder, Blair Castle, Braid house, British School of Falconry, Callendar House, championship golf coures, croquet, Dean village, deer stalking, Drummond Castle Gardens, Dunkeld, Edinburgh, Eiesha Bharti Pasricha, Ennismore, Equestrian Centre, falconry, Ferret School, G8 Summit, Glen Devon, Glendevon, Gleneagles, Gleneagles Townhouse, Glenturret Distillery, gun dogs, Holyrood park, horse riding, Linlithgow Palace, Loch Lomond, off-road driving, Orchil Hills, padel, Perthshire, polo lessons, Princes Street, quoit, River Tay, Riviera in the Highlands, Royal Lochnagar Suite, Royal Mile, Ryder Cup, salmon fishing, Scone Castle, Scotland, Sharan Pasricha, Shooting Fishing School, Solheim Cup, st Andrew Square, Stirling Castle, Strathearn, The Birnam, The Dormy, The Glorious Playground, Water of Leith No comments

January 17, 2023

Paris – Always A Good Idea

We had the chance to visit Paris as a family at the end of November, just before the Schengen visa of my daughter expired. I am so grateful for this […]

Europe, General, Travel A Moveable Feast, Angelina, Avenue George V, Avenue Montaigne, Balzac House, Belleville, Bois de Boulogne, Buttes-Chaumont Park, Café de Flore, Canal Saint-Martin, Champs-Élysées, Châteaux de Versailles, Crazy Horse, Disneyland Paris, Edit Piaf, Eiffel Tower, Emily in Paris, Ernest Hemingway, Fouquet's, Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Île de la Cité, Île Saint-Louis, Jardin du Luxembourg, La Closerie des Lilas, Ladurée, Le Baiser de l'Hôtel de Ville, Le Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen, Le Meurice, Les Deux Magots, Louvre Museum, Marais, Midnight in Paris, Montmartre, Montparnasse, Moulin Rouge, Musée Rodin, Notre-Dame Paris, Palais Garnier, Parc de Bagatelle, Parc Monceau, Paris, Picasso Museum, Place de Valois, Place Vendôme, Places des Vosges, Pont Alexandre III, Pont des Artes, Pont Marie, Pont Neuf, Quartier Latin, Robert Doisneau, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Saint-Ouen, Shakespeare and Company, Sorbonne, Tuileries Garden, Victor Hugo No comments

October 23, 2022

Sicily – Inspired by a Marvelous Coffee

I had the intention of writing this post since last spring – when I discovered a marvelous coffee at a Tchibo shop close to my house. On the coffee package […]

Europe, General, Uncategorized Aeolian Islands, Agrigento, arancini, Bar Ingrid, Bay of Mazzaro, Beati Paoli, brioche, Cafe Apollo, Cafe Sicilia, Cafe Spinnato, Cala Rossa, cannoli, Capella Palatina, Caseificio Borderi, Castellano, Cefalu, Cinema Paradiso, Corrado Assenza, Corso Umberto, Cosa Nostra, Cottanera Winery, Egadi Islands, Erice, Etna Wine Route, Favignana, Fontes Episcopi, Forza D'agro, Galleria degli Specchi, Google Camp, granita, Greek Theatre of Taormina, Hiera, Hotel Villa Athena, Il Postino, involtini di melanzane, Italian Journey, Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, La Locanda del Postino, Leopard, Levanzo, Lipari, Marettimo, Messina, Mick Jagger Sicily house, Modica, Mount Etna, Mount Stromboli, Noto, Noto Cathedral, Opera dei Pupi, Ortigia island, Osteria dei Vespri, Palazzo Valguarnera Gangi, Palermo, Palermo markets, panella, passeggiata, pasta alla norma, Piazza del Duomo, Portogallo, Prada house Sicily, Ragusa, Ragusa Ibla, Salina, San Domenico Palace, Santa Caterina fort, Savoca, Sciacca, Segesta, Seven Rooms Villadorata, Sicilian puppets, Sicily, Stromboli, Syracuse, Taormina, Teatro Massimo, The Godfather, Trapani, UNESCO, Valley of the Temples, Verdura Resort, Villa Igiea, Villa Romana del Casale, Villa Sant'Andrea, Villa Valguarnera, Visconti, Zu Nillu 2 Comments

August 27, 2022

Carrig Country House, County Kerry & Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

Isn’t a glimpse at the photo above is very soothing? – which I thought so and sat down to write this post. It is one of the photos of the […]

General, Travel, UK / Scotland / Ireland Alicia Burrell, Annascaul, beach horse riding, Caragh Lake, Carrig Country House, Clew Bay, Corrigan's Mayfair, country house, County Kerry, County Mayo, Dingle, Dingle Peninsula, Emerald Isle, Frank and Mary Slattery, Galway, Glenbeigh, Inch Beach, Ireland, Irish red deer, jaunting cars, Killarney Golf Club, Killarney National Park, Killorglin, Lakeside Restaurant, Limerick, Muckross House, paddle boarding, Portmagee, Puck Fair, Richard Corrigan, Ring of Kerry, Ross Castle, Rossbeigh Beach, Skellig Micheal, Slea Head, Sligo, South Pole Inn, Strand Street, Tom Crean, UNESCO, Victorian house, Virginia Park Lodge, white water kayaking, Wild Atlantic Way, Yeats No comments

May 27, 2022

Bethlen Estates and Castle – Transylvania

When I saw the photo above in House & Garden, I was filled with an enthusiasm and joy imagining myself having a picnic in this pleasant setting within the green. […]

Europe, General, Travel bear watching, Bethlen Castle, Bethlen Estates, Biertan, bison, Bram Stoker, Bran Castle, brown bears, Caretaker's Huse, Carpathian bear, Carpathian Mountains, Count Janos Bethlen Manor House, Count Miklos Bethlen, Cris, Dacre Stoker, Depner House, Dracula, Dracula the Undead, Dracula's Castle, Gladys Bethlen, gourmet picnic, heliskiing, home-made brandies, horse carriage rides, Hotel Transylvania, Kitchen Barn, lynxes, Nikolaus Bethlen, Prince Charles Transylvanian properties, rewilding, Romania, safari, Saxon houses, Sighisoara, snowshoe walking, The Prince of Wales's Guesthouse, The Vampire Diaries, torch-lit wine cellars, Transalpina Road, Transfagarasan Road, Transylvania, Transylvanian Alps, Transylvanian countryside, Transylvanian wines, truffle hunting, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, vampires, Viscri, Vlad Tepes, Vlad the Impaler, wine tasting 1 Comment

February 26, 2022

Classic Hotels – Part 2

This post is the continuation (the second part) of my previous post under the title “Classic Hotels – Part 1“. The last hotel I had mentioned in my previous post […]

General, Travel 5th Avenue, Alain Delon, Always at The Carlyle, Art Deco, Ava Gardner, Belle époque, Belmond Splendido Mare, Bemelmans Bar, Bloody Marry, Blue Bar New York, Cafe Carlyle, Central Park, Clement The Peninsula, DaV Mare, De Sica, Earl Rose, Elizabeth Taylor honeymoon, Ernesto Basile, Fifth Avenue, Florian family, George Clooney, Golden Triangle of Art, Greta Garbo, Guerlain spa, Home Alone hotel, Jerónimos, King Cole Bar, King Edward VII, King of Siam, L'Atelier Robuchon, Lake Geneva, Ludwig Bemelmans, Madrid, Mandarin Oriental Ritz Madrid, Manhattan, Marilyn Monroe, Marlene Dietrich, Mick Jagger, Mont Blanc, Museum Mile, New York, Nikola Tesla, Palermo, Paseo del Prado, Pedro Almodóvar, Piazzetta di Portofino, Pierre-Yves rochon, Portofino, Princess Diana, Quique Dacosta, Roberto Rossellini, Round Table New York, Russian Tea Room, Salon de Ning, Salvador Dalí, Sicily, Sophia Loren, The Algonquin Hotel, The Barefoot Contessa, The Carlyle, The Leopard, The Peninsula New York, The Plaza New York, The Quin New York, The St Regis New York, The Woodward Geneva, Villa Igiea, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Woody Allen No comments