Category: Europe

February 27, 2025

“Hygge” in Copenhagen

General, Books, Europe, Travel Amelienborg Palace, Borgen, cardamom rolls, Cecconi's, CERVO, Christiansborg Palace, Christianshavn, cinnamon rolls, communal dinner, Conditori La Glace, Copenhagen, Countess Danner, Denmark, Emmerys, Eva Copenhagen, Flying Tiger, Folkehuset Absalon, Frederiksborg Castle, Hans christian Andersen, Happiness Research Institute, Hygge, hyggekrog, hyggelige, ILLUM, Jaegerspris Castle, Kanalhuset hotel, Kanelbrud, Karen Blixen, King Frederik, Kongens Nytorv, Lennart Lajboschitz, Louise Rasmussen, Malmö, Maple Casual Dining, Matador, Meik Wiking, Norreport, Nyhavn, Oresund Bridge, Out of Africa, Queen Margrethe, Queen Mary, Restaurant Orangeriet, Rosenborg Castle, Royal Danish Playhouse, Royal Theater's Old Stage, Sankt Peters Bageri, Sarah Lund, Smorrebrod, Soho House Copenhagen, Soren Kierkegaard, Stroget, The Bridge series, The Killing, The Little Book of Hygge, Tivoli Gardens, TorvehallerneKBH, Uniqlo, Vesterbro, Zermatt 4 Comments

Are you familiar with ‘hygge’? The Danish concept of cosiness, comfort, warmth, heartiness and/or togetherness… If not, I suggest that you read the book “The Little Book of Hygge: The […]

December 13, 2024

A Visit to Rome – Beautiful and Eternal (Part-3)

General, Europe, Travel Andrea Dotti, Antica Trattoria Angelino, Antico Forno Roscioli, Audrey Hepburn, Aventine Hill, Bernardo Bertolucci, Bibliobar, Casa del Cinema, Casina del Lago, Doney Cafe Rome, Emily in Paris, Federico Fellini, Forno Monteforte, Galleria Borghese, Giardino degli Aranci, Giggetto Restaurant, Hamleys Rome, Harry's Bar Rome, Hotel Eden, Janiculum Hill, L'Arcangelo, La Nuova Piazzetta, La Terrazza, La Vecchia Roma, Luca Dotti, Mel Ferrer, Parioli, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Margana, Picio Terrace, Pincio Hill, Pizzeria Ai Marmi, Portico of Octavia, Prati, Retrobottega, Roma, Rome, Rosati, Roscioli, Sculpture of David, Sean Ferrer, Trastevere, Trattoria al Moro, Venus Victrix, Via Cola di Rienzo, Via Veneto, Villa Borghese, Westin Excelsior 4 Comments

This is the third and the last part of my previous posts titled “A Visit to Rome – Beautiful and Eternal” and “A Visit to Rome – Beautiful and Eternal […]

November 9, 2024

A Visit to Rome – Beautiful and Eternal (Part-2)

General, Europe, Travel Afdera Franchetti, Annette Stroyberg, Antico Forno Roscioli, Aperol Spritz, Audrey Hepburn, Baths of Caracalla, Campo de' Fiori, Colosseum, Corsetti, Emily in Paris, Esquilino, Giordano Bruno, Gladiator, Henry Fonda, Il Maritozzaro, Kolbe Hotel Rome, maritozzo, Mercati di Traiano, Monti, Museum of Imperial Forums, Nino dal 1934, Osteria Corsetti 1921, Palatine Hill, Palazzo Massimo, Passetto di Borgo, Piazza Farnese, Piazza Mattei, Piazza San Pietro, Ponte Sant'Angelo, Regoli, Roma, Roman Forum, Rome, Roscioli, Santa Maria Maggiore, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, Tiber River, Trajan's Market, Trastevere, Turtle Fountain, Vatican City, Via dei Fori Imperiali, Via Giulia, Via Nichola Salvi, Vin Allegro No comments

This is the second part of my previous post titled “Rome – Beautiful and Eternal” about Rome and our trip to Rome with my daughter. (Photo above: Trajan’s Market (Mercati […]

January 18, 2024

Baratti & Milano – A Chocolate-box Confectionery

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

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 […]

December 15, 2023

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

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

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 […]

August 19, 2023

Normandy – Apples, Half-Timbered Houses and Castles

Europe, General, Travel A La Reine Mathilde, Alabaster Coast, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Bayeaux, Beaumont-en-Auge, Beuvron-en-Auge, Cabourg, Cabourg Film Festival, Caen, calvados, camembert, Chateau d'Audrieu, Chateau La Cheneviere, Claude Lelouch, D-Day, David Hockney, Deauville, Etretat, Giverny, Honfleur, Maison Drouin, Marcel Proust, Monet house, Mont-Saint-Michel, Mulberry harbour, Normandy apple tart, Normandy castles, Normandy cheese route, Pays d'Auge, Pommeau, Pont l'évêque, Port Winston, Rouen, Suisse Normande, Tarte Normande, The Grand Hôtel Cabourg, Trouville-sur-Mer, Un Homme et Une Femme, William The Conquerer 2 Comments

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, […]

January 17, 2023

Paris – Always A Good Idea

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

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 […]

October 23, 2022

Sicily – Inspired by a Marvelous Coffee

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

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 […]

May 27, 2022

Bethlen Estates and Castle – Transylvania

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

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. […]