A day at the Spa...

A place so famous and special that its´ name has become a noun, Spa (http://www.spa-info.be/) is situated in the Belgian Ardennes mountaines, 1 hour-drive away from Brussels and approximately the same from Aachen.

This small city ows its´ worldwide fame to 3 things:

• of course, the wonderful hot springs which have been converted into 800 sq meters of pool and therme (http://www.thermesdespa.com/2008/index.php)




• it is home to the Formula 1 Belgian Grand Prix, held traditionally in the month of August on the Circuit de Spa Francorchamps




• Agatha Christie decided to make it the birth place of her most famous character :)

Anyway, if you are not lucky enough to get your hands on some extremely expensive tickets to the Formula 1 event, you should head there to indulge yourself in the exquisite pleasures os the Spa for a day or a week-end.

For accomodation you can do no better than the Radisson Palace (http://www.radissonsas.com/cs/Satellite/Page/seo/RadissonSAS/hotel/en/hotelCode--LGGZH/useSeo--false/) which is connected to the Thermes with a private funicular so you can go have a swim directly in your bathrobe and slippers from your room! The hotel offers a few packages including accomodotion, dinner (the restaurant is typical French cuisine with very good service) and spa treatments which are excellent value for money.

Besides enjoying the (indoor and outdoor) heated pool, jacuzzi, saunas with panoramique views, hammam or just relaxing under the warm light of the infrared lamps, you must also take advantage of the excellent facilities offered by the beauty center of the Thermes: book in advance for a hot-stones massage or one of the tens of aquatic massages.

Enjoy!
Feel free to comment, sharing your experiences or asking questions or recommendations.

One day in Lille

Lille is a lovely city to spend 1 or 2 days in: having been the European Capital of Culture in 2004, the city has departed from its industrial roots and had major uplifts made. The centre is now welcoming and warm (even if the weather is not always very nice in this northern part of France...)

As it is France's 4th largest city, it's very well served by public transportation: the airport (http://www.lille.aeroport.fr/) is 15 mins away from the city centre by taxi, the train station is a major stop for all the high-speed railways in this part of Europe (so you are less than 1 hour away from Brussels, Paris or London using either http://www.eurostar.com/dynamic/index.jsp or http://www.tgv.com/), 5 major highways pass around the city and you can get around the city using the driverless metro system (http://www.urbanrail.net/eu/lil/lille.htm).

The best is, as always, walking around the city as you can then discover some of the lovely sights:

• you have to start with Grand Place (The Main Square), right at the centre of the "old town"
• then you can make your way to the "Vieille Bourse" (The Old Stock Exchange) with its magnificent facade (http://picasaweb.google.com/citytripblog/LilleJan09#5292688160291612962), where now you can find old antiques markets in the week-ends
• just in front of it, you can find the Opera House and next to that the superb Clock Tower of the former Chambre de Commerce
• after you stop by for some rhubarb pie at the Paul bakery nearby (http://www.paul.fr/uk/produits-tartes-entremets.php#) you can also visit the Notre Dame de Lille, a huge cathedral which welcomes you with ancient smells of wood, a children's playground (!) and a message that maybe should belong to all churches : "We have built this church to be an intermediary in your relationship with Jesus Christ and not to become a purpose in itself".
• if you have the time, don't miss also the 17th century Vauban Citadel

When in France, you should always indulge yourself in the wonderful French cuisine and have a typical, bourgeois, 3 hour lunch or dinner :)

And Lille provides one great restaurant to indulge yourself : Le Compostelle (http://lecompostelle.fr/), just 2 minutes away from Grand Place, will welcome you in one of its 5 salons with great service, value menus, superb wine cellar and fantastic dishes: a big recommendation goes for the "Menu Decouverte" (43 Euro) with which you can choose between "land" and "sea" for your meal (the waffle foie gras and "trilogy of the field" will make your taste buds feel in heaven) and finish with a spectacular dessert (the creme brulee trilogy seems to be the crowd favourite).

You can have a look at some photos of the city here: http://picasaweb.google.com/citytripblog/LilleJan09##

Feel free to comment, sharing your experiences or asking questions or recommendations.

End of the century in Brussels

If you are in Brussels and you want to enjoy a lovely time for lunch or dinner, one place will guarantee that, throwing in: quality service, tasty food that is not pretentious, nice wine, good value for money, a intimate and lovely decor and, most of all, excellent buzzing atmosphere.

This superb restaurant is called "La Fin de Siecle" (The end of the century) and the special thing about it is that it has the gift of making you forget for one moment about the busy lives we all live and offer you a simple but exquisite trip into what the art of gastronomy is all about.
The cracking atmosphere will capture you since you walk in, the 2 waiters will sweep you off your feet with their kindness (they speak French, English, Italian etc. and if you need advice, don't hesitate to ask, they always provide good answers!) and the menu is not big, but you should be able to find something you like (we all like Italian food, don't we?).
Some of the best dishes from the chef are: a delightful Osso Buco, caramelized scampi salad, aubergines al forno (in the oven), Venetian veal liver and, of course, all the pasta dishes.

The restaurant is located quite close to the city centre, in the neighbourhood of Etterbeek (on Avenue de l'Armee no. 3, 2 minutes from Montgomery Square), and reservations are almost mandatory as the place is always full with its "fans”: http://www.resto.be/ware/booking.jsp?businessid=462&lg=EN

Feel free to comment, sharing your experiences or asking questions or recommendations.

Bilbao surprises the world

Bilbao (the largest city in the Basque Country, in the northern part of Spain) will surprise many of you with its modernity, but most of all with its welcoming arms. Let's make one thing clear though: that will happen if you are not Spanish :) The city has gone through major changes in the last few decades, modernising what was apparently a very grey, industrial city and turning it into a gem.

Bilbao is perfectly suited for a week-end's city trip or is a "must" stop on your itinerary if you are travelling through Spain. In case of the city trip, the good news is that the airport is very new and modern and fuelled by lots of low-cost airlines like http://www.easyjet.com/ or http://www.vueling.com/?language=EN.

For accommodation, a very warm recommendation goes to Edificio Santiago (http://www.edificiosantiago.com/main_ingles.htm), which provides very modern hotel-like rooms but in a warmer environment. It is also extremely close to the main shopping area in Bilbao (walking distance of 5 minutes) and has a very nice restaurant as well.
As for moving around the city, the Metro (http://www.metrobilbao.com/) is an extremely accessible option, as it has been one of the catalysts of modernity in the city, but walking around will also help you stumble across beautiful local shops and restaurants.


Now that the practicalities are out of the way, let's talk about what you should not miss when "citytriping" in Bilbao:

• the Santiago Cathedral (Catedral de Santiago - to not be confused with the huge Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela) which is more than 700 years old, which boasts a lovely Gothic architecture and superb stained glasses
• the Old Town (or El Casco Viejo), also known as Las Siete Calles (the 7 streets) because it contains the 7 roads that form the oldest neighbourhood in town, is a great place to just walk around, enter in the colourful shops, tapas bars, old churches, but you can also do your groceries at the huge market (Mercado de la Ribera); also, if you want to follow old tradition, you should be doing a tavern crawl drinking shots of wine (chiquitos) and singing along with the locals :)
  
  
• have a stroll on the Zubizuri (it means white bridge in Basque), another of the city's new symbols

• of course, you cannot escape from a visit to the highly acclaimed Guggenheim Museum - http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao. The architecture is indeed impressive (especially if admired from above, please check the photo album for nice views) and the modern-culture lovers will also be delighted by its exhibitions, but for those of you with more traditional views a word of warning : the colourful Puppy in front of the museum might be the only piece of art that you will actually appreciate
• the City Hall is a great view, especially at night, the Baroque-style building dating from 1892 and remaining one of the city's "old symbols". Just to give you an idea, have a look here : http://farm1.static.flickr.com/182/388207662_e97218d5d3.jpg?v=0
  

Another option is a day's trip to San Sebastian, a lovely city on the coast of the Atlantic, but about that in a future post.

For City Trip Blog photos of Bilbao have a look here: http://picasaweb.google.com/citytripblog/Bilbao#slideshow

Feel free to comment, sharing your experiences or asking questions or recommendations.

1930's Delight in Bucharest

Going out for dinner in Bucharest (Bucuresti), the capital of Romania, can turn into a fantastic journey into the history of the city if you stop by at the "Locanta Jaristea" (http://www.jaristea.ro/), situated quite close to the center of the city.
Although you might feel a bit overwhelmed at the beggining by the multitude of art covering the restaurant's walls and tables, the atmosphere is electric, the food is mouth-watering and the show (yes, there is a show) will transport you back to the 1930's Little Paris.
The big downside is that smoking is allowed all over the restaurant, although that might change in the near future, but that also reminds of ancient interwar times when smoking was cool.

Anyway, if you are in Bucharest, this is a place not to be missed in order to travel into the deeps of local gastronomy, art and entertainment.

Feel free to comment, sharing your experiences or asking questions or recommendations.