Food, food, food!

They say almonds are good for you. So i like eating a few almonds, in search for extra energy :)

Not a big fan of salads including fruits. Below is an apple salad one of my colleagues had in Lime Tree Cafe, Media City. Loving that place for a quick, healthy bite. I do find it slightly over the price, though. How about you guys?

+Costacoffee RMAG chocolate fudge cake. This is specially delicious before boarding the flight early in the morning. Yummy breakfast treats :)

Home made salad. Just a blast of colours & vitamins.

 Beautiful Cafe Latte at +Sixsenses Zighy Bay breakfast buffet. I am still raving about this place & hopefully one day i will go back there again.

Green Tea with Macaroon at +Jumeirah Zabeel Saray. Speaking of Macaroon, i am so looking forward to going to my Macaroon baking class in couple of weeks. I have always wondered how do they cook these things?

Switzerland - Day 5 - Part II

So once we have finished our trip to Santis, it was time for me to go back to Bern and make myself ready for Italy.
But before that, we have decided to visit Luzern the next morning.

The city is very popular with tourists, crowded and very beautiful.

The weather was not so hot & not so cold. Just perfect for a stroll of a picturesque Luzern. I was very surprised to see the lock on one of the bridge walls. Any idea on what could it be and why would one do this? I know that somewhere in Russia, couples tend to lock these on one of the bridges as a sign of love? Or something similar to this anyway :)

After that, it was time for lunch. And, seriously, Switzerland is really blessed with really fresh, tasty and yummy food.

This salad was one of the best salads I've even eaten in my life. It had some salad leaves, tomatoes, walnuts, cranberry sauce & chicken. It was so tasty!

This was the last day of Switzerland and i am so thankful that i got the opportunity to visit such a beautiful country.

Switzerland - Day 5

Hi Guys! I know I've been MIA for a while now. There has been so much going on in my life, that, honestly, i did not have time to edit the pictures and write down any sort of update.
I still did not finish my Swiss travel story, which is bad of me, i know, considering that this day was the highlight of my entire journey.
On this day, Aline has taken me to the most amazing place on earth - Santis. But before that, we've gone back to the same bar we were at the night before for some yummy & healthy breakie.

The combination seems to be so easy to prepare, but somehow, i am never able to do something like that for us at home.

If you guys remember, in August there was an issue with Pussy Riot in Russia. The story was heavily covered by all the major media channels. And you can imagine the extend of my surprise when our waitress has presented us with the cheque below.

After that we drove to Santis and pictures below were taken on our way. I can't stop talking about the scenery that Switzerland is blessed with & honestly think that people living there are the luckiest ones in the world.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about this place. Santis is the tallest mountain in the Alpstein region and is around 10kms away from Appenzel (the place where we went for cheese tasting, i wrote about it in one of my previous posts). The mountain is nearly 2,503 meters above the sea level and the summit is easily reached by the cable carriages. The view from the tip is magnificent and i just could not get enough of it. Just make sure that you get a jacket with you, as it gets pretty chilly up there.

 I could rave on about the nature for pages more, but ill just let you enjoy the pictures. Up up & away!

Don't you guys think this is amazing?



Switzerland, a bit of Austria - Day 4

From here on, my European sight seeing has officially started. For the next few days, my friend Aline has kindly agreed to meet me and to show me around her region. While discussing the plan for the days that we were going to spend together, i have said that my perception of Switzerland consists of hills, greenery, lots of small villages, cows, cheese & chocolate. And so this is how the plan went ahead.
Early in the morning, i took a train to St. Gallen, a region north-east of Switzerland & close to Austrian border. Once i have finally reached, Aline took me to Appenzell. Apparently they produce famous for that region cheese.
The village is so beautiful & i could not get enough of the scenery.

It so green. And looked just like in my dreams :)

After that we have gone to the farm where they produce the famous cheese - Appenzeller. I got a chance to try strong (oh, it was sooo strong!) & a mild one (which was quiet tasty!). Did not buy cheese, but somehow ended up buying natural raspberry preserve. Makes sense, does it?

Once we have come out of the farm, i saw cows around a single tree. I thought this scene was so adorable and so...Swiss. I absolutely love this picture!

After that we have decided to take some rest, so Aline took me to her apartment (which was AMAZING!). After my short snooze on her sofa we have continued our quest for sight seeing, so we drove past Austrian border to see the beautiful Lake Constance. So basically, we just drove from Switzerland to Austria and we could see Germany. That's confusing, but i loved it :)

And later on came the most entertaining "local" experience of my entire Swiss journey. Yes, i was taken to a local bar/pub!

I've had, i think, THE best salad of my entire life. And my friend had baguette with salami, i think? It's been such a long time since I've had a girl gossiping, that i did not realise how the evening has come to an end. A few wine glasses later, we have decided to go home and take rest for the next day.

 

Aline

So while I was in Switzerland i got to see one of my closest friends - Aline.
It was a pleasure & thank you soooo much for taking care of me while i was there!
I hope you like these!

 

Bern - Switzerland Day 2 & 3

We are now in the middle of our Italy holidays, however i still have a lot more to tell you about Switzerland.
There has not been much happening during these 2 days. I have been on my own. Mostly stuck in the hotel room reading and indulging myself into Fifty Shades Darker. If you don't know, this book is banned in UAE, so the moment i saw it in Bern, i had to buy 2nd and 3rd books. (oh, yes, i am about to finish the 3rd book now) I think that this book is at its best when you've got nothing else to do and if you really need to switch off your brain.
So in the afternoon i went for a quick lunch at Art Cafe. It was nice. I have ordered curried chicken salad with a lemon ice tea. PS: I've noticed that people like to drink ice tea with their meals and it seems that the consumption of this beverage in this country is much higher than it is in Dubai.

They've got both indoor & outdoor sitting. I have decided to sit indoor, as it was slightly hot for my preference to sit outside.

 

If you see from the outside, it looks like some random street bar, which it may be at night. However during lunch time i have noticed some executives popping in for a quick bite.

 

 The salad was fresh & tasty and i have thoroughly enjoyed it.

 

Later on in the evening we have gone out for dinner in search for some local food. We have ended up at Restaurant Anker. This time we have decided to sit outdoor, as the temperature has dropped down.

 

 

The indoor setting.

 

My husband has ordered sausages with grated fried potatoes & i have ordered chicken breast with veggies. Unfortunately the waitress has confused my order and thought it was fine. So i had to wait some extra time to get my order cooked. However i have tried the fried potatoes and it was delicious. I did not eat sausage, as i don't eat meat generally, however i was told that it was fine as too.

On the menu, they've got "local" dishes marked with Swiss flags & this is how they deliver the food to the table. Overall, i think it was a good place for a relaxing dinner, with beer for hubby and a glass of wine for me.

 

 

Bern, Switzerland - Day 1

So we are finally on holidays. Well, i am, to be more precise. We are now in Bern, Switzerland. While my husband is attending conference, i am stuck all alone in our hotel room.

I love being in Europe in summer. The weather is perfect, not too hot & not too cold. Just to my comfort. I love the fact that you can get around the city in 15 minutes. I am also overwhelmed how green this country is. In Dubai, we don't have so much greenery, so i always miss nature, mountains and walking bare foot on the grass.

We are staying in Best Western Bristol Hotel. The hotel is nice, something that you would expect as per European standards. The best thing that i liked is that they've got complimentary Wi-Fi in the rooms & they've got complimentary cycles available as well. So while i am alone, i am able to roam around the city cycling. This means, that i can do my gym routines while actually doing some sight seeing :)
So after having breakfast in a small & cozy hotel restaurant together with my hubby, i decided to go to the Rose Garden. It's the 2nd recommended activity on Trip Advisor, so it was definitely on my "if i get bored" to-do list.
Not only the way to the Rose Garden is full of views (the pics above are taken on my way), but once you get there, you would be able to enjoy the full view of Bern along with lovely flowers in the garden itself. The entry is free and there is also a restaurant as well. The road to the garden is quiet steep, so by the end of it i was nearly crawling my way into the area. And on my way down, I've had my legs shaking too.

I have also strolled away from the main path several times, so i have ended up in narrow roads that gave me warm neighbourly feeling. At some point i was wondering how does it feel living in this kind of houses? It must be very warm & cozy inside when it's snowing...

Once i have finally reached the end of the road, this is the view that i got. As i mentioned earlier, there is a restaurant as well, so you would be able to enjoy the view for a longer time if you wish.

The flowers in the Rose Garden were great, however to me, it was an additional benefit to the view that i got.