Where the hell is... LIECHTENSTEIN?

I knew it is in Europe, but where was a bit complicated.

Never heard anyone saying that had visited this country or met anyone that comes from there so far.
So here it goes...The Principality of Liechtenstein is a landlocked alpine microstate in Western Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over 160 km² and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz; the biggest town is Schaan. Liechtenstein is the smallest German-speaking country in the world, and the only alpine country to lie entirely within the Alps. It is also the only German-speaking country not to share a common frontier with Germany. It is a consitutional monarchy.Much of Liechtenstein's terrain is mountainous, making it a winter sports destination. Many cultivated fields and small farms characterize its landscape both in the north and in the south .The country has a strong financial sector located in the capital, Vaduz, and has been identified as a tax haven. Liechtenstein is not part of the European Union.
Geography: The entire western border of Liechtenstein is formed by the river Rhine. Measured north to south, the country is only about 24 km². Liechtenstein is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world being a landlocked country wholly surrounded by other landlocked countries (the other is Uzbekistan). Despite or perhaps because of its limited natural resources, Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in the world with more registered companies than citizens; it has developed a prosperous, highly industrialized, free-enterprise economy, and boasts a financial service sector as well as a living standard which compares favorably with those of the urban areas of Liechtenstein's large European neighbours.
Demographics: Liechtenstein is the fourth smallest country of Europe, after vatican City, Monaco and San Marino.
Nationals are referred to by the plural: Liechtensteiners.

LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD- Swedish

OMG!
I don't speak bulgarian, so I can't figure out if the guy is going ken leeee or not, but just the stupid dance is worth it!



And this Swedish version of Idol is full of very talented people, isn't it?

Where the hell is...PORTO ALEGRE

a.k.a HOMETOWN.
I know it's not a very pretty / attractive/touristic city, but I love it anyway.
It's where my family and some of my dearest friends are.
Talking about dearest friends, these ladies here below have no idea about how much I love and miss them. We all have completely different personalities, live in different places for the moment, do very different stuff for a living ,but certainly shared the best /funniest /craziest adolescence (and early years of "maturity", let's say). Long live MSN, VOIP and Skype for allowing me to catch up with them on a fairly frequent basis.

It's where I go back to twice a year and it feels like I have never left.

It's where the 4 seasons happen, with cold winters (the fucking Minuano wind!!!), even if people think that Brazil means sun the whole year long.

It's where Ronaldinho Gaucho comes from. By the way,Porto Alegre is one of the host cities of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, for which Brazil is the host nation.

It's the capital of the state that gave Gisele Bündchen and Alessandra Ambrósio to the fashion world.

It's where the best barbecue in the whole world is made: it's our tradition and my favourite food. How I miss the weekly family or friends lunches with loads of meat!(Sorry vegetarian readers, but being a meat lover is a part of my character that will never be changed along the way of becoming a better / enlightened person.)

Porto Alegre hosted the World Social Forum in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005: an initiative of several non-government organizations.

It is also a center for gaúcho (the popular name for natives of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, of which Porto Alegre is the capital) history and culture, famous for its churraco (barbecue) and chimarrão (a strong and hot tea prepared from erva mate).

According to Wikipedia (and the truth!), the high quality of life is one of the city's main features. Here people will find an excellent urban infrastructure, telecommunications and excellent medical service.

Porto Alegre is mostly composed of Brazilians of European descent. Its colonization started in the mid-18th century, mostly with the arrival of Portuguese colonists from the Azores Islands. The first non-Portuguese people to settle Rio Grande do Sul were German immigrants. In 1824, the first immigrants from Germany arrived in Porto Alegre. Most of these colonists had rural communities in the interior of the State as their first destination. The large rural exodus in Brazil in the early 20th century brought many German-descendants to Porto Alegre and, nowadays, they compose a large percentage of the population.The second largest group of immigrants who arrived in Porto Alegre were the Italians. They started immigrating to Brazil in 1875, mainly from the Veneto region. As the Germans, Italians were also first sent to rural communities.
If you want to read more about it, check here on Wikipedia.

UK, here I go!

Next week I'm leaving to the UK for 10 days, and afterwards going home for 3 weeks in a very distant land, where people still think the inhabitants speak Spanish, that the capital is Buenos Aires and that everyone is black and poor (and obviously none of the above is true): Brazil.

I am going to London next Thursday and from there I will travel a bit in England with my friends. It's actually a shame that I have lived in London, and never left the city, besides going to Brighton twice.

But well...why actually leave the city if everything I needed was there? And yes, London town is my favourite city in the world and as Lily Allen sings "sun is in the sky oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?". And I wanted to be there even when the sun wasn't in the sky. Which was most of the time.

That's what people call TRUE LOVE. And that is why I go to London as often as I can, what normally is a weekend every 2 months.

Anyway, we will go to York and maybe stop in Leeds (or Liverpool, or Manchester, or anywhere they decided and I still am not aware of). On the way back they leave will me in Warwick, where I am staying to work the whole week. I plan to go one evening to Stratford-upon -Avon( seems really cuuuuuuute) and another to Coventry.

Then, on the 12th February my dear co-writer Nathalie is joining me in London for a weekend. I will show her why London is so special to me and why I love it so much.

BE PREPARED LADY! A lot of fun and shopping is coming your way! (We'll empty our pockets at Primark!)

languages of the world - spanish (and those related to spanish!)

I simply love british comedy and one of the greatest british comedy, i find, is the fast show!

Their channel 9 sketches are awesome, where they make fun of low budget spanish T.V.

Channel 9 is the news channel for a country they invented called "Republicca". Don't know which langauge they think they are talking, but it's (according to wiki) a concocted language loosely based on Italian, Greek, Spanish and Portuguese, mashed together with nonsense phrases (e.g. "sminky pinky") and incongruous English names and words.

They have a lot of running gags, which get better and better the more you watch it!

Like they always , for some weird reason, mention "Chris Waddle" (because this just sounds funny, i think!). And they always have a commercial break where they advertise the "gismo". (no clue what that thing can actually do? But it seems to me you can use it in your bedroom, garden, kitchen,... ).

And you have to love Poula Fisch, the weather women, who always predicts sunny clouds, "scorchio!"

I found the first episode of it, but i strongly recommend to watch them all!

it's great!

Where the hell is...TURKS AND CAICOS?

Yesterday I was watching TV and suddenly someone mentioned he had been to Turks and Caicos. My curiosity never leaves me alone and I immediately googled it and discovered it's in the Caribbean. Then I started thinking about other 20 God forsaken places I heard of and have no idea where they are or what's there. That's how I came up with our new " column" here: Where the hell is...

(The only problem when you start searching islands, you never stop FINDING them!)

So enough blablabla and let's discover what Turks and Caicos has to offer.

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of two groups of sub-tropical islands in the West Indies, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.

* Capital: Cockburn Town
*Largest city: Providenciales

*Official language: English
*Currency: US dollar

*Area: 417 km²
*Population: 36,000, of whom approximately 22,500 live on Providenciales in the Caicos Islands

*Demographics: Eight of the thirty islands in the territory are inhabited. The people of the Turks and Caicos Islands are called "Turks and Caicos Islanders".

*Citizenship: Because the Turks and Caicos is a British Overseas Territory and not an independent country, they cannot confer citizenship. In 2002, the British Overseas Territories act restored full British citizenship status to all inhabitants of British Overseas Territories, including the Turks and Caicos.

*Culture: The Turks and Caicos Islands are most well known for ripsaw music. The island's most popular sports are fishing, sailing, football and cricket (which is the national sport).

*Getting there: The Turks and Caicos Islands currently have 2 international airports (TWO??), in Providenciales and Grand Turk. Altogether, there are seven airports, located on each of the inhabited islands. Five have paved runways (three of which are approximately 2000 long and one is approximately 1000 m long), and the remaining two have unpaved runways (one of which is approximately 1000 m long and the other is significantly shorter).

I'm certainly not a beach babe, but if I ever go there, I'm not sure I would fly ...take a look at the runway!

FEAR all over!

Eco trips

Maybe I should be more open-minded, but travelling to the middle of a desert or forest or anything nature /animal-related isn't what I really consider fun. I'm too much of an urban girl to feel thrilled by the idea of leaving civilization for more than...2days?
Anyway, today I was reading the belgian newspaper HLN and found these ecolodges.
If I ever considered going to one of them, the one I liked the most is the Adrère Amellal, in Egypt. Looks really cool isn't it?
Everyting is built in clay,every room is unique, there is no electricity and the price goes around €348 for a double-room.

Language exchange group

Seen that Couchsurfing is a place to exchange experiences and hospitality, I decided to create a post in the Gent group to see if we can make an Italian, Spanish and /or French group to meet once a week, or every 2 weeks, or monthly to practice the languages.
My idea is to have an advanced / native speakers group and I think it could be really interesting.
So, dear reader, if you live in Belgium and feel like joining us, welcome to the group!

LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD - English

KEN LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD - Mix

Catherine Tate is back again, now as a translator!
Love the italian part.

“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” (Paul Theroux)

Ever heard of Couchsurfing? If you haven't, should give it a look ( and a chance!). It's a life-changing experience.
And it was through it that Nathalie and I met.

As they describe themselves "CouchSurfing (CS) is an international non-profit network that connects travelers with locals in over 230 countries and territories around the world. Since 2004, members have been using our system to come together for cultural exchange, friendship, and learning experiences.

And how does it work? Members share hospitality with each other.In another words...you make a profile, inform what you offer ( a bed, a room, a sleeping bag, a couch or even if you don't have any of them available you can always meet people for a coffee, a drink or just show them around your city),how many people you can host and how long they can stay. If you don't feel like having people around your place, that's fine. You can join the groups and participate of meetings, parties and events they organize.
Afterwards, the host and the guest should write a feedback to each other in the site and they'll be published in both profiles. Neither of you can delete it. So that's how you check how trustworthy the people are: based on their feedbacks.If you have a negative one, you have less chances to be hosted in another trip.
Is it dangerous?Not really, but caution is never enough. I, for instance, never host or ask to be hosted by someone that doesn't have at least 5 feedbacks(that's my criteria).

Now CS is becoming more popular,appearing on TV shows and magazines, so might be that there will be more people trying to take advantages of it, so it's just a matter of you paying attention to the profile description and the feedbacks. The more information they have ,the better. Who is really into CS won't risk ruining the chance to meet new people "cheating" on other users anyway.

CS is not just about getting free accommodation. Is a great way to make new friends,learn more about local life and culture than if you stayed in a hotel/hostel. The beauty of it is going to a house of a total stranger and leave 2 days later with a friend for life.
Enjoy!

LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD - french part deux

Because of all the languages issues (the dutch vs the French speaking part) we had and occasionally have here in Belgium, I was forced to begin to learn this language on the age of 10. I remember I first loved the language, but when years passed by, began to “deteste” it! Partly because a lot of nutcases decide to become French teachers, and so they secretly spread the fear against the language.

Maybe this frustration, is the also the big reason why a lot of comedians use the “French learning progress” as an inspiration point?  I really love the next sketch from the great british stand up comedian, Eddie Izzard.
A great sketch which reminds me about all the stupid sentences you sometimes have to learn in the learning progress.  And not knowing how you can slip those phrases in a normal conversation! Luckily mister Eddie has the answer for this problem!

LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD- French

Starting the new section here, to make some fun of the languages we have and the mess people do with it.
I love Catherine Tate, and I really think this is hilarious.
The "Regarde mon visage" sentence even belongs in my vocabulary now lol

Enjoy:

"A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles." – Tim Cahill

This summer, i accidently ended up being in Tuscon, Arizona.  Not to mention it’s also the place where an awesome “Wuk”-friend of mine lives!

Tucson, is a great place near the Mexican border filled with great nature and some awesome unexpected places.

Like the bike shop for instance, they have, called “bica’s”. (check out their webpage.)

It’s a very hippy minded bike shop, where they make art out of old bikes.  And also do an excellent job in recycling old ones!  Just visiting the place is an adventure itself, with unexpected things around every corner!

And it had to be said, the people who work there are really awesome as well. They lend me (as a foreigner) a bike for no money at all and drew up a bicycle map, which me and my friend could use for free.

And as a caffeine junkie, I really can highly recommend the great hippy coffee shop epics. (what’s up with ‘hippyness’ and Tucson?) It’s a great coffee place in town, where they have not only great coffee and sweet cakes, but the interior and the art inside, is awesome as well. The place has the right vibe!

And if you are in Tucson, you HAVE to go on a hiking trip on sabyon canyon. It’s almost you are in another world.  The giant cacti created a world of their own!

Not to mention the great view you find on mt lemmon.  I saw one of most beautiful sunsets of my life so far!

If find yourself around Tucson, Arizona, visit this little place of magic!

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” (Henry Miller)

I just moved to Ghent and still feel like a tourist here.
Love the city, the architecture, the " a lot of stuff to do " feeling , the possibility to meet new interesting people.
New year, new city, new life are just ahead of me and I should enjoy as much as I can.

But what I really wanted to tell is that last Saturday Nathalie (the "co-writer" here) came to visit the new house and we went to the Mosquito Coast cafe, in the Hoogpoort. Never had been there before, but found the idea great.
It's a bar inside (or would it be besides?)a travel agency called "Connections", and there you they have LOTS of Lonely planet's travel guides, and you can stay there sipping your drink and planning your trip.


By the way, isn't Ghent LOVELY??

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ( St. Augustine)

Probably I am the best customer that Ryanair has. And could be their spokesperson...because...I wouldn't be able to travel as much as I do without them.

After I started travelling with them, my life changed:
1) I can now travel "light", and survive a week with 10kg (a.k.a hand luggage).
2) I can survive a 2 hours flight without having a snack.
3) Check-in online saves lots of time.

I know that they are really strict with some policies.For example, having your name mispelled in your ticket can cost you an extra fee. As well the right to carry an extra checked-in bag. Also, if you have more than 10kg in your hand luggage and are not able to dress extra clothes, you might have to pay for that ( also depends on the mood of the personnel...). They can also be tricky with extra fees, but if you check different dates, you might find something very interesting.
But if you pay attention to this details, you can get a return ticket for the price of a night out!
I, for instance, refuse to pay more than €30 for a return ticket. And yes, I have been to half of Europe within this budget so far.

Check their site and see some options of their latest promotion: €5 one way!!

The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land. (G.K. Chesterton)

One of the best ways to explore Brussels for sure, is the great map you find on this link.
It's made by a non-profit organisation who collects ideas and advices from locals and then draws up great maps for young travellers.
So on a snowy Sunday afternoon, we wanted to explore this map. A local couchsurfer volunteered to join us and so we ended up having a great time! Sometimes you don't have to go far to have the feeling you are on the road again.

The map has funny stuff in it, like "peeing against a church". Yes indeed, there is a public toilet where you can pie against a real church! And there is a lot of peeing going on in Brussels! Not only do you have Manneke Pis, one of our national symbol that represents a peeing boy. You can also find his sister "Jeanneke Pis" and his peeing dog "Zinneke".

But one of the coolest spots of the map, you can find on parking 58. There you find a great view over the city. You just have to take the elevator to the roof and what a view you get (for free!!!).
So take a great case of beer with you and just gaze around, it's great!

"When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived" (Henry David Thoreau)

December 2008...

Two people met by chance in kortrijk and going through a lot of belgian beers, they discovered they share the same passion about travelling.

After each one of their travels, they always meet back up and giving each other ideas and advices about the cities and countries they discovered...
Then there is always the fact, people are always bothering them to give good travelling advices.

31 december 2009...

After writing a whole list of new years resolutions and mentally sign it on the last day of the year.  They realise, they both should so some serious more blogging in the new year of 2010.  So the idea rises of doing a new blog together.  Giving the world an inside in some really kick-ass ideas about travelling...

8 january 2010...

The two talking monsters start their travelling blog, feel welcome...

And expect updates soon!