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.