[Thessaloniki] Day Trips

Categories greece
[Thessaloniki] Day Trips

During our stay in Thessaloniki, our friends took us on some pretty amazing day trips away from the city. The first was a three-hour drive to Meteora, which literally means “suspended in air” or “in the heavens above”. What it is: six monasteries built on natural sandstone rock pillars, and yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds. We arrived in the late afternoon and only had the time to quickly look through one of the monasteries, but it was already an fascinating experience. To properly explore this area, it’s better to arrive early during the day and perhaps even stay in the area (which was our original plan before it got thwarted by the referendum…)

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[Thessaloniki] The Highlights

Categories greece
[Thessaloniki] The Highlights

I’ve been posting photos of Athens and the islands, but our first stop in Greece was actually Thessaloniki. This city, albeit being the second largest in Greece, is not really hot on the tourist map, but we have some lovely local friends who planned out a nice itinerary for us – we eventually had to change our plans due to the Greek bailout referendum, but we had a wonderful time nonetheless. For one thing, Thessaloniki is famous for its vibrant food scene (apparently much more so than Athens), so let’s start with those…

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One of the restaurants our friends took us to was Massalia, and dinner was so good that we went back again the next day by ourselves for lunch. Here are just a few of the delicious dishes we tried during the evening.

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[Athens] In One Day

Categories greece
[Athens] In One Day

One day in Athens, yes it was quite rushed indeed. To see all the archaeological sites, we woke up early to beat the crowd and the heat, and it was definitely worth the effort. To make things easier, we got the combo ticket which covers 7 sites in total including the Acropolis, and started with Temple of Zeus then made our way through the rest of the area…

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[Santorini] Oia

Categories greece
[Santorini] Oia

The Greek islands, and Santorini in particular, are on many people’s bucket list of must-visits. After spending a few days there myself, I can see what the fuss is about: with the magnificent Aegean Sea as backdrop, rows of white houses cascade down the coast, their pure white punctuated only by blue-domed churches and bouganville flowers in full bloom. All this is made even more dreamy by the “most beautiful sunset in the world”…

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[Stockholm] Miss Clara Hotel

Categories stockholm
[Stockholm] Miss Clara Hotel

Miss Clara Hotel

Add: Sveavägen 48, 111 34 Stockholm, Sweden
Tel: +46 8 440 67 00
Website: www.missclarahotel.com

We spent our next two nights in Stockholm at Miss Clara, a stylish hotel renovated from a former private girls school originally built in 1900. Named after the headmistress, the building received a full makeover by Swedish architect Gert Wingardh, who kept the original art nouveau structure intact and filled its interior with modern furnishings, lighting, and artwork. The result is beautiful, as you will soon see from the photos below. Location-wise, the hotel is within a 10-minute walking distance from the central train station, and 20-some minutes to sights like Gamla Stan (old town) and Skeppsholmen (museum island) – not much to complain about.

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One of my favorite space within the building is the dining room: vaulted windows, leather banquettes, Lee Broom crystal bulbs…just gorgeous.

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Next door is The Ballerina Room, which features Max Modén’s ballerina portraits and Kaare Klint chairs.

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[Stockholm] Story Hotel

Categories stockholm
[Stockholm] Story Hotel

Story Hotel

Add: Riddargatan 6, Stockholm
Tel: 00 46 8 54 50 39 40
Site: www.storyhotels.com
Visited: May 2015

We spent our first two nights in Stockholm at Story Hotel in Ostermalm, a posh residential / shopping district of the city. The placement really can’t get any better – the hotel is surrounded by chic designer boutiques, restaurants, bars and clubs, and is only a one-minute walk to metro Ostermalmstorg (one stop away from the central train station). Most places we visited – Gamla Stan (old town), Skeppsholmen (museum island), the pier (to hop on a boat to the Archipelago) etc. – are all within walking distance. Really, the perfect location.

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The design is stylish – polished concrete floors, exposed pipes across the ceilings, lush velvet furnishings – with quirky details sprinkled here and there.

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[Stockholm] Vaxholm

Categories stockholm
[Stockholm] Vaxholm

On our fourth day in Stockholm, we hopped on a Cinderella boat (yes Cinderella) to explore a nearby island called Vaxholm. This cute place is only about 45 minutes from Stockholm, a charming option for day trippers especially when the sun shines.

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The first thing we did upon reaching Vaxholm – despite the fact that it still felt like winter – was to get double scoops of ice-cream. I tried the coconut and mango/passionfruit ice-cream and both were delicious. Right at the pier, you can’t miss it.

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[Stockholm] Coffee & Cakes

Categories stockholm
[Stockholm] Coffee & Cakes

Before my Stockholm trip, Carin of Paris in Four Months generously shared a huge list of recommendations for her hometown, which I followed diligently, starting with cakes and coffee of course. Among all the spots I visited, one of my favorites was Xoko, a bakery cafe in the Vasastan neighborhood serving excellent baked goods, coffee, and light food. The atmosphere was absolutely charming, I could sit there all afternoon.

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My selection: a princess cake, a mazarin, and a cup of xokoccino. The princess cake (prinsesstårta) is a traditional Swedish layer cake consisting of sponge cake, pastry cream, and a dome of whipped cream, topped by green-colored marzipan. The marzipan was too sweet for me (I readily scrapped it off) but the dome of whipped cream was surprisingly pleasant in company with sponge cake and fresh raspberries sandwiched in between. Mazarin is yet another popular Swedish pastry, basically a tart filled with sweet ground almond paste – simple and delicious. Xokoccino is Xoko’s chocolate latte, and while it was very good, it was slightly too sweet of a cup of be paired with the pastries I ordered…

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[Taipei] Café de Riz 米販食堂

Categories taipei
[Taipei] Café de Riz 米販食堂

Café de Riz 米販食堂

Add: 34, Lane 78, Section 1, An He Road, Taipei /台北市大安區安和路一段78巷34號
Tel: (02) 2755 6587
Hours: [Tue-Sun] 11:30am-10pm
Price: 600~1,200 NTD/set
Visited: Feb 2015

When Yuji Nomura left in 2013, the owners of Nomura Sushi renovated the space to become what is now Café de Riz. Literally “rice cafe”, the focus here is of course on the rice, showcased in the form of donburi and ochazuke (which they call “consommé rice” here at the cafe). It was chilly on the day of my visit, and a hot bowl of ochazuke was exactly what I had on my mind…

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In terms of space, Café de Riz is rectangular shaped and neatly sectioned into the kitchen, bar, and table areas. The style of decor is a mix of elegant and cute, with clean lines, soft lighting, and chic little knickknacks placed here and there. Many items, the plates and chopsticks included, are hand-carried back from Japan by the owners themselves. It shows that a lot of heart has been put into making this place a most pleasant one possible.

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