Category Archives: Eastern Europe

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Secret hot chocolate spots in Paris – The blue church in Bratislava – Good & bad in Istanbul

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This week’s Blogger Round-Up starts with a post by Judy MacMahon from My French Life who shares 4 secrets spots for hot chocolate – I shall be the first to try! Next Phoebe from Lou Messugo takes us to visit the Blue Church in Bratislava – I’m so jealous because I didn’t know of its existence when I visited the city last summer. Anda from Travel Notes and Beyond then tells us the good and bad of Istanbul which will stand me in good stead when I go there in September. Enjoy!

Paris off the beaten path: 4 secret spots for hot chocolate

hot-chocolateThe French know their chocolat chaud like no one else: it’s how they begin their day! After all, there’s nothing quite like a proper French hot chocolate – except perhaps drinking said French hot chocolate in Paris…

There are the classic, well-known spots to sip a hot chocolate in Paris. And then there are those little cafés that the Parisians would love to keep for themselves; but secrets have a way of getting out. Read more

The Blue Church, Bratislava

by Phoebe from Lou Messugo, a traveller, francophile, expat, mum and foodie now living in Roquefort les Pins where she runs a gîte after many years of travelling and living in Asia, Eastern Europe and Australia

Blue_Church_Bratislava_2After two years of writing exclusively about France, mostly about the area where I live and French culture, I’m diverging into wider pastures, so this, my friends, is my first offering not about France. I’ve been itching to write about other places I’ve been and having just returned from a trip to Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava I’ve decided it’s now or never!

Bratislava, the tiny capital of Slovakia, is only an hour’s drive from Vienna, making it perfect for a day trip.  I had done a little research about the place and knew that I wanted to see the Blue Church, no matter what. And in this case the “no matter what” was a big black cloud and rumbles of thunder coming from the general direction of the church.  Read more

The Good and The Bad of Istanbul

by Anda from Travel Notes & Beyond, the Opinionated Travelogue of a Photo Maniac, is a Romanian-born citizen of Southern California who has never missed the opportunity to travel

istanbul_andaIt is difficult to judge a city of the size of Istanbul after a 5 day trip, but if I were to describe the little that I saw of it in just a few words, I would say: huge, crowded, majestic and uniqueHuge, because the city boundaries cover almost 2,000 square kilometers, while the metropolitan region, or the Province of Istanbul, covers 6,220 square kilometers. Crowded, because everywhere you go in Istanbul you walk almost shoulder to shoulder with thousands of other people. Read more

 

Weekly Blogger Round-Up: Origin of the croissant – Road Trip to Romania – Le Petit Palais

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This week’s Blogger Round-Up is all Australian. French Moments shares the story of the croissant with us which is more Turkish orAustrian than French while Andrea from Rear View Mirror takes us on the ultimate road trip to Romania, a country that is definitely on my wish list. Gemma King from Les Musées de Paris, a newcomer on these pages, takes us through Le Petit Palais, one of my favourite museums in Paris. Enjoy! 

The Formidable Story behind the French croissant

by French Moments, a Sydney-based organisation with an international focus which promotes the French language and culture to English-speakers worldwide. Their French team is all about the language, culture and experience

Croissant-2-copyright-French-Moments1France is known for its “croissants”. It is up there with the Eiffel Tower and beret as a French icon. Here in Sydney, most people know that the croissant is a true French delicacy and it is loved in all its forms: plain croissant, chocolate croissant (“pain au chocolat” in France), almond croissant, ham and cheese croissant and more…

The idea of researching the croissant came to me in June 2011 when one of our French students asked me the meaning of the French verb “croître” (to grow). While explaining this word in French, I wrote on the board another word using the same root: “la croissance”. Immediately, the man pointed out: “then it’s like ‘croissant’!”. Read more

The Ultimate Romanian Road Trip

by Andrea from Rear View Mirror (formerly Destination Europe), a fellow Australian who, after 6 years of living in France, has given up her Paris apartment to live a nomadic life slowing travelling around Europe, experiencing each destination like a local.

sighisoara-2-300x200I don’t know why I had such a poor opinion of Romania before visiting. I was expecting it be more like the Balkans and less like Eastern Europe. I was thinking it would be more than a little rough around the edges but in actual fact the cities are much like elsewhere in Europe with their beautiful historic centres, delicious traditional and modern cuisine plus some very cool castles. Read more

Le Petit Palais

By Gemma King, from Les Musées de Paris, self-proclaimed muséophile, and an Australian PhD student working between Melbourne and Paris. She writes on movies for work and goes to museums for fun.

lesmuseesdeparis-petit-palais-1Many Paris museums work because they adopt a single point of interest and run with it. Le Musée du parfum features nothing but perfume, but it investigates the topic like nowhere else. The good people of Le Musée Clémenceau seem to think nobody on earth has ever mattered as much as Président Georges, but by the end of your visit, you’ll probably agree. Paris museums go to all manner of extremes, favouring the most precise of objects (ahem, Museum of Eyeglasses) and exploring that object, its history and its specificities, with incredible dedication. These extremes of passion are often what make Paris museums so special. Read more

 

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