Tips & Tricks for Travelling (cheap) in French Polynesia

The biggest challenge of French Polynesia, FP (or usually called the Islands of Tahiti) for the average traveller is cost. This place is freaking expensive. The main reason as you could imagine is that it is in the middle of nowhere and there is hardly any livestock farming or consumer goods manufacturing.. this means most things are imported from their closest neighbours New Zealand, Australia or US - coupled with the cost of shipment, storage and low demand (there is less than 300,000 inhabitants!),  the most basic offerings can cost an arm and a leg.

For our own trip, here are some tips and tricks to save some cash and little stuff that will hopefully make small but meaningful difference in your trip..

It is all about the money, money..

1. Salon du Tourisme

Find friends in Tahiti.. if the concept of 6' of separation holds through.. you should know someone that knows someone in Tahiti.. or make new friends.. this is crucial as there are travel fairs that targets locals/residents of Tahiti to visit the other islands. Here is the link: http://www.salondutourisme.pf/

Unfortunately you need to be physically there to make find deals and bookings, hence the need for a local friend.. some packages might explicitly require you to be a resident of FP but lots of them don't.

The best deals are usually for expensive over-water bungalows in these luxurious resorts that goes from usually USD 1000/night upwards.. you can get something which is like a 50-70% savings which still doesn't make it cheap.. but at least it is within reach for a few nights of stay. There are of course also the regular accommodations and mixing them up will keep the cost under-control. With the special deal we had, we spent 3 glorious nights in Sofitel Moorea.

>> Watch for basic comforts

Word of caution though, if you are on a shoestring budget ask yourself what are the basic comforts that you need.. once out of the main islands, air conditioning, electric mosquito repellents and even hot water can be a luxury!! So do ask in advance and don't take it for granted that you will have it.

The sparsely populated islands are a treat.. there is more sea life, the beach is usually more pristine, life is more natural.. with less humans - there is just less disturbance to nature. However.. it is all about the money money.. the cost goes exponentially up with these island.. there would be no petrol station.. some small islands within the islands still uses a generator for electricity and everything is brought in by plane or ship weekly or even less frequently.. So you could be staying in something REAAAALLY basic for USD 200/night and something for luxurious doubles the price.. so do gauge what you think are minimum comforts that you need and if the cost doesn't correspond to that.. well, perhaps you need to skip it or do very minimum number of nights stay.. 

2. Air Tahiti multi-island tours

There is only one way to fly.. Air Tahiti is the only commercial airline doing local routes. There is a multi-island pass that will save you some money if you want to visit beyond Tahiti and Bora-Bora. See here:

https://www.airtahiti.com/multiisland-fares 

This is very important.. you need to plan where you want to visit then check back to see if the connections are feasible.. many small island do not have daily flight so you need to be able to plan accordingly.. we took the Bora Bora-Tuamotu Pass and visited Tahiti, Moorea, Raiatea, Maupiti, Bora Bora, Rangiroa & Tikehau in 3 weeks. We wanted to visit Marquesas Islands, but alas, cost was a barrier..

3. Stay with the heard

So contrary to the 'normal' instinct to stay away from tourist areas - Tahiti, Bora Bora and Raiatea offers more cheap accommodations and cheap eats simply because there are more people there and enough for them to have supermarkets for example. I found Raiatea to be the cheapest in terms of what you can get for quality over money.. but I'd make another post on the islands that we visited and their 'characteristics' later. Rule of thumb.. more people, cheaper.. but with less people and no major hotels, these islands are far more rustic and fits into your image of:

In the world of FP, this:

is more expensive than this:

yahooo... a new header

I love the internet... I am currently sick like hell and could not sleep because all my coughing is keeping me awake. I decided to tweak the blog design and found this cool logo generator:

http://www.hipsterlogogenerator.com

Don't you just love the charitable people on the internet?

Cooking without Recipe - Stuffed Tomatoes

Haha.. another cooking without recipe post. 'cause it is just that simple. You don't need a recipe! It is also a good dish to make when you have vegetarians friend coming over. 

Pictured here is the non-vegetarian version though. You need those big super-sized tomatoes. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture so that you could gauge the size of these babies but they are roughly as large as my palm.

Preparation is easy peasy. First, cut off the top of the tomato then spoon out the inside part of the tomato. Chop what you got out into smaller cubes. Mix them with some minced meat (I used beef) and add salt, pepper and some olive oil to taste. The stuff them back in. I sprinkled a bit of breadcrumbs and some Herbes de Provence (but this is just because I have them) and put the 'cap' back on. ((I always have some Zucchini left, I have them because I buy lots of them.. you can make lots of yummy things with Zucchini and eggplant!)) Well, so I sliced up the Zucchini (seasoned it with salt, pepper, olive oil) and pop them together with the tomatoes and then bring them in the oven. 180'C fan and 20-30 min later, ta-da.. this comes out:

A vegetarian option is to use rice instead of minced meet and that's very tasty too.. But keep in mind that the rice grows when it is cooked and the meat shrinks.. so 'stuff' wisely..

You can have this as a main meal when you have 2 of them.. it fills you up.. or as a starter.. either way, it is something that is easy to make and looks pretty attractive when served. 

Have fun!

Cooking without Recipe - Salmon & Leek Quiche

I love Quiche. It is my go-to food when I have something left in the fridge that I need to get rid off or make a simple starter when I have friends over for dinner!

Basically, it is a bit like pizza - there is no limit to what you can do. Although Fred insist that there are some rules and tend to shake his head when I do a new strange-to him combination.

As we had some leek left the other day, I thought of a quiche.. mm.. and maybe a fish quiche for a change.. so I got some smoked salmon and had 2 tomatoes left uneaten - might as well add that too. 

As  this is a 'cooking without recipe' post, it is more of an idea to what you can do rather than a precise recipe of how to make something. I am going to also add some tips that I discovered a long the way to make a 'beautiful' looking quiche. I did a lot of trial and errors on this and welcome new tips for you too! hehehe.

Ok, let's start. You  need a base. We use 'pate brisee'.. We buy this from the supermarket and keep it frozen. If you don't have it.. it is easy to make, just look up a shortcrust pastry recipe (e.g http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/8894/basic+shortcrust+pastry) throw everything in the food processor and voila!

I usually use the basic fillings of a 'Quiche lorraine'. 

Crème fraîche + cheese (I use Emmental) + eggs.  Some people add milk.

I usually use around 1 cup of  Crème fraîche, half a bag of grated emmental and 3 eggs.. the quantity of course depends on the size of quiche that you want to make.. Here is a simple recipe you could try. There is just so many of them on the web that you'd be spoilt for choice. 

First, I sauté the leek in olive oil to soften it. Then I make cream + cheese + egg mix while the leek cools. Usually most recipes will ask that you mix the other ingredients into this mix. While it taste great, it leaves you usually with unattractive brownish top. The ingredients don't 'float' like how they seem to do in those glossy recipe books. I have discovered that you should instead 'deck' the quiche last with the 'main ingredients'. After preparing the mix, I pour it into the pastry then I add the leek, followed by the salmon and then the sliced tomato on top of this mix. This way I am controlling how it looks on the quiche instead of having one big lump of mixture. Then I pop it into the oven. I bake for usually 30 min under 180'C with fan in the oven.. and this comes out:

You can make it with anything you have left in your fridge. I love Tomato + Spinach, Ham + Zucchini + Goat cheese, the lorraine version of course.. and I once mixed 4 different kind of cheeses into on cheesy quiche..

Try it out with a conventional recipe and once you know your way around.. this is one great dish to experiment with. Usually it has lots of success in parties too! Have fun & enjoy!

Most beautiful Villages of France - Part 1 Provence

By this post I would like to share with you the beauty of some villages in France. Most of foreigners visit only Paris and the French Riviera but one of the treasure of France is its small beautiful and charming villages.

They are all over the country so it's difficult to make a selection. Hence I decided to focus on region of France, let's start first with the "Provence"as this is most probably one of the place in France where the villages have a special charm.

Note: All pictures in this post are unfortunately not mine and taken from the web. If you have a copyright issue with it, please let me know. I have tried to linked it to the original source though.

First of all, let's see on a map, where we are? Provence is located in south-east France, the main city being Marseille (Circled on this Map).

If we are zooming, we arrive here:

Provence became popular thanks to the impressionist painters such as Paul Cézanne or Vincent Van Gogh, who particularly loved the light and the beauty of landscapes and villages of this area.

One of the part of Provence I prefer is called the "Lubéron" located just few kilometers from Avignon. But let's talk first of Avignon, which is the previous residence of the Pope before Rome. The Pope palace is worthwhile to visit, and the old city itself very beautiful. Avignon can be a good starting point for your journey in Lubéron. Here a view on the Avignon's Pope Palace:

Now take your car and go direction the "Lubéron". This part of France has one of the biggest number of the so-called "plus beaux villages de France" (most beautiful villages of France). You can find more information on these villages all over France here: http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/en

One of my favourite place is the village of Roussillon. The particularity of this village is the Ochre colour used for the architecture of the town. The light of Provence on these red walls with the Mount Ventoux (well known by Tour de France fans) in background gives you a feeling of Western.

Not bad isn't it?

Very close from Roussillon you will find the village of Gordes. Here is the feeling totally different even if only 10km away from Roussillon. This time is the architecture  based on white rocks made from limestone. The charm of this village is as well its location on a cliff surrounded by a pine forest, just gorgeous. The village was created during the roman time, and is now one of the main touristic highlight of the area.

Traditional housing and streets of this village:

The Eternal City - Rome

Rome, Roma.. The Eternal City.. there is not many people who do not know of this city. A number of friends actually asked for recommendation on what to do in Rome and quite a few who were there gave us pointers too. It seems that this is one of those places that most people have on their must visit list.

Rome is one of the most visit cities in Europe, the capital of the Roman empire, the home of the Pope... the impressive list will go on and on and as we all know 'rome was not built in a day'. It took more than two and half thousand years they say... so you can't really do it in a short few days... But here's what you still can do in 3-4 days.

Best time to visit Rome is when the weather is good - late spring, summer, early autumn.. but obvious the crowd and the cost goes exponentially up. We choose to visit in late November 2013 and took our changes. Flight was cheap, accommodation was cheap.. so why not ;) The trip was still really good but it was raining the the whole time! And when you travel in winter it is dark by 5pm, so hours of sight seeing with daylight is much shorter. The first tip on visiting Rome during rainy season. A good pair of water proof shoes and an umbrella! During peak season.. lots of patience because there will be throngs of people and lots of pre-booking ahead to skip the ticketing lines.

Generally Rome can be divided into 4 'main' areas to visit. Depending on your areas of interest, it can be divided into 4 days for a comfortable visit or combine them for a brisk tour of 2-3 days instead. If you are very interested in history or classic art etc... you could easily spend even more days. Here's a short guide on what you can with 3-4 days.

Rome & Vatican City - Area Overview

Area A - Vatican City & around

This would be the must see for any regular tourist. What some people may not know about the 'Holy See' is that it is an independent state. It is not a part of Rome. In fact, Vatican City is the smallest internationally recognized independent state in the world. How does this effect you? The Roma Pass doesn't work here, you need the buy  a pass intended for the Vatican City or you can just but the tickets online for the museum. St Peter's entrance is free anyways but there is a queue.. so do go early and plan your time well. Also, note the dress code: no shorts, miniskirts or bare shoulders. As we were there in winter, we didn't have this problem. On the weekends look out for time which St Peter's is closed for preparation for Mass.

If you want to see Pope Francis, a nice way is to attend his Sunday Angelus at St. Peter’s Square. You need to go early if you want a place to sit, but otherwise you can watch further away and still see him on the big screen.

We wanted to join a guided tour of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel. Unfortunately if you don't pre-book there was no chance to get an official English tour. There were plenty of other people hawking their own tours but we were not sure of the quality and decided to just give it a miss. If you are interested in taking a tour organised by the museum, do book early with them on their website (link here).

If you like history and renaissance art and such, you could spend easily more than one day just going through the exhibits and the work of many great masters. Leonardo, Michaelangelo, Raphael.. I think all the teenage mutant ninja turtles was there save for Donatello - but I am not too sure.. darn should have taken a guide. Jokes aside, the collection was impressive especially the frescoes. Michelangelo’s frescoes the creation of Adam is perhaps the most well known.. while it was no doubt impressive it was much smaller than I imaged. You practically need to find it amongst a large number of other drawings - it was a strict no photos area with people pushing and swarming all over. Walking while looking up to the ceilings in this condition was not easy.

I'd say spend a whole day here to witness what mankind could so when they set their mind to it. If you are not into this kind of stuff.. 2 - 3 hours will see you brisk walking through everything. At the same time, you could also do Castel Sant'Angelo the fortress and tomb of Emperor Hadrian. Fred said that there is a tunnel from the Vatican for the Pope to escape here if the Vatican City was attacked.

I still say, do it leisurely and take a tour. It is more meaningful if you know the significance of what you are looking at. While it is impressive today, imagine how awe inspiring it was 600 years ago. I guess if I were a peasant and saw for the first time the Vatican City, I would not be able to doubt that God must surely exist to inspire such magnificence. Being an modern day agnostic, I am struck by how much religion can inspire such devotion, fear, love and bring a sense of hope, peace and at the same time cause so much hate, death and destruction of what is perhaps collateral damages for those that got in the way. Rome is incredible in such a way that it offers a brief summary of mankind's religious evolution. The classical Greek gods made way for the classical Roman gods made way for the Christian god - and the Christian church as evolved today as we now know it since what was the beginning of the Catholic faith. How short is our lives compared to what some of these monuments have seen and endured?

Area B - City Landmarks

Around the centre area of the map, you will find the famous landmarks which as mostly made famous because they were in one movie or another. So maybe it is worth watching them before going to Rome :)
Try La Dolce Vita and Roman Holiday.

Everything is walking distance and if you are  fast walker, you can easily cover them in 1/2 day if you want just a touch, snap and go. If you'd like to leisurely walk and shop and eat.. you can also spend a whole day to cover these sights. You will usually see all the usual hot spots highlight on your tourist map, but here are the popular ones once again:

i. Trevi Fountain (Italian: Fontana di Trevi)  

It's the site for many classical films. La Dolce Vita is perhaps was most people know or Roman holiday.

We were told to throw a coin for good luck so that we can return to Rome again someday - but the fountain was so crowded, we just looked around a bit and left. I found this tidbit on Wiki though:

Coins are purportedly meant to be thrown using the right hand over the left shoulder. This was the theme of 1954's Three Coins in the Fountain and the Academy Award-winning song by that name which introduced the picture.

An estimated 3,000 Euros are thrown into the fountain each dayThe money has been used to subsidize a supermarket for Rome's needy; however, there are regular attempts to steal coins from the fountain.

ii. Pantheon

This is the favourite of many history buffs. But if you are not into this kind of thing, you'd be wondering what the buzz is all about! This is a 2000-year-old temple which is now a church, the Pantheon is the best preserved of ancient Roman building. It survived as it was quickly turned into a Church in the 7th century and hence survived to this day. It then became an important burial place for Raphael and some kings. Not too shabby. But look out for the dome. Now that's quite the engineering feat in 120 AD.

iii. Spanish Steps

The 1953 film Roman Holiday made the Spanish Steps famous to audiences. Our host told us that the steps were actually designed by Italians and built by the French - but the Americans started calling it the Spanish steps and the name stuck. The Piazza di Spagna is at the base of the steps and there are some nice frescoes and a poor fountain called Fontana della Barcaccia (Fountain of the ugly Boat), house of the an English poet and lots of high end stores. So if you need to get your fix for some luxury goods, you can start here.

Be prepared for people and more people though... If you want to take good photos, go really really early... otherwise what you get is a loads of people and hardly any view of the steps... :)

Weekend in San Diego, California

Note from adelaine: Fred's travelling, so he emailed this in instead - excuse his frenchlish (french english) - I have not altered the terms that he is using and if you need clarifications just leave him a comment. Pardon also his ideas on the 'average Americans' too. Haha.. mm.. everyone knows shamu.. reallYyyy?

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If you have the chance to go some days in South California, don’t forget to pass by San Diego !

San Diego is the 7th biggest city in the US with almost 4 Million inhabitant. This is of course a big city but a city which remains easy to enjoy. First of all, what a nice feeling to wake up the morning and not to be worried on the weather forecast…With 25mm rain per year, you have 90% of chance to have sun, blue sky and the beautiful light which goes with it.

Furthermore Californians are very nice and relax. They are respectful of their environment and take care of the quality of their food and beverages.

Being very close to Mexico (40 Km from Tijuana), there is a strong influence from this country in the city. Lots of Mexican restaurant, Tequila Bars… Spanish language is now becoming very usual in south California.

Speaking about foods, some recommendation if you are there :

Try a Mexican restaurant in the old city of San Diego, it is quite typical and traditional. If you prefer Seafood, go to the Fish market restaurant close to the Aircraft Carrier Museum.

As we are in the US, let’s talk about burgers. I am not a « burger fan »  but I have been impressed by the quality of the burgers from the chain « Burger lounge». They prepare succulent « organic burgers », very tasty !

Now let’s talk about sightseeing. San Diego has a lot to offer, so a minimum of 3 Days is required. You can organize your trip in different ways but here are my recommendation :

First Day in Coronado Island and Balboa Park :

 
Coronada Island is located in the middle of the San Diego Bay. The Island is shared between a military Airport for the US Navy operation, and a Small city for rich Americans. This part is a Small Beverly Hills with a beautiful beach not crowded with a wonderful view on Cabrillo National Park. Coronado Hotel is the major attraction of the area. Here was filmed Marilyn Monroe in « Some like it hot ».  you can have a very nice walk along the beach, so don’t miss it !

Balboa Park is located in the center of San Diego. Balboa Park shares its location with the San Diego Zoo, which is considered as one of the best in the world. The park was created for the Panama-California exposition in 1915-16, and is today the place of culture in San Diego. Several Museums and gardens surround the « Casa de Balboa » which is the main monument of the Park. Have relaxing time in Balboa Park , you will not be disappointed !

 

8 days of Morocco

Morocco, Jul 2013

I made a journey to the Kingdom of Morocco for a wedding with Fred. It gave us a good and valid excuse to travel (again). For me, it was something exotic; first time on the African continent.

You can skip the text too and follow this trip in pictures.

Impressions and travel tips:

First impressions, it was more what you'd imagine of a country in the Middle East than in Africa because of the Arabic culture/background. Morocco has a rich history, so there is plenty to see but preservation works are what you'd expect of a developing nation. What I really liked is its natural wonders. You have the sea, the mountains and the dessert all in one. Though we didn't have enough time to see it all.

What I didn't like about Morocco is consistent with many developing countries around the world, too many people out trying to make a quick buck out of you. People you will offer to bring you around, sell you things, try to over-charge you etc etc and some are very aggressive. The medinas particularly has many kids especially begging and peddling things. If you are a seasoned traveller, you'd know how to walk away from these situations unperturbed. Otherwise, it can spoil your trip. We had someone who tried to rip us of at every city. Puhhh!

Chicken cooked in Tagine

To have a stress-free trip, follow a guided tour. This is one of those countries that where it is best to have a guide from a reputable company to show you around. If you like to travel free and easy, take some trips recommended or organise by the hotel you are staying in and mix and match them. Don't follow just follow someone on the street.

Eat only in places where the prices are stated (we had an experience that they still tried to over-charge us despite the price on the menu- claiming that the servings where different). But don't let this put you off on trying street food though, just be wary of being over charged.

It doesn't mean of course the people of Morocco are not trustworthy, just the few that preys on the tourists really make themselves felt (since you are a tourist). There are 'tourist polices' around but hey, making a living is hard and much harder for countries trying to lift themselves out of poverty. The counter balance of it all is that we also met lots of lovely people. People are warm, friendly and speaks many languages most of the time. Very impressive.

View from a hill

Women at the market

On languages, a treaty between France and Spain regarding Morocco, split it in into a Spanish sphere of influence and a French sphere. It ended in 1956, when both France and Spain recognised Moroccan independence. So you have plenty of people who can speak Spanish around as well a host of Spanish tourist on the 'Spanish side' but most people speaks French all around if case you are wondering which colonial power made the most lasting impressions. The official language is still Moroccan Arabic, so if you speak Arabic you are in luck! However, seems that more and more people are speaking English too as British and American tourist are starting to come in more and at all the tourist places I had no problems with English. Fred did most the other talking in French.

On safety, my feeling is the country is still generally safe. You don't have this feeling that you are in imminent danger and people are not hostile even to tourist.

As a female traveller when going in a Muslim country I always go prepared with a large scarf, cardigans and long pants. Hey, you've gotta be respectful. You'd find that in some cities like Tangier and Tetouan, while it is modern there are hardly any local girls wearing sleeveless shirts. In Casablanca everything got shorter and skimpier. But 'tis better to err on the side of caution when you are not sure how to dress.

A Riad

One another note for female travellers, the tea saloons are mainly for men only, I don't think that they'd chase you away but it is a male domain and you'd be hard pressed to find any females there at all. I heard there are some which are female friendly.. but I don't think it was something I was dying to do- so I didn't make any effort to find one. Seems that the places for local women to mingle is at the Hammam... now that's something I'd like to do! Oh, Mosque too are off-limits to non-Muslims. So do ask before barging in ;) Some place don't let you take pictures.. but these are the 'standard' kind of things. Life also starts late, people and stores start buzzing around 11-ish, people have late dinner and the street crowd is still 'alive' at 10pm. 

One more tit-bit, the word 'riad' comes from the Arabian term for garden, "ryad". A lot of old houses are being renovated as hotels are called riad when they have a garden in the middle. Those without are called "dar". A stay in a nice riad (or a dar which is usually cheaper) is worth your while but read enough reviews to choose a good one and not an 'imposter'. ;)

So now, let's get to it.

Here's our itinerary:

Tangier - Tetouan - Chefchaouen - Fes - Meknes - Rabat - Casablanca

Tangier

Tangier, Tetoun & Chefchaouen are all a part of the Spanish protectorate, so you could easily see these influences all around.

We flew in to Tangier and rented a car at the airport. If you could drive, this is by far the cheapest option of getting around. Just make sure you rent a GPS too, do not depend on road signs. Other friends who came to the wedding had experiences being stopped by the police in Casablanca to just give you some trouble to get some money. So wear your seat belts and have all your papers (passport, car registration..) in place - don't do anything illegal too. We did not have any problems personally though.

The beach is not the type that I'd swim in (I am a beach snob) but it is pleasant for walks and gives the city an airy feel. There is less tourist and less number of people hassling you which I liked. The city was clean too.

The medina was really rustic, well lived in, rustic - no 'touristic' feeling at all.. you still see people living and working in small little 'stores', making bread, selling stuff.. being just by the coast give it a very nice feeling. One side of the Medina overlooks the ocean and over these ancient walls... lots of development is taking place. Oddly the medina felt undisturbed by what is happening around it.. maybe that's how the Moroccan Medinas managed to survived for centuries.

For the night, Fred has a friend who has a sister who worked in a chain of swanky hotels and got us a room here for free.. connections, this is how things work around here ;) 

Tetouan 

When we visited, I remarked how cleaned it was... the reason we soon found out, the King was there for a visit. I am not sure if it's always like that but it was clean and organised.

Again, you don't get much tourist here and many people spoke Spanish and French. There is also a lot of Andalusian influence still in these parts.

Medina of Tétouan is the UNESCO list and most probably has not changed much in the last few hundred years. The royal palace in Tétouan is situated just outside and by one of the entrances to the Medina. The city is easy to discover by foot, with nice public squares and old buildings.  It is a really pleasant place to walk around. Again the city feels more like something you live in rather than something to wow tourist. So depending on if you travel for 'wows' to for the want to experiencing how the locals live, you level of excitement over this city will differ.

Chefchaouen

Now this place has a 'wow' factor.  First of all, it is in different shades of blue and Chefchaouen is situated in the Rif Mountains giving it a surreal landscape suited for picture taking.

We made only a day trip here but it was good enough to get some good pictures and off we go to Fez. Maybe we are not at the peak season because it was not too packed and we like the easy pace of the place. But a large number of hotels and souvenir shops seem to indicate that many tourist do come.By the way, the Chefchaouen region is supposed to be one of the main producers of cannabis in Morocco. I didn't.