 I remember the first time I walked by Nota Bene store on Avenue du Parc in November, 2004. A series of colorful German-made notebooks with aluminum edges were shown in the display window and I immediately thought “I am going to spend a lot of money here". And sure enough, over the following three years, I did...
Nota Bene sells an amazing array of imported designer stationery items – mostly of European and Japanese origin. If you're the type who prefers to think with a pen or a pencil in their hands, chances are you're going to love this store...
Read the rest of: "Nota Bene"»  To escape the traffic and the noise of Lavapiés/Embajadores district (south of El Rastro), head to the rooftop of La Casa Encendida. Located on busy Ronda de Valencia, La Casa is actually a hidden oasis of calm.
This free-admission community education center / gallery / multimedia library / performance venue has a wonderful rooftop where you can sit, relax, read, meditate or chat with other visitors – you choose. If you get hungry, there's
a café downstairs, not to mention all the other things the center offers.
WHAT: Rooftop relaxation
WHERE: La Casa Encendida ( www.lacasaencendida.es) Ronda de Valencia, 2; Madrid 28012.
Read the rest of: "Rooftop of La Casa Encendida"» 
If skate-sailing is your thing and Paris your kind of town, I have the perfect location for you. By all means, try doing this on Quai d'Orsay next to the Air France terminal. You'll have the fresh wind from the Seine, more than enough space for maneuver and the attention of both tourists and motorists. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you where to get the gear (I don't know). But surely, if skate-sailing is your thing, you do. So, smooth sailing!
While Ree
is enjoying her wine or Pellegrino or whatever,
I'm salivating over that ball of mozzarella di bufala.
I'm almost ashamed to admit that
I'd never tried this kind of mozzarella before. It is
kind of watery, but the taste is wonderfully fresh...
WHAT: Mozzarella di Bufala
WHERE: Le Volte: Piazza Rondanini, 47 Roma 00186.
 If the above title makes you go "¿ La Hora de QUÉ?", you're not alone. Only a short year ago, I myself did not know what "horchata" meant, much less what it tasted like.
As it turns out, it tastes pretty good. If you're in Madrid, dubious, I'll tell you were to go to order a glass that will remove all your doubts...
Read the rest of: "La Hora de Horchata"» Somebody on the site mentioned that Le Grand Comptoir
is one of the few restaurants in Montreal with friendly,
non-pretentious “single person" table service and I would
agree with them. What I mean by that is that going there by yourself doesn't necessarily present you with the typical dining-alone nuisances, like having to sit at the counter and thus forgo being able to relax in a chair, or being subjected to attitude from the host(ess) and the server. (After all, you're taking up a whole table and you'll only leave one person's tip!)
Like I said, Le Grand Comptoir
is a fortunate exception to those experiences.
You can go there alone at almost any time of day
(except the lunch hour: too busy) and find more
than a handful of individual tables to choose from...
Read the rest of: "Alone at Le Grand Comptoir"» 
Fondue in Barcelona? Well, why the hell not? That's what we said when after a five-minute deliberation involving counting dining patrons and talking to a kitchen employee on a cigarette break, we decided to "go for it".
Apparently approving of our decision, the ultra-modern glass door slid away automatically, and with that we stepped inside "GADES"...
Read the rest of: "Fondue'ing at Gades in Barcelona"»  When you get tired of all the "typical" Spanish food, when you want small dishes (but... please, no more tapas!), when you want to try something eclectic yet vaguely Spanish-themed, you might want to consider eating at Bazaar on the southern fringes of Madrid's Chueca.
Read the rest of: "Bazaar in Madrid"»  |
