From Bruges...with love!

Have you ever been in Belgium?

Stefano and I had wanted to visit Belgium, specifically Bruges, after we saw the movie "In Bruges":

taken from Pinterest

We fell in love with the city while watching the movie (which has no romance, by the way) but haven't managed to actually plan a trip there till now.

We spent a long weekend there, back in June and we confirmed our love for this small city.

The city of Bruges is located in the Flemish side of Belgium, so the main language spoken by locals is Dutch - which means you won't understand one single word during your entire stay.

Bruges is very beautiful...as soon as you exit the train station you feel transported in a magic environment. You will be surrounded by the small river that runs through the city, the green trees and vegetation around it, the typical and colorful houses, the big tower with its bells and finally....the hundreds chocolate shops!

Temperature in June weren't as warm as the ones we are used to, but it was a nice break from the summer heat we are experiencing this year!

Few pictures of our small trip below:

Let's start from the center of this beautiful city...The Markt!

You can visit the tower (Burg) and climb all the stairs until you reach the bells room. The interesting part is that every day there is a man who plays a piano that is connected to the bells, the music can be heard in the whole historic center.... make sure you bring ear plugs with you!

Another view of the Markt:



and a view of what you can eat in the Markt:

:::Best waffle I have ever eaten!!:::

If you visit Belgium, there's something you must taste: Belgian beer!

This bar (2be) has thousands of different beers and, unless you spend a month there, you won't be able to taste them all. However, they offer some sort of samples depending on your preference (mix, strong, light) and I highly recommend this (cherry trappist beer is my favourite!).

:::The holiday selfie :D:::

[[ If you like my hat, you can find a similar one here and here ]]

I spent around 65 euros in this shop:

Bruges is full of chocolate shops, but only few of them make their own chocolate! The Chocolate Line is one of the few, and you can find chocolate for any taste and extravagance! They can box the chocolate so you can store it safely in your luggage {or in my case, they can give you a thermal bag since we bought so much chocolate that it didn't fit...}

Something you can't miss is the boat tour! It takes more or less 30 minutes and there are different starting point in the city.

For our last night in Bruges, we decided to go for some tapas and live music :) In Bruges and Brussels you can find many small restaurant and bistro that offer live music -- don't miss out!

Last but not least...something happened in Bruges!

Stefano and I got engaged ;)

Until next time,
Daniela

Pretty Elements goes abroad: USA here I come!

After some weeks I spent getting busy and travelling here and there, I finally found the time to write something in the blog.

Today,  I talk about one of my dreams that finally came true: visiting the USA!!{***insert belly dance here***}

It was absolutely cold fantastic!

As many of my friends and colleagues know, I am very organised and precise....so they were not surprised when they saw I was planning the trip 10/11 months in advance!

Flying to the States from Europe is not cheap (not the most expensive either, but still not the cheapest) and I wanted to stick to a budget or at least save as much money I could without having to give up on activities or tours I wanted to make.

Tha fact is, if you book in advance you have a wider choice in hotels and you are not subject to last minute inflated prices that will make your wallet cry!

I had time to make a plan and decide where I wanted to go and how long. As soon as I had this sorted out, I started browsing for hotels, picking the ones I felt were a good combination of quality&price. By keeping an eye on a realistic budget and reserving hotels in advance I have saved money and got nice hotels near metro stations and nice neighbourhoods.

Planning has its disadvantages....for example, I didn't expect to find the worst snowstorm of the last decade in the region of New York {how could I not!}. Worst area was around Buffalo city...and do you know where I was supposed to land in order to join the tour for the Niagara falls? Yes, Buffalo.

taken from Pinterest

Fortunately, we were able to go to Niagara Falls as the airport and the roads we needed were not blocked by the snow - and I'm glad we did because we really enjoyed it.

Washington DC jumped off the plan, as also a rainstorm decided to join the vagon! Boston was amazing and we didn't have any problem there, except we couldn't see Interpol in concert as they were blocked in the snow..where? Buffalo!

Nevertheless, I enjoyed every aspect of it! I was too happy to be in USA to let the weather bother me! :)

When you make those holidays, people tend to ask you what is the thing you liked the most....but I sincerely don't know how to answer it, because there were several things I loved!

NYC is on a completely different world compared to Europe: we went to the Cinema and we watched a movie on armchairs!! I was so comfy I fell asleep....until the person sitting next to time started screaming because the actors in the movie were being attacked!

Boston is absolutely beautiful - including Cambridge and Harvard university. We spent only 3 days here, but will absolutely come back in the feature! I want to watch a baseball game at Fenway Park!

Niagara Falls are so powerful and pretty - I had fun here and met looooots of squirrels ;)

Below some of my favourite pictures....

NYC streets are busy and colourful

A dream come true! A walk in Central Park

Central Park colours are beautiful in Fall - I have taken so many pictures here

I finally got to see what Times Square looks like in real life :)

Grand Central Station 

Views from the Brooklyn Bridge are breathtaking

I almost froze my nose to take this picture from Staten Island ferry

Coney Island! Stefano is a big fan of the Warriors movie, so we couldn't not visit this place

Boston is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen!

...and they also sell unique Xmas ornaments!

Harvard Football stadium before the Harvard-Yale game!

You cannot leave Boston if you haven't eaten this (with that sauce - yummy)

You find interesting models in Niagara Falls  - this is the view from Canada

American Niagara Falls are also gorgeous

This item is the most fashionable thing you can buy here ;)

Back in NYC - one of my favourite view from the Empire State Building

Thanksgiving parade was so much fun! this is a glimpse of it

..and another one here ;)

The Empire State Building lights on Thanksgiving

The Statue of Liberty in all its beauty

Hope you've enjoyed the pictures!

Until next time,

Daniela

"Hot" weathers & Cod fish with tomato sauce and black olives

It's September!

Seriously, where have the months gone? I will soon need to swap all my clothes and shoes...and that is going to take a whole day! I am really NOT looking forward to it, but I'll do it and I'll make sure I write about it here :)

In the meantime, the weather here is still scorching hot and we have experienced some restless nights last week - my dog and cat slept on the balcony getting all the fresh air {lucky them}! If I wasn't so scared of mosquitos (and people watching me), I would have slept in the garden...

Taking advantage of the good weather, I started cycling to work which is way quicker and healthier - if cycling 18 km per day doesn't help me lose few pounds I will give up!(and Stefano, don't you dare say I only cycled 2 times because that's not true and you know it!! :P)

Healthy benefits apart, cycling in the morning suits me pretty well - the air is chill and fresh {except when I cross the fishing port -meh!-}, everything is quite and calm, the scenary is gorgeous!

I have taken the below pictures with my mobile:

Playa de Sobrevela

Playa de Levante - Atunara

Eating healthy instead, is proving to be hard when Stefano doesn't stop buying Nutella and I don't stop eating it, but I am trying to focus my energy in healthy lunch and dinner plates.

Yesterday I have prepared Cod fish with tomato sauce and olives - it's very easy to make and a delicious plate that will make you forget you're on a diet.

:: Recipe and Proceeding::

4 Cod fish fillets
300 gr tomato sauce (passata)
1 garlic clove
Capers
Black olives
Oregano
EVO oil
Salt

Add some olive oil in a pan let the garlic clove golden for a minute. Add the tomato sauce, salt, the capers and the black olives previously cut in half. Stir for a few minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, cover the cod fillets in flour and place them in the pan with the tomato sauce. Make sure to turn the cod fillet so it is well cooked on both sides.

When is ready, add the oregano and serve :)

Enjoy!

Until next time,
Daniela

What have you been up to?

It's been 2 months since my last blog post...wow!!! time really flies..

In the last two months I have been enjoying many outdoor activities :)

I have been diving for the first time! We bought three groupons for this activity and it was very cheap. I have to admit, I was a bit frightned by it and didn't know if I could jump in the water with that huge oxygen bottle!!

The experience was amazing! Tarifa has beautiful ocean floors and I had the honour to watch so many colourful fishes ---and they we had a huge pizza to wrap up the day in brilliance ;)

{erhm..no pictures available - camera + water: dangerous combination!!}

Another first experience I've made was horse riding! I absolutely loved it and will make sure to perform this activity as often as possible!

We had a 3 hours walk with the horses and my horse was perfect. Cohibida was very good and calm and made me relax and enjoy a nice morning in the nature.

Another experience I want to share is the day we (Stefano, Canito and I) spent in Genalguacil, a small village in the mountains of Andalucia!

Last Christmas I gave Stefano a package of 1 night stay + breakfast and dinner... we used it almost a year later but enjoyed the treat!

The village is very nice, probably better in summer time and its characteristic is that you find artworks on the street - every two years the village organise an art festival where artists make sculptures and paintings, getting inspired by the beautiful landscape...the only condition  is that the artworks have to remain in the village :)

Canito loved the place, he thought he was at Disneyland! he's been running around the narrow streets and met all the local dogs.

That's not a real tree Canito!!

And we´re back to now...almost Christmas!! How are you getting on with the decorations and presents? I have a DIY project ready for you :)

Until next time,
Daniela

Free {or cheap} activity ideas for friends and family

This week I am working late shift - this means I get to work until midnight, but I can enjoy the mornings at home!

On Monday morning, Stefano and I went hiking and brought Canito with us. The day was hot but we were blessed by some clouds and we managed to walk perfectly without much effort.

The whole activity lasted 2  1/2 hours and even Canito was tired by the time we reached home (he was tired but we were shuttered!).

There is a path that connects two small towns (Venta Melchor and Alcaidesa). People can easily walk through it and enjoy the view of the Mediterranean sea.

During our walk, we reflected on how many free {or cheap} things we could do as a couple, without spending a fortune - it may especially work for couples with kids!

Hiking is one of these activities: you get to spend a day (or few hours, like in my case) in the nature: doing something healthy and spending time with your loved ones without a PC or television that reduce the time of conversations.

poor quality pictures....but Stefano isn't trying to fly away, there is Canito running towards him :)

How many times have you simply stayed at home or gone to restaurants because there was nothing better to do, or you had no better ideas? We did it sometimes!

We realised that due to laziness or lack of ideas, there have been days where we stayed home instead of going to the beach because we weren't even considering the idea. We'd rather spend the afternoon at home instead of taking the car and going to an amazing beach 40 minutes away!

That day, while sweating like a pig enjoying the hiking and the view, I promised myself that I had to make a list of all the activities I could think of and keep it in the house. This way we can check the list to get some inspiration {and I won't forget all the activities I thought about, since I have them black on white}.

If you think you have the same problem, or you just want to save some money, come up with a list of your own. Some ideas are:

- Hike in a natural park: find a natural park near your home and plan a day or few hours out!
- Pic-Nic on the beach/park: prepare a basket full of food and bring your dogs and kids to a  nearby park or beach and enjoy the day;
- Play some sports like soccer or freesbe in the nearby park;
- DIY spa treatment: make some natural scrubs and enjoy a relaxing day at home. Family with kids have two options here: 1. kids can join the fun as well, if they are old enough 2. ask a friend or family to care for your kids for just few hours;
- Movie {at home} night: pick a good movie, prepare pop corns and make the room resemble a Cinema :) you can do this as a couple, family or night-in with friends;
- Play some board games: if you are looking for a fun night-in this is a good option. We have some board games and lately we have been playing Monopoly Hotel and Carcassonne;
- Puzzle night: this is highly reccommended for families with kids!
- Visit a free museum or look for local festivals around your city/town: many times we simply don't look for this stuff because we think we live in a small town. If you look closer though, you will always find some local festival or a gallery show for free/ low price entrance.
- Do a photoshoot: this is fun for the kids and good practice for photo amateurs;
- Call some family or friends and organise a dinner {at home}: everybody can cook something and you can spend the night playing games. Also, if you have a playstation/wii available, you might try some competitions [we have ping pong, beachvolley...they are super fun!]

What ideas did you come up with?

Until next time,
Daniela

Back Home: Holidays in Puglia!

I'm back to routine! I have spent 10 days in my hometown in South Italy..unfortunately the days passed by fast and I'm back in Spain and at work :(

I come from a small town in south Italy called Sava - Here:

We visit my place every summer because we have one of the most beautiful beach resorts in Italy! The water is warm and cristal clear and the beaches are white and sandy!

Also, food is delicious, and since Stefano and I are good gourmets, we have had loooads of food ----which reminds me: I've made the 30 days challenge but then left for Italy and gained 3 kilos..(sigh sob)

How have the holidays gone?

Well.. It's nice to be back home. As soon as we landed in Brindisi, I've realised how much I missed that beautiful piece of land. I am fine in Spain, but there's no place like home, right?

Hello!

This is the beach of San Pietro in Bevagna - that's where I have spent my summer days since I was a small child.. I miss it already!

Port of Otranto

This is Otranto - I have never seen another port with that clear and beautiful water...and you? Otranto also has a nice city center full of souvenir shops! I was on a shopping spree!! yay!

Stefano was pretty impressed by the Cathedral in Otranto - the cathedral has a beautiful mosaic on the floor representing the genesis but, if you walk further, you will find this:

I must admit it does looks a bit creepy..

The relics you see behind the altar belonged to 831 martyrs of Otranto who were killed in a mass execution when they refused to convert to islamism, back in 1480 when the city of otranto fell under the turkish/ottoman force.

Back to places and lands now:

Santa Maria di Leuca's Caves

Santa Maria di Leuca is located at the really last tip of Puglia, the most southern east place of Italy.

If you visit Santa Maria don't hesitate to get a trip by boat and visit its famous caves ;)  They are gorgeous!

view of Santa Maria di Leuca

I decided I want to learn old traditions of my family and region, so I can bring them with me anywhere I go.

A typical homemade pasta made in my region is orecchiette.

Granma and I

My grandmother makes the best orecchiette, and I am not saying this only becase she is my grandmother - her orecchiette are requested by a ridiculous number of people ;)

I got her to teach me how to make them - I still have to practice many years if I want to reach her perfection!

I didn't take any picture of dishes and food.......... that's because I want to prepare them myself and share the experience here on the blog :P

prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Until next time,
Daniela