Travel Gourmande

Summer is upon us. Busy week triggers the need to escape for a vacay. We haven't booked anything yet for this summer. Life feels on hold for us at the moment. Things are quite uncertain so we haven't planned any trip. I was hoping to go home instead, but June-September is usually a very rainy season to go back to my homeland, Philippines. If we were to do so, we would like to take a glimpse of at least one white sand island with clear waters on a bright sunny day.

I'm itching to go away and it's a great idea to do so during the hottest months in Dubai from June- September. Yes, there are great beach fronts here. The water is clear and the sand is soft, pebble free underwater. It's a shame, we rarely go to the beach on weekends. We are confined in the comfort of air conditioning watching movie marathons during lazy Fridays.

The upside during these months in Dubai are low hotel rates and special packages for the family, for couples, for a girls weekend or boys adventure desert trips. For the shopaholics, there is the Dubai Summer Surprises from the 22nd of June to 31st of July 2011. Best shopping deals, lots of events, concerts, international shows and lots of promotions during the summer festival.

For those, who are staying behind and who are like me, undecided. What about we throw a vacation- themed weekend party? It doesn't need to be a big event. It could be a quiet dinner with closest friends, or an afternoon with the family. Just to try something different

Choose a country you would like to go to this summer.
Check out the recipes of that country's traditional cuisine for your party's menu and treats.
Decorate! Pick out elements and create DIY banners, table pieces and name cards inspired by the country theme to set the mood.
Perfectly set the tone with a matching music. E.g. Play Andrea Bocelli for a Tuscany backyard dinner party
Imagine the scent of that setting and try to capture the aroma with scented candles. For example, if you're having a South of France theme afternoon coffee party, lavender!
Try creating trivia games about the touristic sites or any game related to learning the foreign language.

Check out Mexican Theme Fiesta Party

Here are more theme ideas:

English Afternoon Tea Party

India Inspired Lunch

While we're at it...I think this is soo cute! French cafe theme

Wishing you all a fabulous Friday!

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Sunday should mean fun day. I can imagine for the rest of you lucky people, you might be blessed with longer sleep today. It's the beginning of our work week. I would like to start though by ending the Tuscany Tour series with the final destination from our Best of Tuscany Tours by Walkabout Florence.

Siena, is a medieval city, 70 km south of Florence. The walled city is resting on three hills. Our tour bus parked below the towering hill and I remember entering a passage tunnel with an escalator. I can imagine, that's a lot of climbing steps otherwise.

We were led by a Siena local tour guide who gave us a very clear background of each and every site we went to. We explored the city centre by walking. The touristic sites are all spread out unto the three hills and are only accessible on foot so lots of workout as most of the roads are inclined. Hence, a lot of Italian locals are slim. Despite the amount of food they eat, they hardly get fat! Old ladies are hiking up the steep slopes pulling their grocery trolley without effort.

Rich in history. Siena was a proud and wealthy Gothic city which dates back during the medieval period. Evident from the oldest bank in the world and lot of rich habitants who dare not expose their wealth.

Part of the Palazzo Salimbeni - Bank Building with sculpted heads of important figures.

It's like they're saying, "We're watching you..." I wouldn't really look up at it at night though. :) The reflection of the heads on the windows across the street (below).

I love the louvered windows and well preserved historic buildings.

This Italian Romanesque Cathedral is definitely a work of art. The marble detail on the floor and well preserved frescoes inside were heavenly. The black and white stripes are uniquely prominent as we climbed those steep slopes to get there.

Duomo Cathedral

Lastly, the most popular site of all, Piazza del Campo. A unique shell shaped piazza used twice a year on July 2 and August 16 as the race track for the famous 600 year-old Palio Horserace. Learn more about Il Palio here.

Piazza del Campo with Gothic style Palazzo Pubblico, town hall of Siena

Cafe at Piazza del Campo

This coffee shop was our last stop. The trip ended with the tour bus driving us back to Florence Terminal Station. We arrived at exactly 8:30 PM despite the weekend evening traffic, just in time to collect our luggage from the hotel to catch our first class night train to Milan. I dozed off during the ride. The travel sleep masks from our flight deemed very useful.

Wishing you a wonderful week!

How's your weekend going? For the third installment of the Tuscany Tour, I would like to share with you the beautiful San Gmignano . This is a part of the Best of Tuscany Tour from my previous posts organized by Walkabout Florence.

Below is a map courtesy of Knowital.com illustrating the whole of Tuscany. As you can see, for the Twilight fans, this is quite close to Volterra, the popular land of the Volturi in the vampire saga. In comparison to Volterra, San Gmignano has a more welcoming vibe.

San Gmignano is a walled medieval town sitting on the hill over the valley of River Elsa in the province of Siena in North-Central Italy. It is approximately 56 km from Florence. Renowned for its 15 historic towers visible from the surrounding Etruscan countryside, the architecture is well preserved. It somehow reminds me of Mont St. Michel upon entering the walled village, but having a friendlier atmosphere without the dark abbeys and demonstrations of medieval torture shows.

Sunday Market in the village

I couldn't help taking a snapshot of these lovelies.

I found this beautiful gallery a few meters away from the weekend market stalls. I love the way the wooden door on the left balances the composition of the glass entrance archway of the gallery and the displayed artworks .

Relaxing by this cafe for a nice cappuccino or espresso is perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I love the way this tree provides extra shade at the entrance of the coffee shop. There are lots of coffee shops and restaurants within this walled town.

Centre of San Gmignano

Below is the central fountain found at the heart of San Gmignano

Historic Centre of San Gmignano

Check out the small arched glass doors on the left hand side of the above photo with queues of people outside. The tourists are lined up to get a taste of the award winning gelato from that shop. I had the opportunity to try it. I took the pistachio & chocolate flavor. Absolutely yummy!

Eating one of the best gelatos in the world. Had to hurry, it's melting.

I definitely enjoyed my time there. I can't wait to go back one day and spend some more flexible time comfortably exploring with lots of eating. That gelato shop is definitely on the list.

Have a great Saturday!