Salty Tang: August 2015

Czech Republic: Praha

In an older post, I mentioned how I preferred visiting Slovakia instead of The Czech Republic (as opposed to many tourists), but I actually visited Prague this summer and stayed there for 3 days. My instinct hasn't failed me: I did NOT like it, or to be fair, I did not like being there. However, there were definitely some remarkable places with breathtaking architecture, but, still, it was not a comforting place for me (compared to Bratislava). I might not have a concrete reason for that, but I can fairly say that it might have been my agoraphobia and discomfort when it comes to crowds. It's ironic because I come from Dubai, the city of tourists, but oh well!

There was something else uninviting about it, which remains unexplainable.. But I most definitely enjoyed Vysocany, which was the reason I went to Prague from the first place.

aaand here are some pictures of the places I went to!

Interesting casino at the Palladium

A cute teapot (Palladium)

Indian x Mediterranean (Palladium)

Indian restaurant (Palladium)

What I craved for a while! (Vysocany)

Vysocany

The funnest part (Vysocany)

Old Town Square

Jewish Museum and Synagogue

Old Town Square

Another synagogue

Bubbles

Old Town Square

Baden Bei Wien: Spa Town

I've spent most of my summer vacation in Central Europe until I just had enough of the crowds, fusses and basic routines, so I decided to pay Spa Town a visit. Only spent half a day in Baden, but it was one of the most relaxing half days of my life! It was sort of strange to only see humble Italian shops, but I preferred to keep things unquestioned during my getaway.

Once you enter the Doblhoff Park, which is the most popular place in there, the smell of Italian cheese welcomes you, and then it suddenly wears off as soon as you walk past the Italian bazaar (oh and you see Italy's flags all over the place)!

There's a cafe in that park with a river view that leaves you breathless. If nature could be heard, you might as well find the best of its sounds in Baden.

And of course, pictures can describe better...

Handmade bracelet

What compliments a temperature as hot as 37 degrees Celsius!

Flowers in there are almost sacred, there are signs that tells you how old the flowers are.

Of course, chicken schnitzel!

Australia: Gold Coast

A continent (also just one country; one flag), that oceans hold closely within their bodies, has attracted my family since 1995. And ticking 1996, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015 off, we have visited Australia every other year from 1995 until 2014. I basically learned every road, every street, every park, every restaurant, every cafe, every hotel and each and every spot of Gold Coast (Queensland), where we spend our vacation (with some short trips to Melbourne and/or Sydney).

The beaches, the theme parks and the koala sanctuaries are already known to be specific to Australia (even for those who haven't been there), and as much as they are absolutely amazing, they have become cliche to me, so I'm going to (as usual) take you on an food adventure and show you what usual commercials miss out when it comes to Australia: the crazy bunch of cuisines and tasty food! Of course, since two major oceans surround Australia, you cannot (and should not) not have seafood in there! Unfortunately, I don't remember the names of all the restaurants I ate at, but I'll still post pictures because the food is just too inviting!