Fascinating and Intense Marrakech

Fascinating and intense Marrakech can be love at first sight or a one-time experience. This is my first visit in Marocco and to be honest I have a mixed bag of feelings going there. However, I feel very excited to explore this city and get my impression on how the vibe is in Marrakesh.

On our arrival, our trip already started with a bumpy adventure around midnight. We booked a taxi service via booking.com, all went good with a bit of chaotic coordination regarding which driver will drive whom, as there were other passengers than us with transfer bookings. The driver dropped us at a taxi point and called our Riad for pickup by foot. Once arrived in the Riad, we realised we are dropped at the wrong place. Adventurely, we arrived at the right place with good people helping us as well as uninvited pedestrians from the streets who strongly urge themselves in leading you the way while you use your gps to get there. Of course, no surprise at all they rudely ask for money for their ‘genuine help’ services. Luckily, tired and all, this first taste of cultural experiences didn’t scare us off yet.

Staying for 3 full days in Marrakech, we decided to take things easy and explore on the go as we didn’t have must do’s. There are excursions in the rural of Marrakech and in my opinion, those would be nice to book if you stay here for more than 3 days and maybe to getaway from this busy city.

Practical tips before planning or during your trip

  • Ensure you don’t book your holiday during Ramadan. There might be limited shops or restaurants open.
  • Stay over in a traditional Moroccan house with an inner courtyard (Riad) instead of a hotel. It’s like B&B.
  • Pre-book airport hotel pickup to avoid distress of ‘pushy’ taxi drivers and negotiation hazards. Especially when you stay in the maze of Medina, book your transfer directly via your Riad. They charge about MAD220 per car. Riad’s can be hidden in small alleys where a taxi cannot reach, and some drivers have no idea where to find it. You can also call your Riad to pick you up at a taxi point closeby. I heard a taxi ride cost about MAD70-100.
  • Ignore locals who approach you initiatively offering help to guide you to your destination. Sometimes, they even call you out if you turn into a street, they inform that the road is closed (in French ‘ferme’) and ask where you want to go. It’s hard to know if the person is genuine or not and often it ends up in a game they play to get money at the end. Just say ‘la choukran sīdī’, means ‘no thank you sir’ and keep walking.
  • If you need help with directions, suggest you to ask cafe/restaurant staff or shop owners. You can also try ask locals for help who you may think are genuine but bear in mind they may not speak English.
  • Start with sightseeing around 9-10am until you have lunch to avoid the afternoon heat. Post-lunch, take a rest in your hotel and restart your wander after 19pm.
  • For nicer and popular restaurants, I highly recommend making table reservations.
  • Traffic is insane. Be alert and cautious all the time when you walk-on and cross over the streets. Scooters drive crazy, even in the small alleys of the souk. You can easily be hit if you don’t watch out. Seems, a lot of drivers don’t care as they are in a rush.
  • We did Marrakech by foot to explore the city and cannot share much on how much a taxi ride cost. For sure you have to haggle, and I heard from other travellers that a short ride cost approx. MAD30-50.
  • If you fly back home from Marrakech airport, make sure you read the airline check-in procedure when you receive an email. For example, Ryan Air does not accept mobile boarding pass and will fine you on the airport if you cannot present an old school paper boarding pass. Also, make sure you go to the check-in counter first to get your paper boarding pass stamped before you go to the departure immigration hall. You must do this, even if you do not have any check-in luggage: at least for Ryan Air flights.
  • At the airport, there is a sign that cash is not accepted at the tax-free or only in Euro bills. Fortunate, they do accept cash in euros or dirham at the kiosks and cafés behind the customs.
Adhan – call to public prayer over city speakers

What to Wear as a Woman?

Marrakech is a busy and touristic city but it’s still a Muslim country. There are no specific rules here. Suggestion is to dress with modesty out of respect. As a female traveler or travelling together with my partner, I like to avoid any kind of uncomfortable catcalling or ‘street harassments’. Those beautiful Instagram pictures with short skirts (above knee), booty pants and strap tops are deceiving as they paint an inaccurate picture on what is appropriate women wear in Marrakech. To avoid unpleasant pervy male gaze, it’s better to cover up your shoulders, legs until knee and cleavage. This may not stop catcalling necessarily but it will minimise unwanted attention. For male, short pants and t-shirt or polo shirts are fine. However, in rural Morocco you better wear long pants. It is disrespectful to be showing off too much skin.

Money Exchange

Avoid exchanging money at the airport. Withdraw money from a bank ATM or exchange in town. There are a few reliable exchange booths that take 0% commission. We changed at ‘Bureau de Change‘, I’ve seen a few in Medina and I heard ‘Hotel Ali‘ at the Jemaa El-Fna square is also a good place.

Things To Do

  • Get lost in the maze of narrow streets and alleys of Marrakech historic old town Medina. You will find colourful souks (open from about 10am-22pm), artisan shops and historic buildings. I was surprised, that the overly persistent vendors were not that aggressive as I had in mind. Probably, time and experience has changed their sales method.
  • ‌To get different impressions of Marrakesh other than Medina (old town), take a stroll at neighbourhoods of Kasbah (Jewish quarter, popular for spices) and the new town Gueliz. All can be done by foot within 30 minutes.
  • ‌Stroll at the big square Jeema El-Fna. Life starts here from 19pm with lots of food & juice stalls and market shopping.
  • ‌Pre-book a comfortable (touristic spa) hammam experience with a massage. Nice Spa houses may be fully booked. A traditional authentic hammam may not meet your expectations in relaxation. Often, there is zero aesthetic in bath houses and the service and amenities (bathrobe, towels, shampoo, shower gel, hairdryer, locker) may be less. Personally, I experienced an authentic Moroccan hammam & scrub in The Netherlands, and I must say I quite liked the adventure. After having a Hammam Scrub in a Spa house of Marrakech, I prefer the authentic style. In the Spa, they don’t really speak English either and don’t inform you on the HOWs beforehand and you pay much much more (approx. MAD350 pp). When you book for two persons, they even put you together in a treatment room with one resource instead of one each. Certainly, it may be cleaner and seeing a star sky ceiling would bring you a nicer feeling, but it all depends on what you personally prefer.
  • ‌House of Photography, (historical) photos and portraits of people living in Marrakesh. End your museum visit at the roof terrace cafe, where you can have a nice chill out or have a delicious lunch menu for €15 pp including a drink. This building has the highest roof terrace in the area and gives a clear view over Marrakesh.
  • Bahia Palace, showcases Moroccan architecture and beautiful gardens.
  • ‌Le Jardin Secret, situated in Medina with beautiful gardens and historical architecture. It’s a place that has kept ancient structures intact.
  • ‌Jardin Majorelle, exotic gardens designed by Jacques Majorelle and later restored by haute couture fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent.
  • ‌Some 4-5 star hotels offer non-guests a day pass to make use of their swimming pool area. The price often includes a lunch and a towel for use.

Where to Eat

There are plenty of eateries, restaurants and cafes in Medina, Kasbah and Gueliz. You can find local places and lots of places adjusted to ‘tourist/expats’ service, hygiene & exterior acceptance resulting in a higher price range. Places where I visited:

  • Le Jardin Restaurant Marrakech (Medina): nice trendy atmosphere and getaway from the heat in the garden area. They have a roof terrace but we hided in de garden to cool off. From the garden, there is a staircase up to a little local women boutique shop ‘Noria Ayron’ where they sell beautiful dresses and jump suits.
  • ‌L’Mida Marrakesh (Medina): trendy cafe restaurant serving fusion Moroccan food. Make sure you book a roof terrace table for dinner. Service is excellent but the food can take a while if the place is too crowded.
  • ‌Cuisine de Terroir (Medina): nice ‘local’ place with its charms. Good service, great value and yummy food. A proud place recommended by TripAdvisor & Guide du Routard. They have a roof terrace but if you prefer a bit ‘cooler’ temperature, I think a table downstairs on the ground floor is better. However, it may be noisier from the street.
  • ‌La Famille (Medina): a lushy cosy inner courtyard place serving vegetarian lunch. Booking is highly recommended.
  • ‌El Fenn Hotel (Medina): have a sunset cocktail at this amazing hotel roof terrace bar restaurant. Cocktails cost about MAD130-160 but definitely a nice place to enjoy design & a trendy vibe with good service.
  • ‌Le Kilim (Gueliz): great service & delicious food. Really liked the tajine chicken and vegetable plate with full flavours in each veggie.
  • ‌Le Palace (Hivernage): recommended as an absolute must go by a friend, especially booking a table at ground floor with art-deco design. Downstairs is a clubbing scene but also have dining tables. However, food is not authentic French as they also serve pizza and pasta. If you like to have a chic dinner in an ‘expat’ scenery in a cramped space with volumed up clubbing music and don’t mind bad acoustic, this may be your place to be.
  • ‌Absolute must drink are the fruit juices. They are full of flavour and taste natural. At the evening market stands at Jeema el-Fna square, a small fresh orange juice cost MAD5 and another type of fruit from MAD10.

My Impressions of Marrakech

  • I love Moroccan food but the variations on the menu are limited. It’s always the same dishes on the menu. Tajine, pastille chicken and fresh fruit juices or smoothies are our favorites.
  • Beautiful Moroccan architecture.
  • Too much commotion in traffic, even in small ‘pedestrian’ alleys. Heavy pollution with smog and noise everywhere, except for when people sleep at night.
  • Be respectful and people will act the same.
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Indescribable experience in Sevilla during Easter week

Indescribable experience in Sevilla during Easter week, I just can’t describe it and will try to share my holy week (Semana Santa) journey by photos and videos I took. I’m not religious myself but no doubt this is an incredible experience to see this live in Andalucia! The dedication & powerful synergy in the Semana Santa processions is one thing not to be missed here in Sevilla.

Young and old people march along the paths to the church, an entire week of processions by different brotherhoods. Some give away candies during the march, often by children and some give away religious cards like Jezus or Maria. It was amazing in seeing how Spanish folk start walking the procession at a young age and keep the traditions.

I was lucky in recording a small part of the procession in Sevilla from a balcony. The pasos (wagon with large sculptures depicting scenes from the bible) even made a turn at the end of the street. Watch here the short video with powerful orchestra marching together with the brotherhood.

On this post, I will also share my favorite foodie places, roof terraces and some shopping and sightseeing spots. For shopaholics, bear in mind, most shops may be closed during festivals.

Watching various Catholic brotherhoods marching on every procession is a remarkable experience. The people marching in Catholic pointed hats (capirotes) & robes are called Nazarenos. In the old days, Nazarenos represents penance. Some historians believe that the capirote dates back to the time of the Spanish inquisition (1478–1834). Sinners had to wear a capirote and walk along the streets as a form of public humiliation to do penance and to absolve from their sins.

Today, only Catholic brotherhoods wear the capirotes. The costumes still represent penitence but those wearing these robes are not doing penance anymore and its now more a majestic representation once they were. Nowadays, the brotherhoods proudly lead the pasos to their church or cathedral holding large crosses and tall candle lights.

Each march can last for hours, some starts from 15-ish and ends around or past midnight supported by family or friends on the side to give them water & food.

When you observe the details, you will notice that carrying the wagon and the walk movement between Malaga & Sevilla are different. The brotherhoods in Malaga carry the wagon around the wagon lifting the weight on their shoulders and swing a bit while walking. With the brotherhoods in Sevilla, they lift the wagon underneath on their neck and take small steps moving forward. You may have watched the YouTube video I shared on top of this post.

To see how the brotherhood march in Malaga, watch this very short video.

I’ve seen the necks of the wagon carriers, bruised, skin damaged and they have a red glowing hump at their base of their neck. I’ve been told that the wagon weighs more than 1000kg and not to forget, the warm temperature in Sevilla adds up on the hard work they offer. During the day it can be around 27°C and marching slowly in robes and coned hoods covering their entire head is a high appreciated dedication. At least it is my impression and opinion ☺️

Their devotion for their religion is sky high. Some hard core brothers march barefoot, a devotion to be closer to Jezus and share the pain and suffer. I’m not sure if this is the correct reason as I’ve been told by a Spanish man and I think it makes sense but you never know.

Personally, the most thrilling part is the orchestra; powerful drums & trumpets making your heart pounding and witnessing a brotherhood marching slowly and leading the pasos holding large crosses, lanterns or lit candle lights🕯️

Where to eat

In Sevilla there is no lack of great tapas bars nor restaurants. Every corner you pass by, you can eat or have a drink. I share a few of my favorite places when I visit Sevilla every single time.

  • Gastronomic Bib Gourmand Az-Zait restaurante. I enjoy my dinner here from my heart. The service is friendly and impeccable and quality versus price is marvelous. A-la-carte 3-course including wine, table water and high quality of brandy as digestive approx €60 per person. You can also opt for a menu.
  • Have a tapas in the oldest tapas bar in Seville dated from 1670, El Rinconcillo.
  • PETRA, a small trendy tapas restaurant with splendid service & tasty food.
  • Very popular tapas bar & restaurant in an apartment hotel complex, Espacio Eslava.
  • Cozy wine bar with small bites at Vinoteco Lama La Uva.
  • Small inside & outside but great classic tapas at this taverne, Los Coloniales.
  • A lot of locals having their tapas at Casa Manolo Tapas Bar Sevillano.
  • Have a Fika (coffee & sweet) at Hotel Alfonso VIII on their patio in the inner garden. Their interior design and architecture are marvelous.
  • Have a sunset drink at Mariatrifulca. Get a table on the rooftop on the river side as you will get an amazing view looking over the river & the old center. Drink prices are decent, approx €3,5 for wine.
  • Have a good coffee & pastry at Ofelia Bakery.
  • Take away a good & strong roasted coffee at Virgen Coffee.

Roof terrace

Nice local boutiques

Ofcourse there is the fancy Spanish El Corte Inglés shopping warehouse but how about browsing in local (artistique) boutiques? Sharing a few streets but there are more. I browse in the smaller streets of the yellow area. When you keep yourself away from the main stream shopping area you will see a lot of small nice boutiques.

  • Calle Cerrajeria
  • Calle Don Alonso el Sabio
  • Calle Lineros

Where I like to hang out

  • Plaza España & park. At the square or in the shadow of the outdoor building site, there are regular good flamenco street performance. Probably in late morning or early/ late afternoon to avoid the hot temperature.
  • Setas de Sevilla, the mushroom sculpture and it has a rooftop walk (ticket required). Or have a take away coffee or ice cream and sit on a bench enjoying the view from the platform (one staircase up from the streets).
  • Wander around in Triana center. It’s less crowded and also nice to see the other side of the river.
  • Walk along on the other side of the river at Triana on Calle Betis. It is an excellent viewpoint to contemplate some of the most famous landmarks of Seville, the Torre del Oro (bull fighting arena) and the splendid Giralda. There are also a lot of bars and restaurants where you can have a nice cold drink and enjoy the old town of Seville from a distance.
  • Mercado de Triana – covered market selling vegetables, fish and meat. There are some small tapas bars or restaurants where you can enjoy a tasty lunch. A nice one is at Cerveceria Loli. However, service can be slow and the food may be served luke warm.
  • Stroll in the yellow areas of the centre in “Feria and Casco Antiguo”.
  • Calle Alfareria – pottery workshops that have been multiplying for centuries and where some wonderful decorated patios are located.

Special

Nothing fancy, it’s more like a cultural centre where you can have a beer and watch free flamenco performances, poetry or photography exhibitions in an old coal warehouse. This place, La Carboneria is hidden behind a big wooden door with a patio in the back. Opening times from 19pm. Suggest to go much later in the evening or check their agenda.

Sevilla is a charming city where I never get bored. Nice people, plenty of gastronomy and tasty food bars, and wonderful architecture in almost every street in the old center. I hope you will enjoy Sevilla as much as I do and if you have nice places you like to share, please do ♥️

If you like to watch other short videos of the procession, you can click on the links below.

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Discover things to do and where to eat in Costa del Sol, Axarquía, Spain

Discover things to do and where to eat in Costa del Sol – updated on 30 December 2022: Living semi in Andalucía brings me much joy in life and one of them is exploring interesting places on an easy pace across four seasons with sunshine almost all year round 😊. Most of the time, I combine my trips with a nice outdoor activity such as a village/city/beach walk or a nature hike and ending my day with a culinary experience.  

On this blog, you may not find tips on museum visits (only exceptional) or historical stories about the places I’ve visited. Nevertheless, I hope you will find something on this post that triggers your interest for your travel plans or maybe just find a nice restaurant for your day.

Most of my stay in Spain, I stay in Axarquía. This is a district of Málaga province in Andalucía on the east side of Malaga. Its name tracks back to Arabic meaning of “the eastern region” and covers the sunniest places on the east coast of Costa del Sol with an average of 320 sunny days a year. Axarquía is composed of 31 municipalities and I will share the places which I like or visit the most.

Towns and villages covered in this blog are: Frigiliana, Nerja, Torrox Costa, Torre del Mar, Caleta de Vélez, Vélez-Málaga, Salobreňa. More recommendations to be updated for Lake Viñuela, La Maroma.

Frigiliana

Frigiliana is my most favourite village so far which is also Spain’s most beautiful and well-preserved village.

  • Take a stroll in this picturesque village, explore the small streets with beautiful blue painted doors and window shutters, see colourful flowers in pots or pink bougainvillea growing on white walls that bring a heart-warming feeling. Ladies don’t forget to wear comfy shoes as the streets and alleys are charmingly cobbled in this village. Note that shops are often closed during siesta time (14-17pm) and in winters (Jan/Feb), some may be even totally closed having their winter break.
  • Prefer a guide telling you all the historic stories of this village? You can book a guided tour in English. Costs for an adult is €4. Check out for more information on this link www.frigilianatours.com
  • Want to go for a spectacular hiking route Rio Higueron and El Fuerte? This route takes you from the beautiful village of Frigiliana into the waters of the Rio Higueron following it upstream to near its source in the Carrascal. Find more about hiking routes in Frigiliana and in its Natural Park Sierras de Tejeda on this link.
  • Explore other activities on the official tourist office website for Frigiliana.
My favourite food places in Frigiliana:
  • Restaurante El Jardin – serves a range of fresh Mediterranean cuisine/Marrocan food. It has a divine terrace looking over Frigiliana village. To get there, it’s quite an uphill walk but worthwhile. Main dish approx. €20
Transportation

You can easily drive to Frigiliana by car from Nerja, it’s about 4km. There is one big parking garage, or you can park along the main road for free if there is a spot available. At high season, very unlikely to find something though. Taxi always possible.    

Another option is taking the bus that runs every hour between 07:20am until 20:30pm. Bear in mind, there is no bus service outside these service hours, also not on Sundays and not on public holidays. The bus departs from Nerja bus station. Ensure you have small bills/change to pay in the bus, one-way cost €1,20. For bus time table, please check here.    

Nerja

Nerja is well known across Spain for its natural beaches, with many of its coves frequently featuring amongst the candidates for the best beach in Spain.

  • Balcón de Europa, undoubtedly the heart of Nerja (balcony square) with amazing sea and mountain views.
  • Nerja caves, one of Spain’s most popular and spectacular historical sites. Sometimes, they hold classical music concerts onsite. For the early birds, they offer limited free entrance for EU citizen from Monday until Friday, on the first opening slot at 09:30am. Check for reservation rules on their website.
  • Wet and wild hiking trail along (in) the river Rio Chillar. The river flows through Tejeda, Almijara and Alhama Nature Reserves. On your journey you will have the opportunity to bath in a natural gorge and waterfall. Be prepared that your shoes get soaked and bear in mind to wear steady walking shoes. Accidents has happened here and would be good to have urgent SOS numbers to reach out to.
  • For some beach moment, go to Burriana beach, it’s a cosy ‘posh’ beach with nice and modern restaurants. There are nice natural beaches along the coast nearby Nerja but bear in mind there are limited facilities. Access is often along the national beach road.
  • Tuesday market, located in Almijara II urbanization on the way up to Capistrano San Juan neighbourhood. They sell leather goods, textile, Spanish artisan pottery, spices, vegetable and fruit. Opening hours at 09:30-ish until 13/14:00pm. Take the Verano Azul blue bus from town, approx. €1.
  • Sunday Nerja Flea Market (also called as Rastro), find all kinds of second-hand items eg lamps, paintings, furniture, fabrics, clothing, books etc. Location is the same as the Tuesday market in Almijara II urbanization and starts from 08:30am until 14:00pm.
  • Explore other activities on the official tourist office website for Nerja.
My favourite food places in Nerja:
  • Spanish & seafood: La Marina Marisqueria. There are two types of seating areas. On the left side of the entrance is the tapas area. You can choose one free tapas from a designated list with each single drink you order. On top, you can also order dishes from the menu. On the right side, these are tables where you can order from the menu but no free tapas 😉. Tip – be assertive when you want to get their attention to place your food/drink order.
  • Italian: L’antica Nonna Mia. I highly recommend their fresh pasta dishes and tiramisu. Just superlicious and super value for its quality, price and quantity! On a nice sunny day, you can enjoy the surroundings at their divine terrace with sea view.
  • Italian: for a typical Italian style pizza, I would go to Vitaliano da Cristina (close to Nonna Mia and has a nice terrace with sea view) or go to Paparazzi.
  • For carnivores go to Posada de Iberica. I just love this place! Small menu, delicious food prepared with passion and all managed by a friendly man from Argentina. It’s a small cosy brown café style restaurant, a one-man show who serves quality food, good quantity and for a good price.
  • Prefer a trendy gastronomic experience with table settings and cosy atmosphere? Go to Fusion by Silvio Santogiacomo, Pápalo,  Restaurante Unico.
  • At Burriana beach, one of my favorite trendy gastronomic tapas place is RAW Lounge.
  • Do you like drinking cocktails? Go to Hemingway’s, I always go back to this place to get close to my cocktail standards. Wanna go for a nice holiday feeling with amazing rooftop views? Go to Terazza Buddha Lounge bar or the Volk’s Bar Sevillano (take the elevator situated inside Sevillano restaurant).   
  • For the best churros in town, I go to a simple local place at Café Bar las Cuatro Esquinas. They serve fresh fried churros between 09:00-12:00 noon and from 17:00-19:00pm. Chocolate lovers, order a cup of hot chocolate to dip in, you will not regret!
  • Breakfast: is your breakfast the most joyful meal to start with your day? Go to Parador Hotel, it isn’t cheap, ~€20pp but they serve an amazing buffet breakfast with a divine sea view on the terrace. They serve fresh orange juice, various bread, amuses, cheese/meat cuts, cereals, yoghurts, cold & hot platters and sweets and more to have a happy day.  
  • Like to enjoy your morning coffee with a nice sunny sea view? Go to Café Anahi, they have a small balcony terrace in the back with decent local prices in a top touristic location.
  • For a nice tea-time, I like to go to Mena Garden Nerja. It’s situated at the back of the hotel in a charming inner garden. Their carrot cake is delicious! Not too sweet of not overly layered with crème.
  • For good bread or pastry, especially their carrot cake, go to bakery Panadería Confitería Salvador Nerja.

Torrox Costa

Have a nice morning or sunset run or walk on the beach boulevard of Torrox Costa. This beach can be quite windy comparing to other beaches but gives an uber relaxing holiday feeling. The boulevard offers plenty of beach cafés and restaurants, and a nice simple breakfast menu for about € 5

  • Monday market next to Iberostar hotel building. They sell leather goods, textile, Spanish artisan pottery, spices, vegetable and fruit. Opening hours at 09:30-ish until 13/14:00pm.
My favourite food places in Torrox Costa:
  • For the best ice-cream in Nerja and neighbourhoods, I tried them all and this is in my opinion the best place for milky ice cream at Vistamar Helados Artesanos. Note that they are closed during the winter season, I believe from October until March. It could be that they are open for weekends with limited opening hours in March.
  • Spanish & Seafood: Marisquera Encinas, one of my favorite typical local places where Spanish families gather for a weekend lunch. The food is delicious! Highly recommend their creamy Russian salad, almejas, boiled gamba’s, shell fish conchas finas naturale, grilled fish, paella or soup rice meal – arroz con bogavante (local lobster) or arroz con carabineros (mix seafood with giant shrimps). If you want to lunch during Spanish time, after 14pm, I highly recommend you in booking a table in advance. Bear in mind, this is not a fancy place, tables are setup on the pedestrian street facing a busy road. However, the seafood is divine with local cosiness! Another nice place and has a beautiful terrace on the seafront boulevard is at Restaurante La Farola. It’s a very popular place among locals and tourist, a table reservation for lunch would be highly recommended. Especially on the terrace.
  • Spanish: restaurant El Tito Arenas, a hidden gem with a relaxed local atmosphere. Excellent service and delicious food at great value. Their back garden terrace is nicer than the street side. Highly recommend their entrecote and on Friday’s lunch time, you can pre-order arroz con bogavante dish for €9,5 pp. On other days, its minimum 2 persons order and cost more. For the latter, suggest a table reservation.  
  • Spanish: a little bit off from Torrox Costa boulevard, along the main road towards Nerja at the beach front, you have chiringuito Jose Jimenez 34. Great service and delicious paella! Pre-order your paella with your table reservation to avoid disappointment as they won’t make this for you when its busy. They have mix (chicken/seafood) or seafood paella. Cost ~€22 for 2 persons and lobster paella for €46,-
  • Breakfast or lunch: trendy small cosy place at Entre Vientos, close to the lighthouse with nice sea view. Craving for real German bread or torten (sweet pie)? Go to Wolfgang und Karina’s Backstűbel. They serve an amazing breakfast set for ~ €5,5 that includes excellent coffee, various bread, cheese/ham and jam, or add ~€1,5 for scrambled egg.
  • Craving for some good Belgium beer and good simple food? Go to Le Comptoir Belge. In my opinion, when a place serves good crunchy tasty fries, that’s the place to have a good meal! They have a nice terrace with sea view.
  • For gastronomic Spanish go to Restaurante Pata Negra Playa. Serves Spanish food in a modern twist with excellent quality and price.

Torre del Mar

A popular beach site for local tourists with nice chiringuitos (beach bar/restaurant) along the boulevard. This nice promenade goes all the way to Caleta de Vélez, approx. 4km.

My favourite food places in Torre del Mar:
  • Spanish: Chiringuito Casa Miguel, a nice trendy place with great service serving delicious grilled/fried seafood. In- and outdoor seating at the beach front.
  • Spanish & seafood: El Señuelo, a very popular place among the locals. They have a tapas seating area at the entrance or tables on the terrace (however facing a parking place) or indoors. Spanish lunch time in weekends (after 2pm), I highly recommend you booking a table in advance.

Caleta de Vélez

Take a nice stroll at the little harbour where all the sailing boats are docked and have lunch or a drink at one of those bar/ restaurants.

My favourite food places in Caleta de Vélez:
  • Spanish & seafood: Marisqueria Mani, popular among locals with decent prices. The fish is fresh and delicious!
  • Spanish & seafood: Chinchin puerto, a trendy posh place located opposite of the little harbour. Atmosphere is superb, food is good but prices are a bit high-end.

Vélez-Málaga

Take a very nice town walk along the alley’s, especially walking up to the fort (Alcazaba La Fortaleza). It’s quite uphill but you will get an amazing 360 view over the town and sea. This town still has preserved its local vibe. There aren’t many tourists here and this is what I like the most.

My favourite food places in Vélez-Malaga:
  • Spanish tapas bar: Restaurante la Gamba Dorada, this place offers a nice vibe with great services. You can choose one free tapas from a designated list with each single drink you order. What I most like about this place is, they offer a wide variety of red, white and rose wine per glass, so you don’t need to buy a bottle to taste the wine.

Salobreňa

A beautiful white village on the Costa Tropical, dominated by a hilltop castle from the Al-Andalus period. This castle transitioned from a Phoenician to a Roman site, then to an Arabic fortress and at last conquered by the Catholic kings.

  • Take a stroll in the old town, walk along the narrow streets and relax in tranquility.
  • Visit the fortress castle that offers a mixture of architecture from different periods. At the top, you will have a 360’ panorama view. At clear blue sky, you can even see Sierra Nevada.   
  • Don’t miss the beautiful beach that is at the bottom of the town. Take a nice stroll along the boulevard and enjoy a glass Tinto de Verano (soda mix with wine) or sangria.

More recommendations to be updated for Lake Viñuela, La Maroma.

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Japanese restaurant Yakitori la Kushi in Amsterdam

Do you like Japanese grilled skewers but also like to have the option in eating sushi or tempura? A new authentic Japanese restaurant bar is finally open in Amsterdam Rivierenbuurt, Yakitori la Kushi. I was so much looking forward to this new Japanese grill bar. The opening got a bit delayed by covid19 and some construction work but its now open for delightful dinners 😃

You can enjoy traditional Japanese dishes and some are with a modern twist. The menu offers a variety of appetizers, sushi, sashimi, tempura, rice bowls and ofcourse Yakitori. All look superlicious! You can take a seat at the bar counter like how it goes in Japan or dine at a table. 

What is Yakitori? Yakitori means grilled chicken skewer, it can be served with various part of a chicken e.g. wings, stomach, heart or skin and the grilling is finished with a little bit of salt seasoning or yakitori sauce (glazed savory sweet sauce). When there are other grilled ingredients, you can also call it Kushiyaki as this term covers all kind of meat or vegetable skewers and not explicitly chicken. 

Grilled skewers are a classic food served at izakaya in Japan and is a serious business. It’s about having dinner in a Japanese-tapas style pub where beer, sake, tasty bites and jolly chatters take part. The quality, the meat texture and the grilling skills are important factors in bringing the right atmosphere & flavours. Just yummie!

I started my evening with a smooth dry sake drink, a junmai ginjo from Kyoto and I loved it! I didn’t take a starter, I wanted it but I was so much graving for nigiri sushi. My sushi was fresh made with gloves on ☺️, this already gave me a positive hygienic feeling. It tasted very good, especially the unagi was in balance of sweetness and had the right texture. Personally, I’m not a unagi fan and I wanted to eat more.  I continued with a shrimp tempura roll. The tempura shrimp was fresh fried and crunchy, and not greasy at all, so thumbs 👍🏼. Although, it could have a bit more kewpie mayonnaise and extra lettuce for a divine balance between fried food and a fresh taste. After the sushi and roll, I felt quite pleased in my tummy but being in a Yakitory bar I must try the skewers before leaving. So I ordered a tsukune (chicken ball) and hatsu (chicken heart), one of my favourites. The heart tasted fine, I was missing a bit of smoked flavour and the tsukune meat texture was a bit dry and pricy for a small thin ball. To my personal taste in terms of Yakitori, I prefer my regular favourite Yakitori bar but nevertheless, I had a superlicious dinner + good sake = which made my evening superb! Definitely highly recommended. 

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Social Distance Picnic

My weekly virtual dinner with my partner + friends continues in this bizarre pandemic period. We had a social distance picnic on a beautiful sunny Saturday evening along the canals of Amsterdam. It was a fabulous and inspiring dinner!

Finally, having some good Japanese Izakaya food, champagne, wine and ofcourse being with great company 🥂🌻✌🏼

Do you also crave for good BBQ meat in Japanese style?

Take away is now possible from one of my favourite restaurants in Amsterdam at Hakata Senpachi.

Itadakimasu!

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My favourite Culinary & Cultural spots in Amsterdam

Amsterdam is a lively place to live and definitely a must visit in getting inspired by the many wonderful activities this city has to offer. I am not referring to ‘the coffee shops’ or red light district but to history, culture, museum, architecture, flat nature and the charming canals we have. Go sail on the canals, ride on a bicycle, enjoy a stroll in the park, just have a relaxing time and absorb the local vibe.

Not to be missed out are our typical Dutch tidbits e.g. bitterbal, broodje kroket, stroopwafel, haring met uitjes en zuur, patatje oorlog, poffertjes, oliebol (christmas season only) and many more local or international culinary adventures you can try out. Pictures from left to right are in order of the tidbits.

Oh, there is one thing that might not charm you… the quality of customer service can be far below your expectation. I don’t understand either and occasional I also get annoyed by that. It’s quite normal in Amsterdam and people tend to leave it as it is. However, there are fabulous and friendly cosy places to go, so just go to the ones you like. On the tipping part, we do not have a standard custom and most locals round up the bill or tip 10% for excellent service provided.  

Culinary Spots in Amsterdam

Area ‘De Wallen’ (red light district)

  • Wynand Fockink (drinks) – a hidden tiny tavern where you can sip ~70 Dutch liqueurs and genevers. Passionate outgoing staff and definitely a memorable experience. Opens from 3pm and can close early evening. 
  • Restaurant de Compagnon (French) – a hidden gem in the red light district. It is a small cosy restaurant with three floors. You will have a wonderful tasting experience. Ensure a table at the window with a great view on the canal. Highly recommend table reservation.
  • Bridges (Michelin Star* Western) – situated in Sofitel Legend The Grand. This building was the former town hall of Amsterdam. Another marvellous gastronomic experience with excellent service.
  • Restaurant Vermeer (Michelin Star* Western) – situated in the NH Barbizon Palace Hotel opposite of Central Station. A marvellous gastronomic experience with excellent friendly professional staff. Ingredients are locally sourced. Highly recommend table reservation.

Area Jordaan

  • Chocolaterie Pompadour (café, patisserie) – go for a super delicious patisserie experience. They have a small tearoom in the shop. Queues may occur outdoor. 
  • Winkel 43 (café, lunch) – taste the best apple pie in Amsterdam. Freshly baked and delicious with a bit of whipped cream. Long queues may occur.

Area Rokin

  • De Laatste Kruimel (café, bakery) – a charming café having delicious sandwich, bakery and quiche. Not many seats and not comfortable but definitely cosy and a must experience. 
  • Café de Jaren (café, lunch, dinner) – a nice high-ceilinged café ambiance with a sunny canal-side terrace. Just enjoy some reading and the local vibe. 

Area Museum Kwartier (museum quarter)

  • Taiko Restaurant (Asian, Japanese) – situated in the Conservatorium Hotel. Splendid Asian fusion and mostly with Japanese influences. A superb gastronomic experience in a great ambiance. An evening to splurge yourself. Excellent service but some staff can be a bit snobbish. Highly recommend table reservation.

Area Canal Belt

  • Café de Balie (café, lunch, dinner) – have a coffee break and absorb the local life with free high-speed wifi. It’s a cultural centre with diverse programme about freedom of speech, contemporary art, politics, culture, cinema and media. 
  • Tapas Tia Rosa (Spanish) – a nice cosy ambiance with superb joyful staff, good house wine and delicious tapas. Try out the surprise menu. You won’t be disappointed.  

Area Amstel River

  • Café Restaurant De Ysbreeker (café) – in the summer they have a lovely terrace along the Amstel river where you can enjoy the view and the tranquillity of Amsterdam. The food and wine is quite good. 

Area RAI, Rivierenbuurt

  • Hakata Senpachi (Japanese) – a taste of the rising sun. This is my most favourite Izakaya restaurant in Amsterdam. The grilled sticks taste delicious like as in Japan, great sake selection and in weekend they serve Fukuoka ramen noodle lunch. Ambiance setup is a Dutch brown café, simple wooden tables and chairs. There was a fire incident end 2016, reopening will be on Feb 27th2017. I’m so looking forward to it. 

Cultural Spots in Amsterdam

  • Het Concertgebouw – classical music, enjoy a free concert at lunch time on Wednesdays at 12:30pm. Queuing for free tickets starts at 11:30am and there is a limitation of seats. First come first serve basis and only one ticket per person available.
  • Book market, address Oudemanshuispoort – a charming walk on a non-official book market selling old books, music and prints. Location makes it more special, a gate passage dated from 1786 connecting between Kloveniersburgwal and Oudezijdsvoorburgwal. Opening hours from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5pm and subject to shop availability/season/weather condition.

Tip: daily last minute online tickets offered at http://lastminuteticketshop.nl from 10am. There is a maximum of 2 tickets per transaction and the website is in Dutch only.

Enjoy discovering Amsterdam!

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