Travel Journal
-
[review] My 99% pure sterling silver tea cup at Hi’de Maison (Vietnam)
I can’t remember when I started looking for a sterling silver cup. Was it since my visit to George V with my sister where we were served hot chocolate with a silver cup and cutlery? Or since I signed up for Interenchères where I see silver cups sold for 60 euros? I’m not quite sure. Why? First off, why do we use silver for cutlery and utensils? In the past, poisons were impure and contained traces of sulfur. Now, sulfur makes silver tarnish, and that’s how you detected the presence of poisons. These days, it’s the silver ions that interest us, because they can attack bacteria. There are no serious…
-
Mini road trip in the Netherlands: Tulips, Edam, Giethoorn, Zaanse, Amsterdam
Now that we live in Lille, it’s easier for us to explore the northern countries. From Lille, we can take the train, but it’s excessively expensive and takes forever. JB and I decide to go for a Flixbus, even if it means leaving the day before and adding a hotel night, it’ll still be much cheaper than taking the train or the plane. We’re even surprised that JB has vacation time while he’s still on probation, but his company wanted everyone to take vacation before a certain date, so here we are, forced to “go on vacation”. A concept we no longer knew during those 8.5 years of freelancing around…
-
Attending an RC Lens match at the Stade Bollaert
A little post to remember it by. A few weeks after attending a Champions League match in Lille, I’m looking into options for attending a match in Lens. Lens is renowned for having one of the best crowds in France, and there aren’t many matches left before the end of the season. I’m targeting the match between Lens and Saint Etienne, scheduled for a Sunday afternoon. Since I don’t drive, this means I can take public transport. My works council occasionally offers tickets for Lens, but unfortunately, this match isn’t included. The Stade Bollaert has a capacity of 38,000, with 29,000 Lens season ticket holders. That leaves only a few…
-
Attending a LOSC Champions League match in Lille
As much as I’ve attended football matches on three different continents, I had never yet had the opportunity to attend a Champions League match. Our arrival in Lille is going to be the occasion, because LOSC has qualified for the round of 16 of the competition and I can get tickets through my works council. There are advantages to becoming an employee again! I even managed to get two tickets, which allows me to offer our Lille friend A. to come along. Although Lille is not the favorite against the German club Borussia Dortmund, they got an excellent draw (1-1) in the first leg in Germany. So the suspense is…
-
Paris [February 2025]: Lafayette Saltiel Drapiers & Restaurant Pavyllon by Yannick Alléno
A month and a half after settling in Lille, I think it’s time for a quick round trip to Paris. I’m sore all over and my favorite masseuse is in Paris (I call her “healer” because she has magic hands). Plus, I need to buy interfacing for my sewing projects, but the selection in Lille isn’t exhaustive. JB tells me he still has the Fine Dining offer with American Express (€100 credit at a selection of restaurants) that I can use in Paris. Appointments booked, I leave fairly early in the morning and take the TGV. A little over an hour later, I arrive at Gare du Nord. Lafayette Saltiel…
-
2024 Review: final year of world tour
2023 was very cool, 2024 was oneof the best years of our life. Last year, if you could read between the lines, you understood that traveling non-stop has become very tiring for us. Maybe it’s age, or burnout, or both. After 8 and a half years of traveling, we’ve visited our favorite places, sometimes several times, achieved our wildest dreams. For a while now, we’ve felt the need to settle down a bit. Also, after fifteen years doing the same job, JB and I feel the urge for change and to explore other fields. If for me it’s a blur, for JB it’s crystal clear: he wants to retrain in…
-
Swimming in the Dead Sea in Jordan
The desert tires us out so much that we always quickly escape to the edge of a nearby sea. We’re spoiled for choice: the Red Sea or the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has always been a dream for me—there aren’t many countries with access to it (Israel, the West Bank, Jordan)—so this is our very first time discovering it. JB uses our miles to treat us to 6 nights at the Marriott Dead Sea Resort & Spa. We even took advantage of a deal: 3 nights booked, 1 free, with buffet breakfast + spa access (sauna, hammam, pools) thanks to JB’s Gold status at Marriott. In Spain, I had…
-
Aqaba, Red Sea, Madaba (Jordan)
We feel revived after leaving Wadi Rum. At the camp, we met a Korean tourist and, to save him the taxi fare, we give him a ride to the Israeli border at Aqaba. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal Aqaba If the Wadi-Aqaba drive is smooth, things get complicated upon arriving in Aqaba. JB asks me to test my phone because his GPS (on his phone) stops working while we’re on the highway. He says he read news that Israel is jamming GPS near its border. The Korean and I have the same issue, proof that it’s indeed jamming. So it’s the old-fashioned way, following…
-
Two nights in Wadi Rum with a tour agency (Jordan)
We often travel without an agency, but in Wadi Rum, it’s impossible to travel without a guide. Whenever I have to choose an agency, I open Tripadvisor and pick one of the top 3. This time, we went with Wadi Rum Nomads, ranked #3 on Tripadvisor. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal A little annoyance The day starts with bad news. As I get ready to leave my hotel, I take out the cash from my wallet to set aside the 300JOD I owe the agency. And then, surprise: my wallet only has 400JOD, out of the 500JOD I left there a few days ago.…
-
[Review] Memories Aicha Luxury Camp in Wadi Rum: Luxury Hotel with Dome Tents (Jordan)
My hotel choices have been heavily influenced by my girlfriend H., who loves beautiful things, luxury, and watches Instagram reels of beautiful hotels. She recommended Our Habitas in Hegra, and now Memories Aicha Luxury Camp (Booking link) for our stay in Wadi Rum. Part 1: Travel JournalPart 2: Practical Tips Part 1: Travel Journal After seeing this photo taken by a drone, I’m very interested. Sure, there are many dome tent hotels in Wadi Rum, but after looking closely at the photos, I get the impression that the tents at Memories Aicha Luxury Camp are built differently. They seem more “custom-made” than tents that you buy ready-made, or worse, completely…
