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Top 5-Star Hotels in France are named “Palace” Hotels

February 23, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

If you’re looking to stay at *the* very best hotels in France, you just might consider booking at one of the country’s “Palace” hotels. Established in 2010 by the French Minister of Tourism, the distinction of “Palace” is awarded to the finest 5-star hotels in France. It’s an even higher distinction than the 5-star universal hotel ranking.

Top 5-Star Hotels in France are named "Palace" Hotels — Credit: Mandarin Oriental Paris

“Palace” hotels have exceptional qualities that embody French standards of excellence and contribute to enhancing the image of France throughout the world. The distinction is also designed to increase the profile of these establishments, especially on the international scene.

25 Palace Hotels in France

Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris
Cheval Blanc Courchevel
Le Meurice
Royal Evian
Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme
Le K2 Palace, Courchevel
The Royal Monceau, Paris
Les Sources de Caudalie, Bordeaux
The Peninsula, Paris
Byblos Saint-Tropez
Château de la Messardière, Saint-Tropez
Cheval Blanc Saint–Barth Isle de France
Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris
Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat, A Four Seasons Hotel
Hôtel de Crillon, A Rosewood Hotel
Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes
Hôtel du Palais, Biarritz
Hôtel Les Airelles, Courchevel
La Bastide de Gordes
La Réserve Paris
La Réserve Ramatuelle Hôtel Spa et Villas
Le Bristol Paris
Les Près d’Eugénie, Eugénie les Bains
Mandarin Oriental, Paris
Shangri-La Hôtel

In collaboration with director Matthieu Budin, Atout France, the France Tourism Development Agency – has created a collection of videos showcasing the extraordinary world of France’s Palace Hotels. These videos provide an opportunity to explore each property behind the scenes from the kitchens, where ever-more inventive dishes are prepared, to the wellbeing spaces in which beauty treatments and refinement take centre-stage.

The videos also offer a glimpse of the activities of its concierges, florists and barmen, all of whom are motivated by the desire to offer a unique experience to each and every one of their guests.

So far, 3 episodes have been published each featuring 3 Palace hotels.

Episode #1: Hôtel Plaza Athénée; Paris Cheval Blanc Courchevel; Le Meurice

Episode #2: Royal Evian; Park Hyatt Paris-Vendôme; Le K2 Palace, Courchevel

Episode #3: The Royal Monceau; Paris Les Sources de Caudalie, Bordeaux; The Peninsula, Paris

8 Ice Sculpture Festivals in Europe to Visit

February 13, 2019 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

When winter arrives in Europe, many of its cities become fairy-tale like with vibrant holiday markets, shiny decorations and even ice sculpture festivals. Ice carving traditions date back to the beginning of the 20th century and ice sculpting has become a widely-recognized contribution to the local art scene in many of Europe’s coldest countries.

8 Ice Sculpture Festivals in Europe to Visit

Thanks to their short natural lifespan, beautiful works of art carved from blocks of ice are as temporary as the winter in many of the countries where ice sculpture festivals are held. So when the festival dates are announced, it’s a good idea not to delay the trip. For your next winter getaway, here are 8 ice sculpture festivals in Europe to visit.

Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival (Bruges, Belgium)

The Snow and Ice Sculpture Festival in the medieval Belgian town of Bruges is one of the oldest and most famous ice sculpture festivals in the world. It usually runs from the last weekend in November until the beginning of the second week of January.

During the festival, the area of Bruges’ central train station square becomes a setting for the spectacular and breathtaking display of ice art works. The most recent festival held this past January featured “The World’s First Digital Ice Art Museum.”

Ice Sculpture Festival (Druskininkai, Lithuania)

Hidden in the pine forests of southern Lithuania, the small resort town of Druskininkai has been known by health-seekers from all around Europe for centuries. Famous for its mineral springs, numerous SPAs and enchanting nature, now it’s also turning into a winter wonderland.

In addition to numerous winter events such as the biggest Olympic Winter Sport festival in the region, Druskininkai has now started hosting the annual Druskininkai Ice Sculpture Festival, which also has aims to become the biggest event of its kind in the Baltic States.

Ice Sculpture Festival (Druskininkai, Lithuania) | 8 Ice Sculpture Festivals in Europe to Visit — Credit: Justinas Šeibokas (@ilovedruskininkai)

During the most recent festival, a dozen sculptors from Lithuania, Germany and Indonesia gathered in Druskininkai to create magnificent ice masterpieces inspired by the paintings of the famous Lithuanian artist Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, who grew up in Druskininkai.

The Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival (Zwolle, the Netherlands)

The Dutch Ice Sculpture Festival is held the city of Zwolle and runs until March 3 this year. Ice sculptors from around the world were invited to work with 275,000 kilos of ice and 275,000 kilos of snow to create a breathtaking world based on “world famous stories” such as Animal Farm, the Three Musketeers, Alice in Wonderland, and many others.

In addition to being a ‘must visit’ for lovers of literature and ice art, there is also a Winter Wonderland KidsPlaza with games, fairground attractions, and bouncy castles to keep the little ones happy.

The Poznań International Ice Sculpture Festival (Poznań, Poland)

The Polish city of Poznań plays host to an annual ice sculpture festival, which takes place on the Market Square of the Old Town. In 2018, over 10 tonnes of ice were used to create the sculptures which were on show to thousands of guests, and a judging panel made up of international experts.

There is also a speed carving competition where each contestant is given an identical block of ice to create a sculpture.

The International Ice Sculpture Festival (Jelgava, Latvia)

Located around one hour away from the Latvian capital of Riga, the town of Jelgava holds the largest ice sculpture festival in the Baltic States each year.

In addition to being a celebration of art and ice, the Jelgava Ice Sculpture festival is also an event which is enjoyed by music lovers thanks to its numerous live music performances and light shows.

The London Ice Sculpting Festival (London, UK)

Described by Time Out as a “must visit” event, the London Ice Sculpting Festival has been on the British capital’s winter calendar for the last 10 years. Located at Canary Wharf, the London Ice Sculpting Festival offers visitors the chance to see live ice carving displays, check out graffiti on ice walls, pit their wits against and opponent over a game of ice chess, as well as plenty of other creative elements.

In 2018, the event brought in over 50,000 attendees from across the world, and the entertainment is extended to laser shows and DJs to make the event that bit more memorable.

The Ice Music Festival (Geilo, Norway)

The Ice Music Festival in Norway s a truly unique experience for all music and sculpture lovers. Participants in the world’s only ice music festival are required to make their instruments from the surrounding ice, and performances are held in an igloo. What’s more, the sounds are defined by the quality of the ice, meaning that no two ice music festivals are the same.

Kiruna Snow Festival (Kiruna, Sweden)

Since 1986, local Sami traditions meet contemporary ice sculpting techniques deep in the heart of Swedish Lapland. In addition to the display of Sami-themed ice sculptures, everything is made of ice including the children’s playground. Find out more about the Kiruna Snow Festival here.

Backpacking in Europe 15 Year Travelversary

July 2, 2018 by foodgressing Leave a Comment

Last month marked 15 years since I backpacked through 6 countries in Europe with 2 of my closest friends. The year was 2003: I was 21 years old and in my fourth year of undergrad at UBC. That summer, my friends and I decided to take our first major trip abroad to see the great big world! We spent three weeks in Europe (really short!) and visited France, the UK, Italy, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland. I enjoyed looking back on the trip and reminiscing on how much fun it was. The only thing I would change about it is that I would use the PNW waterproof backpacks instead of the ones we used because all our stuff got wet when it rained on us in Germany! If I can offer one piece of advice to those looking to go backpacking in the near future, it would be this: never underestimate the importance of organizing your backpack correctly. We’ve all been there, when something is near impossible to find or you discover you’ve forgotten important documents. Preparedness is key on any trip like this! You’ll need to make sure you’ve got all the essentials in your backpack (which can be quite hard if you’re taking heavy items!) I decided to take some boots whilst I was backpacking and it was definitely a bad idea – they were so heavy! Next time I’ll be buying some lightweight Vessi Footwear instead!! Here are some of the photos circa 2003 I took from the trip using a Panasonic point-and-shoot and a few reflections on visiting each country.

Paris

Ah, Paris! There’s so much to love about this city. I was definitely in awe when I saw the Eiffel Tower in person and it’s a definite must to see the tower both in the day and at night.

Other favourite moments included visiting Sacre-Coeur, Place de la Concorde, Note-Dame Cathedral and Palace of Versailles.

Another highlight was, of course, visiting the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. I remember the crowd of people surrounding the Mona Lisa to admire the piece and to take photos. It was also interesting to see that the Mona Lisa was inside a bulletproof case.

At the time, I wasn’t as much of a museum enthusiast compared to my travel companions who were Art majors. I definitely felt rather bored after spending several hours at the Louvre. However, I do plan to revisit the Louvre someday as I now have a greater appreciation for the Arts.

London

London is definitely one of my favourite cities in the world to visit. Since my initial visit in 2003 during the backpacking trip, I had been back to London once in 2010. I remember after spending a few days in London, my friends had noticed that I started to speak a bit with a “fake” British accent.

I loved seeing the London Eye, the Thames River, Westminister Abbey, and the Parliment Buildings. I also feel like London is one of those places which is safe for a solo female traveller. I really enjoyed riding The Tube and getting around to different places quickly.

Rome, Milan, Venice

One memorable moment from visiting Italy was throwing a coin into The Trevi Fountain. Legend has it that throwing a coin from the right hand over the left shoulder will ensure that you will return to Rome in the future.

Other memorable parts of Italy included seeing the Creation of Adam at the Vatican, the Coliseum, the Pantheon, and the Roman Forum.

One not so great memory from Italy was when gipsy children try to mug us just outside the Roman Forum. A group of them approached us and grabbed at our things but fortunately, we ran away quickly from them.

We also travelled to Venice where we took a boat tour to see the city. In Milan – one of the fashion capitals of the world -we checked out many charming boutiques.

Germany

My friend had family in a small German town called Remagen and we stayed with them for a few days during our trip.

The town sits on the edge of the Rhine river and we had the chance to experience a boat cruise along the Rhine. I really loved seeing the various medieval fortresses, castles and palaces from the boat.

Belgium

In Brussels, we visited the Manneken Pis, an iconic 17th-century small bronze sculpture of a naked little boy urinating into a fountain’s basin. As a chocolate lover, I also loved visiting the various chocolate shops and indulging in Belgian chocolate.

It was a fun trip down memory lane as I reminisced about this coming-of-age trip to Europe. I’m was also excited to see that these 15-year old photos still present well for my blog today. It’s a little trippy!

There’s still quite a few more items on my Europe bucket list includes visiting Provence, Nice, Amsterdam, Prague, Croatia, Portugal, and revisiting London and Paris. Looking forward to exploring more of Europe hopefully in the next few years!