Through the lens - Tiptoe Traveller in Antalya, Turkey

Turkish spices beautifully displayed

Christmas traditions from the Provence, South of France

13 Christmas desserts, no less!



French people do have a bit of a sweet tooth. For Christmas, the main meal is serve on the evening of 24th before going to midnight mass. And in the South East of France, in a region called La Provence, an old tradition exists whereby 13 desserts are served on Christmas eve in reference to Jesus and the 12 apostles sitting at the last supper.

They are not 13 individual desserts as such. The list includes dried fruit, frest fruit, sweets etc...

So, here is a list:

• Les 4 mendiants (the 4 beggars):

         - Hazelnuts or walnuts

         - Dry figs
         - Almonds

         - Raisins

• La pompe a huile (the olive oil pump): Flat yeast bread made with olive oil such fougasse.
• les 2 nougats: White and Black nougats
• Dattes (sometimes stuffed with marzipan)
• Calisson d'Aix en Provence ( a sweet made with marzipan)
• Quince fruit paste
• Fresh white grapes
• Christmas melon
• Fresh oranges

This list may vary slightly from one region to another.

Do you have any Christmas traditions in your country? Which one do you still follow?  

Through the lens - Tiptoe Traveller in the South of France

Gorgeous pottery from Valensole, South of France - and a fab breakfast!

Expats: what's in your suitcase?

From childhood treats to favourite local produce: a little taste of home

I have been living in England for 16 years. All these years ago, I left my country to start a new life (although I didn't know it at the time) and found a new home: London. What an amazing city! I could not go back. Everything I had always wanted was there on my door step.

But even though you can find pretty much anything here, there are a few things I do miss from my native country. These little things we grow up with. They put a smile on our faces and make you feel all warm inside. Do you know what I mean?

I was born in the South East of France, famous for so many specialities: Côtes du Rhône wine, Nougat, chocolates, olives from Nyons, charcuteries, cheeses and much more. Unfortunately, I can't bring back all of these things so here are my favourites:

No 1 on my list: Olives from Nyons - With herbs, garlic or spicy - They are so tasty!

No 2 on my list: Nougat - made from honey and almonds - simply delicious - lovely treat for Christmas

No 3 on my list: Picodon: a regional goat cheese (only if I travel straight home as it can be a bit smelly)

No 4 on my list: Crème de marrons de l'Ardèche (chestnut jam) - It's delicious with pancakes.

Photo: my kitchen diaries

No 5 on my list: Lavender (when in season) for its relaxing properties

I would love to know what you miss most when you are away from home.

Can you travel through books?

Going to new places, meeting interesting people, discovering new cultures is simply fascinating.

But, we don't always have the time or the budget to travel to all these places around the globe. And if you are slightly eco-conscious, you might not want to travel too far for your holidays.

Discovering a new country through books can be amazing.



The Telegraph has compiled a list of The 20 best travel books of all time.

What is your favourite travel book?

Why I fell in love with Portugal

The real Lisbon: simplicity, authenticity and joie de vivre

I spent 3 days in Lisbon with 5 girlfriends. One of them is actually Portuguese. There is no better way to discover a new country when you are accompanied by a local person.  

I loved the city, the people and the food.

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. The history of this city is fascinating. The Lonely planet guide describes this very well. Walking around is probably the best way to discover this place. If you get tired, there is a very good tram system. The line 28 takes you to the old part of town.




As you get closer to the centre, you will find beautiful classic architecture. Some buildings need a bit of TLC but it actually gives the city its unique charm. It did remind me of Cuba: not overly developed (if we compare with other European capital cities), very old shops and a few graffiti.

It is really nice to see that Portuguese people are holding on to their traditions. Finding souvenirs which are made in Portugal is pretty easy. You can get some lovely potteries or colourful ceramic tiles.  

The food is simple but so tasty. Their speciality is bacalhau, dried salty codfish which is cooked in many different ways (tomato sauce, olive oil and garlic sauce, white sauce etc...).

Portuguese people love their desserts. One of their specialities is custard tarts. If you are going to have one dessert, you should definitely try them.

This country has so much to offer. The best places seem to be hidden behind old facades. You have to talk to the locals to discover those treasures.

And how refreshing it was to find a place which wasn't developed to accomodate tourists needs. I believe the resorts by the seaside are pretty developed in this country, but the capital is so full of character. I highly recommend a little trip to Lisboa.



Our first Portuguese lesson





Bacalhau: Portuguese word for dried and salted codfish - simply delicious





Amazing choice of pastries






















Old cash register - holding on tradition

Tram: a great way to visit the old town



Have you been to Portugal?
What did you think?

Tiptoe Traveller in: Cuba

Independent travel versus package holiday: why do people choose to hide from local communities?

The Republic of Cuba is an island in the Caribbean. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the capital of this country. We went to Cuba a few years ago and decided to hire a car for 10 days to explore the island.

What an amazing experience!


That wasn't our car by the way

 The landscape was so different from one side of the island to the other.

Parque Natural Topes de Collantes

Tiptoe Traveller advice no 1: Do not rely on maps!

First of all, it is a mission to find a road map. The one we managed to find in a little shop in Havana was very basic and did not show all the roads. Good start! And no need to say that we got lost a few times.

Tiptoe Traveller advice no 2: Hablas Espagnol? A few words is a must...

Cubans are very helpful but only speak Spanish. If you need to ask for directions, it needs to be done in their language. Luckily, I get by so we managed OK. Just!

Tiptoe Traveller advice no 3: Bed and Breakfast accommodations, the best option to meet friendly locals and to eat great food!

We had booked most of our accommodations in advance from England. However, we had 3 nights for which we did not have any accommodation. We thought we would try to find something once we got there. So, we stayed in a town called Cienfuegos for one night. We then asked the owners if they could recommend a place to stay in Trinidad, our next stop. They did have some friends living there who help us find a room for two nights. We had a great time with the new family and we ate delicious food every night. From there, we did the same thing. We got another great recommendation for our next stop, Santa Clara.


Bed and Breakfast in Cienfuegos

After our 10-day tour, we had planned to spend three days in an all-inclusive resort to relax before heading home. The resort, Superclubs Breeze in Jibacoa, was very popular with Canadians. They like coming to Cuba to spend a couple of weeks in the sun. They are very recognisable because they walk around the resort with HUGE plastic mugs which they fill with cocktails at the bar (No offence to our Canadian friends, it's just that we had never seen this before).

Can you spot the HUGE mug?

Why are there so many people who do not take the time to discover the country they have travelled to?

The majority of guests in this resort were spending one or two weeks at the resort with, in some cases one day spent in Havana. As far as we are concerned, we went to Cuba to meet the Cubans, not to sit on the beach all day and eat European style food. We ate with the Cubans, we slept in their houses, we travelled on their roads and we even picked up a few Cuban hitchhikers on the way (which was another interesting experience).

Me and our new Cubans friends

Did you know that the majority of Cubans are not allowed to leave their country? I was very chocked when I found out. We are so lucky to have the freedom to travel as and when we feel like it. I think it is sad that people spend time in a resort without ever meeting the local community and discovering their culture.

How can we encourage people to look outside their resort and explore the real world? How can we show them what they are missing?