Experiencing Germany for the First Time

Stuttgart, Germany is famous for being the home of Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, as well as hosting a number of beautiful historic buildings and landmarks.

via bastian_r

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience any of that as I was travelling to Stuttgart for work. A lot of people think travelling for your job is just a laugh, but more often then not it is a lot of hard work. The reason for being in Stuttgart in the beginning of April was to assist with a conference being arranged by one of my company’s top consultants. The hours were long but the end result was worth it.

This was my first time in Germany and I was not exactly sure what to expect. I had visions of mountain taverns filled with steins of beer and people dressed in lederhosen.  Okay, I realise a complete stereotype but I still remained hopeful.

via Christian Senger

While I didn't find any people dressed in lederhosen, I did have several uniquely German experiences which I am pleased to share with you.

1. Getting ditched for being 1 minute late. I know the Germans are all about punctuality but I would hope that 1 minute might be excused, especially when I called and said I was lost. Granted when I say lost I mean I couldn't find the lobby from my hotel room. It appears anything other than 5 minutes early is late to some of my German colleagues.
2. Ich spreche kein Deutsch. Never have I felt so hopeless on a trip. I know I don't speak German, but man did I learn how much I didn't speak German on this trip! I hated not being able to ask for directions or being confused when someone at the event asked me something. You try explaining to a German that they have to leave their credit card or passport in order to receive a headset when you have a massive language barrier! I could just about manage ordering with the aid of my little phrase book.
3. Filling up on German food.  Besides bratwurst and sauerkraut, I didn't have much experience in German cuisine. During the course of the weekend I filled up on pretzels, spätzle, schnitzel and loads of beer! I think in fact I still might be full. 

Schnitzel and currywurst

Erin x

Travel Tuesday: Lunch at La Co(o)rniche

This summer Luke and I returned to Pau in the southwest of France after a nearly four-year absence. We flew in to Bordeaux, as direct connections to Pau from England aren't as frequent as they once were. We were happy for the detour to Bordeaux as it gave us the opportunity to catch up with Guillaume, a former colleague of Luke's.

Guillaume insisted we were his guests for the day and as the weather was so lovely Guillaume decided to take us to one of his favourite restaurants. Our destination was about an hour away from Bordeux in the seaside resort of Pyla sur Mer.  La Co(o)rniche is a Michelin-starred restaurant famous for its seafood and views of the Dune du Pilat, the highest sand dune in Europe.

Q: Just how high is the highest sand dune in Europe?

A: 105 metres high, 2700 metres long, 500 metres wide, 

and 60 million cubic metres of sand!

I didn't know what to expect but the ambiance was amazing and the meal was spectacular! Luke and I split the Assiette de la Mer (oysters, prawns, langoustines, clams, mussels, winkles, and whelks) which we washed down with a lovely Bordeaux rosé. The moral of the story, if you're in the Arcachon area, you need to visit this restaurant!

Guillaume and Luke

Dune du Pilat

 Erin x

Linking up with Found Love, Now What  and A Compass Rose for Travel Tuesday

Travel Tuesday: Holidays Begin in Duty-Free

One of the many perks about living in Europe is the availability of low-cost flights to a wide variety of destinations across the continent. The downside of these flights is the timings are usually out of your control and often are first thing in the morning. Luke and I benefited from one such flight on our recent trip to the south of France (which I’ll be taking about in a series of blog posts over the coming weeks).

On this occasion our flight left London Luton Airport for Bordeaux at 8:00am, which means we had to wake up pretty early to get to the airport on time. Anyone who knows me will know how much I love my sleep, so the idea of waking up even earlier to put on make-up before a flight is not something I'm prepared to do. The only problem is a make-up free face can sometimes make for some pretty horrendous first photos of the holiday. Never fear there is a solution that allows you to get the best of both worlds – sleep and make-up and here it is:

Put your make-up on at the airport!

I don’t mean just putting your make-up in your carry on and putting it on once you get past security. In most international airports there is this wonderful section called Duty-Free where you can purchase a wide variety of things from gifts to alcohol. You can mostly get these same items at home but somehow they seem like must buys in the two hours you have to wait between security and boarding.

Source

One of the things you can get in most, if not all, duty-free sections is make-up, thus making it the perfect solution! The duty-free gives you the opportunity to go make-up free to the airport and arrive with a made-up face at the destination.

I’m always on the lookout for a new foundation or mascara but I usually end up disappointed after I buy. Putting my make-up in the duty-free gives me the chance to test new items I’ve previously been interested in without having to purchase. The products I tried were;

• No7 Triple Protection Tinted Moisturiser
• Dior Rose Petale Blusher
• Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara
• Burberry Body Perfume

At first I felt a bit guilty walking around the different stalls and doing my make-up but I soon noticed there were actually several other women doing the exact same thing. I did end up making a purchase of mascara because I liked it, surely the exact reason for testers in the first place!

I feel no shame in putting my make-up on in duty-free and next time I travel I’ll do it again! Yes ladies and gentlemen, from no one the holiday begins at duty-free!

First photo of the holiday at La Co(o)rniche in Pyla-sur-Mer

Q: Do you have any silly travel tips to share? Have you ever used the duty-free section to put on your make-up?

Erin x