¡Kalinka, Kalinka, Kalinka moyá! Can't get Tetri´s song out of your head? Easy..., the same thing happens to us as well. We have just landed in Moscow and we are going to eat a lot! Going out in Moscow and try some restaurants can be an amazing and enriching experience where you will discover both the delicious flavors of Russian cuisine and customs of the Russians, which may seem a little peculiar.

The dishes of Russian cuisine are usually quite caloric, due to the harsh winters where greater caloric intake is needed. The Russians give much importance to the ritual of food and like to make life around the stove.

A typical meal starts with a Russian zakuski (appetizers) that can be salads, and small plates of pickled fish like pod Seliódka shuboi (herring coat) or a pirogi (dumplings) meat with vegetables, and always accompanied by a good shots of vodka.

As is typical starter soups, both hot and cold in winter and summer. Russian soups are very strong and more than a starter for us are almost a full meal, since all carry vegetables, meat, chicken, fish ... The most popular are the borsch, made of beets, cabbage, potato and meat; and solianka, made of meat or fish, with an acidic due to the lemmon they put on it. Another soup is shi made ​​of cabbage and Uja, made of fish.

Main courses can be stroganoff meat, shasliki (a typical meat kebabs from Caucasus), golubtsi (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat) or the dish we liked the most: pelmeni (a kind of Russian ravioli filled with meat, potato or vegetable)

Many dishes can be served with smetana, a sour cream sauce flavored particular that we loved. The most popular drink in Russia, in spite of the general though, it's not the vodka but the tea. For dessert, along with tea, you can taste some delicious blini (pancakes) or marlenka cake, something like a strudel.

My-My

At Mu-Mu restaurants they serve typical Russian food. It is a self-service restaurant with tiny portions, so it is ideal to try different dishes. They are very popular among Muscovites and it is well priced.

Jachapuri,10 Bolshoi Gnezdnikovsky per.

It is a nice and central Georgian food restaurant. The food is very good and it is not too expensive. Totally recommended.

Pushkin Cafe, Tverskoy bulvar, 26A

It is considered the best restaurant in Moscow. It is a nice vintage place, very well preserved where can you can taste high level dishes of the Russian cuisine. Good service and medium-high but reasonable price.

A couple of features to consider when venturing out for lunch or dinner in Moscow: dinner can be served until the minute they close the place, but they will not wait until you finish the meal, so if you do not want to have to swallow all in five minutes, we recommend not arrive too late. Russians do not like you to pay them with coins, so if you're planning to spend those last loose rubles at a dinner, do better buying souvenirs in Red Square, or you will receive disapproving look from the waiter.

Приятного аппетита!!

By Nadia Polo

solianka by Шнапс | stroganoff by Pittaya Sroilong | zakuski by Timothy Post | pelmeni by Bernd Hutschenreuther

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here!

Gateway to the Atlantic and trade with Africa, Porto has a special beauty that you perceive walking the streets. Despite their current romantic decay, the  early-century modernist buildings that rise  on the sides will take you to better times when the city had its maximum commercial splendor.

Enjoy  the terraces and restaurants of lively Ribeira

The historic center of Porto is also one of the most beautiful and colorful areas, a labyrinth of narrow medieval streets and alleys.
The Ribeira Square is in front of the Chapel of Our Lady of Ô, surrounded by bustling cafes. Come to eat to the traditional restaurants in Rua da Fonte Tauria. here you can take the Funicular Guindais aka Dos Guindais, or go up to the highest part of town in the district of Batalha.

The most emblematic of the six bridges of Porto is the Luís I, which crosses the city and Gaia, where the cellars of the famous port wine are. It was designed by a disciple of Eiffel,  Belgian engineer Teofilo Seyrig, so the two metal structures are works very similar in style

It can be crossed to visit Gaia, a town full of wine cellars the boardwalks of its two floors. On the top floor passes the subway line and on the lower one, passes cars and other vehicles.

Porto Wine Cellars

Crossing the bridge, you get to Gaia. Here is where port wine gets older, right next to the city, and you will find most wineries that are producing it. But do not stay only with the idea of ​​their wine; Porto is very interesting to try sardines, fresh saloios cheeses or Cabreiro  and some of their delicious desserts.

Another interesting option is to cross the Douro River on typical Rabelo boats, formerly transporting Porto wine. You will be fascinated by the magnificent views.

Livraria Lello. One of the most beautiful in Europe

It is no wonder that it chose to this library to film some scenes from the Harry Potter saga. It breathes a magical atmosphere. Its art deco details and neogothic style, the access ladder to the top floor, the large stained glass windows of the roof or the wooden bridge that crosses it, make this place more than a simple library to buy books.

The Livraria Lello e Irmao, called Livraria Lello to simplify, located in the Centre of the city in a beautiful building of neo-Gothic style, it is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe and is, with the bookstore Bertrand in Lisbon, one of the oldest in Portugal. Located in the Centre of the city, in a beautiful neo-Gothic style building.

Maus Hábitos

Maus Hábitos or bad habits is not a conventional place. Since 2001, year when Porto was European Capital of Culture, this mix of restaurant, bar and art gallery gives adequate room for the expression of all kinds of artists and organises workshops. Additionally, you can enjoy a mix of traditional and modern Portuguese cuisine overlooking the old town or you can relax in its gorgeous courtyard garden.

Image: Małgorzata Kaczor

Why not take a trip to Oporto? Have a look at our flights here!

Those roving travellers who, on a visit to the capital of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, are unsated by delving into its past in the streets of Vieux Lyon, rambling through the bohemian district of La Croix-Rousse – which once hosted the silk workshops that earned the city fame and identity – or visiting the Institut Lumière, where the seventh art took its first tentative steps, and would instead like to discover the Lyon of the future, should make a point of heading for the Lyon Confluence.

At the tip of the peninsula where the Rhône and Saône rivers meet on their passage through Lyon lies the city’s most avant-garde district, the site of state-of-the-art architectural structures designed by a host of national and international architectural studios.

In its beginnings, the Confluence was an industrial precinct with numerous warehouses which gradually fell derelict. Over the last few years, this neighbourhood has been redeveloped, becoming what is now the apple of Lyon’s eye. This has been achieved by implementing a large-scale urban renewal project which has become a new focus of interest for both the Lyonese and tourists alike. Guided by the precepts of sustainability and creativity, the project features some highly interesting constructions and the district has taken on a markedly new lease of life, attracting businesses, restaurants and the odd hotel, and the project still has a long way to go.

Le Cube Orange is one of the icons of the district and one of the first surprises to hit newcomers to the area. The work of French architects Jakob + Macfarlane Architects, this huge building has a giant, cone-shaped hole gouged out of it, its function being both aesthetic and to provide light and ventilation. Another landmark and sequel to the Cube Orange, as it is designed by the same architects, is the Euronews HQ, although here one’s attention is struck by its loud green colour and this time the building’s rectangular facade is pierced by two holes. Another construction which made an impression on us during our stroll through La Confluence was Dark Point, the work of French architect Odile Decq, where the structure seemingly reaches out to embrace the river.

La Sucriére acts as a counterpoint to the aforementioned shot of cutting-edge architecture. Once a factory warehouse for storing sugar, it has now been refurbished and converted into an exhibition space for mainly art and creative works in general.

The itinerary culminates in the Musée des Confluences, unveiled in December 2014 and housed in a building characterised by the deconstructivist architectural style of the Austrian Coop Himmelb(l)au. Shaped to resemble a cloud, the museum is dedicated to natural history and societies. The permanent collection comes from the Museum of Lyon and features exhibits ranging from ethnographic artefacts to natural science objects.

And, if all that hasn’t quite quenched your sightseeing thirst, you can always go on a heady shopping spree in the district’s emblematic shopping complex – the largest in Lyon – namely the Pôle de Commerces et Loisirs Confluence which, apart from countless stores, is also the site of numerous restaurants, cinemas, gyms, etc.

Now that you know about Lyon’s most avant-garde neighbourhood, book your Vueling here and discover it for yourself.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Anthony V.

Louvain, regarded as the Flemish Salamanca for its large student population during the academic year, is the ideal destination to head for on a getaway to Brussels as it is less than half an hour’s train ride away.

Louvain and its University

The university is a major feature of Louvain (Leuven, in Flemish). Not only is it a historic institution – it was founded in 1425 – but an international student magnet as it attracts large numbers of foreign Erasmus scholarship holders each year. Many of these will be unaware that Erasmus of Rotterdam, after whom the exchange programme of almost thirty years’ standing is named, actually used to lecture at Louvain University.

No wonder, then, that the population of this Flemish city increases by around 20,000 youngsters at the start of each academic year. They study during the day and hit the town by night, turning Louvain into one of the most fun spots in Europe. Come heat or cold, many of these students congregate in the Oude Markt, a square packed with cafés, pubs and restaurants, compounding what is considered to be Europe’s longest bar counter.

In the morning, many of these students make up for the previous night’s debauchery in the library, located in the Monseigneur Ladeuzeplein square. The library building, formerly sited on the Naamsestraat, was destroyed in World War I and rebuilt with Belgian and American funding. The square is embellished by a striking landmark – a beetle pierced by a huge, three-meter-high needle. It was unveiled in 2005 to mark the 575th anniversary of the University.

Louvain’s Historic City Centre

Some of the most emblematic buildings in Louvain, the capital of Flemish-Brabant province, are located in the Grote Markt or Main Square. The most remarkable landmark is the City Hall, an example of the mid-15th-century Brabantine Gothic, with over 230 small sculptures adorning the facade. Noteworthy, too, is St Peter’s Church with its unfinished, low belltower and the Neoclassical building known as the Round Table (Tafelrond), currently the site of the National Bank. Starting from the Grote Markt, if you head along Bondgenotenlaan street, you come to Martelarenplein (Martyrs’ Square) with its marked Spanish air, redesigned as it was by the architect, Manuel de Solà-Morales, between 1998 and 2004.

Like the city of Mechelen, Louvain has a magnificent, 12th-century Grand Béguinage. This secluded precinct is just a fifteen minute walk from the centre and once housed the Beguines, a female religious community that led an austere life. Covering an area of six hectares, the Grand Béguinage is now the residence of many exchange professors and Erasmus students. Bear in mind that Flemish beguinages are listed as World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Other places of interest include St Gertrude’s Abbey, the Church of St Michael – a masterpiece of the Flemish Baroque – and the statue of Fons Sapientiae (Source of Wisdom), by the Belgian artist, Jef Claerhout, which is decked out in different costumes at various times of the year.

Gastronomy and Beer in Louvain

Beer is a must in Louvain, and several beer routes have been set up, including a tour of the Domus brewery and that of Stella Artois, the best known brand in the city. Several restaurants in town offer menus paired with local beer, notably Zarza and EssenCiel, the latter situated on the crowded Muntstraat.

Now that you know how to find your way around Louvain, get your Vueling to Brussels and enjoy the university city!

Text by María Jesús Torné from tusdestinos.net

Images by Toerisme Leuven, Frédéric Van Hoof, milo-profi.be