Belgium, Stockholm, Cassis = Biers, Picnic's, and Rosé

Travel.

I like to travel, and I would consider myself well travelled if you were to ask me.
I have lots of stamps in my passport, I have seen and done some fun, crazy, dangerous, and culture shocking, things.

I have climbed forgotten temples, eaten interesting street food, lived with foreign families and swam with whales. I've ridden motorbikes on sand dunes, partied in foreign countries and made friends from all around the world. One of the things I love most about travelling is eating different cuisines and sampling the local delicacies (and the not so delicacies). My other favourite thing is meeting new people along the way, especially those who take the time to speak with you even if there is a language barrier.

So what worldly experiences can I talk about in my discoveries of Europe? This Easter we went to Belgium and ate molasses & frits while sampling a varied range of Belgium biers and delicious handmade chocolates. We went to this fun little bar in Bruge called De Zandloper, FYI this place was fantastic and very accommodating to the discerned ale connoisseurs (which was us). We we're given an iPad with the brews on tap so we could read over the tasting notes before selecting our chosen biers. Once we were settled in we grabbed a pack of coasters to play with, and let the a tab grow as we lulled the afternoon away making our way down the list of Belgium biers.

To be fair, I can't remember to much of Belgium, I know I had a great time and drank lots of beer and ate lots of chocolates. Not much  else we really wanted to do, so after such a great weekend away in Belgium we decided that we would book out next escape with no delay. We both selected three countries placed the new holiday possibilities in the biscuit tin and pulled the venues out until we got to the last one, and the winner was announced as Sweden!

In my opinion, Stockholm is the city of sunshine and picnics. ( and expensive bills) We had superb weather, marvellous views of the canals and yachts and overall such a great time. We had some really tasty reindeer at a restaurant called the Pelikan, but my favourite meal would have been the picnic we prepared and ate on Langholmen island.


The island is an old prison and sits in the middle of a large harbour, we sourced our goodies at the Ostermalm Saluhall market. After perusing around the stalls and ogling all of the delicious food, we purchased a delicious rice fed chicken, that was seasoned in salt & herbs, this was absolutely delicious. By far this is the best chicken I have eaten, the meat was so tender and juicy. We accompanied this with soft chèvre, and fresh strawberries for our dessert.

Once the late morning had  started to settle down, we decided we would make our way onto the back of a premium jetty bar with the locals and enjoy the sunshine and some more Rosé and watch the sun go down over the canal.


I tell you what, if you ever go to Sweden, have a picnic on the water in the sunshine, it was such a beautiful way to spend the afternoon in Stockholm. Plus we had already been to the ABBA museum, so it was rude not too!

My next adventure was to the South of France, I went to Marseilles and the beautiful coastal town of Cassis. Now our first meal in France was the most surprising... a pizza! Apparently that is what Marseilles is famous for, who would have known? I was personally thinking wtf? That's Italian! but nonetheless we ordered the quattro formage and we were not disappointed, it was even better when washed down with a couple bottles of rose from the Provence.

While in Cassis, Helen and I enjoyed the spoils of the local life, we sunbathed at place de bestouan ( the best beach) ate fresh seafood at Bada restaurant on the Cote d'Azur and enjoyed the crystal blue water. We also enjoyed some delicious salmon baked in almond milk, a raw salmon steak fried in teriyaki sauce and the cutest mozzarella ball I have ever scene. Not only was the food, the definition of the word cuisine, the wine and the cocktails were deadly delicious. We were even lucky to be given some complimentary Creme de Cassis after one of our meals. I love the South of France, and I look forward to going back there with Stu and relaxing after a hard day of doing nothing but eating cheese and drinking quality wines.  

It would have been a little bit mean of me if I hadn't bought back a present for Stu after all the spoils of the trip, so it seemed only fair that I bring back a gift summarising the adventure. I managed to locate   some nougat and chocolate chip biscuits, some very tasty local wine and some cheesy magnets for the fridge! ( The wine is kinda for the both of us but, we will let him think its just for him)

So, after a few whirlwind weeks and lots of sunshine, I am back in London planning my next adventure. Who knows where I will go..  maybe Morocco? ;) ( Fingers crossed)

So that's it for me tonight, make sure to follow my Facebook page for the rest of the pictures from the trip, it's also a great way to keep up to date with my everyday foodie travels.

Much Love #cassieskitchen on tour
Good night x