All posts filed under: Popular

Greek Wine Review: Why you should drink Greek wines

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Hope you had a lovely weekend with nice food and wine. I spent the weekend without hubby so with extra time on my hands, I put together the information and write about wine. Of course, I’ll write about Turkish wines but let me start with Greek wines. I’m a wine lover so obviously I love wine, not only reading and talking about it but actually drinking it.  So I drink a glass every day, which is my secret to good health but also entails…. money. I’m not rich but unfortunately my palate is. I used to spend on average $150 by-monthly or even weekly at The Wine Society in Sydney, but here, even if I drink less, my monthly wine bill isn’t any smaller. To reduce my wine expenditure, I was buying many Spanish wines for a good value but then I discovered Greek wines after the trip to Lesvos a few years ago, and they have become my No.1 choice for every day wine ever since. Not only do they offer value for money …

Foodie Trip to Belgrade, Serbia: Discovering the Wines of Balkans

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The last two weeks were a little hectic so I couldn’t blog, sorry! First, I’ll fill you in on my foodie trip to Belgrade. The surprise trip helped to refresh my head and relieve my cravings for food and wine. Let’s be honest, no one would consider Serbia as a foodie destination so my expectation was low, but we had a great time, eating and drinking for 5 days. The city was relaxing yet exciting, and the people welcoming. Everyone we stopped to ask for directions spoke English. Serbian food was all about meat, yes, but good meat, the juicy smokey meatballs! It itself served the purpose of going there since we’re quite deprived of meat in Turkey, especially pork. It was so ubiquitous that our pork-shy friend was left choiceless sometimes. We spoiled ourselves with all kinds of meat including venison, believing that not eating vegetables and salads for 5 days wouldn’t do any harm to humans, and it was a holiday after all. In case anything happened, there was Rakija to fix all health related issues so we had nothing to worry. Rakija actually surprised me big time. …

Review: Raw Wine London 2017 – Part 1

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Hello! I’m now back home from London and am adjusting to a ‘normal’ life. I know you’ve been waiting to hear from me! Finally, I’ll share some of the experiences but first, I’ll review Raw Wine London. The Raw Wine Fair was more inspirational and educational than any previous wine fairs I’d attended, and I’ll explain why. You might want to grab a glass of wine and sit back before going on because this long post might bore you. There are so many wines to review and so much to say so I’ve decided to write in two posts. The first one will be about my general impression and a few remarkable wines, followed by the second part, which will feature more memorable wines that are worth a mention. To start off, why did I attend the event? I’ve been interested in organic wines ever since the film, Mondovino but wasn’t quite crazy enough to drink ‘only’ organic wine, whose term has evolved into ‘natural wine‘ over time. I’ve always cooked seasonal and healthy, plus some of my wine friends …

Portugal Wine Tour: Part 1- Porto and Douro Valley

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Ehem, no, I didn’t go to Portugal again, but I’m writing about the trip I made 2 years ago.  I couldn’t post it then because my blog was down but I thought I’d share my experience since it was not only great but also educational. It’s always better late than never, right? Someone out there might get some useful tips from my post, who knows? Blogging is a great way to document and relive good moments, I believe. So if you’re planning to visit Portugal, this might help you. It was our honeymoon trip and we rented a car and drove all around Portugal. It’s a great country to do so and I highly recommend it. Also, advice from friends, mutual friends and blog friends was invaluable in making the trip great and memorable. Though the ultimate destination was Porto, our trip started and ended in Lisbon, and got to see more of the country than we’d thought because flying to Lisbon from Istanbul was more convenient. Mr.O and I had no idea where to visit as we usually …

korean wedding

Korean Traditional Wedding and Tastes of Seoul Streets

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Sorry, the second part of the Korean trip was delayed. The 2 weeks of the Turks’ adventure can’t be summed up in one post, right? So here’s the more interesting one. Our Turkish guests were lucky to attend two weddings during their stay as my brother’s modern wedding came only two days after my traditional Korean wedding. Two completely different styles in two far distanced cities. The traditional Korean wedding, though more complex and less glamorous(?), was fun and even educational for the guests, the old and the young together. It was most likely their first and last time to experience it. Having done it myself, I can understand why it had gone out of favour. However, with the rise of international marriage, the tradition is said to be coming back and it was indeed a very memorable experience, and the best part of it is unarguably trying on the beautiful traditional clothes, Hanbok. Three tough Turks flew all the way to Korea to carry my bridal carriage and to throw wild chickens into the air for blessing. Have you cuddled a live chicken …

Delicious Sicily: Part 1- Santa Anastasia Winery and Castelbuono

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**The short film in which I made an appearance, “Romance and Spirit of Sicily” has won awards at several international film festivals. I hope you you’ll enjoy it!** Hello! I’m finally back! Please forgive me for the long absence. For a girl, who had wandered around the world for over 10 years, to finally become Mrs. was a good enough excuse to have a break, I thought. To justify the long break, I had planned to make a grand comeback with a new website but well, this is as much as I could do. But I have many exciting stories to share with you in months to come, and I’ll start with the latest culinary trip to Sicily, the mysterious island that everyone desires. Yes, it was full of wonders and beauty, and didn’t disappoint me in any sense. The people were so generous and friendly, and it was so good to be in a timeless place where everyone says hi to everyone. After a week, I felt like I’d lived there for a year! Cefalu, where Cinema Pasadiso was filmed, was …