Food to blow your mind

Image source: http://www.miblogdepintxos.com/2010/08/el-mirador-de-ulia-ruben-trincado.html

As a marketing student who has been taught and re-taught the principles of marketing for four years straight, I am constantly trying to avoid products which attract me because of their publicity; and search for products and services which are good for what they are, and not for what I am being told they are, who is using them, or the image they give. 

This is my view of the perfect quality-price relationship, in which the product quality is exceptional from an objective perspective, regardless of its marketing, and its price is assigned accordingly –here, we must note that I am a bargain hunter who is very typically unwilling to spend on products and services (a cheap person some would say, I call it demanding!). The point is, that in my price-quality relationship understanding, I have found a mind-blowing deal which I cannot let slip. This is the amazing food offered at the Mirador de Ulia restaurant in San Sebastian, Spain. They provide a fusion of traditional and innovative cuisine, a blend of flavours which could happily cause a whole meal to go silent, only reflected through the oohs and aahs of those bewildered by the meal. 

Because I don't usually carry a camera around I do not have pictures of the extremely tender and flavoursome duck which had been cooked for 12 hours, or the creative cheesecake which was the perfect taste, quantity and consistency to finish off the meal. Even the coffee was extraordinary!! 

And all this for dishes worth 20/30 Euros. Believe me, not only do critics like this from a foodie sceptical not arise often, but the people who assign Michelin stars agree with me. And the views are mind-blowing. And the staff are so friendly. And the wine is smooth. And, and, and.... the list could go on forever.

For more information visit: http://www.miradordeulia.com/

Coming home

It's easy to convince oneself that dreams are possible, that we are invincible and that we are good at what we do. However, it takes just a sentence from someone you love to crush your dreams, make you stop believing in what you do and to think that life is too hard.

Don't take me wrong, these people love you. Your family, friends and those who surround you wish you the best; but they are scared. They are too scared to take risks, to break off from the conventional, to follow their wishes or to even let you follow your dreams. They don't dare to become who they really want to be.

Think about it: was Gandhi encouraged to stand up to violence as he did? Was Martin Luther King told to stand up against society at the time? What did Ray Charles' advisers tell him when he refused to play in a racially discriminatory theatre in Georgia?


Take any hero, anyone at all; how did they get there? What was their background? Who encouraged them?

It was but their strong personality, their stubbornness to make a change, their belief in themselves and what they did that made them strong. They achieved social recognition through individual power. They never let themselves down and achieved what nobody around them thought they would.

You need to remember:

You are strong, you can do whatever you want to do, you could be the next man on the moon if you so wished to; you just have to wish hard enough. Never let a scarcity of resources stop you. Never let those around you shatter your dreams. It is only you who knows what YOU want, what will make you happy and what will help you make a difference in the world.

*   *   *

I find it funny when people ask for the meaning of life. There are 6 billion people on this planet; do you really think there is a single common meaning of life for us all? The meaning of life lies within you, within what is important for you and what you think you can do for the world. To this, the answer is not what people told you what the world needs; it is not abolishing hunger in the world, eradicating cancer or achieving world peace. Or is it? What you can do for the world might be playing football to entertain others, it could be managing corporations to enrich a country, it could be making rugs to keep houses warm or pretty. Who knows??

It is entirely up to you, never let anybody tell you the opposite, you are your own master, your own educator and your sole motivator; always believe in yourself and do what you think is best for you. Not what others tell you is best. The answer is always YES, yes you can achieve whatever you work for, yes you can make a difference in people's lives and most importantly, yes you can be happy. No matter what, the answer is YES,  YES YOU CAN.

Red Bull Cliff Diving

Red Bull just never stop surprising, do they? Now they've come up with World Cliff Diving contests which are just absolutely amazing. While I was watching this I was thinking: scrap the Olympics, give me adrenaline!

Can't wait to see what they come up with next.

What would you do?

Sometimes life can be tough.

The situation we're living through at the moment doesn't help either: tax rises and the privatisation of health whilst unemployment rates increase and household riches plummet. On top of this, the news gives us more and more information we'd rather not be hearing, how countries X and Y are deep down in the crisis and how others are discussing whether to help or not.

It has come to a stage where the first world is becoming poorer than it has been in years, and most people don't know how to handle it. We have been so pampered for so long that we have forgotten what struggling to pay our bills is like, how not being able to buy a new gadget feels and what the decrease in opportunity for new generations means.

Amid all this, media likes to play games with us, confusing what we know is true with what we're made to believe. It is a hard time to decide what side one is on, what is important for oneself and what values are essential for our souls to keep at rest. Viral ads tend to make us realise the world is tough out there, but by changing the channel to our favourite program or logging into Facebook we easily forget and re-immerse ourselves in the small universes we have created, the commodities which we can still afford in the first world.

It's easy to forget how life is much tougher for others and how luxurious we are, allowing ourselves to ignore and build up enough excuses not to help others out there. It is true that a person can hardly change the world; but we, as a community, as a force, as a power, WE can make a difference.

Charities are a good example of how to make a difference, how to enable communities to solve problems the most efficient way possible. They are, however, a source of indecisiveness and debate on whether they are legitimate or just profit making businesses. Hence, this post about the Kony 2012 project, a massive eye opener and a definite must see:

It's now your turn to decide: would you rather not get involved in a campaign against rape, murder and kidnapping because some people call it a scam, or would you like to give the campaign a chance to make a difference?

Sometimes life can be tough, but we still have to move on. Make decisions, take actions.
INSPIRE CHANGE.

Live, enjoy, relax, dance. Go Wilde

Cross Borders, look further, keep walking and you'll always get there. 

Don't fall for the obvious, routine is the deadliest of all habits; fall within it and you will have to fight to get back out. Keep your mind awake, look for innovation and you shall be young forever.

Activeness is the secret to eternity:

Live your life as you wish to live it; if grass is greener on the other side, cross over. Nothing is impossible, nothing is unreachable, nothing is too wild. 

Be yourself, enjoy life and never give up, because your dream life is just peacefully waiting to be found. 

What would you do?

There we were, on our first sailing trip through the Whitsundays in Ozzie, looking forward to learn how to scuba dive. We had been taught by the shore how to regulate the pressure of our waistcoats so that we would sink far enough but still control how much we wanted to float, only this time we were falling backwards from our boat into the sea; yay!

As I was concentrating on bending my legs to land on my knees in the shallow water, regulating my waistcoat's pressure and trying not to pass out due to the huge effort breathing through those air pumping machines, I see a hand shaking in front of me. Obviously someone was trying to call my attention, so I look up and what do I see? A massive fish tall to my waist and longer than a pram! Big, black and with a bump on its head;

       Did it want to eat me? 

Nah, it just floated around the five of us, making sure its big eyeball with beautiful silver strikes analysed us all from top to bottom; taking its time before calmly wandering off to explore something else. The diving instructor, as if nothing had happened, gave us all the O.K. sign and off we went, on the first of one of the most amazing diving experiences one can have on the Great Barrier Reef.

After a few hours, we were back on the boat excitedly talking, trying to catch our breath between one bewildering comment and the next.

Once he got an opportunity, the instructor explained that this fish is called Elvis because of the bump on its head that resembles Elvis Presley's hairstyle. It's harmless and was only looking for food that tourist sometimes have to offer, but I can tell you; when you're under water and oral communication is not an option, the only thing going through your mind is staying still, pretending to be a floating algae and hoping that this fish has, well, a fish's memory, and that it quickly forgets about you.

                                        Oh, and it's this size       --------------->           

Your tidiness is my mess

Such a simple idea in a contained area (as may be a room) is just so true; so, why wouldn't it be so for life in general? 

We grow up with the conception of a life full of happiness and ease, pretty straightforward and fulfilling and just so similar to everyone that we believe it's what we need. But what if it isn't? Some people are not made for the traditional lifestyle; not everyone wants to go to school, university, get a job, a family, a house and live happily for ever after. Some people need adventure, change and excitement to keep their life going... This inspirational story shows how a different lifestyle, one out of conventional standards which can be just as liberating and satisfying!

"The thing we’d learned on that high sea cliff in Italy and in the months that followed was that security isn't found in the number of zeros behind a particular number in your bank account, and quality of life isn't dependent upon whether or not you have a “home” to call home. For us, home became synonymous with relationships and people. We've found we have several “homes” around the world. And after the economic crash when so many of our friends lost much more than we did and were caught in upside down mortgages, jobless, we realized that our lack of security, and our freedom was, in the end, our salvation."

An incredible read!

here's the link: http://www.bootsnall.com/articles/12-04/full-time-family-travel.html 

Music moments

An amazing voice...

A relaxing song...

... and a pure 90s rap.

Just a hope for Summer 2012!

Waiting to get lost

Building your own house before going to sleep, having a not-particularly-comfortable night and sharing your shower with a large community; oh how I love camping! For any luxury lover out there who has never tried it, it must sound like the most horrible available option; but the contrasting feelings to this 'non-comfortability' are anything but scarce to make up for it.

Living a non-technological, non-luxurious experience is nowhere close to suffering. It is a time of freedom and liberation of the mind and soul in which to reconcile with your inner self and those around you. It is a journey in which the only requirements are motivation, simplicity and willingness to enjoy a non-routine of walking, reading, relaxing and breathing. It is the maximum point of disconnection and the best opportunity to find that perfect spot where paradise is waiting at your doorstep. It is ideal for a romantic escape, an adventure with friends or a simple laugh away from everything. It is a time to talk, discuss, debate and dream; because what we have forgotten is that a holiday is a time to disappear, to relax and to enjoy - and the best way to achieve maximum relaxation is to remember that, in most cases, no news IS good news. 

Brick Lane Recycling

11,000 items of clothing are binned daily, crazy huh? Interesting way to combat this by a partnership between Marks & Spencer and Oxfam, in which they will resell, reuse or recycle donated clothes as they see fit. It's called Shwopping and this is the opening of their temporary shwoplab in Brick Lane.

WILL YOU SHWOP WITH ME?

A little place called home

Some people say home is where your heart is, others say home is where your life is. 

I say home is wherever you want it to be. 

London Stock Exchange Protest

It's interesting to hear different opinions on the Stock Exchange protest, as many fail to understand it's main objective and can only see it as an obstruction to daily routine. In London, what started off as a scruffy disorganised protest blocking the entry to St. Paul's Cathedral was soon turned into a camp site which followed safety and security procedures, had recycling bins and all other kinds of facilities to make the place liveable and as least obstructing as possible.

Reading through different newspaper articles and going through some poll statistics, it is curious to observe people's reluctance towards protesters regarding them as 'obstructive' and 'a nuisance to the church'. Whereas the protesters were located in a highly commuted area and did become a settled camp with little intention to move, that is kind of the point of a protest, isn't it?

I mean, fair enough, they were living in a public area and might have created the need for religious people to walk around some tents, or might have forced some businessmen to read a variety of statements every morning;  but they were fighting against a cause which is becoming ever more obvious to the eyes of the population and which must be said in a way which is heard, not only by friends and family, but by those which are in higher positions. Peole who need to be made aware - or even brought down.

Moreover, having been around the area and having personally talked to some of the protesters, I can give first hand information that they were very friendly people who sometimes offered free food (yum, yum) to those who weren't even part of the protest!

One way or another, the facts are what they are and in London, the Stock protest has been obliged to end. Two useful links to inform yourself on the topic: one from its beginning http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2049486/Global-protests-Occupy-London-Stock-Exchange-takes-City.html and one from the end http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/9022941/Protesters-lose-St-Pauls-eviction-battle.html .

And some pictures of my own:

Any views on the subject?

The treasures of Paris



About to embark on a wonderful weekend in Paris and researching what to do and where to take my friend (who has never been) I remember the absolutely amazing Sandeman's free tours: They're free, and because the tour guides live on tips they put all their soul into it; I bet yours will be completely in by the end of it too.

Moreover, Not only are they in Paris, but also in Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Brussels, London... even Tel Aviv!

If ever you happen to be in any of these cities, make sure you take time out to discover some of the greatest and deepest secrets with them, as well as meeting all kinds of weird and wonderful people; totally recommendable.

http://www.neweuropetours.eu/

I, as many others, find starting the hardest. Therefore, location comes first, the interesting will follow (hopefully). 

Enjoy!