A free upgrade to a middle-tier place, stunning setting overlooking the Serengeti, pool, wifi, buffet, local tribe music performance.
First exposure to masses of animals.
This lodge has basic stone huts rather than a tent in the middle of open plains, lots of little colourful birds flying around.
I was very reluctant to come to this park enroute to Serengeti especially given how quiet of animals it was at the start, but turned out to be a park isolated from other vehicles and came across a herd of elephants and pride of lions lounging around then facing off.
Ngorongoro Rhino Lodge where elephants wander through the camp and the room back verandah allows you to watch animals wander in.
The park has nice water holes where wildebeest and zebras congregate.
Manyara Wildlife is unusual in that rather than buffet, it serves a set course dinner. There's a beautiful setting overlooking the sunset plains and nice cooling pool.
Lake Manyara consists of large open plains.
After crossing the border from Kenya to Tanzania, our new guide Freddie drove us straight to Arusha for lunch. This was a stopover to get lunch and some supplies before heading to Lake Manyara.
The setting is quite nice - there's a large open lawn with tables, ornaments, a fountain and the warm sun shaded by umbrellas was very pleasant. I'd have to admit the clientele seemed largely tourist/safari tours and the menu prices of AUD15 mains (albeit already included in the tour price) reflected this also.
- Beef Tenderloin (300g Kenyan fillet medallions served with onion marmalade, potatoes & rosemary red wine sauce) - the relatively local beef was decent quality and nice tenderness. The sauce added well to the otherwise plain fillet beef flavour;
- Schwarma seafood - sauteed prawns & calamari in garlic lemon served in pita bread with greens, tomato, cucumber & onions and a light garlic yoghurt dressing;
- salad of egg, avocado, lettuce, corn, greens.
The pizza and gelatos also looked like nice options.
Stunning complex with the most exceptional breakfast/lunch buffet. Puts buffets in all cities around the world to shame. Dinner is a lovely set course.
Lake Nakuru is a swamp setting, lots of flamingos and other birds.
Put on a great birthday ceremony with a pre-purchased cake. The food spread was great buffets with lots of fruit during all meals.
Amboseli NP is known for the opportunity to take photos of elephants with Mount Kilimanjaro in the background.
The last dinner of the trip was reserved for what was probably the most prevalent name in all the internet recommendations for Alicante. Considering it was awards the best tapas restaurant in Spain at the 2009 Congress of Lo Mejor de la Gastronomia, it isn't surprising that the place is cosy, busy, loud and serving exceptional food.
It was a fantastic place to bring together all of my favourite seafood items into local Spanish tapas style. Wine glasses and jamon hang from the ceiling and the bartenders mix and serve your desires. There is a combination of traditional and modern tapas.
- Ostra special no.4 Gillardeau (1/2 docena) €12.5 - the oysters are from France but it had been a short while since the last time. They were mild strength;
- Sepionets a la planca €8.5 - delicious tender and juicy little squids making eat chewed morsel a memory;
- Atun crudo con citricos y soja €16.5 - one of the few places I found that served raw fish (the best way to eat it!). The tuna had a nice flavour, soft fresh texture and a hint of citrus soy herbs;
- Arroces negro con sepionets, gambita, alcachofas y pimiento rojo €16.5 - squid ink rice with small squids, prawns, artichokes and red peppers as good as it sounds. I wish I had a larger one;
- Mousse chocolate €5.5.
After this dinner, I ended up there the next late afternoon before the night flight back to London.
- Tartar de salmon con eneldo y sesamo €15 - diced salmon with dill and sesame seeds;
- Pulpo al horno con pure de patata €12 - bakes octopus with potato puree.
Both of these were fine but not as memorable as the previous evening. I suppose that's partially my own fault for experimenting with different things rather than the tried and true, but the menu has so many choices (such as prawns, mussels, clams, fish) and I only barely scratched the seafood surface.
In amongst all the traditional tapas places in Alicante, Monastrell stands out for having a modern approach. It shares a building with the TA #1 hotel Amerigo, which I imagine lends itself to having expensive clientele looking for good food and drink at any time of day or evening. Perhaps it is just the name that makes me envisage American business people or flash tourists.
In any case, the class and refined setting of Monastrell didn't deter me although they were very busy with a lot of romantic couples spilling into the corridors the evening before. It was a very different feel around midday just after opening for the day, where one solitary man was enjoying food and a newspaper.
Green olives and a theatrical sliced-bread-in-a-bag with a pipette extra virgin olive oil were presented. Given the holiday opportunity, there was no better time than to kick things off with a red wine cocktail also.
- Tomates de nuestro huerto con burrata y jugo de albahaca (tomatoes from our garden with "burrata" cheese & basil juice) €11 - excellent tomatoes as a modernised salad;
- Bocadillo de calamares "Monastrell" (signature squid sandwich) €14 - a reimagining of toasted flat bread with squid slivers;
- "Roast pork" de presa Iberico con crema de queso manchego, patatas paja y berros (Iberico roast pork with Manchego cheese cream, potato chips & watercress) €16 - the pork reminded me of the texture of sliced beef fillet and contrasted well the fried chips and creamy cheese.
The food is fantastic and the bar setting very refined. The atmosphere is probably more suited to a late evening romantic drinks, but brunch allows a simpler focus on the food. There are so many other menu items I'd like to try - 65 degree huevo, bocadillo de calamares, and if I could afford them, more simple navajas gallegas or gamba roja de Denia.
Around the corner from the guesthouse is Sento. It's a tiny place with a bar for eating and service and an equal number of people standing outside snacking and drinking. Aside from its convenient location, it was listed as TA #2 (I'm sure the location also helped) but also won awards for their tapas in 2013. On this day it was lucky the place was open for an early lunch, as I wouldn't have otherwise been able to fit in all the places on my list.
- bread crisp topped with a fish salad and anchovy;
- Solomillo Pollo (parmesano y crema Italiana) - grilled chicken with parmesan and smothered in thick Modena balsamic;
- potatoes topped with jamon, fried egg and parmesan;
- montadito with beef slices, greens and sauce.
Although I didn't know it at the time, they have a dish called the Lollipop which supposedly won 2013 award for being the best. I'll have to make a trip to try it next time.