|
|
Where Are We?
Viv and Jill wish you Peace, Love and Prosperity for 2007.
WAVE Journey is celebrating it's one year anniversary. We would like to thank all our readers
for a very successful first year and for all your contributions.
To start off the new year with a bang, WJ is heading to South Africa in February on an amazing
adventure. Viv will be updating her blog on a regular basis during the trip, so bookmark it
and check back often for photos and tales from amazing locations throughout South Africa.
The first week in South Africa will have us on 12 game drives and a hot air balloon ride in
Pilanesberg National Park. We will be staying at a number of amazing lodges which include:
CC Africa's Madikwe Safari Lodge in Madikwe Game Reserve; bush walking and game drives in
Pilanesberg National Park while staying at Tshukudu Bush Lodge and Ivory Tree Game Lodge.
And, that's just the start of what's going to be a fabulous trip. You're just going to have to stay
tuned for all the details in upcoming newsletters.
South Africa Webcams:
Cape Town - http://www.capetownwebcam.com/live_webcam.htm
Cape Town - http://www.kapstadt.de/lifecam.htm
www.africam.com
Garden Route - www.midafricam.co.za
http://www.coolwebcams.net/south_africa.html
As South Africa is such a long flight from the west coast of North America, we decided to test
and review a few products that are supposed to keep us healthy and comfortable on the flight.
We will have a full report on those products and a variety of others in future newsletters.
FYI: Funny Story - A few years back on New Years Eve, I (Viv) was going to prepare Chocolate
Souffle for dessert later on in the evening. I had made the recipe I was going to use a dozen
times before and they had always turned out perfectly. Not to be so this time around. Could it
of been something with the chocolate? Something with the cook (after a couple glasses of wine
I'm useless in the kitchen)? Or what? Well, as I was melting the chocolate it kept seizing and
becoming this hard and grainy ball of chocolate instead of the silky, smooth gooey stuff that I
needed for my souffle. After four attempts and finally running out of chocolate to melt, and
four of us in the kitchen trying to solve the dilemna, we gave up and ended up eating the ball of
chocolate out of the pot.
Today, three years later (I had not even bothered to attempt to make the souffle since), I
received a tip from a very helpful reader revealing what to do when your chocolate seizes... So,
this past weekend I entered the kitchen armed with my favorite chocolate and set about to
prepare a perfect chocolate souffle.
Oh right, I should share the tip with you too in the event you ever have the world turned
upside down by chocolate that has seized.
Here it is: if you encounter a grainy texture or separation when melting chocolate, it's probably
from a drop of water that got into it or it was overheated. To eliminate the problem simply add
warm water or melted butter (not hot), one tablespoon at a time, and whisk until it is smooth.
If you're adding egg yolks to your melted chocolate, make sure they are room temperature or
they too can cause the chocolate to seize. You can slowly reheat the chocolate with the egg yolks
and it will unseize.
The result was spectacular and you can find the recipe below. Plus a fabulous chocolate mousse
recipe. Both just in time for Valentine's Day.
Email us your travel tips and let us know what's not to be missed - activities, towns,
where to get great food and anything else you can think of. We want the inside scoop
and you're the best resource!
|
|
|
|
Travellers' Tips
Now is the time to plan that perfect vacation for 2007. Make note
of the travellers' tips below:
Mary in Georgia recommends the Breakfast Blogger if you like anything about
breakfast.
Lydia from Toronto, Canada writes: Tip for getting from Roissy Charles de Gaulle
airport: - RER express train takes you to Gare du Nord train station in 30 to 45
minutes for around 10 €, it's the fastest way to travel to central Paris, but not the
best if you have lots of luggage. Take a Taxi, if you have a lot of luggage. It will cost
you around 40 to 50 € and will take a minimum of 45 minutes to go to the center of
town.
Lydia also recommends dining at: L'Auberge de la Reine Blanche (traditional French)
30 r St Louis en l'IIe 75004 Paris - It is near Notre Dame, offers a wonderfully
intimate and charming atmosphere, with lovely food, open every day for lunch and
dinner.
Naples' Archaeological Museum has a secret room - ask to see il gabinetto segreto if
you're not easily offended by the thought of viewing classic Roman pornography.
Cool Websites: Country Calling Codes - International Calling Made Easy. Explains
exactly what you need to dial to reach another country based on where you're calling
from. www.countrycallingcodes.com
Free Long Distance from USA with Futurephone.com ~ to over 50 countries. Sound
too good to be true? It's not. We tried it and it works, with no strings attached. You
just call a USA phone number and then dial your international phone number from
their exchange. Easy and all you're paying for is a call within the USA at whatever
rate you normally pay through your own long distance provider.
Dyana in Bend, Oregon recommends Portland City Grill in Portland, Oregon for
great steaks, seafood and fabulous views.
Kate in Ottawa, Canada writes: Stash Café is a Polish restaurant that has been a
huge part of the restaurant scene in Montreal for over 30 years. It is a family
restaurant, serving traditional Polish recipes. I always make a stop there when
visiting Old Montreal. www.stashcafe.com
Rachel in Maine writes: I love to visit the store Meli Melo in Montreal for great gifts
and there's always something new and different each time I go. Address: 205 St-
Paul ouest (at rue St-François-Xavier) Phone 514-285-5585
Samantha in Sante Fe, New Mexico writes: FYI - Women On A Roll will not be at the
Dinah Shore Event this year, but they do have some great women's events coming up.
Elizabeth in Boston recommends: Whitehorse Tavern, Newport, RI. Great bar,
martini's, entrees. Website: www.whitehorsetavern.com
Wendy in Dallas writes: If you love sake, you'll love SakeOne! Check out their
website: www.sakeone.com
Sarah in Colorado loves Gluten-Free Girl. A blog for those of us who need to stay
away from gluten.
Pam in Norwich, England writes: You have got to try the Strudl in Prague. It is only
about US$1 for enough to feed four people. Sweet pastry and delicious apples.
Almost as good as the Czech beer.
Pam also recommends: Pivnice de Saduce restaurant in Prague for great goulash.
Vanessa in Sydney, Australia spent a couple of months touring the south of France
with her husband and suggests visiting the city of Les Beaux, in Provence. She also
thinks that Aix-en Provence, Avignon, Nimes are great cities and would recommend
paying a visit to them.
If you're thinking about heading to Germany this Fall, try to time it around
Oktoberfest. This year Oktoberfest in Munich is Sept 15- Oct 2.
Website: www.oktoberfest.de
Air travelers beware - the 3 oz bottles that we're allowed to take on board a airplane
may not be permitted. Dena from St. Louis writes in to tell us of a recent plane trip
to Europe where she had to pack her 3 oz bottles of shampoo, lotion, mouth wash,
etc., in her checked bag as the travel bottles she was using didn't have the original
label of the product. For example: shampoo needs to be in the bottle it came in from
the manufacturer. No good pouring it out of your family size shampoo bottle into a
smaller generic one.
The Original Pancake House, Bend, Oregon - read WJ's review.
The west coast of North America has had a number of large storms come through this
winter. Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada was hit by a huge
wind storm (over 100 mile/hr winds) and here's some photos of Stanley Park trees
blown down - Worth taking a look:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/89152624@N00/sets/72157594426029306/show/
|
Passport Info For Americans
Do you have a passport? Do you know when your passport expires? If you answered no
to either of these questions, you've got some work to do if you want to be able to travel
by air outside of the USA.
New passport regulations went into effect on January 23rd; everyone traveling from the
U.S. to the Caribbean, Bermuda, Mexico, and Canada by air needs a
passport. (Birth certificates are no longer an acceptable form of ID).
It can take up to six weeks to process a passport, although you can get a rush for an extra
$60 and have your passport within two weeks. Details and forms can be found on the
U.S. State Department website:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
Remember also that many countries require that your passport be valid for six months
after you've left their country. So, check the expiry date of your passport; so you're not
stuck in Hong Kong and can't get on that flight to the Philappines without going and
getting your passport renewed - right MOM!!!!
|
Recommended Tour Companies
WJ would like to introduce you to 3 Sisters Adventure Trekking in Nepal
and French Escapade, and suggest you check out their websites for exciting
trips in 2007.
3 Sisters Adventure Trekking ~ A women owned company
~ The Chhetri Sisters: Empowered Women
Lucky, Dicky and Nicky Chhetri, three Nepalese sisters are pioneers in the field of
female trekking guides. Since 1994, they have worked towards empowering women in
Nepal.
In the early ninety's no one would have dreamed of a Nepalese women guiding a trek.
Nepalese society is ruled by the Orthodox Hindu religion where women are considered
second-class citizens. Their role is to be a diligent wife, a loving mother, and an obedient
daughter-in-law. Society dictates that a woman should not cross out of her home
threshold. But the Chhetri sisters did just that.
Visit their website for full details...www.3sistersadventure.com
French Escapade ~ Authentic tours in France and Belgium
Let Jackie, your personal guide, and Valerie, your hostess, introduce you
to the authentic life of Belgium or France, their native countries. For a
week, they will share with you the love of their culture and treat you as
their guest.
Enjoy the friendly atmosphere of a small group of 7 or 8 people
Relax at our peaceful 19th-century country farmhouse or at a charming 19th century
hotel in the heart of the Alps
Taste the wonderful Belgian or French cuisine through delicious breakfasts and
four-course gourmet dinners
Be escorted by Jackie, your bilingual guide and chauffeur
Discover the beauty of rural France or Belgium in one of these unforgettable tours:
cultural, cooking, painting, spiritual, writing or wellness trips (golf-spa or tennis)
Visit their website for full details...www.frenchescapade.com
|
Travellers' Tales
Julie's Galapagos Cruise ~
The Galapagos Islands has to be one of the most amazing places I've ever been. Now, I
haven't been a lot of places, but for me, anyway, it was a huge change from my daily life,
let's put it that way. rFamilyVacations did a wonderful job setting things up with the
Lindblad company, which is the same company National Geographic works with for their
Galapagos cruises.
Lindblad was totally on top of everything from the moment we exited customs. It was
quite
easy to become a sheep and not feel bad about it. We felt so at ease with our Guayaquil
guide right from the start. The next day, our guide was right there getting us to the airport
to catch the flight to Baltra in the Galapagos. My usual worries about travel were erased.
There were about 41 passengers heading to Galapagos together. 11 of them were children
ages 5-12. We started getting to know each other at breakfast that morning, then on the
bus, and then later on the plane. Everyone was excited to be going and excited to get to
know one another. That was immediately pleasant. It made it much easier to just walk up
to a table at a meal and ask to sit down. This was my first introduction to the kindness and
pleasantness that rFamilyVacations exudes and everyone picks up on.
READ MORE...
|
Hot Travel Deals for 2007
Check out the latest terrific travel deals and more...
(Offer good through 1/31/07)
Save money on your next flight with Expedia.com
(Offer good through 3/31/07)
(Offer good through 2/12/07)
(Offer good through 1/31/07)
(Offer good through 2/19/07)
(Offer good through 1/31/07)
Free nights, up to $100 in resort credits, and more at select top tropical resorts
(Offer good through 2/19/07)
(Offer good through 2/19/07)
(Offer good through 2/28/07)
|
Valentine's Day Chocolate Orange Souffles
with Grand Marnier Chocolate Sauce
Serves 4
Souffle Ingredients
2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
8 oz good quality semisweet chocolate (Ghirardelli, Scharffen Berger, etc.) - chopped
fine, or use chips
4 large egg whites
3 large egg yolks - room temperature
1/4 cup Grand Marnier or Cointreau
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Butter 4 individual ramekins and sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of the sugar for each
ramekin.
- Melt the chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over simmering water, stirring
occasionally until smooth - or melt in microwave on half power for 30 seconds at a
time, stirring frequently. Make sure not to overheat. Remove from heat.
- In a medium size bowl beat the egg whites with 1/4 cup of the sugar until stiff and
glossy.
- Whisk the egg yolks into the melted chocolate 1 at a time.
- Add the Grand Marnier and whisk in the remaining sugar.
- Fold in the egg whites until thoroughly blended.
- Transfer mixture to ramekins and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake until puffed and somewhat firm - about 20 minutes.
While souffles are baking, prepare the Grand Marnier Chocolate Sauce.
Grand Marnier Chocolate Sauce Ingredients:
1/4 cup heavy cream (whipping cream or half&half)
1 1/2 teaspoons Grand Marnier
3/4 teaspoon sugar
4 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped or use chips
- In a saucepan over high heat, combine cream, Grand Marnier and sugar.
- Bring mixture to a boil.
- Remove from heat and add the chocolate, stirring until chocolate is completely
melted.
- Keep warm in a double boiler or bain marie until souffles are ready.
Remove souffles from oven when ready.
Use a spoon to make a hole in the middle of the souffle top.
Pour chocolate sauce into hole and over the top.
Dust with powdered sugar and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
P.S. If you're not eating them right away, let them cool and then cover with plastic wrap
and refrigerate. To reheat: place ramekin in microwave for about 30 seconds for each
souffle. Just as good the next day.
Chocolate Mousse
(even better if you make a day ahead)
Serves 8
ingredients
12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons strong brewed coffee
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon instant espresso
In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate with the butter over moderately low heat,
stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.
In a medium, heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks with 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the
granulated sugar and the coffee. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and
whisk constantly until the yolks are frothy and an instant-read thermometer inserted in
them registers 160°, about 6 minutes. Remove from the heat and fold in the melted
chocolate.
In another medium bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar and the remaining
1/2 cup of granulated sugar. Set the bowl over the saucepan of simmering water and
whisk the whites constantly until an instant-read thermometer inserted in them registers
140°, about 5 minutes. Remove the bowl from the saucepan and continue beating the
whites until stiff and glossy. Fold the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture.
In a clean bowl, beat 1 cup of the heavy cream until firm. Fold the whipped cream into
the chocolate mixture until no streaks remain. Spoon the mousse into 8 glasses and chill
for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, beat the remaining 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream with the
confectioners' sugar until firm. Sprinkle on the instant espresso and fold gently so the
flecks and streaks are visible. Dollop the cream over the mousse and serve.
MAKE AHEAD The mousse can be prepared through Step 4 and refrigerated for up to 2
days.
|
Write An Article For WAVE Journey
If you love to travel, enjoy writing and want to share your thoughts with others, take action
and write an article for WAVE Journey and we'll publish it on the site. You may include up to
eight photos.
Send your submissions to editor@wavejourney.com
|
| |
Do You Want To Meet Other Women Travellers?
If you would be interested in meeting other women travellers either in your own hometown or
visiting them in their own hometown, send us an email and we'll help you connect. Whether
it's for coffee, dinner, sightseeing or if you have an extra room or couch to offer for a night or
two...
Email WJ at: tips@wavejourney.com
|
| |
|
|
We would love to hear from you for any reason. Contact us at:
info@wavejourney.com
www.wavejourney.com
|
|
|
