Le Fin Gourmand: Luxembourg

Last week I asked my dad if he could take us to eat somewhere nice before I went back to London, especially because I hadn't been to eat anything French the whole time I was in Luxembourg. So we booked a table at Le Fin Gourmand, a well known francophone restaurant in Luxembourg city. Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted by a woman who took our coats and then showed us to our seats. The restaurant is well divided so that it doesn't get too loud in each of the rooms, and from my seat I could look into the kitchen. 

While glancing through the menu I couldn't choose what to eat, I was hoping they'd have at least one dish with crab, but they didn't because they had just switched to their autumn menu. In the end I had sautéd duck liver on a bed of mushrooms and spinach. And as a main dish, veal with canelloni filled with mushrooms on the side. Overall the food was really well prepared and the waiting time between dishes wasn't too long. I hate when they make you wait an hour between the starter and the main dish. Compared to the UK the service was a bit slow, because they don't expect to seat each table twice, so they pamper you a little more. The waitress had a conversation with us about the road works happening outside, and stopped to give her suggestions as well. 

One of the other things I loved was the restaurant's "catch phrase", we don't eat, we dine. And I truly believe that with very good food not only do you care about the flavour but you care about the eating experience and who you share the experience with. 

In conclusion, I ate really well and I had a good time. I'd gladly go there again. But to put it nicely, its not cheap. Here's their website: http://www.lefingourmand.lu/

Onesto: Luxembourg

Spending most of my summer in Luxembourg meant that I got to eat at some of the places I loved when I lived here full time. One of the best places to eat near the pedestrian area of the town is "Onesto". They advertise themselves as a pizzeria but they have so much other good Italian food too. Being Italian I rarely want to go out and order a dish of pasta so I always opt for things I can't make at home. Last time I went there with my friends Katie and Caoimhe, I had "frittura mista di verdura", meaning, fried and sautéd vegetables. They were cut really thin, and they were perfectly salted. I loved it. 

One of my favourite Italian dishes is fried zucchini (or pumpkin) flowers. I know it sounds weird, but you have to try them. Onesto serves them as dish of the day occasionally, and they stuff them with cheese before they fry them. Its amazing.

Another thing that is super cute about Onesto is that they have an external terace hidden in the back of the restaurant. Its like a mini oasis, you can see a few other restaurants and the back of some buildings from your seat. Its the perfect place to catch up with friends. And another super cute detail is that the chairs are all multicoloured. 

Here's their website: http://www.resto-onesto.lu/

Elephant Parade

The Elephant Parade has been a European phenomenon that happened to invade Luxembourg this year (as well as the neighboring German town Trier). It is organized by the Asian Elephant Foundation and the whole charity started with an elephant named Mosha who damaged its front right foot, and needed a cast to help it get better. This cast was then painted, and the people looking after Mosha realized they could make full body moulds of elephants. To fundraise for the Asian Elephants European companies sponsor artists to make designs on the elephant moulds and create something new and different on the given form. These elephants are then sold at about 20,000 euros each, to support the elephants.

Now that this non-profit organization has become pretty famous Elephant Parade stores appear in each country hosting the new Elephants. Not only is this benefiting the elephants but also local artists get huge amounts of exposure and cities become more of a tourist destination.

I just happen to love elephants. This past weekend I even went to Germany to see the elephants in Trier. My friends think I’m obsessed just because I bought the book, and the magnets and a mini elephant, and I freak out whenever I see a new one. (Ok, maybe I’m a little obsessed) I even dragged my friend Gabi around too see some of  the ones in Luxembourg. Next year I’m hoping to spend a month of my time in Thailand to look after elephants, so maybe this is destiny telling me I need to have elephants in my life, or something like that. Maybe I just like them because they’re cute.

Here’s the Elephant Parade website: http://www.elephantparade.com/index.php/home/

And here’s the store where you can buy elephants:  http://www.elephantparadewebshop.com/

Am Clubhaus Op Der Spora

Op der Spora is an incredible restaurant in Luxembourg. It’s a little hard to get to, because it’s in a forest and no buses go there. But the food is amazing. My friend once had her birthday dinner there, and since then my family and I go there at least once every time I’m back because their sushi is so good. They have a sushi chef and a normal chef because the restaurant serves European cuisine too. But it’s definitely not a fusion restaurant. The sushi is kept very far from all the other food.

One thing I love is that if you order sushi then they bring you free miso soup before, and hey, who doesn’t love free food? The staff is really nice too, and the place has a really good turnover, they probably fill every table twice per meal. They also do sushi to go, which we’ve taken advantage of a few times.

But best of all, it’s a really calm and warm place, even in winter. The fact that it’s surrounded by nature makes you feel even luckier to be there and sometimes getting away from the traffic of everyday life is good. Even if it’s just for an hour or two at lunch.

Here’s their website: http://www.amclubhaus.lu/

Blues and Jazz Rallye

Every year for a Saturday night in July there is a Jazz and Blues Rallye in Luxembourg. They put up huge stalls in the middle of the streets in the lower level of the town and the streets are flooded with people drinking beer happily listening to several different bands. It usually starts around 9pm and every stage has a minimum of 2 acts throughout the night.

In the past few years according to my dad the Jazz has been getting better and the Blues worse. But they best thing about it this year was that the weather was great; therefore more people were out to appreciate the free music.

I would have loved to stop for a bratwurst (hot dog) but by the time I felt like standing at a stall for one they were turning off their grills. I think what I enjoyed the most was that it really felt like summer and I rarely spend this much of my summer in Luxembourg. It was nice to take everything in and listen to something a little different from what I hear every day in bars and in the office. If only I had gotten that hot dog.

Here’s the website advertising the event: http://www.bluesjazzrallye.lu/fr/page-principale.html

Welcome to Luxembourg

My family moved to Luxembourg in 2004 and is still living in here. Luxembourg is a tiny country in between France, Belgium and Germany if you didn’t know. It’s not a well known country, but it does have a lot of good things. It’s a centre for banking because there are really low taxes compared to other countries so many major companies have branches here.

But on a touristic it’s known for the way the city is structured. There are several green valleys in the centre of the city because the river cut through the hills a lot time ago.  The rest of the city is on multiple plateaus. There are many small winding roads where cars find it difficult to pass, and cobble stone roads are one of the main features of the town. There’s a pedestrian area in the main shopping area of the town allowing the people to feel safer.

I think I only really appreciate Luxembourg when the weather is good and I can walk around through the winding roads because in winter the city looks really depressing and empty. Also I spent all my high school life wishing I could leave so I’ve only really gotten the chance to look around and enjoy this tiny town during this summer. After all, every city looks better with a little sunshine.

Here’s the tourist’s office’s website: http://www.lcto.lu/en/index