CHEF-EXPLORER

LUXEMBOURG- The Capital of Culture. This month I am going to serve up a country to you that certainly meets the description of ‘Small and Beautiful’; Luxembourg! It has got it all! Sandwiched between Belgium, Germany and France in the true heart of Europe and blessed with ‘Fairy Tale’ Castles, thick green forest, enchanting Vineyards and a capital city that is over a thousand years old! In more modern times it is also the first city to be named   European Capital of Culture twice in1995 and 2007, and voted to be one of world's best performers in protecting the environment, ranking 4th out of the 132 countries analyzed. Not bad for a country ranked 170 th in size in the 194 independent countries of the world. Furthermore, according to the Chinese, Luxembourg   has two other ingredients to sum it all up, ‘Forest and Fortress’!  Well, that’s how the Chinese translated this little gem of a country when it presented itself at the World Expo in 2010.   An...

Well, the holiday season is over and it was not the ‘End of the World’ in December, so the party that I organized for the event went very well indeed. Especially because we are, in fact, still here! Though I must admit that most of my life, I tend to want to be ‘there’ instead, you know, exploring somewhere new and distant over the horizon! However, suffice it to say, I will just have to remain ‘here’ in 2013 and explore my local back yard as it were=Western Australia…but folks this place is one BIG back yard, so bear with me as it may take some time! So I will start with today’s ‘Sunday Times’ newspaper, which reports that due to the heat wave, and people around the world, it is HOT, so hot they believe that by next week Australia ‘overall’ will achieve their hottest temperatures on record! Add to that the rather significant ingredient of late season rains and we have the perfect conditions for an over growth of Aussies most deadliest Creatures…like Snakes, Spiders, Jelly fish an...