A Slice of...Balikpapan, Indonesia

Hello Sometimes Sweet lovelies, my name is Markati Prasetio of Clinicoustic's Scratch from Indonesia. I've read Sometimes Sweet for over 2 years and today I'll be showing you around Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia, the town where I've lived for almost 5 years. I hope after reading this post, you will make my home as your vacation destination in addition to amazing Bali and Central Java!

with my husband, Joko Prasetio and my son Alif Raditya

Balikpapan is a seaport city on the eastern coast of the island of Borneo, Indonesia, in the East Kalimantan province. Its two harbors (Semayang and Kariangau) and the Sepinggan International Airport are the main transportation ports to the city. Balikpapan is the second-largest city in East Kalimantan, after the capital Samarinda.

Sepinggan International Airport

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oil refinery view at night

Balikpapan is one of the largest oil producers in Indonesia. Its oil refinery is located in the shore of Balikpapan Bay, established in 1922. Some multinational corporations conduct business activities in East Kalimantan province. Such companies as Pertamina (Indonesia), Total E&P (France), Chevron (US), Schlumberger (France), BakerHughes (US), Weatherford (US), Thiess Contractors Indonesia (Australia), and Halliburton (US) use Balikpapan as their base of operations in the region.

It makes Balikpapan a very onward town in Kalimantan. Some five stars hotels and international class restaurants are now in Balikpapan. As a modern town, Balikpapan also crowded with activity of entertainment and amusement. Balikpapan Shopping Centre is between Sudirman Street and Ahmad Yani Street and has become one of our city's symbols.

Tribes were the origins of Balikpapan- namely the Dayak Kenyah and Dayak Paser Tribe. But nowdays, Balikpapan is a modern city which urban and its origins has mixed. Like myself; I'm from East Java.

Dayak Kenyah Chief

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Dayak Kenyah traditonal dance

There's a Honey Bear conservation in Balikpapan called Environmental Education Area Tourism that specifically protects the Honey Bear, the mascot of Balikpapan. It is located in Km 23 North Balikpapan.

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Another place to see is Tugu Australia, located near Strand Banua Patra Beach Balikpapan. This is a monument to remember and to respect the Australian troops who fought the Japanese who invaded Indonesia in old days. At Tugu Australia, there's a plate where you can read the whole history of the Battle of Balikpapan in 1945, written in both English and Indonesian. There's also the map of Borneo Island and and the estimated numbers of how many troops and civilians died during the war.

Tugu Australia

The Caribbean Island Waterpark, the only waterpark in East Kalimantan

One of the most famous traditional foods in Balikpapan is Soto Banjar, which is actually from South Kalimantan, but this food is all over East Kalimantan. The main ingredients of soto are chicken, chicken broth and special spices like cinnamon, clove and other spices that only available in Kalimantan. Soto Banjar contains shredded chicken meat, served with a potato cake and boiled egg. Sometimes we combined it with chicken satay.

I hope I didn't bore you with my story. Want know more about my home? Stop by my blog Clinicoustic's Scratch. And make sure to plan a stop in my beloved city when you take a trip to Indonesia. Feel free to get in touch too, I'll show you my beautiful Balikpapan in person. xo

A Slice of...Providence, Rhode Island

Hello! My name is Adriana  of Just By Living and I will be showing you around Providence, Rhode Island, my home sweet home. I live here with my husband, a DJ and daddy blogger (check him at The Hipster Dad), my 9 year old step son, and my 1 year old son, Hendrix. I am a freelance writer and owner of the (coming soon) vintage shop Runaway Vintage.  Providence is a small city, I like to call it "manageable" especially with a kiddo in tow. You get everything you would want from a big city, nightlife, restaurants, shopping, art, and culture but without the headaches of city living. Traffic is hardly ever an issue, cost of living is low, and there is a great small town feel to Providence. I love that when going for brunch at our spot (more on that later) we will run into people we know, block parties are a pretty common occurrence, and the people at the farmers market know Hendrix by his first name. It's a welcoming, warm community and we are so proud and lucky to be apart of it.

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Let's start with food.

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 If you want something yummy to eat head to Julians. This is my absolute favorite spot in Prov. The food is amazing, the cocktails are great (and cheap!), and the decor is really fun. Hendrix is always fully entertained looking around pointing out his findings. It's a bit like being inside an eye spy book. The bathroom even has an enormous collection of vintage pez dispensers and old school cartoons running on repeat. Art from rotating artists hang on the walls and they have a lot of options for vegetarians and vegans.

AS220 is an artists gallery, restaurant, and event space. They specialize in vegetarian and vegan meals and everything is made from fresh ingredients right in front of you. You can sit at the counter and watch the cooks do their thing just a few feet from you.

Chez Pascal is one of the most popular restaurants in Providence and it's not surprising. The food here is exquisite. I can't really say a bad this about Chez Pascal. They have a food truck that comes to our farmers market and i usually stand in front of it, salivating, for a good ten minutes trying to make up my mind about which delish dish to try.

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Olgas Cup and Saucer is another fun spot to grab a good brunch or a coffee to go. It's right down the street from the Providence Children's Museum (more on that later) and we like to hit up Olgas before heading there for some fun.

Shopping 

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Queen of Hearts is a womens clothing shop filled with indie, hip clothing designers. Next door is an adorable shoe store called Modern Love (LINK http://www.queenofheartsandmodernlove.com/). Both are highly recommended. They carry some of my favorite brands including I'm Your Present and We Love Colors.

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Rocket to Mars is a funky little vintage shop with great prices, friendly staff, and a fantastic collection of vintage goodies. They carry mens, womens, housewares, and furniture.

Craftland is an over the top craft store. When you step inside it's walls you feel like you fell down the rabbit hole. Colorful displays brimming with supplies, whimsical artwork, and crazy pinatas make up the decor.

Some other noteworthy shops include Frog & Toad for fun trinkets and gifts, for toys Creatovity and Pow Science.  If you are in the mood for a day trip head to New Bedford and go vintage crazy at Calico and Circa.

Family Fun


 

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The Providence Children's Museum is just lovely. I can remember going as a child and loving it. They have a really cute forest themed toddler area, large water room, huge outdoor play area, and giant sized light bright.

Roger Williams Zoo is a beautiful zoo surrounded by a large park.They have everything from a carousel, to a pond with swan boats, and of course, the animals. The elephants are Henry's favorite and if you time your visit right you can catch them getting their daily bath.

 

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The Museum of Art at The Rhode Island School of Design is stunning. They have a family fun day on Sundays where you pay only a donation of your choice and man times on the weekends they will have activities for children to get them involved in the exhibits.

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Providence is filled with playgrounds, splash pads, and parks. It seems like there is one on every corner. For a list and more info on some of my favorite parks head HERE.

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If you are looking for some nightlife you can head the dubstep night called DGAF on Saturdays, Shake for indie music on wednesday, and  the monthly night Flipside on the second Friday of every month.

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Rhode Island is a small (the smallest to be exact) state but it is filled with culture, beaches, activities, and restaurants. Rhode Island boats so many fun little towns for day trips. My favorite is Newport, RI. It is a seaside getaway most famous for being popular with the rich and famous of the 1920's You can take tours of many of the Newport Mansions. They have names like "Rosecliff" and "The Breakers", overlook the sea, and make you feel like you are straight outta the book The Great Gatsby.  You can head to one of the many beaches, my fav known a "1st beach" has a carousel, aquarium, and amazing views. You should stroll the cliff walk, play games at the giant arcade called Ryan's Amusement, shop on Thames Street, and dine at my favorite Newport eatery, The Salvation Cafe.

I hope you enjoyed my Slice of Providence, Rhode Island. Thanks to Dani for having me! xo.

A Slice of...Cambridge, UK

I've lived in Cambridge on and off for the past six years, ever since I came here to study Architecture at the university here. Cambridge is about 75 miles north of London, out in a wild flat marshy area of the UK known as the Fens, famous for its farmland and big skies as well as the university city of Cambridge. After I graduated I moved to London for a bit, but I longed to move back, I missed the beautiful city which had become my home. My boyfriend James and I now live on our narrowboat Lucky Duck, right in the centre of town, on the River Cam. We love living afloat and blog about our life on the boat as well!. We often just cruise out of town for the fun of it over a weekend, it's great fun.

We had our names down on the waiting list to get one of the 70 moorings in the centre for nearly three years. Before then, we moored out of town. Now we are here, it is wonderful to be so close to everything that we love about Cambridge. Every morning I look out of my window and see the river and wildlife passing by outside, and think that I am so lucky to live here. We live totally off-grid, with all our electricity coming from a solar panel and occasionally a little generator. Inside the boat we have a little sitting room, a kitchen with everything I need including gas oven, hobs and sink. We have a dinky little bathroom with a shower, chemical loo and sink, and an awesome bedroom with a bed that folds away when we are not using it. So it's just like a little flat really! James and I don't have any babies yet (just a tortoiseshell cat) but if we do, we'd need a bigger boat. I would love to bring any future children up on a live-aboard boat - I know some mums who have so its totally do-able. I love that they would grow up understanding that we have to be careful about the resources we use, and it would also be a wonderful adventure for them!

Anyway, Cambridge! I love this little city, it's just full of quirky little shops and cafes, and although it is small, it feels just right for us. We are lucky that the river community is really friendly and supportive which is nice and there is a great sense of community in general, not just on the river. Both of us row, which is very popular in Cambridge, although James mainly coxes (he's the small, loud one who tells the big rowers what to do!), and we are moored is less than five minutes walk from the boathouse! We train several nights a week and it is great fun, a very sociable sport!

One of our favourite places to go after a hard session on the water is the Fort St George (on the left in the photo), which is an old pub (about 450 years old) right on the river, a few minutes from where we are moored, and just opposite the boathouse. It has changed hands several times since we've lived here, but its wonderful location means we and our rowing friends just keep coming back.

There are loads of beautiful places to go in Cambridge. It is just full of history. The tourists all head for the ancient Gothic King's College Chapel, or the famous Colleges like Trinity and St John's which are absolutely lovely. Every day when I walk through the centre with its glorious medieval buildings, I feel lucky to live here, and try not to take it for granted. Punting along the Backs is another favourite tourist attraction but we like to do things a bit differently. In the winter, powered boats are allowed to navigate here although hardly anyone does. We had great fun when we did it recently, cruising past all the famous sights in our home!

While I love these places, Cambridge has so much more to offer than just the standard tourist attractions. The best places are hidden away: one of the lovliest streets is the tiny terraced Portugal Place. There's the picturesque circular court in Christ's College, and the blossoming cherry trees which line Selwyn College in the Spring. Often James and I just go for walks along the river into the town at night: it is so beautiful then.

 

 

On the way back from our night time walks we often head to Clowns cafe, which is open til 11pm. This is a fantastic Italian family-run cafe, and they do the most delicious hot chocolate topped with fresh thick whipped cream, as well as wonderful desserts.

My favourite places to go shopping are the charity shops (aka thrift stores!) - all 7 of them - on Burleigh Street, which is just a few minutes walk from where I work. I tend to visit them in my lunch hour, and most of my wardrobe is thrifted! Also on my way to work is Ark, which is a shop selling the most beautiful things. They have two floors of vintage clothes upstairs and loads of lovely stuff on the ground floor too.

A Slice of...Bremen, Germany!

Hello everyone, I'm Kim from notcrazyunwell.com / notcrazycreative.com and I am very excited about this chance to show you a little slice of my hometown of Bremen in northern Germany. Thanks so much for this opportunity, Danielle!

 

I was born and raised in Bremen, and apart from 13 months between '97 and '98 that I spent abroad in the Twin Cities, I've lived here all my life. I love my hometown. With its population of roughly 550,000 people it isn't a small town but also not a huge city where you can barely make it from one end to the other in a day. One of the things I love most about Bremen is the fact that you can get almost everywhere by bike or public transportation. Up until 2007 – when my boyfriend C moved here with me from the U.S. – I didn't even have a car.

The beautiful river Weser runs right through the middle of Bremen. It's an important part of the city and there is always a lot going on along the river. In the summer you will see people chilling on the grass of the dike/levee, having BBQs or just drinking some wine or beer pretty much 24/7. There are also several cafes along the river. One of my favorite ones is the Café Sand with a small beach, nets to play volleyball and lots of tables outside. There is even a small ferry that goes across the river right to the beach of the Café Sand during the summer months because it's located between two bridges and would be somewhat difficult to get to on foot or bike without the ferry.

The stadium for our local soccer team Werder Bremen is also located right at the river. So during the soccer season there's always something going on on game days. If you're interested in soccer at all, I recommend you try and get tickets to a home game. The atmosphere is amazing and you can usually get tickets for right around 15-30 Euros which makes it much more affordable than American Football… Then in the summer there are usually a few concerts in the stadium during which hundreds of people just bring blankets, drinks and snacks and just get comfortable all around the stadium to listen to music.

Another great area along the river is the Schlacht. It used to be the medieval harbor of Bremen (the modern port is some kilometers downstream) and is now a riverside boulevard with pubs and bars aligned on one side and the banks of Weser on the other. It is always packed there in the summer and even during the colder months it's a popular place to go bar-hopping.

Speaking of bar-hopping... :) Aside from the area we live in, the neighborhood I'm going to tell you about next is my favorite one in Bremen. It's called the Viertel- which basically means "the Quarter," and is kind of a hip-artsy-laid back neighborhood. It begins just a few minutes walk from downtown right by our art museum and is about 2 km long parallel to the river. There are lots of small restaurants, bars and individually owned stores – only a few small chains really. I would call it the heart of Bremen and just love the atmosphere there. As soon as we get a little bit of sun everyone is out there on their bikes, walking around, sitting in the sun (with blankets if necessary) and just living. A lot of times that “living” is accompanied by a beer – or to be more specific – a Beck’s Beer which is brewed in Bremen. For anyone interested: the brewery offers (English) tours on a regular basis ;)

Another place I would recommend you should definitely go to if you're ever here is the Heartbreak Hotel in the Viertel. It is tiny, the interior is really red, old-school, and kind of dirty but it's busy every single night and the atmosphere is absolutely unique. I probably wouldn't go before 10 pm and once you're there (I recommend Thursday nights) ask the bartender / owner Felix about the vodka-rhubarb-long drink he makes. It is the BEST.

Next up is our beautiful city center with the statue “Roland," our gorgeous City Hall which was built right around 1405, the beautiful Cathedral and shopping area. The heart of the city center is a market square which is surrounded by buildings from the last seven centuries that host businesses, restaurants, bars, banks and little stores. It is the oldest part of the city. And when you walk around City Hall you will find the famous statue of the “Bremen Town Musicians." As the legend goes, when you hold onto both (!) of the Donkey’s legs at the same time and make a wish it’ll come true. This is why the front legs of the donkey are always shiny. :)

A few minutes walk away – kind of “hidden” is the “Schnoor," which is definitely another one of my favorite places in the city. The “Schnoor” is a small but really well-preserved quarter of crooked lanes and fishermen's and shipper's houses from the 17th and 18th centuries, now occupied by cafés, artisan shops and art galleries. It’s one of the areas where you really feel and see just how old Bremen is. It’s beautiful and you can see something new every time you walk through the tiny lanes and paths.

Bremen is very multi-faceted, which is one of the reasons I think it’s so beautiful. There are a couple of fairs each year with rides, booths, music and parties as well as a beautiful Christmas-Market in the city center in December. There are a lot of beautiful neighborhoods with houses over a hundred years old and still in great shape. There is a gorgeous park about a five minute bike-ride from where I live that’s always busy with families going for a stroll, joggers, old couples going for their afternoon walk, people walking their dogs...there is a small “zoo” and a couple nice restaurants in the park; it’s one of the things Bremen is particularly proud of.

There is so much more beautiful about my hometown but you’re going to have to see it in person. So make sure to plan a stop in our beautiful Harbor City when you take a trip to Europe. And feel free to get in touch – I’d love to show you my beautiful Bremen in person. xoxoxo

A Slice of...Walla Walla, WA!

Welcome to Walla Walla--the town so nice they named it twice!

My husband and I first visited Walla Walla, Washington in 2005 while we were on a 3-day pass during our service in the Army.  We wanted to get away from the confines of the Army and the bustling pace of life in Tacoma.  The little town of Walla Walla was as far as we could get on the Army’s 250 mile radius restriction!  We came specifically to see the town's Balloon Stampede, mainly because we've been a hot air balloon fanatics since our very special balloon flight on our honeymoon over the beautiful Lake Tahoe.  Fast forward a few years, we were blessed to get job transfers and have made Walla Walla our home since 2008.

The area was originally settled by the Native American tribes of the Cayuse and Walla Walla.  The name Walla Walla means "place of many waters" and the area sits in the valley of the beautiful Blue Mountains.  While visiting Walla Walla to address Whitman College in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt officially announced his 1904 candidacy and even said that Walla Walla left "the pleasantest impression upon my mind of any city I visited while in the Northwest."

Getting to Walla Walla, from just about any direction really, kind of takes you a bit off the map!  The last 55 miles into town is on a two lane highway passing through the little towns of Lowden and Touchet.  Since the valley is a big agricultural area--supplying 70% of the nation's wheat and as well as our famous sweet onions--often times you can get stuck behind a large farm equipment on the highway.  It makes for a very slow ride into town but I think it prepares you nicely for the country pace of Walla Walla...

Walla Walla is known for being a very friendly town—we’re actually leading in the “Friendliest Small Town” category in Randy McNally’s 2011 Best of the Road contest!   We get all four seasons here and our summers can be long, dry and pretty hot!  We have a nice little farmers market every weekend from May to October.  You can get locally grown asparagus, cherries, peaches, and of course Washington apples and our famous sweet onions!  We even have several local artisans peddling their wares—everything from homemade jewelry and repurposed barn wood creations to my personal favorite—handmade vegan, super luxurious soaps from Moxie Organix!

I recently discovered several farms in the valley that are “u-pick”.  My personal favorites so far are the Lowden Lavender Farm and the blueberry patch at Lampson Farms!  You can pick fruit all day, and last year blueberries were only $1.30 a pound.

The first weekend in May, the Walla Walla Valley has its annual Spring Release—which is the first release of wines for the season.  The valley achieved American Viticulture Area status in 1984 and the wine has been flowing steadily since the mid 90’s.  Right now, we have over 100 wineries!  Some say that we are quickly becoming the Napa of Washington state.  Several wineries have even been featured in Sunset Magazine!  The Valley is known for bold, juicy syrah and smooth smoky cabernet sauvignon grapes.  So if you are a wine drinker-- this is the place for you.  Some of my personal favorite valley wineries are Watermill, Tertulia Cellars, and Robison Ranch Cellars.

The second weekend in May is our annual Balloon Stampede.   This year marked the 37th annual stampede.  Unfortunately the weather didn’t hold out this year, but normally on Saturday and Sunday there are early morning mass ascensions of about 40 balloons and on Saturday evening there is the night glow.  It’s pure magic, if you ask me!
 

In June, Walla Wallans turn out to Borleske Stadium to watch the Walla Walla Sweets play on the baseball diamond.  The Sweets are part of the West Coast League, an all wooden bat league to keep collegiate men slugging in what would normally be their off season.  Game days are exciting because the town is really supportive of the team, price of admission is only $4, you can still get a hot dog for $2, cold locally brewed beers for $4 and the score board is manually updated by a Score Boy!  Hearing the crack of the wooden bat really brings you back!  Plus our mascot—a snarly eyed sweet onion—is a real kick!

At the end of July, we celebrate the sweet onion with a festival right during their peak harvest season.  You can find all kinds of onion-infused foods from mustards and dressings to onion-filled sausages.  There’s also a host of onion-inspired events like onion-sack races, onion eating contests, onion bowling and even the Food Network’s Glutton for Punishment filmed a segment here last year—an Onion Peeling Contest with Bob Blumer.

August is a great month in the valley.  The vines are starting to fruit and the wineries are preparing for harvest.  I got to know the vintners at one winery and they invited me to help pick the fruit and bottle the wine.  It was such a great experience, kind of makes a cubicle-rat like me re-evaluate my career goals!

Year round there areopportunities to soak up the Valley, if you are willing to get out there and look!  Sometimes during an early morning coffee run, you can admire an impromptu balloon launch.

Or even biking thru the vineyards in autumn and finding a nice place to smooch.

Or driving thru the rolling hills of wheat to oogle at the big gigantic wind farms.

But most days, especially like the nice sunny one’s we’ve had recently, you can find me on the back deck, hanging in my hammock enjoying a nice glass of local syrah while country life just floats on by!

Care to hear more about the wonderful world of Walla Walla?  Stop by my blog Storm-in-My-Teacup where I ramble about enjoying a sweet life in Walla Walla, the animal antics of a rescued retired greyhound and two cute tuxedo kitties.  When I am not working at overcoming infertility, my husband's and I are travelling the country in our vintage VW bus.  CHEERS!  : ) elaine