7/31/2016

Skype for Android by Skype

I have had Skype in my Android gadgets for a long time, but it is just recently that started to use it for normal phone calls. In a way, Skype for android has more user-friendly interface than the PC version, is very easy to use, very use to add money, and very use to do anything, really.

I went overseas recently and my usual mobile carrier for overseas didn't have roaming. I added a bit of credit in Skype through the app and made my first call using the app. I was surprised at the great quality of the voice call and the ridiculously low money I spent on a 30 minute call. 

Skype for Android has grown on my since then, and now I have it for intercontinental calls over the phone at home. It works great every time. There is a free option in Skype that allows you to associate your home phone number with your Skype account, so when you call somebody from your Skype app, they will see just your home phone number in their screens, which is very convenient and useful for me. Of course proper verification is needed for that. This feature works just in some countries, so check if yours is included in advance.

Skype on the Go is another feature that you can use in the app. It could be great, but it is just an emergency feature for me. The good thing is you can call from your Skype add without the need of having internet but, on the other hand, you need to call an assigned local number to make the call through it. So, it is OK for an emergency, not for my normal calls. This feature works just in some countries, so check if yours is included in advance. 
 
If their fees were cheaper, I would certainly pay for my own Skype number and use the app for phone calls all the time, but I don't think the yearly fears for owning a Skype number are reasonable.

7/12/2016

Dolce Gusto Au (Online Store)

 
Dolce Gusto Australia is the official website for this branch of the Nestle pod coffee family.

The website is very easy to navigate and to shop from. Their basket info is very clear regarding pricing of the products, shipping fees and discount you get from promotional codes or coupons, so no surprise afterwards. 

Why buying from Dolce Gusto directly? Well, they deliver to your door, that is always an incentive.  

Shopping from their website works as usual: you add products to your basket, check out, introduce your payment details, and press send. You will get an email about the order being received and other about the order being shipped. 
  
My parcel took no time to get to my place, a couple of working days, and it was well packed.

Herewith a wrap-up of my shopping experience with Dolce Gusto:

THE GOOD THINGS
+ Free shipping for orders over 75$. Otherwise, a 9$ flat fee applies.
+ The pricing for the pods boxes is the same as those in major supermarkets, but they have all the varieties available in the country, which rarely happens in the supermarkets as they tend to stock those varieties  that sell best in their area. 
+ You can find all the DG machines in the market, from the simplest to the latest release, something that you cannot find in department stores. 
+ They offer great discounts and freebies from time to time.
+ They give a 10$ voucher if you register your machine in their website. 
+ Fast dispatch.
+ Great tracking system. Australia Post directly sends you a tracking link to your posted order as soon as appears in their system, and they send emails when the item is at destination and out for delivery. 
+ Parcels are very packed really well.
+ Customer service is very friendly and diligent, and they will reply to any query you have or solve any problem with the best attitude possible and fast. 

THE SO-SO THINGS
> Some of the accessories sold in their website are pricey.
> The description of some of the accessories is missing. There are photos, but they don't reflect what you get, they are illustrative. This is misleading and a bit lazy, jeez, it doesn't cost a thing to describe a product properly. 
> They variety of coffee and tea flavours is limited if compared to those you find in the European sites. 
> The pricing of the coffee machines is higher than in stores and other other retailers. You can find a difference of 40+ bucks difference in the oldest models. 
> No PayPal payment available. 
> The use too large boxes to send your order. I mean, if you order a whole large box, great, but why sending a large box that is mostly full of... air? 

MIND
You can't order anything unless you spend at least 35 bucks.
 
SOME WISHES
I'd love to have a nicer selection of espresso cups, not the plain cups they sell now. They could easily expand the accessories section with beautiful coffety things.

7/11/2016

Narciso Poudreé EDP by Narciso Rodriguez

Photo courtesy of The Scent Store

Eau Poudrée is the last addition to my perfume collection. I am not usually a fan of Narciso Rodriguez Perfumes, as I find them too strong, masculine and overwhelming on me. However, I found Eau Poudrée recently when looking for a perfume to give my mum as a gift, I was provided with a sample, I tried it on myself, and ended buying a bottle for me as well.

This is a woody floral fragrance, musky, very feminine, delicate and elegant with a great dose of romanticism. The first spray is really noticeable, velvety and enveloping. Once the perfume settles in, it is really a delicate fragrance, less musky and more floral with a drop of sweetness.

The musk, Bulgarian rose, jasmine, orange blossom, and other ingredients are masterly blended and I cannot say that this perfume smells more of any of them. It really smells as if you were applying luxurious perfumed mineral make-up on your face, and the scent came clear to your nose without overwhelming it. Eau Poudrée really transports me to a world of ladies who visited luxury rest rooms in a classic Hollywood movie minus the passé feeling and very much adapted to the 21st century women.

I find this perfume good for all ages, more a day to afternoon perfume than a night or special occasion perfume. Perfect for a day date. This is also more a spring-summer fragrance than a an autumn-winter one, without being specifically for summer.

I find the longevity of the perfume medium, and the sillage also medium on me. This, of course, varies from person to person as every person's skin and skin Ph are different.

The packaging is minimal, square to square, a bit boring, nothing creative but no ostentatious or fancy either.

This is quite an expensive perfume for a mainstream perfume brand. It starts from 88 bucks the 30 ml bottle. Unlike other mainstream perfumes I have spent my money on, I haven't regretted the purchase and I spray generously my clothing and myself for my day outings.

Perfumes are something so very particular to each individual that, what is my ambrosia me might be your nausea. We tend to revolve around families of perfumes because our skins absorb the perfume in specific ways that are individual to each person. Our noses also differ in the way they absorb and process smells and scents. To me powdery feminine woody floral perfumes and lightly oriental perfumes are very much my cup of tea, so if they are yours too, you will love this perfume.

Narciso Eau de Toilet by Narciso Rodriguez

Photo courtesy of Fragantica

Narciso Eau de Toilet, is a fresh version of Narciso For Her. However, while I find the NfH masculine, "stinky", chemical,  and dry, I find this EDT version toned down and morphed enough to ring all the bells  I want in  a perfume.

The first notes, to my nose, are a mix of very fresh green and young flowers, sweetish without being sweet, a bit acidic, and a bit berry-ish as well. Once this exhilarating coup of  freshness evaporates, you get what is the core of the perfume and what you will smell of the rest of the day - a woody floral scent with some smoky muskiness undertones. 

Narciso EDT is a sophisticated scent, but it is not classic by any means as contains cedar and vetiver, ingredients that have been traditionally used in masculine fragrances. In that regard, the perfume is feminine but not romantic, it is more mysterious than seductive, and it has a light masculine energy that is constantly challenged by the sexiness of the musk and the femininity of the the peony and Bulgarian rose. Unlike Narciso Eau Poudrée, Narciso EDT is not an EDT for everybody, so spray it on you at your nearest store and see how the fragrance evolves on your skin throughout the day. 

Narciso EDT reminds me of the original Bottega Venetta EDP, but it is way more daring  and quirky, and also more complex from first outing to settlement. If you like Bottega you'll probably like Narciso EDT. If you want a dark twist to you Bottega's, this is it!

Despite being an EDT, this fragrance has more longevity and sillage than some EDP scents I have. It lasts on me all day, on a low key, but it is clearly noticeable when I smell my wrists. 
 
I find this perfume perfect for autumn and winter, great for casual afternoon and evening outings if you want to smell good and interesting but are not overdoing your outfit or yourself. This is also a good fragrance for meetings if you apply it half an hour earlier, as you will be wearing a perfume that is feminine, assertive and mysterious at the same time, so it doesn't smell of "make love to me", but of "lets make a deal together". 

The bottle... Another square chunky bottle. Come on Narciso! Yet, in this particular case, it has a good vibe. It reminds me of those old bottles of blank ink my father used to have for his fountain pen when I was a kid. Black Ink would have been a good name for this perfume in a way it is that.  
 
Not cheap, but cheaper than other Narciso's scents, Narciso Eau de Toilet starts at 80 bucks the 30 mls bottle.

WTF foodie moment 12: Sour Crêpe


{ I sit a a local crêperie. I am trying to choose the right crêpe for me. It's mid afternoon and I have already had lunch. I ask one of the young waitresses for her advice}

> I am struggling to chose one of your savoury or sweet crêpe, between this and this. Is the savoury one very filling?
>> Offfff courrrrrseeeeee! 

{I get that she doesn't get what I mean, as she seems to be a young visiting French girl, so I rephrase my question}

> You know, I have already had lunch, so I wouldn't have anything that is heavy on my stomach, so which one would you say is better in that regard?
>> It is up to you.

WTF?!!!!     
Since when being sour is good for any business?
Since when having airs of a princess makes you a good waitress? 
Since when treating customers as a nuisance earns the respect of any customer?

WHERE? At small crêperie in my city. 

7/06/2016

Pure Fiji (Online Store)

 

Pure Fiji Australia is a division of Pure Fiji, the Fijian company that sells organic body, hair and face products branded as Pure Fiji, Reniu and Dilo. I am fan of their organic coconut oil infused body scrubs, oils (best for my skin), their facial scrub and some of their facial serums.

Their website is easy to navigate, pretty-looking and clean to the eye. They have all the info about shipping clearly available and visible. They work as most online stores do: You add things to your basket, check out, ad shipping fees, pay using your preferred method, place your order and then you receive an email about your order being placed and another email when your parcel has been dispatched.

You can pay with credit card or PayPal, the latter being always my favourite, because if you have any problem PayPal will back your claim. You can  track your order online if you are registered. However, it took my parcel barely two days from shipping to delivery, I think because they send the products via one of the real shops selling in the same city not a warehouse. 
  
They sent this through a courier company so I got the parcel in the evening. So need of tracking whatsoever.

Shipping is a flat 7.50 bucks for Australian capital cities and 9.50 for regional Australia. Cheaper if you buy in bulk.

THE DOWNSIDES
> Some of the products I ordered were not in stock, even though they showed as available when I added them to my basket. Two days after placing my order, I received an email saying that one or several of the products in my order were not available, and that they will send the parcel when they were. No details about product non available or when this would be back in stock. I sorted out things with their customer service by email in two emails, as they replaced the missing product with another and the parcel was dispatched immediately. But hey, I expect any online store to clearly mark those products that are out of stock before I add them to my basket.
> The same products cost way cheaper in their Fiji or NZ websites, which sucks. You cannot use those websites because you are immediately redirected to the Australian one. You are stock with your local division even if you pay more for the same product. 

MIND
If you live in the UK, USA or Australia you are stock with your regional website, and cannot order from  any of the others even though the products are the same and the company is the same. 

6/07/2016

Cafe El Fútbol (Granada, Spain)

Plaza Mariana Pineda 6
18009 Granada
Spain
Ph: + 00 34 958 22 66 62
Timetable: Mo-Sun 6am to1am. 
Website (in Spanish)

Located in the charming Mariana Pineda Square, this is a traditional place to eat churros and chocolate (or churros and coffee as it is also traditional) all day long, as well as some simple traditional Spanish food and ice-cream cups in summer.  

This café is really old, with a clear Art Deco that is actually original, not an imitation. The founder was Antonio Suárez Martin, the current owner's grandfather (the owner, an old man, seats everyday in a corner at the entrance these days) and this was a originally a door-to-door fresh milk delivery business turned into the café we know today in 1922. It was originally called Café Football.  

This café is mostly known for his churros, but they are open from dawn to dusk and serve everything, Spanish breakfast, lunches, tapas and dinners, with a main focus on Spanish toasts, bocadillos (rolls), cold meat boards, traditional Spanish tapas and raciones (like tortilla de patatas, piquillo peppers filled with fresh cod, gazpacho, salmorejo, several types of paella, and many other local seasonal dishes that are little known outside Spain). You can also find cannelloni, pizza and crepes but I wouldn't go there for anything that is not traditional Spanish.

Their churros are among my favourites in the entire city, churros as churros should be, golden crispy outside, fluffy outside, crunchy but not too oily, which is what you find in other places. Their hot thick drinking chocolate is the traditional one, too sweet for my taste. 

Their coffee is OK. 

They have gorgeous ice-cream cups in summer, but I am very picky with my ice-cream and I find them good, but a bit too sweet and thick. 

The place can be extremely busy at rush coffee hours in Spain and on Sundays, and especially in winter, even the upper floor, where a large seating area is located and open for those times is packed to the rafters. Their outdoor terrace is lovely, and it is always a favourite in summer and on any sunny day if you don't mind the smoke, as this is the café's smoking area.


 
 


The service is fast but the old staff, some of whom I have seen behind the bar since I was a teen, are totally unfriendly, with a funeral attendee's face, no smile, no niceties, nothing that acknowledges the visitor as a human being unless you are a regular. I understand that sometimes they are so crowded that there is no time for anything that is not getting your order and delivering it to your table; however, the service varies little when the café is quiet and a few customers are in the café. If you are a foreigner, rest assured that is not you, or your Spanish accent or the fact that you speak no Spanish, they treat locals the same and are unwelcoming, something that greatly unnerves me. Yet, this is a classic café, and they do what they do well, how it should be, so you have to grant them that, something that explains that the business is never in decline or empty. 

They open long hours and till late, so you can go there to end you drinking night and finish by putting something solid in your belly, churros and chocolate being the traditional way of ending your outing if you have a certain age and your outing ends around midnight. Most youngsters would be drinking and partying until way later. 

 One of those places that I always visit when I'm in Granada.