Rose Cantine

Mapplr’s favorite hotels in Barcelona

Mapplr’s favorite hotels in Florence

Mapplr’s favorite restaurants in Miami

Mapplr’s favorite restaurants in Chicago

Mapplr’s favorite hotels in Rome

Mapplr’s favorite hotels in London

Mapplr’s favorite restaurants in Stockholm

I’ve been posting a lot on Mapplr lately, favorites in various cities like Sydney, Florence and Montreal. I have also included a review of an excellent Pakistani-Indian restaurant, a real dive in the Tenderloin district of SF.

Mapplr favorite restaurants in Florence

Mapplr favorite restaurants in Sydney

Mapplr favorite restaurants in Montreal

Lahore Karahi: fabulous Pakistani-Indian food in San Francisco

If you like eating out or hanging out in cafes, San Francisco is a fabulous place especially if you like healthy fresh food. I have posted my favorites in the city on www.mapplr.com.

Ozumo: Japanese food in a chic restaurant with views of the ocean and Bay Bridge

Favorites cafes in San Francisco: top fave is Blue Bottle in Mint Plaza downtown

Chez Papa: French brasserie in downtown San Francisco

Aren’t people eating too much already? Must baseball parks offer seats that allow their occupants, assuming they still can FIT into those seats, all-you-can-eat meals? No doubt this latest trend from the fattest country in the world will be picked up by enterprising sports venues in other countries. 

Read more. 

Stijn Devolder (Quick Step) won the Tour of Flanders (De Ronde van Vlaanderen), Belgium’s most prestigious bike race. The cold, the rain and the wet snow caused several crashes and spills. CSC’s decision to use carbon wheels turned out to be a disaster as several CSC riders ended up skidding and ending up in the mud. 

Devolder’s victory is a surprise to many who expected Tom Boonen, his teammate and the favorite (and two-time winner of de Ronde) to win. All week leading up to the race, fans and sports commentators played up the rivalry between Boonen and Swiss rider, Fabian Cancellara (CSC), who won Milan-San Remo a few weeks ago.

But it’s precisely because cycling is so unpredictable and fun that someone who was not in list of favorites, ends up at the podium.

In second and third places, respectively, were Nick Nuyens (Cofidis) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank). Flecha was considered to have a good shot at winning, together with Leif Hoste and Alessandro Ballan (last year’s winner). 

For more this week’s Ronde van Vlaanderen coverage, go to Cyclingnews.com.

I just posted my top 10 favorite hotels and B&Bs in Amsterdam on the Mapplr Editor’s Choice website. If you are coming to Amsterdam in the summer, you should book now. The B&Bs are often filled months in advance.

Coming soon: favorite restaurants in Amsterdam, favorite hotels and restaurants in Paris, Barcelona and San Francisco.