As a shopping queen who has to juggle between work, family and friends, my shopping escapades inevitably revolve around online shopping sites and blog shops. One of the issues I face is that the clothes found on blogshops are typically not appropriate for work due to the length (usually way too short for me!), size or quality. As a result, I could hardly rely on blog shops for work wear, at least not until Eldaffe came into the picture.

It is not uncommon to see teeming crowds of tourists at the palace as the lavishly decorated interiors are indeed a sight to behold. The intriguing stories behind the Habsburgs are also a huge draw.




Schönbrunn Palace also played a crucial role in Mozart's life, as this was where he first performed at the tender age of 6 years old for Empress Maria Theresa and the rest of the Habsburg family. The performance became the talk of the town and set the stage for his meteoric rise to cult status!

It was here at the Schönbrunn Palace Orangery where many of his works were first performed and it was also rumoured that this was the place where Mozart and his adversary Antonio Salieri competed in a musical contest.


Given the significance of the venue, we had to secure tickets to the concert at the Orangery! We had a lovely time listening to the works of Mozart and Strauss in the company of opera singers and ballet dancers. To my surprise, even JW was thoroughly enthralled by the performance.


The famous contest between Mozart and Salieri was dramatically staged in the movie Amadeus and is one of the funniest scenes in the movie. I love it!

Strictly Pancakes, as the name connotes, only has pancakes on its menu. The variations are aplenty, including savoury ones for your main course as well as dessert pancakes for those of you with a sweet tooth. Quite a novel idea I must say.



While the pancakes weren't the fluffiest, they were certainly very tasty and well presented. I love garlic prawns and potatoes, so our choices were perfect!

And finally, here's my all-time favourite composition, Piano Concerto No. 21 in C 2nd movement. This composition is now widely known as the "Theme from Elvira Madigan" as it was featured as the theme song of Swedish film Elvira Madigan which depicts a tragic love story between a tightrope walker and a married Lieutenant.

As morbid as it sounds, the tune is strangely evocative of tragic love, where the couple is resigned to their fate and have finally found peace in death. The melancholic melody, especially in the solo piano section, is mysterious and dramatic yet inexplicably serene.

It has been a while since I last did an outfit post. I thought it would be timely for me to share this season's fall colours with you before I continue writing about Austria and its intriguing sights. Here's what I wore to MBS:


Camel is the new black for Fall 2010. I've always loved this colour but I didn't know that this was THE colour for fall this year, at least not till I hit the stores and flipped through the magazines.

I like red too, but I don't usually wear a lot of this colour for some reason. Coincidentally, bright red is another exciting hue to watch out for this season.

Mix these two colours together and voila, you're all ready to paint the streets red this fall! Who would have thought that red and camel were such a good match?

The famous Sacher Torte was invented by Franz Sacher in 1832 when he was a 16 year old apprentice chef. The head chef of Prince Matternich was then commissioned to bake a cake to impress his guests, but this important task befell Franz Sacher when the head chef was found ill. Sacher rose to the occasion and the cake was very well-received by the Prince's guests. As you could probably guess, the rest was history. By a stroke of luck, Franz Sacher became an accidental inventor and the Sacher Torte was catapulted to fame.

Several anecdotes revolving around the Sacher Torte have been circulated over the years, including speculations that the cake's recipe, which remains a closely-guarded secret today, was later perfected by his son, Eduard. The cake was then sold at Demel Bakery and Hotel Sacher, a hotel founded by Eduard.

The original Sacher Torte cake is now sold at Cafe Sacher, located at Hotel Sacher. Honestly, I wasn't particularly impressed by the cake as I found it a tad too dry and sweet for my liking. Perhaps it was because the recipe has not been improved upon since the 19th century despite changes in tastes and preferences.

On the other hand, the apple strudel (another Viennese delicacy!) was a delight to savour. The Viennese love strudels and they sell it with various types of fillings. I chose the traditional apple strudel. Yummy!

What I loved most was the ambience of the cafe, which was largely attributed to the opulent baroque style furnishings, ornate wallpaper and ceiling fixtures. And there I was, sipping my favourite bitter lemon drink and nibbling on sweet treats in the lap of luxury. Talk about pure, unadulterated bliss!