welcome to my colorfull blog Chilli & chocolate. I’m glad you’re here! My name is Sylva and I’m very crazy about traveling, learning about new cultures and also a great gourmet. Based on my travel experiences, I decided to start writing my travel blog. Traveling is my passion and I love sharing my experiences through articles. I am the author of all the photos you can find on my blog, Facebook or  Instagram. In short, I like to write, take photos and share what I think could entertain others as well. I have been traveling since I was a child, and the older I got, the more my desire intensifies. Traveling in foreign countries has always been such a big magnet for me.

As a child, I watched documentaries and looked at travel books from distant regions that we had collected from antiquarian bookstore, and I dreamed that one day I would be a great traveler and perhaps a writer. And what do I enjoy about traveling? I like the planning part the most. I love the process of finding tickets, accommodation and everything around it. And as my dad says, the journey can be experienced three times – when you prepare for it, the journey itself, and when you tell others about it. I completely agree with him.

WHAT IS MY PROFESSION?

Unfortunately, in addition to traveling, I also have to work. There I do things you might not expect from me. I’m such a communicative analytics enthusiast. 🙂 I analyze customer needs and actively design solutions, create functional specifications, describe business processes or draw various diagrams. Do you find it boring? Not at all, on the contrary. You can find more about my work on Linkedin.

WHY AM I TRAVELING?

I am a completely normal woman who lives in the Czech Republic and although I really like the world, I still like to come back. I live in Prague and believe me, walks through old Prague have their romantic charm (Prague diary). Over time, I have gained a lot of inspiration, time for myself and, most importantly, new intense experiences. I believe that exploring and traveling across new countries is changing the way we look at the world and broaden our horizons. And I can tell you specifically: you will gain confidence, recharge your batteries with people from other cultural backgrounds, taste incredibly good food, because each country has its own renowned and most importantly you will experience a lot of fun that you will remember for a lifetime. I am convinced that if it works for me and thousands of other travel lovers, it will have a similar effect on you too.

LIFE ABROAD

I would like to inspire those who are afraid to go abroad and start life elsewhere. I’ve done it twice and I think everyone can do it! You just have to want. It was a great decision for me.

I call England my second home. I’ve had some amazing days there as an Au-Pair and made friends, I dare to say, for life. At that time, I was really nervous. I remember it like now, when I arrived in London with a huge suitcase by a Student Agency bus after 4 pm and was waiting at the station for my family. Then a completely different world opened up to me. It was the best I could do for myself. Not only did I learn to clean quite well, but I gained a lot of courage to speak English and not be ashamed of saying something wrong. The world was at my feet! Really! An invaluable experience!

I was much older on a Work and travel visa to Sydney, Australia (Australian Diary). Here I realized that there is nothing free, that there are professions where you work very hard, and that making coffee every day is not just about making milk froth with a nice heart or a flower. 🙂 And also that it’s not fun go to school every day and then work for the rest of the day. But even so, this country gave me immense freedom, and I was able to take a break from everyday stereotypical worries.

None of these experiences were easy. However, it was the best school of life I could afford, and thanks to that, anything just doesn’t bother me. I have gained the vast insight and humility that are so badly needed in life. Remember, every day!

AND WHAT ELSE CAN YOU FIND ON MY BLOG? 

I will not lie to you. I love eating. And even more on the road. I try to taste everything, I love street food, authentic food and I collect recipes and then I try to prepare something similar at home. You will find everything in the Gourmet Diary category.

Let me inspire you on amazing trips, get to know the romantic corners of old Prague or the magical places of the Czech Republic and  follow me during my gastronomic experiences.

And I hope you will enjoy it, because without you(followers), this would never have happened.

Thank you for watching me!

Sylva