Post by Sugar Bowl Hokum.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Thursday, October 3, 2013
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
European Holiday 2012
Arriving in Rome on a rainy morning we hit the ancient streets immediately, as we were staying near Ponte Sisto on the Tiber we were within very easy walking distance of all the classic must see monuments of the city such as the Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Navona, the Coliseum and plenty of Churches. I managed to find what must be one of the few artisanal beer bars in Rome a few medieval sized blocks from our apartment. The coble stoned streets took their toll on our feet and made sure we rested them at long Roman style lunches at one of the cities many fine trattoria’s. After a few days acclimatising to the Italian way of life we caught a train to Chiusi where we picked up our hire car to drive to Pienza in Tuscanny where we were to attend my friend’s wedding in a few days time. To say that driving in Italy on narrow winding mountain roads on the wrong side of the road was a terrifying experience is to downplay the impending sense of doom I felt every time I got behind the wheel, everything felt foreign, from looking in the rear vision mirror to parking, I felt like a learner again after 32 years of driving. Pienza is a picture perfect medieval village perched on top of a mountain ,proudly displaying the specialties of the area of pecorino cheese, olive oil, truffles, cured meats and wild boar, and I certainly indulged in all that was on offer like a wild boar. Once the formalities of the wedding were over we spent the next few days driving around Tuscanny and Chianti from one medieval town to another, each one more picturesque than the one before it. We attended a wine festival and got to try many fine Italian wines as well as witness a flag throwing contest with men and maidens dressed in renaissance garb. In a land of wine I managed to somehow keep finding craft beers makers in various out of the way places much to my wife’s chagrin.
It was soon time to leave this area and head south to the Amalfi coast where we were to begin the “beach” part of our holiday, the term beach should be used loosely here because the foot snapping gravel that is encountered here is hardly what Australians would class as beachy. The weather on our arrival was outstanding and our room and balcony overlooked the Mediterranean and the daily sunrise, it was a magical spot, the only thing breaking the serenity and the predictable chime of the church bells was the mad honking of car and bus horns warning oncoming traffic of potential disaster. The specialty here was the seafood pulled daily from the ocean to be served fresh in one of the many restaurants. The locals were also very proud of their local lemons and one of the best things they make from them is a sorbet which is utterly delicious and very refreshing after a hot day.
After about a week on the Amalfi coast we went to Naples which was to be our departure point , this being the birthplace of Pizza it was mandatory to try some. Although many claim to be the original birthplace of the pizza we were guided to a place by our hotel that they swore had the best pizzas. The spartan pizzeria was packed to the rafters with locals and a large crowd outside waiting for tables, things however moved swiftly and we were soon seated for the best authentic pizza I have ever tasted. The amazing food did not finish there, after bumping into former PM John Howard at the airport we went to a Mozzarella bar and had one of the best meals so far in Italy....and this was airport food!
Landing in Barcelona we were struck by the orderly way in which both the people conducted themselves and the city functioned (compared to Italy), it was fun getting around on the metro, and we were in awe of the architectural genius of Gaudi every time we came across one of his masterpieces. We saw an exhibition dedicated to the famous El Bulli restaurant, which showed how the genius of Ferran Adrià developed from line cook to world leader in food innovation, and how seriously good food is taken in Spain which again like Italy was always spectacular. The shopping in Barcelona was crazy and it was hard to believe there was 25% unemployment there, when looking at the amount of goods being purchased although I think at least 50% of the shoppers were Russian tourists. Personally I never want to see another shoe shop again after being dragged for one to another by my wife who was clearly possessed by some sort of shoe poltergeist. The celebration of Barcelona’s patron saint, the La Mercè festval was on and one of the highlights is the Correfoc were crowds of correfocs, or fire-runners, Catalans disguised as devils run through the streets with fireworks and firecrackers in hand spraying the crowds with sparks, it is advised to wear long sleeves and trousers in flame-resistant fabrics if attending this spectacle as your clothes are guaranteed to get burnt. Whist in Spain we also went to the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao and I got to swim in the Atlantic at San Sebastian, where the surf rivaled anything we get here and bathing costumes were clearly optional.
I wanted to see where the most expensive wine in the world comes from so we moved to Bordeaux for a few days, went on a wine tour to some of the Chateaux, and came to realize that the whole system of complicated rules, grading and mystery of terroir is an elaborate hoax to allow virtually undrinkable wines from this region to be sold to gullible wine lovers for outrageous amounts of money on the premise that the wine will reach its peak in 40 years time. It was a relief to get to Paris and get some unbiased advice on what the best wine to order with dinner would be without being force fed Bordeaux. Paris was beautiful and the 8 hours we spent in the Musée d'Orsay gazing at amazing impressionistic art was well worth it, even if I did feel extremely queasy after the 300 km/hr+ TGV high speed train ride from Bordeaux. The city is so full of history and amazing sites that just a random stroll through a couple of suburbs yields many delights. We finished off our visit to this great city by going to the highest point Monmatre, from which there is a great view over the city. I was not sure I was going to make it back to Sydney as when we got close to our gate at Paris airport we were greeted by stony faced soldiers wielding machine guns telling us that the area was closed, with no explanation as to why or for how long, once what looked like the bomb squad had finished scouring the airport we were allowed to book in and prepare for the 24hr journey back home. I was glad to be going back to somewhere where I would not have to refer to a map every 5 minutes or decipher unpronounceable street names just to go and buy some fruit, however the joy on arriving home was short lived as I discovered the body corporate had changed the locks on the building whilst I was away......
Friday, October 28, 2011
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