On our way back from Edinburgh, Gabe glanced down from the plane and saw this:
White Cliffs of Dover
The left hand side is the white cliffs of Dover, the chalky cliffs that make up part of England’s Southern coast.
Pretty cool!
White Cliffs of Dover
Category Archives: Travel: Europe
Scotland’s Countryside
We thought as long as we were all the way in Edinburgh, we should see some of Scotland’s countryside. We’d booked a small bus tour, a twelve seater, out of Edinburgh on Grey Lines for Saturday. It picked us up at 8:45 in the morning.
Our first stop was Glasgow where we saw the cathedral where St Valentine is buried as well Georges Square. We were then onto Loch Lomond and had the option of taking a boat tour. Although chilly, we decided to take the plunge into the water on the small vessel. We delighted in lovely Scottish views.
Taking off down the river towards Loch Lomond
Chilly mountains in the background
Scotland has great architecture
Why not have a scotch on the boat? When in Scotland….
We then continued to the town of Aberfoyle and onto Duke’s Pass where we viewed ‘the Highlands in Minature’. Our uber-short time in Scotland (36 hours on the ground) didn’t leave time to go to the Highlands, in the North part of the country. Nevertheless, the scenery in the midlands was really neat and we enjoyed the unique animals.
Duke’s Pass. Our driver said not to worry about the ‘slipping’ as we rounded each bend on the icy pass.
Why, hello.
We ventured on to Stirling and had an opportunity to explore. While we didn’t go into the castle, we had a good time meandering around. We tried not to fall down on the rock solid ground and icy paths. And, when we got too chilly, we headed to a local pub for a scotch.
Monument to William Wallace, near Stirling
An icy path leading to Gabe, taking it all in
Beautiful sunset on Stirling castle
While we were continually cold that day, we’ll always have warm memories of Scotland.
Finding shelter in a scotch house
Lights Out in Edinburgh
We never saw Edinburgh when it was truly light……we arrived after dark Friday evening, spent the entire Saturday on a countryside tour which departed before the sun was fully up, and departed for the airport at 8:00 Sunday morning.
But, still, we enjoyed seeing this beautifully historic city. We found it vibrant, active and loved the architecture. Below are a few images:
Walking home at midnight after our visit to the scotch house
Saturday sun rising on our hotel, The Carlton
A view of the Christmas fair down on Princes Street, still with the moon in sight
The city perched on the volcanic cliffs. Edinburgh castle is in the distance…
Edinburgh Castle watching the sun rise over the city
Saturday night at the German Christmas markets in Edinburgh
An early morning walk on the Royal Mile
We had the castle to ourselves. Gabe watching the sunrise before we went to the airport
If you’d like to see Edinburgh at daylight, check out this blog for some fantastic images. If you fancy a trip to Edinburgh, M also has some great tips on off-the-beaten path places to see.
Gratitude Friday: Scotch with Cousins
This Gratitude Friday, we are grateful for seeing family. My cousin and her husband live in Edinburgh. We had wanted to visit Scotland for awhile and it finally happened last weekend.
We had the chance to meet up at their local haunt, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The society is a private club which purchases full casks of whisky from local distillers to provide a special and rare taste to its members. Thus, as a member, you can come to the society and enjoy tastes of scotch by the glass, or order them via post by the bottle.
Image courtesy of insidebars.wordpress.com
Because of the agreements with the distillers, they don’t disclose which distiller/brand at the bar. You simply have a guide indicating the characteristics of the whiskies, each given a very creative name.
Image courtesy of insidebars.wordpress.com
We got a kick out of the copy written to describe each. Intense discussions were had on whether or not our whisky tasted like “a fine leather handbag”, “creme brûlée” or “a newly wrapped tin foil pack”.
My taste of “in a sweetie shop”
We were advised by my cousin’s connoisseur husband that if you like something, you have to buy a bottle fast. They have limited quantities and the good ones sell out quickly.
It was very nice to catch up with my cousin. It occurred to me it has actually been about 16 or 17 years since we’ve seen each other. She has been in the U.K. for quite awhile, having met her husband in London. They recently settled in Edinburgh about 2 years ago, finding a nice balance versus the bustle of London. We also enjoyed meeting her hubby and getting to know him. We don’t have a lot of personal contact when we travel, so this was very special.
Good times
We are grateful to the two for showing us such a lovely time in Edinburgh! Although, I will have to fault them for now making Gabe so fond of Jura scotch. We came back from Scotland many pounds lighter…in the wallet.
Bon weekend, everyone!
It’s pretty grand…..Torino
Torino was our “bonus” stop on the way back from the trip to the Piedmont a few weeks ago. Torino, or Turin in English, is actually in the heart of the Piedmont region of Italy.
Our pre-reading in the car taught us that Torino was the capital for the Dukes of Savoy, so it owes its French architecture and grand squares to this portion of its history. However, the books referenced modern-day Torino as industrial and in need of revitalization. With that gleaming recommendation, we decided to do a ‘drive by’ and see how it was before committing to parking.
First impressions driving into Torino
Our books told us public transportation was excellent in Torino, and we saw lots of evidence of it driving in
We were intrigued, so decided to park. After we found a spot, we noticed lots of runners. As it turned out, the Torino Marathon was that day.
Joining hands at the finish.
Marathon set up against the beautiful architecture
We walked around a bit, taking in the lovely streets and squares as well as the liveliness that the marathon was creating with large crowds and loud music.
Palazzo Madama, now an art museum
Covered walkways along Via Roma
Piazza San Carlo and the twin churches, with remnants of the marathon on the piazza.
Palazza Real, a Savoy residence. Another UNESCO site. Woot woot.
The Duomo, where the Shroud of Turin is kept. This has recently been challenged with the advent of carbon dating. Our friends told us that now the challenge is challenged. Who knows.
Inside of the Duomo where the Shroud of Turin rests.
Ruins of the Roman Theatre
Porta Palatina, Roman structure from 1st Century AD
Farewell glance at Torino’s symbol, Mole Antonelliana, as we departed
Our summary – if you are near Torino (within an hour), make it a stop – it has a lot to offer in terms of history and architecture. Otherwise, probably not an Italy destination.
Two Fools at the International Truffle Fair
The idea to go to Piedmont actually got hatched on our way back from Cinque Terre. I was reading our guidebook to learn more about Italy and came across the “Festivals and Events” page. I mentioned to Gabe that the Alba International White Truffle Festival was listed as mid-November. Since the Piedmont is only a 3 to 3 1/2 hour drive from our flat in Geneva, we decided that we’d check into it. And, as it turned out, the last weekend of the fair was our only free weekend in November. Perfect. Booked. Why not?
Let’s back up and say while we like truffled foods, we are not connoisseurs. We have some friends from Singapore who we’d call connoisseurs of truffles, but not us. I can probably safely say the amount of truffled dishes I have had in my life have been less than five. The only time I’d ever seen a truffle was at our anniversary dinner at Le Sesflo in Geneva where they shaved it into my risotto. The rest of the time, it has been truffle-infused or with truffle oil. I can probably say the same for my husband.
Planning the trip to Piedmont, I looked into trying to go on a truffle hunt, with an actual dog (Italy banned the use of truffle hunting pigs a few years ago due to the animals damaging the special truffle producing turf). After researching, I soon found this excursion wasn’t in our budget. Far from it. Like obscene. And you don’t even get to keep the truffle.
Since we can’t afford a truffle hunt, this image is courtesy of theguardian.co.uk
We decided that attending the Alba International White Truffle Fair would be enough of an experience.
Streets of Alba at the entrance to the Truffle Fair
Not knowing anything, we were a bit overwhelmed. There were truffles everywhere. The farmers were proudly standing with their selection, most in glass cases.
Line up of truffle hunters
White truffle display. Yes, the big one is 252 euros. A today’s exchange rate, this is 325 dollars. Takers?
I liked this guy. He kept polishing his truffles on display. We bought some truffled dry pasta and truffle oil from them to savor at a later date.
This is as close as we got to a truffle dog
As we were intimidated, we wondered around looking at other foods of the Piedmont, continuing to take it all in. The vendors were very kind offering samples but my Italian is very weak so I felt bad at not being able to communicate. Just a polite nod and smile.
I’ll point out that this wasn’t a very touristy event. We didn’t see a single other person who was a) there for fun or b) speaking English. They were all there to buy.
Cheeses……
Mushrooms….
In the end, we actually ended up buying a little white truffle. It was a splurge but we are pretty sure we won’t be going back to the White Truffle Fair any other time in our lives.
This is how much truffle we can afford.
We sliced it up so that we could put in on buttered gnocchi pasta.
The 3 B’s of Piedmont Wine
As I mentioned in the last post, we have become fans of the wine of Italy’s Piedmont region. However, while we knew the most famous types – Barolo, Barbaresco, and Barbera – we did not know the slightest about the vinoculture.
So, to develop our knowledge on Piedmont wine, we had no choice but to travel there and have an official Piedmont wine tour!
To start, all three of these are grown in the Langhe region of Italy. This is an area within the Piedmont. Italian wine isn’t as complicated as French with Grand Cru, Premier Cru, and village level designations. However, they do have a similarity in that certain plots are valued more. However, these are more ‘small areas’ than particular plots belonging only to one winery. While France uses AOC to designate the its approval of the grape / area, Italy uses the term DOC.
The Langhe region is very hilly.
Of the three I mentioned above, in addition to being types of wine made with Nebbiolo grapes, Barolo and Barbaresco are also towns. There is no town of Barbera, but the Barbera grapes grow in the Piedmont and come from different towns…Barbera d’Alba, Barbera d’Asti, etc.
Barolo is the king – the best. There are eleven towns in the Langhe which can call their wine Barolo. Building on that, there are many crus, or plots of land where these special Nebbiolo grapes come from. At our first stop, Fratelli Revello, we tasted their Barolo 2008, Barolo Vigna Gattera 2007, Barolo Vigna Giachini 2007 and Barola Vigna Concha 2007. The names Gattera, Giachini and Concha are the plots. They pointed out their window to show us where they came from – to the south, to the southeast, and across the street. Thus, Barolos are not blended.
Checking out the Barolo map while overlooking the beautiful vineyards
While visiting the Marchesi di Barolo winery, we learned a bit more about Barolo’s history and the influence of the Savoy, who made their capital in nearby Torino. This was very influential in the growth of Barolo.
As I mentioned, Barolo is a town. And it is quite lovely….it is located in the middle of the hills, complete with a charming castle.
View of Barolo as we descended from our tasting above in La Morra
If you don’t have a planned visit, there are countless local wine stores in the town of Barolo with signs that invite strollers to come have a tasting. We abstained due to the heavy amounts we were tasting at our visits, but did buy some local goods – hazelnut creme, pasta, and a handmade wine opener.
Exploring the town of Barolo, Italy
Barolo’s castle
Barbaresco is a town and also a type of Piedmont wine made with the Nebbiolo grape. Exactly like Barolo, Barbaresco has only certain plots within the DOC. There are only five compared to Barolo’s eleven. We visited a charming family winery, Ca’del Baio. In addition to their flagship Barbaresco, this winery also produced a few other local grape varieties: Dolcetto, Barbera d’Alba, and a Nebbiolo without DOC designation (outside the borders).
The hubby, checking out the family’s photo collection.
Barbaresco town is beautiful yet still much smaller than Barolo. It is situated on the top of one of Piedmont’s rolling hills.
Town of Barbaresco, as seen from a neighboring hill
Like Barolo, you can taste in the many tasting rooms of Barbaresco. Our guide told us about one tasting room that is a converted church. We didn’t visit the Sunday morning we were there, but you can see it in the below photo as the central building. Barbaresco also has a charming Sunday market.
Sunday morning market in Barbaresco. We purchased some nocciola creme and olive oil.
Finally, an explanation on Barbera. As mentioned above, Barbera is the name of a grape, not a town. So, it came come from different areas, generally designated on the label.
Barolos are the most expensive, ranging from 30 – 50 euros a bottle. Barbarescos are a better bargain at 20 – 25 euro bottles. Barberas are 6 – 12 euros.
While I like Barolos and Barbarescos, my wallet keeps me a bigger fan of Barbera.
The Piedmont: Italy’s Best Region for Food & Wine
I first discovered Piedmont wines through a restaurant in Charlotte called Vivace. Always an early bird, I would sit at the bar to wait for the friends I was meeting. One time, the bartender recommended a Barbera wine from Italy called Fontanafredda – Briccotondo. I enjoyed it and let him know that he’d made a great selection. He tipped me in on a secret….the local Charlotte gem Common Market was the only place to stock it in town and the bottle sold for as much as what a glass in the restaurant ran.
My first taste of Piedmont
I picked up a few bottles and it became a favorite.
Fast-forward a few years and we are in Geneva. We attended an expat fair which was very boring but what made the visit worthwhile was a food & wine booth run by a Swiss man and his wife. They were selling Piedmont products and couldn’t have been more passionate. They said after a visit, they’d fallen in love with the area and bought a house. They then started a business selling Piedmont products in Switzerland.
Image courtesy of e-rcps
They graciously offered us tastes of all their foods and wine. We expressed interest, but our regret that we had not enough francs to buy wine. The gentleman assured us he’d ship us a case and invoice us later. Still new to Switzerland, we were baffled that someone would ship us wine before we paid for it. We were a little skeptical but gave our address.
And, one week later, our wine showed up. We loved it. As time passed, we’ve learned even more about the products from the Piedmont region. It is in my opinion, Italy’s overall best region for food and wine. Here is a run-down of what Piedmont is known for:
The Slow Food Movement. The Piedmont is the birthplace of this movement, which was started to counteract the fast food movement. Basically, the theory is that food sourced locally and prepared mindfully is better for the body & spirit. It’s thinking about how the choices you make in food affects the world.
Street vendor selling locally made items
Truffles. Truffles are basically very rare mushrooms. I love dishes with truffle flavorings….they are aromatic and add a special flavor to dishes. While there are many parts of Europe that produce black truffles, the Piedmont is known for its white truffle. Due to their rarity, they are very valuable. In fact, the world’s most expensive truffle ever sold for $330,000.
A line-up of truffles for sale at the International Truffle Festival in Alba
Risotto. Made with a special short grain rice, Italian risottos are cooked until creamy. I like making mushroom risotto as well as green garden risotto. The best risotto I ever had was truffle risotto at Les Sesflo in Geneva.
I bought three types of Piedmont rice from this guy at the Alba farmers market.
We happened upon a risotto exposition and decided to get our lunch there. I wasn’t able to express the kind I wanted in Italian, so they gave us ‘risotto spumante’. It is risotto with Asti champagne.
Don’t eat so much, Gabe! You have to drive!
Hazelnuts. The Piedmont is a prime hazelnut producing area. In fact, Nutella was invented in Piedmont!
Passing the factory where Nutella was made.
Passing Italian hazelnut fields
The company who produces Nutella, Ferrero, also produces Ferrero Rocher, the yummy hazelnut truffle candies. However, we did learn that modern day Nutella production uses Brazilian hazelnuts because they are cheaper.
All of these things are made in Piedmont, Italy
A very interested customer. Doesn’t everyone need a jar of Nutella the size of your head?
If you are into local types, artisanal hazelnut creme (nocciola) is sold in droves.
I decided that I needed to research these artisanal types….you know, for the benefit of the blog.
Hazelnuts are also made into delicious cakes and flours.
An offering of hazelnuts at the Alba farmers market
The hazelnut cake lady at the Truffle Festival
Wine. Piedmont produces a few types of notorious red wines: Barolo, Barbaraesco, and Barbera. As I mentioned, the Barbera was my gateway wine. The Barolo is most often named as Italy’s best wine. Also, Asti is famous for its sparkling white wine. As it is sweet, and it isn’t our preference, we didn’t stop in Asti this trip.
A few late bloomers….Barolo vineyards after harvest
What’s not to love in Piedmont??
The crooked little town of Troyes
As I mentioned last week, if we are on a road trip, we love to discover interesting places to stop on the way home.
As we left Champagne around 11am, our lunchtime fell in the town of Troyes, France. We parked and while exploring a place to grab some food, soon designated this as the most crooked town we’d ever seen. No, not because of any shady deals that took place. Literally, the architecture:
Do you think the floors are level in the yellow house?
Lonely Planet highlighted an alley way called the “tiny street of the cats”, and it was crooked as well.
Gabe and Marty McFly near some teetery houses. Both being finance guys and very orderly, they were both going into hyperbolic shock from the unevenness.
Even me, who hangs up the most crooked of photos and pictures and can’t draw a straight line to save my life found it uncomfortable!
Another crooked yellow place
While you might not be able to live this way permanently, Troyes was still pretty cute.
Architecture in Troyes, France
Adorable street in Troyes
Lovely architecture & skyline
By the way, in French, Troyes isn’t pronounced Troys or Troy but Twaaaah. Before I mastered this knowledge, the French would have considered my speech a little crooked as well!
Reims: Not just a Champagne town
During our stay in Champagne, we selected a hotel in the city of Reims (Rheims in French). Before our arrival, we had no clue how historically significant the town was.
Main square in Reims
Our first night in Reims, with Marty & Jennifer McFly, all we knew of Reims was champagne….
However, as I stated on last week’s Gratitude Friday post, our champagne guide was a bit of a history expert. While exploring the rolling hills of the Champagne region, we also had the benefit of a history lesson. We learned that the tribe of Remi founded Reims. Caesar invaded the Gauls and in 51BC conquered it with the help of the tribe of Remi, whom he rewarded for their help.
Image courtesy of peperonity.com
From then, It was a Roman city. They built the triumphal arch in 200AD, largest arch outside of Rome.
Roman arch in Reims
In the 5th century, Clovis became the first king to reunite all the territories within France. He was baptized at the site of the current Basilica St Remi in Reims. His armies converted to Catholic Christianity in the same way Clovis did, per the traditions of the time for soldiers to follow their leader. From that point on, Reims became the religious center of the region.
Basilica St Remi
Inside the basilica, with Sunday services in the front
From then on, all kings were coronated in Reims. Most occurred in the Cathedrale Notre Dame. Most famously, Joan of arc stood by King Charles XII during his coronation ceremony after her vision to help him become monarch and overthrow Britain’s control.
Cathedrale Notre Dame in Reims
Visitors are able to see the structure on Sundays, but just not the back where the service takes place
Inside of the cathedral with its’ magnificent stain glass windows
Soon, Paris overtook Reims in size and became the most prominent city in France. However, this change didn’t keep Reims safe in WWI when it was seen as a symbol of France’s rich history and bombed 1051 consecutive days in a row, destroying over 90% of it. This was known as the ‘crime of Reims’. Since, they have repaired and rebuilt, but the impact was devastating.
As discussed last Friday, also in WWI, Reims saw the 1st battle of the Marne and advent of trench warfare. Sadly, Reims and the surrounding countryside has seen more than its fair share of bloodshed.
WWII treaty was also signed in Reims after the German surrender.
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