Stunning Switzerland

Posted on October 17, 2012 by Kristen

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Before I had set foot on Swiss soil I had not given a great deal of thought as to what this country might be like to visit. It is fair to say that I thought it would be pretty – visions of Alps and snow skiing came to mind – and that they made world famous chocolate, watches and that it is also the place I associated with shady characters and Swiss bank accounts as well as a country that has resolutely refused to get drawn into World Wars.

A fairly rudimentary assessment really.

I had a list of countries that I wanted to try and see in Europe during 2012 but honestly, Switzerland didn’t loom high, and in fact it didn’t even get on the list of maybes. So it was a stroke of luck that our round-the-world ticket landed us in Zurich for the start and finish of our European summer.

I fell instantly in love with Zurich when we first arrived. It was such a stunningly beautiful city that literally sparkled in the sunlight. Damien and I were so seduced by its charms that we quickly resolved to make room for a few more days at the end of our trip in Switzerland to see if the rest of the country stacked up in comparison.

Simply put, it did and then some! I was blown away by the sheer beauty of this country and the unrelenting persistence with which breathtaking vistas seemed to abound. It is a country that I feel really has to be seen to be believed, and I want to see it again and again and again.

We based ourselves again at Santosh’s place in Sellenburen (a suburb of Zurich) and upon his recommendation purchased a four day Swiss Pass, which was luckily a ‘two for the price of one’ deal in September when we were there. For the cost of $240 we were able to travel pretty much on any train, tram and boat in the country and visit many other attractions (or at least for half price). It made the travel we did around Switzerland affordable in a way it would not have been otherwise, so we were very thankful for his advice.

Day 1: Our first day we went to Lauterbrunnen in the Jungfrau region which is a jaw dropping area of magnificent Alps and valleys with grass so verdantly green that they it looks as if it has never thirsted for water. We went on an amazing hike from the valley up nearly a kilometre (vertically) to the town of Murren, and then back down into the valley. It was such a fantastic hike, challenging but with such magnificent views. It gave me a taste of the region and a longing to come back one day and do more.

Day 2: We visited the capital Berne. It was a grey old day and although the town is charming enough, we decided that it could not compete with Zurich in the beauty stakes so we left and headed on to the town of Lucerne to see how it compared. Lucerne is a very pretty town but it was also shrouded in grey, and we were wondering if on a bright sunny day its lakeside situation with surrounding Alps (which were obscured by clouds) would compete with Zurich for the beauty queen crown. We enjoyed a trip on the ferry which was a decidedly more fancy and comfortable ride than the old Sydney ferries at home (though I love those too!). All in all it was a nice day and we were treated to lovely views of the countryside as we rode from place to place on the efficient Swiss trains.

Day 3: Whilst in Lauterbrunnen the first day we discovered that the World ProBase Wingsuit Jumping competition was being held just after we would exit Switzerland. However the practice jumps would be held while we were in the country. It was too good an opportunity to pass up (plus we were quite happy to go back to beautiful Lauterbrunnen for another visit!). So off we went again on the train and then walked up the valley to find a good position from which to watch the jumpers launch themselves off the cliff up in Murren. We witnessed 29 jumpers in total and it never got boring! It was very exciting to watch as they dropped off the cliff and flew through the air, with the sound of the wind running over their suits audible as the descended at a ludicrous speed towards the ground. It was such an exciting spectacle and one which we were extremely happy we made the effort to go and witness.

After we had had our fill of wingsuit action, we decided to take a different train route back from Interlaken station to Zurich via Lucerne so we could check out some different landscape from the train. We were rewarded with the best out-of-train scenery of our whole time there. We were grinning from ear to ear and regularly shaking our heads in disbelief that such a stunning country as this could exist, and that we could see it all from the comfort of our train seats!

Neither of us was very keen on the day ending and we decided on a whim to stop off in Lucerne for dinner before making our way back to Zurich. We chose a nice restaurant on the water. The sunset cast a lovely pink hue across the sky, and as we sat there we savoured the evening that was to be our last in Europe. Lucerne was a lovely location for our farewell dinner in this part of the world.

Day 4: Although we were to fly out to New York this day we wanted to squeeze in a little more of this gorgeous country before we headed to the airport. We caught the train up to the Rheinfall. This is an extremely impressive waterfall that you are able to get exceptionally close to. It is awesome to be able to get so close to such a massive volume of water thundering over the precipice. What makes this waterfall even more interesting is that there is a rock island at the base of the waterfall that local boats ferry tourists across to, so they may climb up and watch the water from a central vantage point.

After a brief look at a nearby town we returned to Zurich, and we could not resist one last look at Zurich to see if was still as beautiful as we remembered the first time. As the weather was cooling down by this time of year all the bright flower boxes were empty, and there were many fewer locals cavorting on the lake in their boats or sunbaking or swimming along the banks. Zurich was still lovely but lacked the shimmer of mid-June loveliness that greeted us the first time around.

All in all, Switzerland was a wonderful country to finish our time in Europe and I know we will return one day to spend much more time.

Categories: Switzerland, travel | Leave a comment

Paris

Posted on October 14, 2012 by Damien

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

When I first visited France for a month in September 2003, I deliberately made Paris my final stop. I suspected – correctly, I think – that if I had started in Paris then I may have gotten so swept up by life there that I wouldn’t want to leave. In the end I spent five days in the City of Light, and I deemed it just enough time to get a taste of the place without feeling that I’d left too soon. I ranked it as one of my favourite cities in the world after that visit, and I definitely wanted to go there again during our worldwide rambling this year.

Maybe it was because we found London so great, maybe it was because we wanted to simply relax a bit after the excitement of the previous week and a half, but neither of us were particularly excited by our week in Paris. It’s not that we disliked it, however we left feeling relatively indifferent about it in a way neither of us expected. While there are some lovely parts to be found, there are some decidedly un-lovely aspects as well. The trains, for example, while frequent and efficient (as they seem to be in almost all large cities except Sydney), were often downright ugly and depressing. I found the contrast from my first visit quite stark: perhaps without the rose-coloured tint of my first visit I could see Paris more clearly, perhaps Paris has changed, or perhaps I’ve just seen more of the world now than I had back then?

Despite our feelings about Paris overall, with a whole apartment to ourselves for the entire week we still greatly enjoyed our time there. In fact for the first two days we didn’t even leave the area immediately around it, as it was so comfortable and inviting! We found the apartment through the website airbnb.com, which allows people with private accommodation to rent to offer their apartment or house (or even just a room within it) to travellers at very affordable prices. During the preceding week we’d enquired about renting dozens of apartments in all corners of Paris, but discovered that just because something is listed on the website it doesn’t mean it’s actually available when you want it. Nevertheless with just a couple of days to go we got a few positive responses, and finally chose a bright and spacious place just outside the Ring Road that encircles central Paris.

The owner wasn’t able to meet us when we arrived at 9pm, but his father was waiting and explained all the features of the apartment and gave us the keys. There was even a welcome half bottle of wine, which was a pleasant surprise! The apartment had a good-sized kitchen with large island bench, fridge and all the condiments and utensils we needed, free internet, free phone calls to landlines in Australia, a printer and a huge flat-screen TV which we could plug our laptop into. In those first couple of days we luxuriated in having a proper “home” all to ourselves, and Kristen cooked a number of fine meals which we enjoyed on the sunny balcony 🙂

We did of course do some sightseeing in Paris, and our first day out and about took us to the Tuilleries garden, around the outside of the Louvre Palace, into Notre Dame Cathedral, and through some of the Left Bank streets to the Jardin de Luxembourg where we had lunch in the park. We found a nice shady spot on the grass, but were quickly told that the lawns in the sprawling garden complex were for looking at, not sitting on! A very pretty place nonetheless, and justifiably popular with Parisians whenever the sun comes out. In the afternoon we headed towards Montmartre, walking past one of Paris’ “hidden” vineyards and then enjoying the afternoon view from the front of Sacre Coeur. We discovered an excellent fruit and veg shop in Montmartre and bought a number of tasty items which were turned into yet another fine meal a la Kristen. Tres bien!

Over the following days we did visit some other tourist sites, such as walking around the base of the Eiffel Tower, going up the Arc de Triomphe, and viewing some of the amazing art held by the Musee d’Orsay. We also embarked on a hunt for a decent coffee, which is a harder task than you might think. We’d discovered during our roaming of the French countryside in the wohnwagen that French coffee often leaves a lot to be desired. The coffee culture of Australia and New Zealand is years ahead of France, and apart from some nice drops in Italy and London it had been months since we’d found reliably good brews. A bit of web searching revealed that we weren’t alone in our assessment, and in response there are in fact a few coffee shops dotted around Paris that aim to bring Antipodean standards to the French capital. One of the best of these is Coutume, so we tracked it down and were thoroughly impressed.

Coutume is pricey, but it’s very high quality and has a serious dedication to coffee. Kristen tried an iced coffee made with the Aeropress, a fairly new and simple invention that combines the best qualities of percolators and drip filters to give exceptionally pure and un-bitter coffee flavour. We were not surprised to find that the people running it on both days we went were Australian! We got talking to one of them, and she recommended an up-and-coming restaurant in the northeast of the city which we did visit the following day. It was interesting to try some nice bistro food, but it was our only restaurant experience in Paris and in fact only our second in all of France (almost all our other meals during our three weeks in France came courtesy of Kristen’s Kitchen).

The highlight of our time here was visiting the Palace of Versailles, the massive building and gardens of the former French monarchy located just outside Paris. The palace is huge and very impressive, especially the famed Hall of Mirrors which stretches along one entire side of the building, but for me the gardens were even more spectacular. Divided into quadrants each with a different design and theme, and with numerous fountains and statues dotted about, it was amazing to think that much of what we saw was created more than two centuries ago. We did a complete tour including all parts of the garden, the Grand Trianon and Petit Trianon, and even managed to watch one of the musical fountain displays that were a special event on the day of our visit.

Without such a nice place to stay, I think our Parisian adventure might have been quite disappointing. As it was it made a pleasant interlude between the excitement of London and stunning beauty of Switzerland, but neither of us will be in a rush to return anytime soon.

Categories: food, travel | Leave a comment

London

Posted on October 7, 2012 by Damien

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It’s hard to believe we were there just five weeks ago. We’ve gotten behind in our blogging during that time, but since we left London we’ve been to Paris, Versailles, Zurich, Bern, Lauterbrunnen (twice), Lucerne (twice), New York, Quito (twice) and the Galapagos Islands! Despite all that jetsetting, we both agree that our time in London is going to rank as one of the high points of this epic year of travel. It’s a city I could return to in a heartbeat, and I would even consider living there if the opportunity came about…

Some of the reasons why we loved London so much are as obvious as they were enjoyable. I have family living there, and we were able to catch up with my cousin Mark (who grew up in Sydney) several times during our eleven days in and around London. We got to know my uncle’s sister, Sonia, very well while she very kindly hosted us for most of our time there, as well as her children and grandchild. And we got to catch up again with Mike, a Londoner who we first met on that epic day in Penang near the start of our journey. Apart from spending wonderful time with Helga and JP in Graepel, dinner with CJ in Bangkok and a single day’s catchup with Andrew and Kara in Croatia, we have been starved of familiar company most of the year.

A less obvious but very real attraction of London is that English is its first language. We clearly love travelling to different countries – often the more different the better! – and usually make an effort to learn at least a bit of the local language while there. Even knowing just simple courtesies like hello and thank you can greatly enhance the travel experience, and in countries like Laos, Thailand, France and Germany we knew enough to get around fairly comfortably using the local lingo. But in all places we were a very long way from being able to hold a conversation or talk for more than 20 seconds, and it always took considerable thought and effort to remember the right words to use. In short it’s draining (though rewarding) to try and speak in foreign tongues, and after six continuous months of having to do so England shone like an oasis in the language desert. Imagine speaking without translating in your head first, being free to indulge in small talk and able to understand the conversations around you! We didn’t realise how much we would appreciate these simple pleasures until we got to England and started to live them.

London is also a city of endless possibilities, and we simply loved getting in amongst it and tasting what it has to offer. Below is a snapshot of some of the things we got up to:

  • Visiting pubs in Russell Square, Angel and Southbank. What better place to meet up with Mark than at a pub (or three)? London is a city that knows how to drink, and you’re never far from a watering hole to quench your thirst. Our catch up with Mike was also a potted tour of some of the nicer pubs around Southbank, including one that dates back to the 1600s.
  • Walking around Regent St, Carnaby St, Bond St, Oxford St, Hyde Park and Buckingham Palace. Window shopping in New Bond St was a walk down luxury lane, we stumbled across a great coffee shop off Carnaby St that was worthy of a return, and discovered that the deckchairs set up in Hyde Park are not free.
  • Checking out Notting Hill Carnival with Mark, only to find that it’s more crowd than carnival. The whole suburb was a seething mass of people looking for somewhere to go, and it wasn’t long before we ditched it completely and headed off to Jashan’s. Located in a less salubrious part of north London, it’s an excellent Indian restaurant that is several cuts above the usual curry joint.
  • Sonia took us on a very interesting tour of Hamstead Heath and Millionaire’s Row, and then contrasted the mega-rich properties of that area with a quick look at downtown Tottenham.  The local school behind the huge Whitehart Lane football stadium is prison-like in ambiance, with solid bars topped with razor wire and a full-time on-site police officer (Sonia’s daughter, Carla, works there and can tell some hair-raising stories of life there). The point was to show how different in character yet how close in distance these two areas are, and it was a thoroughly illuminating (and at times depressing) experience. The day also included a wonderful visit to Kenwood House for morning tea and a stroll around its gardens.
  • Op-shopping in Muswell Hill, the prosperous neighbourhood where Sonia lives. We also spent a great deal of time at the Sable D’Or café in Mussie, sampling its fine coffee and super-fast internet frequently on our way to or from the city.
  • Visiting Alexandra Palace, or “Ally Pally”, which is also quite close to Sonia’s place and Muswell Hill. This is a monstrous building superbly located on a hill with sweeping views of London, and surrounded by extensive gardens that are open to the public. The views from the top of the hill are wonderful and highly recommended for any visitor, and the Palace was the site of the first television broadcast by the BBC in 1936. It remained London’s primary TV transmitting centre for the Beeb until 1956.
  • Eating at Jashan’s again on one of our last nights in London. It’s a family favourite, and we shared a great meal with nearly all the Assirati clan 🙂
  • Discovering the joys of the Harrods food hall – late! The treats on offer here make the David Jones food hall on Market Street look like a cut-rate corner deli. Needless to say we were in heaven, and we managed to have nearly every meal on our last two days in London catered courtesy of that fine establishment!
  • Visiting the Imperial War Museum and strolling along Southbank. Even though nearly all of them are free, we didn’t do much in the way of museums while in London. However everyone we met said that the Imperial War Museum was a must-see, and we managed to visit it before leaving. It was quite overwhelming, in fact, and it’s a place that you could easily return to time and again to learn about different aspects of Britain’s wartime legacies. We followed it with a slow perambulation of the lengthy Southbank, which was thronged with people enjoying the evening.

The other major event we had planned for our time in London was outside of it: our pilgrimage to The Fat Duck. Kristen has already written extensively about that meal, so I will focus on the other aspects of the four day “holiday within a holiday” we took around our visit to that restaurant. It actually wasn’t meant to be four days, but we were enjoying ourselves so much that we tacked on a couple of days extra and simply relaxed in the wonderful environs of our hotel. The Oakley Court Hotel is a country estate near Windsor, conveniently located close to The Fat Duck and very prettily situated on the banks of the Thames. You can stroll along the water’s edge on manicured lawns, sit in the stately rooms of the main house or enjoy the sun on the outdoor terrace. All these things were fine attractions and we certainly did make use of them, but the clincher for our decision to stay there was that Oakley Court was used as the home of Dr Frank-N-Furter in the cult 1975 movie The Rocky Horror Picture Show. How could we not take up the opportunity to stay in the Rocky Horror house??

Our two days at Oakley Court extended to three, then to four, and on the last day we went to nearby Windsor to visit the Queen. Well, almost: Windsor Castle is the home of the Monarch and open to visitors most of the time. It’s a splendid castle with commanding views of the surrounding countryside, and we also went on an optional “behind the scenes” tour of the Great Kitchen. This short journey to less-visited parts of the castle was more about the fire of 1992, and what the subsequent renovations revealed about the hitherto hidden history of the castle, than it was about the kitchen, but it was very interesting nonetheless and gave an insight into the below-stairs life of the castle. We spent several hours there in total, visiting all the key sights including the State Rooms, the Doll House and St George chapel. Highly recommended, and thanks to Mike for suggesting it.

There was so much more we could have seen and done in London, and we seriously considered or intended to see a West End show, visit the Tower of London, go to The Clink, check out Camden Town and see a live band, amongst other activities. These are things we will have to save for our next visit!

Categories: family, food, Malaysia, Penang, travel | Leave a comment

The Fat Duck

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Kristen

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

It’s no secret that Damien and I are rather food obsessed. I mean, on our very first date he lured me in with his plans to go on a nine day foodie tour of hatted regional restaurants in New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. When he asked me if I’d like to join him I immediately replied “Yes!” and as they say in the classics, the rest is history. Our love of all things to do with food was what  helped to bring us together, and it is something that we have continued to enjoy since.

We have been fortunate to dine at some amazing restaurants together. Mutually, our all time favourite meals having been consumed (in no particular order of preference) at The Royal Mail (country Victoria), Est. (Sydney) and Iggy’s (Singapore). However, in recent times we have eased off on our fine dining extravagances. We genuinely enjoy food from all manner of countries and levels of sophistication.

We deliberated for quite a while as to whether we could justify including a dining experience at Heston Blumenthal’s foodie famous establishment The Fat Duck. Like many other Aussies we were captivated by his television series, and were simply amazed at the levels of his imagination and self-taught genius when creating food. Long before our year off was even a twinkle in our eyes we daydreamed about some miracle occurring where we would find ourselves in England and at his restaurant. To us, The Fat Duck seemed like our holy grail.

So it’s no surprise really that when our travel plans for 2012 were in gestation that we somehow managed to ponder whether “could we, should we” include a visit to Heston’s home of food. Ultimately, what we decided to do was hold off making the decision until we were already travelling. But the idea seemed to grow and grow and we were unable to put it to rest, so whilst on our travels we decided to leave it to fate (and to Bacchus). Due to the restaurants extreme popularity, you can only book up to three months in advance and you simply have to be the first cab off the rank when the bookings are open online to secure a table.

The end result was that we were successful in getting a reservation, and once we had that little confirmation blinking at us we were totally stoked!

The Fat Duck is situated in Bray, a little village outside of London, which we were to discover is also the residence of two other three Michelin Star restaurants. Heston’s restaurant, being near the top of San Pellegrino World’s Top 50 Restaurants list for nine years (including holding #1 or #2 spots for six of them), clearly sat proudly amongst it’s peers. It is however, a rather unassuming looking building from the outside. The inside too is not ostentatious but comfortable and appealing to dine in. We were particularly impressed with our table by the window and tucked away around a small corner, so not in the thick of it with the other diners. To be honest, I think we scored the best table in the house.

But getting down to the real point of this post, the question is, did it live up to our lofty expectations? The simple answer is YES. This dining experience was definitely the most outstanding one we have ever enjoyed. What set this experience apart from the others (in our now top four) is not just the exceptional food but the precision of the staff and the theatre of the presentation of the meals. It is worth mentioning that at no time during the three and a half hour meal did we feel over full. Experience has shown us that this is a sign of a well designed degustation menu. We both agreed that the matching wines we had were not as “wow” as we had hoped for (we could not afford the staggering prices of the more expensive matching wine option), but they were still lovely wines.

So without further ado, here is the menu and a brief description of our thoughts on each dish:

BEETROOT MACAROON

Horseradish Cream

This amuse bouche was light and airy in texture and had a pleasingly delicate and subtle savoury flavour. It was a gentle introduction to what was to come.

NITRO POACHED APERITIFS

Vodka and Lime Sour, Gin and Tonic, Campari Soda

“Citrus Grove”

Our waiter rolled a trolley over to our table with laboratory looking equipment. He then asked us what flavour aperitif we would like. I chose Gin and Tonic, Damien chose Vodka and Lime Sour. He then explained that the foam he pumped out of a canister would be placed into the silver bucket of liquid nitrogen. The foam ball floated on top of the nitrogen. He then removed them. Mine was served as is with a twist of lemon, and Damien’s was dusted with a fine lime powder. Citrus Grove essence was sprayed in the air above us just before we popped the little aperitifs into our mouths. They melted into a slightly chewy mass. We both found them to be an extremely refreshing palate cleanser and noted that they were not as cold as we thought they would be.

RED CABBAGE GAZPACHO

Pommery Grain Mustard Ice Cream

This dish had simple and clean savoury flavours. The rich texture of the ice cream offered a nice progression in the meal but taken on its own was not the most outstanding dish. It’s place in the menu was well chosen.

JELLY OF QUAIL, CRAYFISH CREAM

Chicken Liver Parfait, Oak Moss and Truffle Toast

(Homage to Alain Chapel)

Wine pairing: 2008 Collio, Klin, Primosic, Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Italy)

Words are pretty much insufficient to describe the awesomeness of this dish! This was our favourite dish of the meal. This was truly perfection. The food was presented with a wooden box of moss that overflowed with liquid nitrogen and coated the table with a delightful cloud of white mist. We were then asked to open small containers that held a tiny film of oak moss. Next we were advised to sample some of the Truffle Toast. The toasts were slightly crispy and coated in just the right amount of truffle and finely sliced radish. The piece de resistance was without doubt the white bowl containing distinct layers of chicken liver parfait, quail jelly and crayfish cream. The textures of these ingredients were immaculate as well. It was a faultless dish.

SNAIL PORRIDGE

Iberico Bellota Ham, Shaved Fennel

Wine pairing: 2009 Bourgogne, Domaine Leflaive, Burgundy (France)

This was a surprising winner of a dish and generous in size. The flavours had a very distinct home cooked feel about them, Heston’s take on comfort food. I have not eaten snails before so it was a revelation to me what a pleasantly earthy flavour they had. Damien had tried snails before and noted that Heston bought out the delicate flavours beautifully, without any funkiness you usually get with snail dishes.

ROAST FOIE GRAS

Barberry, Braised Kombu and Crab Biscuit

Wine pairing: 2011 Pinot Gris, Signature, Rene Mure, Alsace (France)

It’s fair to say that if foie gras appears on a menu we often gravitate towards it. So we are well acquainted with this delicacy and the variety of ways it can be prepared. This dish was in a class of its own. I personally have never tasted better foie gras and didn’t realise it could be so silky smooth and melt in your mouth goodness. It was a taste explosion of the best kind. The Braised Kombu  and Crab Biscuit were an ideal complement.

MAD HATTER’S TEA PARTY

(c.1850)

Mock Turtle Soup, Pocket Watch and Toast Sandwich

In a series of fun dishes this one provided the best theatre. Our waitress asked us if we were familiar with the tale of Alice in Wonderland and we were presented with a bookmark quoting part of the story . The table was then adorned with a high tea centrepiece complete with a Mad Hatter’s top hat and toast sandwiches. We were next presented with an ornate box that was opened to reveal two gold leaf Pocket Watches. We were asked to then dunk our Pocket Watches (which had a tea bag string attached) into the water of our glass tea pots. They melted to produce the stock of the Mock Turtle Soup. The “tea” was then poured into our soup bowls and the gold leaf swirled around the other ingredients in a most eye catching way. It was such an enjoyable dish due to so many quirky elements to tell the story. Most importantly though the flavours were excellent as well. The toast sandwiches to Damien were inspired. They were literally very thin wafers of pressed toast between slices of bread.

“SOUND OF THE SEA”

Wine pairing: Daiginjo Masumi Nanago, Miyasaka Brewery, Nagano Prefecture (Japan)

This is one of Heston’s most famous dishes, and understandably so. In this dish he plays on the idea that all your senses, not just taste, sight and smell, can be used to enhance the flavours of the dish. After experiencing this, we both agree. Different kinds of sashimi and a variety of sea plants were beautifully arranged on a glass plate atop a bed of sand. A salty tasting foam and edible sand tied all the elements together. The key to the dish is that you listen to sounds of the seaside through head phones, presented in a sea shell, while you eat. We felt that the sake that went with this creation was the best food and wine pairing of the entire meal.

SALMON POACHED IN A LICORICE GEL

Artichokes, Vanilla Mayonnaise and Golden Trout Roe

Wine pairing: 2008 Vernese, La Grola, Allegrini, Veneto (Italy)

This was a dish that did not immediately wow us both but crept up on us as we ate more of it. This was an enjoyable dish however, the licorice flavour wasn’t very evident. We were particularly taken with the individually plucked grapefruit cells that formed a bed under the salmon. This is an example of the level of detail that went into this dish.

LAMB WITH CUCUMBER

(c.1805)

Onion and Dill Fluid Gel

Wine pairing: 2007 Brunello di Montalcino, Poggio alle Mura, Castello Banfi, Tuscany (Italy)

This was another outstanding plate. The lamb was unbelievably succulent. The cucumber, cream and gravey complimented it wonderfully. The Onion and Dill Gel fluid was served separately and was amazingly rich and delicious. The lamb crackling didn’t go down to bad either! Yummo!

HOT & ICED TEA

What the?? This was a glass of tea gel that was indeed hot and ice cold at the same time. We were told to drink it in a particular direction to ensure we got the hot and cold drink equally. Bizarre, inventive and refreshing.

MACERATED STRAWBERRIES

Olive Oil Biscuit, Chamomile and Coriander

Jelly and Ice Cream Cornet

Wine pairing: 2009 Passito di Pantelleria, Ben Rye, Donnafugata, Sicily (Italy)

Oh wow! This was just too pretty to be food, was it not art? It was the most beautifully presented meal of the day. And let’s just say that the taste equalled the presentation.

The Jelly and Ice Cream Cornet was presented to us exactly as a miniature ice cream cone. It was completely enjoyable but entirely overshadowed by the main part of the dessert.

THE “BFG”

Black Forest Gateau

Wine pairing: 2010 Alella, Dolc Mataro, Alta Alella, Catalunia (Spain)

This dessert was quite a contrast to the previous one due to its minimalist presentation. I am not usually overly interested in chocolate desserts, but this was sublime and the matched wine tasted like the cherry flavour of the cake. It was another standout pairing.

WHISK(E)Y WINE GUMS

These were presented on a small board that showed a map with each of the Whisk(e)y Wine Gums attached to where the Whiskeys came from. We were asked to pull the gums off the board in a particular order to better appreciate the variations in the five whiskeys used.

“LIKE A KID IN A SWEET SHOP”

We were each given a lolly bag that included the four sweets below. The names of each were presented a lolly scented card. I liked them all, Damien was not a fan of the Coconut Baccy. Our favourite was the Queen of Hearts which was sweet biscuit in a sugar coating made to look like a playing card. The Apple Pie Caramel was our second favourite.

AERATED CHOCOLATE

Mandarin Jelly

COCNUT BACCY

Coconut Infused with an Aroma of Black Cavendish Tobacco

APPLE PIE CARAMEL

With an Edible Wrapper

(no need to unwrap)

THE QUEEN OF HEARTS

(she made some tarts….)

Categories: travel | 2 Comments

The odd, the unusual and the freaky

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Kristen

The last seven or so months of travel have had their fair share of “I haven’t seen that before” moments. Some however, have been more odd, unusual or freaky than others. Here is a list of ten of the more memorable ones:

  1. Whilst we were wandering through one of the ancient Plain of Jars sites in Phonsavan, Lao we heard an almighty boom that filled the air. It scared the bejesus out of us and reverberated for a long while. When we asked our tour guide what it was, he replied ever so nonchalantly that it was a bomb being detonated. Sure enough, as we looked over to some fields in the distance we could see a massive ball of smoke rising in the air. What is particularly noteworthy (aside from the fact that a bomb went off, of course) is the very blasé way in which we were informed of what it was. I guess this is a testament to the fact that there is still a massive amount of unexploded ordnance in this area of the country.
  2. During an otherwise quiet afternoon on the Thai island of Koh Lanta, we were suddenly thrust into the most scary moment of our lives when a tsunami siren went off and we were caught up in the mass panic of an evacuation. In the confusion I got hit by a motorcycle, broke my arm in two places and suffered from vertigo for a month afterwards due to hits to my head.
  3. One day driving through Italy we both heard a loud thud, and looked out the car window to see that a bird had fallen out of the sky dead next to our car. It had suffered some untoward incident as it was quite a bloody mess.
  4. At Genova airport in Italy I had the extreme misfortune to be locked in my toilet cubicle. After numerous attempts and several minutes of trying to unlock the lock, I began to get increasingly alarmed as the cubicle was completely enclosed except for a small gap between the base of the door and the floor. When sheer brute force proved futile – which if I am truthful, was by this stage in fact sheer panicked yanking – I resorted to getting down on the floor on my hands and knees and sticking my arm under the gap, waving it about madly yelling, “Help, help!”. An Italian lady came to my aid and easily opened the door from her side and stared at me somewhat perplexed. I babbled in English that I had tried to get out but couldn’t. I’m fairly sure she thought I was cracked.
  5. Whilst enjoying a pleasant afternoon stroll through our caravan park in France one afternoon, the serenity was ruined when a bird shat on my head as it flew past. What is even more funny about this incident is that it happened in a week of several bird poo attacks. In the same week, I also had my camera pooed on as I stood taking a photo; my thong got shat on; the little table we ate at got targeted and our car got a comprehensive assault. We have had no other such shit filled weeks before or since.
  6. One evening as we sat quietly enjoying the view from our campsite over the vineyards of Mersault in France, we heard this extremely loud noise suddenly to our right. Seemingly out of absolutely nowhere, a hot air balloon was hovering only a few metres off the ground just outside the campground. It was quite an unexpected and surprisingly thrilling sight to have sprung upon us. Clearly all our fellow campers felt the same as instantly the place was a hive of activity. People dashed to get their cameras and mobile phones to snap shots of the balloon as it drifted past us and ascended into the sky.
  7. Sitting at a set of traffic lights one day in France we happened to spot the most bizarre of sights. A man in his wheelchair was waiting in one of the two lanes on his side of the road amongst other vehicles. Despite the fact there were footpaths running adjacent to the road, there he was, waiting patiently with the other mobiles to take off. Well, his wasn’t exactly what I would call a “take off” when the lights did eventually change. He even had a set of blinkers set up on the rear of his wheelchair to indicate his next turns! It is worthwhile mentioning that his wheelchair was not one of those large ride-on contraptions you often see the elderly scooting around in, but a genuine small framed wheelchair. It definitely was not the kind of machine I would want to be sitting in sans crash helmet whilst trying to negotiate the traffic at a snails pace.
  8. France was one of those countries where the strange sights abounded. We also witnessed one early evening the locals participating in what I can only describe as boat jousting. People faced off to each other and as their boats passed each other they battled with massive jousting sticks.
  9. Whilst walking along the Thames in London we witnessed a massive police boat go screaming down the river with its lights flashing and sirens blaring. It was traveling so fast that it was getting airborne.
  10. As we walked down the street in New York a man came sauntering towards me with his black and white cat perched atop his head. It was amazing that the cat could maintain its position on his head for such a long time on this busy street, and even more amazing that the man had somehow trained him to do it. When I made stunned eye contact with the man and his living fur hat, he laughed manically at me!

After finishing this list I decided to add:

  1. We are now in Quito, Ecuador. It is our first full day after arriving here from North America yesterday. We are staying in a lovely guesthouse in the outskirts of the town, where I am sure we are some of the only gringos who make it out to these parts. We had planned to stay put in our guesthouse to deal with culture shock, practice our Spanish with our friendly hosts and catch up on all of our outstanding blog posts. In short, we intended it to be a time just to bunker down and also have somewhere comfortable where we can access the internet so we can plan our next moves after we return from our Galapagos trip. Not going anywhere far from our immediate surrounds was the key. However, as fate would have it, today a bus driver (apparently drunk according to Paco, our host) smashed into the telegraph pylon about 100 meters up the street from us. The power has been out most of the day and apparently this has also cut the internet. Thus, we will now be heading into town this week to upload our blog posts and do our next lot of travel research. We will go to the South American Explorers Club which is a great place where travellers can go to access information and a myriad of other services in South America. We have membership to this club due to the very thoughtful gift from some of our close friends for our engagement present.
Categories: travel | 3 Comments

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started