Cinque Terre Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, Monterosso, Riomaggiore, the Cinque Terre have been through a lot over the years. Attacked by Turkish pirates, been through a war, a resistance, naked hippies and lately, a devastating flood. Through it all, the grapes have grown along this beautiful coast known as the Italian Riviera. 5 Terre Card Whether […]
SPECULAAS ALMOND BISCOTTI
Speculaas Remember the windmill cookies you used to eat as a child? Maybe you never stopped eating them. They’re called Speculaas, odd name, tasty cookie. The word means figurine or log. They used to be a tradition during a holiday called St Nicholas’ Eve in Belgium and the Netherlands. Now they’re available year round. The spice […]
City Of Lights – PORCINI RISOTTO
Paris It was a trudge, weighted down with gear, to get to our apartment in the 11th arrondissement of Paris but it was worth it. The small dwelling on the ninth floor overlooked Paris with the Eiffel tower standing tall in the distance. Non-existent kitchen Although it was a studio with a virtually non-existent kitchen […]
No Plans In Les Vans (part 2) – CASSOULET
Thines With the heat still pushing over 30 degrees most days, we felt really lucky to be able to enjoy some great hiking and drives in beautiful sunny weather. One wonderful drive, down a very twisty, mostly one lane road, took us to the ancient and tiny (microscopic) village of Thines. The road takes you […]
No Plans In Les Vans (part 1) – PEACH PIE and CAILLETTE
Les Vans As we wound along the edge of the Ardèche valley on our way to Les Vans we were eager and nervous. 15 years ago Eager to see the town we visited 15 years ago and see whether our memories remained true. We were nervous because our temporary landlord and longtime friend is now […]
On The Road To Ardèche
South to Ardèche After our 48-hour rendez vous with J.P. and Maryse in Paris, we picked up our rental car and started heading South to Ardèche. Villedieu-les-Poêles We left ourselves a few days to make the trip and stop at some places of interest on the way. The first of which was a small town […]
Battered and Brugged – FLEMISH STEW WITH CHANTERELLES
t’Keiserhof We were thankful that our little hotel, t’Keiserhof in Brugge was only a four-minute walk from the train station. My sprained ankle was still causing me serious pain, especially walking on the uneven cobblestone streets. Nevertheless, we were eager to explore this much talked about medieval city so we threw our packs in our room […]
Belgian Bublé – GREEN CURRY MUSSELS and BELGIAN WAFFLES
Buzz of Amsterdam After the buzz of Amsterdam, we were afraid that Antwerp would be a letdown. A wrong turn made the walk from the train station, a marvellous piece of architecture, to the hotel, very long. The McDonald’s of hotels We finally arrived at yet another Ibis hotel (the McDonald’s of hotels) and settled […]