The Gastronomic Capital of Europe ... Lyon

And some would say the world.  I mean, when I read that for the first time, I knew I had to visit this place, and soon.  It's hard to envision what a place holding this title could possible be like, the treasures it must hold - the rare, the unexpected, the glutiny, the kitchen gadgets, pork, cheese, buttery croissants, buttery bread, butter  ... breeeeeeeathe, breathe.

OK, so coming back down to Earth, I did see a glimpse of why Lyon may get such accolades, but in a vote I probably wouldn't pick Lyon.  Gasp!  {What did she say?}  To be fair I didn't have a reservation for any of the top bouchons in town, and I am sure they would have been amazing, but eating every last bit of a pig or pressing bits of fish with gelatin into terrines is not so much my thing.

So here's how it goes ... I arrived a bit on the exhausted side at my hotel in town via taxi (after dropping off the car at the airport from the Burgundy trip).  The room was adorbs (because one should always pick charming, small boutique hotels) with a window over looking a large square in town.  Lyon is big, so there were long pedestrianized shopping "High Streets" with H&M, Zara, and even a Subway.  Bah.

I wandered a bit in disbelief that I wasn't being engulfed by adorable little comestible shops, with little old French men in berets offering me a taste of their bounty.  Not so much.  I did finally find, after peering down a slim alley, the type of wine bar I envisioned.  Had a glass of wine and started scanning the web for places to eat.

Lyonnaise Salad

There was a place near my hotel that came highly rated and served Bresse chicken.  A colleague of mine is from Burgundy, and he had mentioned to me this very specific breed of French chicken with blue feet that are esteemed, highly sought after, etc.  So, I had that, after a Lyonnaise salad (you know, the one with frisse lettuce, bacon lardon, Dijon dressing, and a poached egg).  All good.  Oh, and I was in Cote du Rhone territory now, so that was the beverage du jour.

The whole point of the trip was to see the famed Les Halles de Lyon, their modern indoor food market.   In fact more modern than I expected.  This is highly unlike the Borough Market in London or La Boqueria in Barcelona.  However, I was giddy as I ran up the steps, and nearly leapt in the air to click my heels as I walked in.  Hallelujah!  Amen!

This was the morning to top all mornings ... as I browsed slowly from side-to-side up and down each aisle, yes, arguably the best food products in the world were here.  To my surprise, I was literally stopped in my tracks as I saw a man cutting open fresh sea urchins one after another and arranging them on a serving platter.  I had just read an article about a man who flew to Japan regularly just to find these.  After about 15 minutes in awe, I decided what the heck and ordered just one (and a side of Champagne).  What can I say, it was delicious ... the little buttery wedges scraped from the shell were simple with just the hint of the sea.


So, feeling extra adventurous, I decided I would tackle the escargot.  In case you didn't know this about me, I have a sunken garden in damp England and in the Summer snails come in droves to devour my precious plants - I have gone militant on them and putting one in my mouth wasn't high on my list.  However, in the name of trying all things once and having an opinion on exemplary foods from the world, I decided to set in to a full dozen of Burgundy escargot.  They first brought out quite a set of complex utensils, and then a plate of sizzling butter, parsley, and garlic.  I dug them out one-by-one and ate the whole plate, more or less non-stop.  I may not need to do that often, but it was enjoyable.

After that feast, I grabbed a local praline tart and grabbed the trolley car up to the north side of the city, Croix-Russe.  It is a hill with sweeping views of the city, and well, not much going on, so I walked through the winding streets, back into town ... fortunately to find the old city centre.  This is the historic section of town, and had much more of the locales I was expecting to see.  Cute cafes, cobblestone streets, ancient passageways, etc.  Did some shopping and by the point of exhaustion started to hunt out the grand finale dinner location.

I was ready to splurge ... so I found some highly rated places ...  first one, fully booked.  Second one, fully booked.  Third one, fully booked ... Fourth one, you guessed it!  Boo!  OK, so I ended up at a spot that served only local ingredients and the chef's own creations, and it was splendid!  To be honest, I was so over meat by this point I ordered a crawfish ravioli!  Ha, ha ...

Up early the next morning to catch the Sunday morning market along the Soane river.  So, so pleasant ... browsing morning food markets is my favourite thing to do.  Anyway, the produce was bountiful, the stinky cheeses sprawling, the chicken spinning on the rotisseries, and the little old ladies were scrutinizing their selections.  I picked up a couple few local items to snack on then and a few to bring home.  Home ... time to go, and time to fast for a while!

I'm afraid Flickr may have gotten more technologically advanced than I, so for now I am pasting in the link to the photo album!  Click Here.

Seduced via the Stomach: Burgundy!

Being the oenophile I am, I still get quite uncomfortable when presented with a wine list comprised mostly of French wines.  Arguably the best in the world (I would contest that Italy actually reigns supreme), if I am to truly dominate my hobby I needed to tackle this challenging region.  Thus, in 2014 I set out to visit a couple of the most infamous regions to improve my vocabulary.  First stop Burgundy!

Burgundy is a large region Southeast of Paris … it starts to the north in Chablis and continues south across draping slopes that create some of the most expensive wines in the world.  This is largely white wine territory, and the smoky Chardonnays are not my taste.  The reds are nearly all Pinot Noir, which tend to be quite light in colour and flavour … this place had its work cut out for it!

I picked up the car from the Orly airport outside Paris and hit the highway to Chablis.  From that point forward it was nothing but winding country roads through farmland and small stone villages.  March is still off season for this area that attracts tourists in droves from May through September, and so for the most part I had the road (and the towns!) all to myself.

Jambon à la Chablisienne

Burgundy is also known as a foodie paradise, and this trip was as much about gastronomy as wine.  So, first stop was lunch for the local ham in Chablis wine sauce “Jambon à la Chablisienne”.  Looking back it was the best meal of the trip.  That creamy sauce drenching the juicy ham, sided by perfectly cooked potatoes and a glass of the local Chablis, was divine.  Picked up one souvenir bottle of Chablis  – not as smoky as the white Burgundys and it’s my second fave just after Sauvignon Blanc.

From there I toured through the fields that yield the region’s Premier Crus … no leaves yet on the vines, so the views were sweeping dry land interwoven with the emerald green fields of rapeseed just starting to sprout.  I should have expected it, but was somewhat surprised how agricultural the region was … this is not your snooty, loafer-wearing wine crowd one would envision of the region, but down and dirty tracker driving locals and very rural.  There were numerous tractors in the field tending to their precious crops, just sprouting their Spring growth.

Boeuf de Charolais

After an amazing sunset closed the warm day, I spent my first night in Beaune - the capitol of Burgundy country and the first place with a little bit of activity.  Here for dinner, while planning the next day's route, I tried a steak of the local Charolais beef (In April 2010 Boeuf de Charolles was granted an Appellation Contrôlée) along with the most amazing creamy buttery cheese sauce ever experienced. The fuzzy peach-coloured cows are so cute along the road (though I think they are a bit shy for the camera, and the guy on the left was downright annoyed).  I splurged on a bottle of Pommard Premier Cru … and ate real slow.  Wow.  The wine was delicious and from that point forward I shall always look for a Pommard on those menus that scared me a bit.



Early to bed, and in the morning I browsed the Patisseries (desserts), Fromageries (cheese), Boulangeries (bread), and Boucheries (meat) in this foodie town.  I picked up a little from each place for a little picnic later in the day, as well as a exemplary bottle of Cote d’Nuits Premier Cru as a souvenir bottle for the collection.  Of course this wasn’t your average snack!  From the butcher I braved the language gap to order a slice of the Jambon Persillé, which is a terrine of ham and parsley (I hope) and some local Epoisses cheese (semi-stink) – both exemplary of foods only found in the region of Borgogne.

Jambon Persillé and Epoisses cheese

The roads south of Beaune proved quiet as well … Google Maps just happens to be amazing, so I found myself travelling on gravel paths through the fields of grapes, topping sweeping views of the region (I thought maybe I was trespassing at some points!).  I found myself at an old chateau hanging off cliffs to crack open that snack I got in town.  It didn’t disappoint!

To be honest, nearly all the “caves” were closed (where one would taste the local wine) and that was disappointing, but I tried to not let it get to me.  The drive was beautiful, the food yummy, and it felt as if I had gone back in time.  After a last stop in Pouilly-Fuissé just to say I had been there, I hit the highway to Lyon with a lot more wine knowledge in my head and a full tummy … 

 

 

  {SLIDESHOW}

Ski Trip Andorrrrrrra!

I had been yearning for one of those moments when you sit peacefully as the snow flakes fall, gazing over the mountains in the distance, with warmth and a loved one nearby.  As destiny would have it, my loved one has friends with a home near Andorra whom kindly invited us for a weekend to go skiing between Christmas and New Year's Eve.  Yeah!

In case you don't know (I didn't), Andorra is a small country between Spain and France high in the Pyrenees mountains (marking the 20th country I have visited).  It is about a two and a half hour drive from Barcelona, where we began and ended this getaway.  After the flight in, we grabbed our little van and some friends and began the trek North. 

I haven't skied much in my life.  I've gone on a couple trips in Wisconsin, but that is a bit like saying you have experience in Formula One racing by riding go karts once.  Nonetheless, I was game (especially since this got me the serene moments I longed for ... albeit in between bouts of life-threatening panic and aching body parts).

We rose early in the morning to drive to the resort high, high up in the mountains, crossing the border into Andorra.  The first day was bright with blue, blue skies and warm temperatures.  Glorious!  The first run I attempted was way out of my league and I spent more time on my bum or "snowplowing" as slowly as possible to get me to the bottom.  Ugh.  Considered giving up.

After examining the map and identifying some blue hills to try, I was back in action and built my confidence over the course of the two days on the mountain.  I slowly identified what I was doing wrong, made some attempts at slopes that had leg-breaking potential, and ultimately felt like I made great progress.  As I took my breaks on the long runs gradually down the hill, the sights were breath-taking, and thanks to a nice gift from Nielsen we had a video camera to capture some of the action.

 

Of course you are exhausted after skiing all day, so we spent quiet evenings in the nearby small communities.  Of particular excitement, we went for a late dinner at a nearby farmhouse that sourced most of their food from their property.  There was warm chicken soup, Spanish cured meats and chesses, the customary pan con tomate, and I had roasted chicken to die for.  So good ... now get me out of these ski clothes and to bed!

 

On day four, we had breakfast overlooking the mountains, drove back along the cliffs and rolling hills to Barcelona, and spent one more night outside the city in front of a warm fire in the fireplace after a wander around the small town of El Vendrell.  The ocean side drive to the airport was icing on the cake.  Sooo good.  What an end to 2013!

 

SLIDESHOW!

 

Christkindlmarkt, Vienna

Unfortunately I wasn't able to get this posted in 2013, as I only had 12 blog posts throughout the entire year and hadn't posted anything since July, and this would have boosted my total.  I am back at blogging again and hope to keep up documenting my travels and thoughts in 2014.

Rathausplatz ... the main market

It is true that my personal travel slowed to a halt for the second half of last year, partially because business travel was constant and partially because a particular someone has made me want to be home in London more often.  I kept up with what wonderful food I cooked, shopped for, and ate in real time on Facebook and Instagram.

I had a gloriously long, calm year end break.  Christmas in the middle of the week actually works out quite well, giving you two weeks off for the holidays.  Having celebrated in the US a bit early this year, I had some time on my own to revel in the Christmas spirit in Europe.

One afternoon while searching for the best Christmas markets in England, I kept coming across sites ranking those in Europe - the pictures of Vienna are simply magical, often ranked as the #1 destination.  Since I've moved to this side of the pond Vienna has been my dream Christmas market trip, and well I ended up Googling tickets and booked impromptu for that weekend.  Why not!?

Have to have some mulled wine!

I flew in the Sunday afternoon before Christmas and left Monday evening - 24 hours to cover as much of Vienna as possible!  Cute little chalets all lined up inside the city's squares selling glittering bobbles, intricately decorated gingerbread cookies, jewelry, and beeswax candles.  Smiling, smiling, smiling in the crisp air.

And of course the fooooood ... Austria is known for their local versions of "speck" ham and tangy, melt-worthy cheeses.  The pretzels were bigger than your head and laced with any sweet or savoury one could desire.  I popped warm roasted chestnuts in my mouth as I cheerfully walked up and down the lanes.  After resting the feet and back with a chilled glass of local Riesling, I relaxed in one of the best wiener schnitzel houses in Vienna for dinner (it is the national dish!).  With a side of warm potato salad you can't go wrong!

Early to bed, and early to rise to spend a full day first visiting the glorious food market a few metro stops away (feeling proud conquering yet another city's public transport system!) followed by more Christmas-y goodness.  LOVED this market (currently ranked #3 after Barcelona and London on Sarah's list).  Frazzled shoppers queued for fresh fish, cheese, and produce in anticipation of making Christmas dinner.  It was the day before Christmas Eve and the energy was invigorating ... no matter where you live, the holidays bring a shopping frenzy!


Visiting some of the local wine shops it dawned on me that Riedel glass is Austrian (that is a link to some pics). They are some of the best wine glasses on the market, and have price tags to go along with the reputation.  However, being here in Austria (and with holiday sales!) they were less than half the price they are in London and I just couldn't contain myself!  Six large, beautiful, bulbous red wine vessels were in my shopping bags before I knew it!  Wait ... how am I going to get these on the plane?  Ahh, where there is a will there is a way.  Made it home.  What a splendid trip.  SLIDESHOW!