MARC wants more food pics!

So, these I took at a fabulous family restaurant we went to one evening in Montecarlo with our friends who live in the area. The restaurant is in a big house-has two modern kitchens and the most convivial atmosphere! The waiters are like a big part of the experience-they chat to everyone, suggest what they think you should eat and drink. We had a lovely smooth red wine from the region and for starters I had stuffed zuchini flowers- my best always-these were melt in the mouth (sorry Marc, couldn't get the recipe but all veg inside!) and for my main course, prawns and langoust which were grilled and then placed on this brazier with burning coals to keep them hot-just an incredible taste!

HILL TOWNS OF NORTH TUSCANY OR HOW TO LEARN TO DRIVE AND SURVIVE IN ITALY
Well, this has been an experience. Alan is fine, except when I drive on these very narrow twisty roads with busses and trucks and a million motorbikes whizzing past us-he was a tad anxious about how his heart could cope, so we had to change drivers! Today we did this great route from Montecarlo (near Lucca, the town with 70 churches!), to Barga, on to Castelnuovo di Garfagnana (porcini mushroom heaven!) and then through the wild valleys and stunning terrains of the Apennine Mts and the incredible marble mines of Carrara - all with what seemed like every Italian motorbiker on the same route! They whizz up behind you, overtake on hairpin bends or come at you from the opposite direction at break neck speed-scare the motorists must be the game!

Florence-whatever they say (the guide books, that is!) is true. As beautiful as ever but oh so crowded in the centre! You imagine there can’t be tourists anywhere else, they must all be here now!
We did all the usuals - Michelangelo’s “David” at the Accademia was perhaps our best - oh, and his “4 Slaves” - pure poetry in marble!-contention if he even touched the latter with his chisel. And a 5 minute walk away, this beautiful Moorish style synagogue built in the late 19thc. The walls and ceiling beautifully adorned-recently restored-and the copper dome, now a lovely soft green=-visible as you walk up from Piazza San Marco.
We did manage to get on a bus heading in the wrong direction to my cousin, but in true Italian style, once I asked 1 person on the bus where to get off, 5 women got involved with our dilemma~each one with a better route for us!
We are trying to get my cousin’s local to move his restaurant to Takapuna!-Italian cooking that we dream about! -for you Yiddish speakers-really “heimish”! Baby artichokes, lightly dusted and fried plus a buffet of starters - about 15 to choose from-marinated veg and stuffed veg, and grilled veg, a host of different seafood done simply and oh so tasty and then pasta (home made, of course!) with simple delicious sauces. I am hoping that all the walking will offset all the eating!
Ciao for now

CAPE TOWN OR MILANO ?

And for a moment, I wasn’t sure where I was! Round the corner from the canal at Navigli we passed one of the busiest food and wine bars in Milan-people overflowing into the street with drinks in their hands- Cape Town Food and Wine Bar! And I deleted the photo by mistake-so imagine this one with crowds spilling over all the way to the middle of the road! Their “happy hour” is called “Aperitif” and goes on til 11 at night with a buffet of delicious contorne.

We love our new car- our Renault clio will be “home” for the next 2 months-we have only had it for 5 days and it is already filled with crumbs! Alan is into the prosciutto and I into the cheeses! Can you see us waddling off the ‘plane ???

It got us safely from Milan to Florence, keeping up with all the speeding Italians-if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!

Do you remember that VW ad-how many elephants can you get into a Beetle?
Well, we had how much luggage can you get into a Mini-and here’s the verdict - LOTS! Our Italian “daughter” fetched us from Malpensa and we had a glorious Sunday with her -Milano is such a graceful city-well, the parts she took us too - the sun was shining - people strolling through the parks, riding their bikes, shopping til they dropped- so chic and so elegant and we ended it with delicious melt in the mouth lightly fried zucchini flowers and a Risotto Milanese - I now know that I don’t use nearly enough saffron in mine and definitely overcook the rice-it has to be al dente! And it’s a soccer city alright-A.C.Milan had won the Italian league the night before and the flags were still out everywhere!

a little add-on to Beijing blog

My best building in Beijing- The Opposite House and this is a wall of tiny drawers!
Kitchen of the best dumpling restaurant in Beijing.

And then there is Party Central!
OMG! Whatever I held in my mind from 20 years ago is but a dream now. Take a trip down to the old port on a Friday-what a buzz! A food market to die for - you could leave me there for a week and I still wouldn’t have tried everything - Alan had a delicious artichoke stuffed with meat, I had chatsilim (aubergine) slices as good as ever sitting on the boardwalk watching the people go by -then we walked and walked passed beaches filled with youngsters (18 - ??) sitting around tables like in a club, live music going, drinks served from outdoor cafes - a scene I tell you! Then there are the beach bat players, the droves of vespa riders……and the beautiful blue Mediterranean with white sails everywhere!
I started writing this sitting at my window in a quiet part of Jerusalem-birds singing, fresh spring air and a feeling of solemnity hanging over the city as it was the day of remembrance for the fallen soldiers-.and we even got to see the William Kentridge Retrospective which is touring the world and at the moment proudly ensconced at the beautifully “shiputzed” Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

It will be so sad to leave here tomorrow-I told Alan perhaps we should only go to places like Iceland where we have no connections-to have stayed with and spent such treasured time with our dear friends-our hearts are full.

And to see what Alan's been doing, go to youtube and search for thirsty kitkat, username: komvrymetmy

eating in tel aviv

And the FOOD. We have filled all the corners in our stomaches!-this is the place to live if you are a vegetarian. The best veg and fruit and dairy prepared in every which way-influenced from every corner of the world. Yesterday we brunched on Shakshuka at Sonia’s - bliss! Cafe Sonia inhabits a hidden courtyard on a tiny, dead-end alley off Melech George, an oasis before hitting the bustle of the streets and nearby shouk. Leafy trees and pebble-covered ground and even drops of rain made for a memorable few hours

shiputzim

I’ve learnt a new Hebrew word which is all around me here in Tel Aviv -shiputzim - renovations, improvements, work in progress. It seems everyone is talking about doing a “shiputz”! and how exciting that is. Yesterday we had a wonderful day walking around the “old” Tel Aviv - with our dear friends . Ilan is an architect and seems to know the history of each building and Orna, the history of every street including the person after whom they are named. All the old “International Style” buildings , either lovingly restored or still in their original rather dilapidated states-I loved them all! And the vibrancy and life felt in these streets of Tel Aviv - they have filled a little corner in my heart!

Crowd of crowds!

Anyone know the collective noun for crowd? It’s constantly been on my mind since we arrived in Beijing-well, we did arrive on Workers Day! So I have come up with Crowd of crowds! And my goodness, have we been in a constant crowd of crowds! And it hasn’t been hard at all-the Beijingers (is that right?-) are really well mannered, unpushy and very friendly.
So a few highlights-The Forbidden City with a very knowledgeable guide was a real treat-wonderful buildings, wonderful space and built according to true feng shui prinicples, and of course The Great Wall -humbling experience to stand on the top and marvel at how and when it was built - but so far the highlight has to be dinner at my friend Mimi’s parents. Besides our quite hysterically funny taxi ride to their home in 1 of the few hutongs left in Beijing, it was a veritable feast! It was Sunday night and 13 dishes later, yes 13! And each better than the one before. I wish I would’ve written all the dishes down but I do remember loving the dish of tofu done in different ways we had for starters, tofu and egg dish, the cabbage dish, little fish which I thought were anchovies, and Alan’s best was the beef dish and of course the duck which was so tender it was cut it off the bone with a spoon!
Our latest passion is pottery and we were about to buy a few pieces of such innovative domesticware until thank goodness we realized this is just the beginning of our trip-how are we going to schlep it from here to
Israel, Europe and SF! We even had a flat white at Flat White Café in 789 Art District - funky, edgy and fantastic! Little galleries, big galleries, design stores, boutiques-you name it, it is there and lots of cafes!
And the architecture-loved the hutongs (traditional residential areas) but was awe-struck by some of the amazing modern buildings-my best The Opposite House designed by……art and arch united!
Modern Beijing side by side with the old Beijing but unfortunately, the modern is winning-at times I thought I was in Singapore. Loved all the old touches still visible if you look closely enough.
Oh, and did we ride the subways-even with the sea of people and it was a sea! -almost preferable to taxiing as the roads are packed and with the latest Audis, Vws, Buicks etc -all made locally in China and black is the new black in cars!
We started with a feast and ended with a feast thanks to our friend Robyn from Yogayard-Din Tai Fung was just the best food we ate in a restaurant in Beijing. Robyn ordered and did she get it right! Dumplings par excellence and a seiten dish to die for! And from there to Bodhi for a foot massage -heavenly-what a way to end the 1^st part of our adventure!

P.S. Alan has a few dinner table stories-! Remind him when you see him!