Almanac Travel: Not so much ‘la dolce vita’ as ‘la vita educativa’ (Part 5)

Earlier parts in this series on our recently concluded European travels have covered places of worship, cultural experiences, sports events, cruising and a few personal idiosyncrasies. In this last offering I’d like to focus on accommodation, food and coffee before finishing with a few general observations.

 

Accommodation

Like our friend Sue, Anne is a travel researcher par excellence. We like to travel how, when and where we want to and, likewise, choose our accommodation. So hours and hours of research go into a trip. Everyone has their own list of priorities that they look for when they choose a place to stay. Apparently Australian tourists place a readily accessible laundrette high on their list! I’m probably one of them. I love the social interaction you find there. Everyone is equal in the laundrette as we all help each other to sort out how the machines in that particular place work, who’s got the right coins or what credit cards do they accept, and do you need to provide your own detergent. Great fun. Just don’t take yourself too seriously.

 

We tend to look for small B&Bs with communal breakfast areas to meet and chat with fellow travellers as well as the hosts; preferably run by families so that what you pay stays in the local area and you get a sense of what it’s like to live in that area; if possible, located in interesting parts of the town or city; and, ideally, in a quiet area away from the hordes of tourists. Not asking for much, is it? So on this trip we stayed in the spacious loft of an old building next to a cathedral where the bells chimed every quarter of an hour from 6.00am until midnight; then there was the second bedroom of a spacious apartment where the owner was also in residence; we stayed on the top floor of a family-run B&B run by the daughter, with her mother in charge of catering and her architect father helping out when necessary; then there was the back room on the third level of an old building, just off a busy thoroughfare but cocooned from the noise, with a shared terrace breakfast area overlooking the local area; and, finally, in a small B&B bought, renovated and run by two sisters who champion the facilities of their neighbourhood.

 

Food

One of the pleasures of travel is to savour the variety of cuisines on offer as you move from one country to another. Likewise the beers and wines. Styles and quality vary but it’s the experience that counts. Here are a few of my favourites from this year.

 

In England, Pavilion Road in Chelsea features any number of eateries and is a humming, always busy area. I particularly like Ottolenghi’s deli for its spicy breakfast shakshuka and its pastries, especially the halva and chocolate danish. Granger & Co a bit further along the Road is also well worth a visit. Nearby, the top floor cafeteria at Peter Jones offers wholesome food and provides a wonderful panorama of the London skyline. Locals flock to it as well as tourists. Window tables are in high demand. The Saturday markets across Kings Road off Duke of York Square provide a wide range of international cuisines, generous in their presentation, proportions, quality and price. Over in Mayfair, the Coach and Horses pub is a hark back to the traditional English pub, with big serves of good nosh at standard prices.

 

In the 13th Arr. in Paris we went to the Auberge Etchegorry, a family business featuring Basque cuisine. Homely, authentic, delicious, popular with the locals (always a good sign) and relaxed with friendly service, it’s also well priced. Over in the 7th Arr. on Rue St Dominique there’s Les Cocottes, always a must when we’re in the French capital. (The first time went there years ago, we sat next to and chatted with Sam Groth and his partner.) The nearby Rue Cler precinct is so French with its boulangeries, patisseries, wine shops, fruit stalls, etc.! It’s a real pleasure to just walk along and savour French living at the grass roots.

 

 

Down in Lyon we took the advice of our gourmand friend, Noel, and had lunch at La Table d’Ambre on rue Franklin. There was a line-up waiting for the doors to open at midday! We soon found out why – quality food, wonderful presentation, great service. We wanted to return the following night but it was fully booked. Says it all, doesn’t it? We had only one night in Geneva where the staff at our hotel recommended Le Petit Chalet in Rue de Berne, an Italian restaurant where the food was great and the service very good. Being Geneva, it wasn’t cheap but what would you expect in one of the most expensive cities in the world? In Milan we ate at the same place three nights out of four, it was that good! Salernitano is on Via Alessandro Tadino, nominally a pizzeria but much, much more. The veal cutlet was magnificent and the accompanying Veneto white wine was particularly delicious!

 

 

When we got to Venice, our hosts suggested that we try a place just five minutes away, Muro San Stae. Four nights in a row! Traditional Italian, tasty, welcoming, generous serves, well priced, scrumptious wine. Again, one of those places where the locals go. One last eatery, this time in Athens. We stayed in the Kolonaki area where we were pointed in the direction of Kiousin, a friendly little place where they say they offer ‘Greek cuisine with a twist’. I’m not sure what the twist was but, with a nona in charge of the kitchen, the food was great, especially the moussaka, while the slow cooked goat offered something different (and rich!).

 

The prize for the most expensive offering we had goes to the ice-creams we devoured on a very warm/hot afternoon in Geneva. Seeking both respite and refreshment, we each had a small dessert-style serve at a sidewalk restaurant and, later, a soft-serve cone as we walked along the lakeside area. Total cost for 4 ice-creams – AUD$70. No kidding! Put it down to a once-in-a-lifetime location experience, or whatever. But, hey, they tasted great and did the job – and it’s Geneva.

 

As was the case with accommodation, these places took our fancy and are worth a look. But you might be looking for something else so do some research and/or get recommendations from locals.

 

Coffee

In Noosaville and its surrounds we’re spoilt rotten with great coffee outlets, eg Hand of Fatima, Flying West, Belmondos, Padre, Gibsons, 186, Aris, Little Cove, Sails, Sunshine Social, etc., so we tend to set the bar pretty high when we’re away from home. Mind you, we’re not ‘coffee nazis’, but we know a good blend when we taste it. We struggled to find a really good offering in London. We finally found the best (and the cheapest at £3) at The Pie Man on Cale Street at Chelsea Green. It’s a cute little place but they sure know how to make a good brew! Honourable mentions go to the aforementioned Ottolenghi deli and the cafe at Peter Jones. The most expensive was at a (not to be named) high profile establishment in Mayfair where we paid £9 each (yes, that’s just over AUD$18 each!) for a quite small, underwhelming offering – but it was served in top quality china and we were in Mayfair. For all they’re made out to be, we were rather disappointed in France, Italy (yes, even in Italy) and Greece with the exception of Portatif cafe, Sina 21 Athens where the coffee was good, the service was very friendly and the cakes scrumptious. And a special mention to Sideman, one of the restaurant staff on our cruises, who made sure we had our two cappuccinos as soon as we sat down for breakfast each morning – they may have been a tad strong but were served with a huge smile, absolute charm and infectious good humour.

 

A few (eclectic) observations

First and foremost, we are so bloody lucky to live in Australia, as much as we may complain about it from time to time. No, it’s not perfect by a long way, but in areas such as overall living standards, health care, social coherence, cost of living, political stability, social services, corruption, and general law and order (and that’s just for starters), Australia is so far ahead of almost all of the world that we should all start each day with a prayer of ‘thank you’ that we live here to whoever our god may be.

 

After that, in no particular order:

There’s no doubt that travel broadens both the mind and the soul – we learned so much on this trip (historically, culturally, geographically) and savoured religious sites and insights across a breadth of understandings.

As well as taking in the ‘big ticket’ places, make sure you also plug into the local aspects, eg. eat local cuisine, drink local drops, savour local culture, etc. In Athens, our ‘landlady’ said, ‘You can go to all of the big name shops in any city in the world. Go to the local shops and support local people.’ We (meaning Anne) did; the credit card suffered! But the locals won out and we got to meet ‘real’ people.

The journey is at least as important as the destination. We like using the European train network via a Eurail pass which enables us to travel within regions as well as between major centres. We get to see a lot of local life and what lies between the bigger cities.

Cruises are well worth a try. Some people swear by them; some people live on them! I enjoyed our two jaunts, having everything worked out and laid on for you. To paraphrase the 60s movie, ‘if it’s Tuesday, it must be Hydra’. But, for me, it’s all a bit artificial, not real life, more of an escape and an experience of something different. Would I go again? Yes, but not for a while and only for up to about 10 days. But that’s just me.

And while on travel modes, the metro rail networks of the various major cities perform minor miracles every day as they move the hordes around underground. The London Tube screeches and rolls as you’re reminded to ‘see it, say it, sorted’; the Paris Metro squeals and trundles, its appearance much cleaner after the covid-era clean-up; the Milan Metro is surprisingly efficient and effective after the hurly-burly of the streets; the Athens Metro surprised as the cleanest of all with the added bonus that many stations feature replicas of archeological statues, buildings, etc.

Never be afraid to ask locals for help, even if you can’t speak their language. Almost everyone you ask is only too willing to assist. In 10 weeks, we had only one blunt refusal when we asked for help. By contrast, we had any number who saw we were battling and instinctively volunteered their time and knowledge.

I’ll never understand long haul flights! How is it possible that you can be sitting admiring the Eiffel Tower in the Parc du Champ de Mars in the middle of a Thursday afternoon local time and then find yourself in Sydney at 6.00am on Saturday morning? It is truly amazing.

Jet lag seems to take longer to get over the older you get – that’s just my experience, not a scientific conclusion.

 

What comes next and when? Not sure at this stage. Maybe Japan? I’d love to see Scandinavia, but I still haven’t been to Ireland. And there are so many places I’d love to go back to. Better renew my passport!

 

 

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