» Europe + The Middle East

{palermo photojournal} Leave the Gun, Take the Cannolis

Karen — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 14:24:54 +0000

Palermo, Sicily is a city of contrasts. It’s the fifth largest metropolis in Italy, with over a million people in the metro area. It’s also a very old city–almost 3,000 years of continuous existence. Most people think of the mafia when they hear “Palermo”–but the city is textured and interesting far beyond the Cosa Nostra connection.

Sicily’s location placed the island at the geographical crossroads of pretty much every major empire (save the Mongols) throughout history. At various times, Palermo was ruled by the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Germans, Aragonese, and Bourbons, before Sicily finally became a part of unified Italy about 150 years ago. Because of this complex history of upheaval and constant change, there are remnants of past glories and injustices alike evident in the peeling layers of Palermo’s facade.

The Quattro Canti and many of the churches and theaters in town show a heavy baroque influence.

Like much of southern Italy, Palermo is a little rough around the edges and feels slightly more exotic, and slightly less modern, than the rest of Italy.

I love these ornate Tabacchi stands found on so many corners.

The Arab and Byzantine influences are noticeable in the souq-like alleyways that haphazardly and confoundingly shoot off from the main roads. Many are too small for cars, so are by default given over to strictly pedestrian or 2-wheeled locomotion. And nearly everywhere you look, there’s a church of a distinct architectural style peeking out!

The Vucciria Market is an open-air market with fluid boundaries and an old-world feel. It’s a teeming cacophony of buyers and sellers on Saturdays, closed like a hangover on Sunday, and a bit sleepy again on Monday in build up to the weekend’s events. Transactions still have a very old-fashioned feel to them, and you can buy anything from a whole side of beef to a 4 foot long cucumber to a plastic bag full of live snails (a Sicilian delicacy.)

(The snail guy was cranky and wouldn’t let me take a picture of the snails unless I was buying, so needless to say, no snail picture…)

Palermo was also hard hit during World War II. In 1943, Allied forces descended upon Sicily and gained their first piece of European ground back from the Axis powers. In Palermo’s Kalsa neighborhood, adjacent to Vucciria Market, you can still find significant remnants of the immense damage wrought during the war, underpinning the quotidian activities of this vibrant, if somewhat eerie, working class neighborhood.

A 15 minute ride on a public bus takes you to a completely different world: Mondello Beach. Here, the rented yellow umbrellas are plentiful, the boats are old-fashioned, and the water is such a crystal clear turquoise blue that you can see to the bottom. People of all ages bake themselves to a crisp bronze, eat snacks from street carts, and play in the water.

Smitten teenagers lock their love on the rusting pier.

Even the inanimate fish are theatrical.

There are plenty of Sicilian snacks to be had, like panelli (chickpea fritters) or arancini (deep fried risotto balls.) Of course, the beach is hot, so you will probably want gelato! In Palermo they don’t put ice cream in a cone, but rather in something they call a brioche, which is really more like a hamburger bun. Fun to try, but I’ll stick with a cup or cone from now on.

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{hotels} Garrick’s Guide: Best Hotels in Spain (Bonus: Fes + London Too!)

Karen — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:26:55 +0000

My friend Garrick leads a life that in many ways is similar to my own life. He is fabulous, in fact even more fabulous than me, and he knows how to live, eat, and travel in a way that allows one to maximize hedonism while fiercely appreciating the situation. He and his lovely wife Amy returned from what sounded like a bang-up trip to London, Spain, and Morocco and were kind enough to distill their months of research and planning and experience into one sweet little hotel guide for me! So if you find yourself going Iberian in the near future… by all means, you WANT to listen to these people. Trust me on that one! They have not yet led me astray. And, you will notice that in some cities they even tried out a couple of different places.

So consider this a guest post… Garrick, take it away!

GRANADA – Palacio del Patos
This is the place Amy said was way too cool for her. It is probably the most stylish room I’ve ever stayed in. In true TabletHotel fashion, style trumped substance, but what a fun place to stay!

: a room at Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol

GRANADA – Carmen de la Alcubilla del Caracol
This is the best place we stayed in Spain. Simple, yet tasteful B&B style house with wonderful garden that overlooked the city and the mountains. The soul of this place is the owner. Unbeatable.

BARCELONA - Hotel Pulitzer
One of the best hotels we stayed at in Spain. Everything was flawless: design, cleanliness, service and food. Amazing rooftop bar. Located centrally on the Placa Catalunya. Would stay a month here.

BARCELONA – Cocoon Apartment
We got a studio with private deck from this rental company. It was located in the uber-hip (think SF Mission District, but more sulking) El Raval neighborhood.

CORDOBA – Palacio del Bailio
Same owners as the Palacio del Patos. Contemporary modern design. Built over Roman ruins. Fabulous garden/pool area. Check out the pics. Their amazing. Again, style over substance, but again, we had a blast. The food is insanely good.

SEVILLA - Petit Palace
This is probalby the most mediocre hotel of the trip, but was totally fine. Like a stylish Holiday Inn. Can’t beat the location, down the street from very fun tapas bars and the famous cathedral.

SEVILLA – Loft 3
This place was too good to be true. A *beautiful* new condo in a great neighborhood for $150 euros a night! Way too cheap for this place. The building incorporates an ancient wall in it’s design.

ALGECIRAS – AC Algeciras
Totally serviceable hotel from ubiquitous chain. Like the Petit Palace, stylsih but ultimately staid.

MALAGA - Molina Lario
GREAT hotel. This place was akin to the Hotel Pulitzer in Barcelona. Totally contemporary design with great food and service. Highly recommended.

Dar Roumana

FES, MOROCCO - Dar Roumana
Probably the most amazing hotel of our trip. You have to see it to believe it. The detail of this refurbished old Dar is astounding. The staff, food, rooms and common areas were amazing. Great outdoor, rooftop lounge area with view of the entire medina. I would go to Morocco again just to stay here.

LONDON – The Hoxton Hotel
This place ruled. Totally stylish, super cheap (under 99 pounds) and location couldn’t be better. In the hip Hoxton/Shoreditch area, which is walking distance to all the tourist spots as well.

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{rainbows} Magical Rainbow Museum in Leon, Spain (not its real name)

Karen — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:23:08 +0000

The MUSAC (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León) in Spain is probably my favorite museum I’ve never been to. These pictures will show you why:

It’s a magical rainbow museum!

WOW. I think it’s just mesmerizingly beautiful and totally rainbow-riffic. I loves. It’s in León, Spain, which is in the Northwestern part of Spain, on your way to Portugal. I’m seeing a Castilian road trip in my future. Why did I waste my last trip to Spain by going to that stupid Bilbao Guggenheim instead of going here?!?!? Just kidding. The Bilbao Guggenheim is super frickin’ awesome… and also worth a trip.

click here to go to the MUSAC website
click here to go to the Guggeneim Bilbao website

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{random} Prince Charles’ Car Fueled By Wine and Cheese

Karen — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 22:42:08 +0000

Prince Charles (you know, funny lookin’ guy, horsey wife, big ears, hottie sons, future King of England) fuels his Aston Martin with a fuel made from “surplus cheese and white wine.”

I have never heard of there being a surplus of cheese or white wine- in my house, there’s usually only a dearth of those two things, usually at the same time. I have never been keen on U.S. energy policy but when it comes to starting wars for oil vs. giving up the Pinot Grigio and Affinois, I can’t say definitively which side I come down on, but really, how bad could oil wars be?

Just kidding. But seriously, please don’t take my wine away.

[via Treehugger]

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{northern lights} Kakslauttanen Glass Igloos in Finland

Karen — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 04:20:06 +0000

When folks heard we were heading to Northeastern China for the Ice and Snow Festivals, I found it interesting that EVERYONE asked if we were staying in an ice hotel. To which I replied, “Hell no! We’re staying in the hotel most likely to have heaters!” Sorry, but the idea of going to a super cold place to sleep on an ice bed doesn’t appeal, no matter how many reindeer skins you lay on me.

But it looks like you can get the best of both worlds at the Kakslauttanen Hotel in Finland by staying in these glass igloos.

They say:

When sleeping in the Glass Igloos the customer is able to marvel the amazing northern lights and the millions of stars in the sky. The experience is also unforgettable when there is a snowstorm. Kakslauttanen is a very good place for seeing the Northern Lights, Aurora Borealis, as in the area there are not so many electric lights outside and it is north enough so that the probability of them is very high from late August to late April. The Glass Igloos have been built from a very special thermo glass. Because of that, the temperature inside the Igloo is always a normal room temperature. It also prevents the glass from not getting white frosted, hence keeping the view clear even when the temperature drops under -30 C. To increase the comfort of the customer, the Igloos have a toilet and luxury beds. Every morning there is also a sauna and a possibility to swim in an ice hole nearby.

Whoa, you had me there all they way up to “swim in an ice hole.” But the rest sounds A-OK. Also I like saying “Kakslauttanen” in a fake Nordic accent.

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{cocktail} The Kalimotxo

Karen — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 00:06:23 +0000

I was cooking with red wine just now, and had about half an open bottle, so I thought, heck, it’s Friday afternoon, I’m going to make myself a kalimotxo!

Kalimotxo (pronounced kah-lee-MOO-choe) is a fancy Basque word meaning “1/2 red wine and 1/2 cola”. About 20 years ago we had a Basque exchange student and my family has been drinking them ever since.

A more recent trip to Bilbao and San Sebastian confirmed that this is actually a really popular drink at bars and such, not just some Fernando-specific anomaly as I had previously suspected. In Spain they usually use Rioja, presumably because that’s what they’ve got lying around, but pretty much any hearty red wine will do. Before you start thinking “what the f*** kinda trashy broad mixes coke and wine together?” let me assure you that this is a more tasty and refreshing drink than you might imagine. Some people use ice and some people just use a really cold coke and a room temperature wine. It’s always served in a stemless glass, like a water glass or a highball glass, never ever filled all the way to the top. I don’t know why that is. It just is.

Sure, you can drink these at home, but a kalimotxo is also a great thing to get if you’re at, say, a party where they’re serving only crappy wine and soft drinks, or on a night when maybe you want to take it easy and/or mix uppers and downers without resorting to red bull (iwww). So if you’re in a poor wine situation but really want to get your drink on, you can order a glass of red wine, a coke, and an extra glass, do a little mixy mixy and BOOM you’ve got 2 good drinks! Or, like, if you’re in the Basque country. According to Wikipedia they drink this in other countries too, but of all the places they list the only place I have ever really seen large numbers of people ordering this at a bar is in Spain.

A note about the name: Basque is a crazy-a$$ language with tons of k’s and x’s and z’s. In the rest of Spain you’ll probably see it spelled “calimocho” or “calimucho” or “kalimucho” but it’s all the same thing. And lest you’re not a fan of coke, have no fear: just ask for a tinto de verano and you’ll get red wine and sprite! As the Basque say: ¡Eskerriska!

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{restaurant} East Beach Cafe in Littlehampton, UK

Karen — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:31:19 +0000

Are you tired of consuming your fried fish in an unseemly setting? May I suggest you head to Littlehampton, England, and you can chow all the cod n’ chips you like in the amazing Thomas Heatherwick-designed East Beach Café.

With crowds streaming in to catch a gander, folks have noticed the stunning structure is having a “Bilbao effect” on the little beachfront burg. I can see why. I wanna go! I wanna go! So where’s Littlehampton in relation to somewhere you might actually be, ie London? I did some research and it looks like it’s about a 2 hour drive, near Brighton. Here. I’ll even give you directions. And tell you that can also take the Southern Line from London. You’re welcome!

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Karen — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:31:11 +0000

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{restaurant} The French Paradox in Dublin, Ireland

Karen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 23:37:21 +0000

On my last trip to Dublin, we went to a little wine store called The French Paradox- and they have some light food there as well for lunch, in a lovely setting.

It was a little on the pricey side for the food (somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 euros for a salad), but the wine flight was reasonable (9 euros for 3 pours) and involved 3 tasty wines, no duds. Plus it’s in Ballsbridge. Say it a few times. It really rolls right off the tongue. Ballsbridge. Ballsbridge. Ballllllsssssbridge.

Do you know what the term “French Paradox” refers to? I did not, but luckily Ross educated me. I love that they used it as the name of a restaurant! From Wikipedia:

“The French paradox is the observation that the French suffer a relatively low incidence of coronary heart disease, despite having a diet relatively rich in saturated fats. The phenomenon was first noted by Irish physician Samuel Black in 1819. The term French paradox was coined by Dr. Serge Renaud, a scientist from Bordeaux University in France in 1992.”

Find more info on the wine store and restaurant at The French Paradox, and give it a go for lunch if you find yourself in Dublin!

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{restaurant} La Merenda in Nice, France

Karen — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 23:28:11 +0000

I got a request from a friend who was traveling to Nice, France since she is heading there for work. There is a restaurant there that is so good, so special, and so memorable that I wanted to tell everyone even though I myself haven’t been to Nice for about 5 years!

The restaurant is called La Merenda- you will not find much about it online, if anything. There is no phone, so you have to stop by during the day in person to make a reservation, then go back in the evening when it’s time to eat. It is a sublime example of well-done simplicity. The place is tiny and has extremely personable, professional service. The food is largely no-frills and totally divine. When I’m a billionaire I’m going to hire the chef to open a branch of the restaurant in my living room. I wish it was close enough to be my local neighborhood haunt! If you find yourself in Nice or nearby, don’t miss it.

the info:
La Merenda
4 rue Terrasse
Nice, France

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» Europe + The Middle East

{palermo photojournal} Leave the Gun, Take the Cannolis

{hotels} Garrick’s Guide: Best Hotels in Spain (Bonus: Fes + London Too!)

{rainbows} Magical Rainbow Museum in Leon, Spain (**not its real name**)

{random} Prince Charles’ Car Fueled By Wine and Cheese

{northern lights} Kakslauttanen Glass Igloos in Finland

{cocktail} The Kalimotxo

{restaurant} East Beach Cafe in Littlehampton, UK

{wordless wednesday} Emo Boy at Emo Gas Station, Outside Dublin Ireland

{restaurant} The French Paradox in Dublin, Ireland

{restaurant} La Merenda in Nice, France

{rainbows} Magical Rainbow Museum in Leon, Spain (not its real name)