Around the world in 15 meals

1) Instanbul, Turkey

What is there better than a plate of meze on a hot day in Istanbul? This is supposed to be just an appetizer, but it worked fine for me as a light lunch. It included various dips like hummus, eggplant salad and haydari, then dolma (stuffed vine leaves) and some cheese. Everything with vegetable sticks for the dips. By the way, that puffy bread is called lavas and I love it. 



Meze lunch in Istanbul

2) Mostar, Bosnia

One of my favourite meals in Bosnia and of the whole Balkan trip was the Hadzijski cevap (marinated beef with peppers and rice) that I had in the old town of Mostar. It was simple but delicious, and also really cheap! 

Bosnia

3) Amsterdam, Netherlands

What to do when you are visiting a country that is not really famous for its cuisine, you've already tried the obvious and looking around you can only see burgers and fries? In big cities in central or northern Europe, like Munich or London, I usually find that Asian food is top notch. So while in Amsterdam, I repeatedly stopped by Indonesian and Thai restaurants. My favourite was Bird Thai restaurant in Chinatown (close to the red light district). 

Red Thai curry in Amsterdam

4) Lisbon, Portugal

If I could recommnend only one Portuguese dish it would be  bacalhau com natas. The Portuguese have many ways to cook cod, but creamy bacalhau com natas is my favourite. I was lucky enough to participate in a dinner organized by my hostel in Lisbon and this is how I got to taste this delicious typical dish. I am already making plans to go back to Portugal and have it one more time. This is how much I liked it!

Bacalhau com natas

5) Schwangau, Germany

It might not be haute cuisine but I just had to try currywurst in Germany, if only for curiosity. The history of this spiced sausage is quite interesting, because it was invented in Berlin just after WWII borrowing curry powder and ketchup (or possibly Worcestershire sauce) from British soldiers. It became a popular snack with the workers who were rebuilding the devastated city, and it is still today a popular take-away food, not only in Berlin but all over Germany.

Currywurst in Germany

6) Marrakesh, Morocco

Vegetarian tagine in an informal restaurant in the medina of Marrakesh - my favourite kind of place where you don't feel weird if you're eating alone (in this case I wasn't). Tagine is the name of the earthenware pot where food is cooked, so you could have many different of tagine: chicken with vegetables, but also with sardines by the sea or with meat and dried fruit. I had this with a glass of orange juice, which seems to be ubiquitous in Marrakesh.

A vegetarian tajine in Marrakesh

7) Paris, France

This dish had a name so long that it did not fit in a single line on the menu. Then it turned out to be a steak with potatoes. Overall, my experiences with food in Paris went better when I blatantly tried not to order French food: for example at felafel joints or at a Korean restaurant. I think I owe Paris - and France - a second chance. Next time I'll document myself and try to order some French food with a better understanding of French cuisine.

A meal in Paris

8) Mdina, Malta

From a culinary point of view, Malta is a mix of influences. And how could it not be so? In spite of having been an English colony in the past, Malta is decidedly more Italian than British when you sit down for lunch or dinner. These spaghetti all'amatriciana - which means in a tomato sauce with pancetta (or even better guanciale) and chilli peppers - were really good. I discovered later that many Italian restaurants in Malta are owned by Italian people, hailing from all over the country and enjoying Malta's relaxed lifestyle and mild weather. 

Pasta all'amatriciana in Malta

9) Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

I'll always remember this bento box meal I had in Shakespeare's hometown, Stratford-upon-Avon. The Japanese chef was entertaining us, pretending to throw bottles at the clients and things like that. The food didn't look that Japanese, apart from the yakitori, but it was the first time that I had lunch in a box, and I loved the idea.

10) Valencia, Spain

You cannot get bored with all the food in Spain: pintxos from the Basque Country, tapas that may include fish or cured meats like chorizo or jamon iberico, and regional specialities such as the Andalusian gazpacho. After more than three years in Spain I am still busy discovering all its variety. Nothing beats, however, a good seafood paella in a fishing town. 

A paella in Valencia

11) Split, Croatia

For the most part I found Croatian food uninspiring.  They once served me cod telling me it was a more prestigious seabass, while risotto and pasta were only an imitation of what you would have in Italy (which is so close after all). This tuna salad, nevertheless, on the city beach in Split, was really good, and just what I needed after a morning of sunbathing and dipping my toes in the turquoise waters of the Adriatic.

Tuna salad in Split

12) Kotor, Montenegro

All over the Balkans you will find these spiced sausages: ćevapčići. Sometimes - especially in Serbia and Bosnia - they serve them with a piece of flat bread, with chopped onions and sour cream, but in Montenegro I had it with French fries. I really enjoyed the meal, plus I had a perfect view of the main square of Kotor.

Cevapcici in Kotor

13) Brno, Czech Repulic

Czech Republic might not be famous as a culinary destination, but I had a few good meals there. It was long ago, but I still remember having Smažený sýr, different kinds of fried cheese served with potatoes and salad. This was in Brno and not in Prague (I must be the only person in the world who has been in the Czech Republic but hasn't been to Prague).

Smažený sýr in Brno

14) Bangkok, Thailand

I arrived in Bangkok after travelling for many hours (and after two sleepless nights) and I went directly to take a much deserved nap. A couple of hours after I woke with a grumbling stomach and went for a Pad Thai in the neighboorhood. It was not long after that I became addicted. It is a simple dish after all: noodles with  bean sprouts, some prawns or seafood, and cashew nuts sprinkled on top. Oh, and don't forget a sprinkle of lime and some chilli peppers to have that caracteristic taste. 

15) Pisa, Italy

And last but not least Italy, my country. Even though I am Italian, each time I visit a new region I discover new things to taste. Italy is not only pasta and pizza, as I keep saying to those who think that Italian cuisine is boring! We have plenty of that, for sure, but also other dishes: risotto in the north, delicious grilled fish and seafood served with plenty of vegetables, soups with pulses in Tuscany and meat with mushrooms or polenta in the mountains. My favourite, though, is always pizza!

A pizza in Italy

On the steps of kings and queens: Versailles uncovered

I don't know anybody who hasn't heard of Louis XIV, the Sun King, or of Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, who lived at the time of the French Revolution and was guillotined in what is today Place de la Concorde. Versailles is the place to learn about the history of the kings and queens of France, and to imagine  the life of the courtesans in the 18th century, when the king together with a bunch of aristocrats decided the fate of people everywhere in Europe.



Entrance to Versailles

Going to Versailles isn't exactly low cost. The entrance to the palace is 18€, and even more if it's summer and there are musical fountain shows (25€). The food inside the castle is also extremely pricey, but you can exit, find a small restaurant in town, and then enter again and visit a different part of this huge estate. Another thing to take into consideration is the ticket to get there: Versailles is in zone 4, and you will need a special ticket that costs about 6,50€.

You need a whole day to see Versailles. I started from the palace itself, as it comes more natural when you enter the main gates. I suggest that you buy a passport ticket (18€), so you have access to more or less everything. In alternative, you can visit the main palace alone (15€), or the smaller ones (10€). There are also additional tickets for guided tours of the opera house and the chapel, if you are really into the history of Versailles (16€). You can however see the chapel during your regular tour from the outside. About visiting Versailles in winter and why it wasn't such a good idea I have already written in this post. The best season to see it is probably spring. 

 



The royal chapel

The Hall of Mirrors is the most impressive of the rooms you will see on your visit, but also the most crowded. It is a long ballroom that features 17 tall mirrors and many golden statues. One thing that struck me about the palace of Versailles is how much gold and golden decorations you see. There is so much of it that your eyes will literally hurt! The style has been imitated so many times everywhere in the world that it can almost look kitsch to people who don't know the importance and influence of Versailles on the rest of the European courts and palaces.

The Hall of Mirrors

 

My second favourite room was the queen's bedroom, where the decorations are just exquisite. Some things about Versailles are unbelievable, for example when the queen gave birth courtesans could assist, and what is more she also had to receive guests in her bedroom.



The queen's bedroom, Versailles

 

One thing that disappointed me is that you don't visit many rooms during your tour. I also regret not looking for an audio guide, as there is only cursory information in the rooms. As a matter of fact, I only found out later that it was included in the price of the ticket.

 



Another room inside Versailles



View of the garden from inside the Queen's apartments

 

 

The gardens


 

The main fountain in Versailles

The gardens of Versailles are huge. There are even mini-trains that  take you to different parts of the gardens, but you have to pay to get on one of them (€7,50). If you don't want to pay more take into consideration that you have to walk at least 30 minutes to reach the Grand Trianon, and even more for the Petit Trianon and the queen's hamlet, hameau de la reine.

The gardens are full of geometric paths, carefully tended flower beds and hedges, with statues and buildings scattered everywhere. Pools of water and fountains decorate this beautiful place. It is a pleasure to walk around and discover the hidden gems of the gardens.
 

Another picture of the gardens

My friends and I decided to walk towards the Grand Trianon. After all, we didn't pay the full price only to see the main palace! The Grand Trianon is a smaller palace within the grounds of the estate, built so that the king could escape from the etiquette of the court and have light meals with his secret wife. After the Revolution, Napoleon lived here with his second wife Marie Louise. It is lavishly furnished, and it gives you the idea of the life at court: the king and the queen were not always relegated in the main palace, but had other places where they could enjoy life without many restrictions.



A room of the Grand Trianon

 

Another such place is the Petit Trianon, a favourite retreat for Marie Antoinette. It is yet another château, built for one of Louis XV's mistresses, the infamous Madame de Pompadour, who unfortunately died four years after its completion. At the time, the king's chief mistress  had a semi-official status and had her own apartments within the court! Unfortunately, I didn't visit this part of Versailles because on that day it was very cold, and after walking from the main palace to the Grand Trianon my friends and I were tired and freezing. This means that I need to go back to Versailles!
 

Another room of the Grand Trianon

How to reach Versailles

Can you believe that Lonely Planet's Paris city guide doesn't give you any suggestions on how to reach Versailles from the centre of Paris? Versailles is about 12 miles from the centre of Paris. To reach it you can take RER C, which is a train that serves Paris and its suburbs. Get off at Versailles - Rive Gauche, which is the closest train station to the chateau, only five minutes away. You cannot use your usual T+ ticket, but you need to buy a special ticket, because Versailles is in zone 4. Depending on where your accommodation is located, you can also take the "transilien L" train. It leaves you at Versailles Rive Droite, 15 minutes away from the chateau. I think a return ticket cost me 6,50€ .



Paris in the winter?

I went to Paris last November. I knew it wasn't the best season to experience the city, and it would probably be cold and rainy, but the cheap plane ticket was very tempting, and after all there is so much to do in Paris even when the weather is not helping!
 

Place de la Concorde in the winter

As you may know already, travelling in low season is a mixed bag. For example, it was an excellent idea in terms of the queues and the number of tourists on the street. As a matter of fact, I have been told that trying to enter Basilique du Sacré Coeur can be rather frustrating. In November, however, I entered the church without queuing and there were very few people inside it. It was the same for Notre Dame and Sainte Chappelle. I managed to enter 3 times  in Notre Dame  de Paris (it's free of charge) and climbed to the towers only the third time. The towers have different opening times from the rest of church, and the entrance is located somewhere else. I took me a while to find it out!



View from one of the gargoyles in the towers of Notre Dame



It was an even better idea for the colours: in November there were still some autumn colours to enjoy, especially at Jardins des Tuileries. I didn't find the downcast sky particularly off-putting, but on the contrary it offered opportunities for countless strange pictures.
 

Autumn leaves and the banks of the Seine



Jardin des Tuileries after the rain

While the Christmas lights were not up on the Champs Elysées, Galeries LaFayette were all ready for the Christmas season! There were lots of kids marvelling at the animations in the shop windows, and hundreds of tourists wandering the shopping mall just to get a glimpse of the huge Christmas tree. I am not a fun of luxury goods, so I didn't buy anything in Galeries LaFayette, but I had a good time taking pictures of the main hall.

Christmas decorations at Galeries La Fayette

Shop windows at Galeries LaFayette

Going to Paris in November was a bad idea for one of the trips I was looking forward to, that to Versailles. Versailles in November was almost deserted (except from the hall of mirrors, where everybody seemed to congregate!), but I agree that it's a good thing. Nobody wants to share the view of carefully planned gardens with a million loud tourists who don't know a thing about French history, right? Going to Versailles win winter as nonetheless a disappointing experience: many fountains were closed, the statues in the garden mostly covered, and my friends and I inadvertently chose the coldest day to be there. Walking through the gardens was tiring, even though the colours were beautiful, and after visiting the Grand Trianon, we were too cold, so we gave up and decided not to visit Hameau de la Reine, which I wanted to see very badly.
 

Main Fountain at Versailles

Grand Trianon, Versailles

Montmartre was almost devoid of tourists, and there were no artists at the bottom of the Basilique du Sacré Coeur. I loved Montmartre, and it was in fact one of my favourite neighbourhoods of Paris, but I am sure that it will be even more picturesque when it's bustling with life, but maybe not too much, as too many people will spoil the atmosphere. I loved that the area still feels like a village in the countryside, rather than a  neighbourhood in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Basilique du Sacré Coeur

Sketch artist in Montmartre

Walking in the footsteps of Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir, two of my favourite French painters, was thrilling. I went in search of the two surviving winding mills in the area, and when I arrived in front of the Moulin de la Galette, site of the famous guinguette (a typical drinking establishment of the past) portrayed by Renoir in the famous painting, I could not help but snap a picture and wonder how Montmartre might have been back then.
 



Moulin de la Galette, Monmartre

 

 



While museums were full of people, the streets were free to wander and Parisians were definitely the majority almost everywhere. In conclusion, there are certainly good reasons to go to Paris in November, but I'm willing to try this city in every season!

 

Tour Eiffel and the clouds

 

Museums in Paris aren't just museums

Whether you are a fan of French impressionism or whether you don't care for paintings and rush to the Egyptian section of major museums, Paris holds something for you, that's for sure! And even if museums bore you to death, you can still admire their astonishing architecture, or eat in one of their hyper-chic (and expensive) cafés.

 

During my last stay in Paris I visited several museums. I bought the Paris Museum Pass, with which I saved about 20€ on my entrance fees. The entrance to Versailles alone costs 18€! This card is not cheap (56€), but it allows you to enter almost every museum and church in Paris and in its surroundings - including Versailles and the Louvre - during 4 consecutive days. There is also a 2-day version of this card (42€). There was a price change from January 2014, so I'm reporting the new prices. If you intend to see lots of museums, and if you are worried about the queues, this card may really help you. With it you make the investment at the beginning of your 4 days, and after that you won't have to think whether to enter or not that museum you just passed by: if you have time, why not? It's free for you, and if you don't like it, you can quickly exit and go on with your tour of the city.

Sainte Chapelle, one of the many attractions included in the Paris Museum Pass

I suggest that you visit one big museum per day and spend the rest of day exploring the streets of Paris, perhaps visiting a church or having a long lunch, savouring some French food with a glass of wine on the side.

 

1) Musée du Louvre. The most famous of Parisian museums is hosted in a former royal palace of French kings. As a matter of fact, before Versailles was built, this was the residence of the kings and queens of France. This is by itself an excellent reason to visit the Louvre! Moreover, the famous Louvre pyramids (there are four, one big and three smaller), although built only a few years ago, in 1989, have become a symbol of Paris.



The famous Louvre pyramid seen from the Tuileries garden

Don't miss the beautiful light of the sunset near the pyramids. I really need to work more on my photography skills, because I couldn't capture the light well enough, but I still cherish the experience of that Parisian sunset. Admission is 12€: not too much considering the amount of famous and astonishing stuff you can see in here. The big hall from where you can access the wings of this huge museum will leave you speechless. Apart from that, you can see the medieval foundations, you can admire the rooms of Napoleon III and, of course, see the Monna Lisa and many other important paintings.

Louvre Pyramid after sunset

One day is not even enough to see it all, and even with the plan, I got lost. Endless stairs, corridors, wings and elevators frustrated me, but you'll be rewarded when you'll see that painting or artefact that you have been dreaming of for years. In my experience, I wanted to see Vermeer's paintings, but I just couldn't find them! Every time I thought I was in the right wing of the right floor and in the right corridor I was wrong! To save a few euros, exit the museum for lunch: the food inside is pricey and you can always re-enter because a ticket for the Louvre is valid for the day. A good option is a Korean restaurant in Rue Sainte-Anne.

Just remember that in front of the most famous things - like the Monna Lisa or the Venus of Milo - there are many tourists taking pictures, making the experience less pleasant and somehow ruining the link you should have with the artefact. This is for instance a picture of said situation in front of Monna Lisa, on a not-so-crowded November day. I can't imagine what's the situation like in July and August! You can't get near the painting, which is really small, and all the rest of the room gets ignored. Just in front of Monna Lisa, for instance, there is "The Wedding at Cana" by Veronese.

People taking pictures of Monna Lisa

My picture of the Venus of Milo almost comically became a picture of a girl having her picture taken in front of the famous statue. It's a cool picture anyway, and it explains how little one-to-one "talk" you can have with the artefacts at the Louvre.

Girl having her picture taken in front of the Venus of Milo

A little delight during my visit was seeing this painter trying to reproduce "The Virgin of the Rocks" by Leonardo da Vinci. I've never seen a real painter, with canvas and palette, in any other museum in the world, have you?
 

Painting the Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo

 

2) Musée d'Orsay. This museum was built inside a train station, when the railtracks here became obsolete for the newer trains France had in mind. The setting is spectacular: you'll peer at the UNESCO-listed banks of the Seine from behind giant clocks, eat in designer restaurants, see world-class exhibitions disposed in a perfect way, making for excellent photo opportunities.

Musée d'Orsay, big golden clock

 

Eating at Musée d'Orsay

This is the building that fascinates me the most of the three, and it hosts some of the artists I love, including Renoir and Degas. I also discovered new artists, and it was easier to skip the sections I wasn't interested in. Admission price is 9€, but remember that young people aged 18-25 from EU countries enter most museums in Paris for free!

Looking out of one of the giant clocks

 

3) Centre Pompidou. The building, designed by Renzo Piano and other famous architects, juts out of the urban landscape with all its colourful tubes and, in spite of the fact that it was frowned upon at first, it is now a favourite among both Parisians and tourists. The disposition of the main exhibition might be a bit confusing, but if you're into contemporary art and installations, this is the place to go. Centre Pompidou is a cultural centre, with a library, a bookshop, minor art exhibitions and cafés.

Centre Pompidou

 

Centre Pompidou

Centre Pompidou

Do you like museums? Which museum would you like to see best if you find yourself in Paris?

4 reasons why I am head over heels in love with Paris

The architecture blew me away. The impeccable style of the elegant buildings, the astonishing and perfect symmetries of Notre-Dame de Paris and Sainte Chapelle, as well as the general harmony of most of the city: in Paris it is hard to find buildings that clash one against the other. I loved the sloping roofs and the elegant railings in the buildings of central Paris, but also the stained windows of Gothic churches and the innovative architecture of some of the most famous museums, such as the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre.

 

The Louvre building seen from the Tuileries gardens