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

Four enchanted places you should visit right now

1) Chefchaouen

Believe me when I say that I love Morocco, but I must recognize that in big cities like Fez or Marrakesh you can easily feel overwhelmed. The strong smells and the chaos of the medina, the touts, or simply the amount of people walking down the street can make you feel like you've already had enough of this country. In that case a good idea is to spend a few days in Chefchaouen, a small quiet town nestled in the hills of northern Morocco.

A quiet street in the medina

There I just walked around, taking ridiculously gorgeous pictures, and shopping for Moroccan slippers or scarfs without feeling the pressure of the vendors in bigger towns. The walls of the medina are painted a deep blue and even the doors, the stone stairs and the furniture are often blue. 

Men wear the traditional djellaba and look like mysterious wizards, as if they were the last of a disappearing population of magical beings. In Chefchaouen I found people to be extremely welcoming and I appreciated the fact that children could play happily on the quiet streets and small squares. 

Add that to the fact that there are great hiking possibilities all around and you have your perfect Moroccan getaway from the bustling city life of Moroccan cities.

Read more about Chefchaouen in this post from April 2015.


2) Bled

Did you ever wonder what the place where Snow White and Prince Charming come from might look like? I think it must look like Bled.

Lake Bled

If you've never heard of this lake, maybe it's because it is found in a tiny and relatively unknown European country called Slovenia. Other than being the birthplace of Melania Trump, this Alpine country is little known. In a novel by Paulo Coelho a librarian from the capital Ljubljiana decides to commit suicide after reading an article in a magazine about her country, making people believe that she did it because people don't even know where Slovenia is.

Lake Bled seen from the castle

I have a plan to visit Bled in every season: in winter with snow, in autumn with yellow leaves and in spring with flowers in bloom. I have already been in the summer and it is gorgeous: I cannot think of a better country than Slovenia to breathe some fresh air and rest your eyes with a palette of colours unlike that of any other country.

Read more about Bled and Slovenia in this post, which is actually the first one I wrote on this blog.

3) Sintra

In "Journey to Portugal" Saramago described this small town a few kilometers from Lisbon: as an "English folly, paid for by the cloth trade ...  a monument to an age that had every taste imaginable, but never really defined any of them ....  eclectic to the point of eccentricity .... As empires dominated the world economically, they amused themselves with alien cultures". 

Palacio da Pena

Sintra resembles the dream of a king that went slightly mad  at the end of his life.  Several royal palaces dot the hilly landscape, each one slightly crazier than the other. Some elements are Gothic, others call back to traditional Muslim architecture, or to the Portuguese Manueline style. As if this wasn't enough, mysterious gargoyles look at you from weird angles.



Palacio da Pena

The most charming palace according to me is Quinta da Regaleira, especially the Gothic-style gardens. I spent a couple of hours exploring the grottoes, the statues and the ponds, wondering what the upside-down staircase might mean and feeling that every pinnacle and gargoyle has a secret to reveal.

The gardens of Quinta da Regaleira

If palaces are not your thing in the small town the charming yellow-trimmed houses are a pleasure for the eyes, and the streets bear the names of the writers and artists who tread and wrote about this place, including Lord Byron. 

Read more about my trip to Sintra in December 2015 here.


4) Ait-Benhaddou

I know, I'm listing Morocco twice in this list, but it's merely because that country of djinns is literally bewitching. Moreover Ait-Benhaddou is one of the most incredible places I have been to.

Ait Benhaddou

You may have seen it as the location for countless movies and TV shows, including as Yunkai in Game of Thrones. It is usually portrayed as a city made of sand that appears like a mirage in the middle of the desert. And that is actually what it is: a particularly good-looking ksar that is not completely abandoned and that is at the edge of the desert. The Touareg guides in blue turbans lead the way into a magic world, where you may find anything from Ali Baba's lamp to an ancient amulet.

A berber guide in Ait Benhaddou

This was one of the highlights of my trip to Morocco. It is a perfect stop on the way to the Sahara desert and it is a good opportunity to learn about the ancient trade routes that pass through this part of the world.

Souvenirs in Ait Benhaddou

Read about my trip to the Sahara desert here.

Three things that will strike you about Slovenia

I've only been to the north-western tip of this small country, riding the train from Nova Gorica to Bled and enjoying this lake town and its surroundings, including  the less famous but equally stunning Lake Bohinj and little jewels like the Vintgar Gorge. I can't therefore be considered an expert in everything Slovenian, but I'd like to write about three things that struck me in this beautiful country.

Lake Bled

 

1) The mix of influences

Slovenia is an original mixture of the culture of the Balkans with that of Central Europe, with a zest of Italy, which is just around the corner. I felt incredibly at home in Slovenia, in spite of the different language and the difficult relationship that my country, Italy, had with Slovenia in the past because of language minorities and wars.

Just to give you an example of the influences that this country has to deal with, the waiter at the restaurant where I stopped on my way to Savica Waterfall knew how to say "skewer" in Italian, which is not exactly a word you use everyday. On the other hand, in the bar near my hostel, they had excellent cappuccino but no croissant, which every coffee place in Italy has in the morning. When I asked the waitress what people have for breakfast in Slovenia she humorously answered "kebab! And smoking cigarettes...", probably because she was selling kebab. I still don't know what Slovenians eat for breakfast, but I know that a cappuccino in Lake Bled is not unlike an Italian one!

For a visual example, just look at the  wrought-iron dragon in this picture taken inside the castle in Bled. The design makes me think of Eastern Europe for some reason.




Museum inside Bled Castle

I can easily imagine this castle with conical roofs dotting the landscape of Hungary.
 

Conical roof at Bled Castle

And some of the chalets I encountered while hiking could have been Austrian houses.


Chalet in Slovenia

 

2) The architecture

What makes the architecture of Slovenia so pleasant to see is the harmony with the surrounding landscape, rather than the artistic achievement of the single buildings. It looks like somebody put the buildings and built the houses taking in consideration the fact that one day tourists will come and snap pictures.


The castle in Bled perched on a rock



Gracious church on the island in Lake Bled

They say that Communism produced some monsters in terms of architecture, big ugly buildings that will look out of place everywhere, but I didn't see many of these.

3) The respect for natural beauty

The most obvious things about Slovenia, is its almost rustic charm and its natural beauty, still uncontaminated. Even where human settlement has arrived, it looked as if respect for the place was always taken into consideration. To me it seemed that Slovenians were always walking on tiptoe, as not to intrude on their nature. Wherever you look there are mountain trails, and possibility to do outdoor sports. Hiking is particularly pleasant in this country, and I've seen plenty of people.

 

Canoeing at Lake Bohinj

The azure of the water of lakes and rivers will make you think that somebody has added soap in them, but it's clearly not the case. As a matter of fact, Slovenians are renowned in Europe for being particularly eco-friendly.
 

Relaxing in Lake Bohinj

 

Did I convince you to visit Slovenia?

My Best Unexpected Travel Moments of 2013

So you have been reading about my travel experiences for a while here on my blog. To greet the New Year, I'd like to write a post about the unexpected travel moments of 2013.

1) Seeing a Bollywood movie being filmed in Santorini

 

Last June I was in the beautiful island of Santorini. While I was walking down a street in Fira, the main town, I saw a group of Indian people blocking the street. I realized almost immediately that they were filming a movie, as two young actors were standing in front of one of the most famous panoramic points of the island, kissing and hugging, while a man was filming them. A couple of assistants were making sure that nobody could get too close, and a slightly cheesy Hindi song was playing in the background.

Beautiful Santorini

I stopped to watch for a while, and I quickly realized that I had already seen that actor somewhere, so I asked a girl if the protagonists were famous. She told me that they were both very famous and she told me their names: Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif. I had a closer look at him, and suddenly I remembered him from a Hindi movie where he plays emperor Akhbar! I managed to take this shot of the leading actor, before an assistant told me that pictures were not permitted.

The movie they were filming is called "Bang Bang", and it's going to be a spy story to be released in 2014. I have been to movie sets before (I live in Venice, remember?), but this was a lot smaller. In Venice, when they are filming a movie, they close all the area and you have to find another way to reach your destination. Security is so tight that you can barely see the actors. In this case, the actors were very close and you could totally go and speak to one of them during a break. As a matter of fact, a girl did. She was very excited and kept saying that she couldn't believe her luck. Even though I didn't see any Bollywood dance (how cool would that be?), I really enjoyed the experience, and now I have this quirky travelling moment under my belt.
 

Bang bang

 

 

2) Missing a bus just to catch a ride 

 

During my short trip to Slovenia last summer I hiked to Savica Waterfall from Lake Bohinj. Because I was doing everything with public transport, I had only two buses back to the place where I was staying, one at 16.30 and another at 18.30. While I was still hiking my way up to the waterfall (there are 20-30 minutes of steps to reach it), I realized that I would never catch the first bus, as it was already four. I would have to wait for almost two hours to take the next bus, and there wasn't much to do in the area. I thought I would just sit somewhere, order a coffee and read a book, when I met a group of three young men speaking Spanish.

The Waterfall

 

It turned out that two of them were from Colombia, and the third was in fact Slovenian. Igor, the Slovenian guy, was a treasure trove of information about his country. They had a car, so they took me back to Lake Bohinj, where we all stopped for a beer. I learned a lot about Slovenia: its history, its troubled relationship with Italy, and its struggle to preserve all the natural beauty it has. Igor also took us to have coffee and cake in the most famous cake shop in Bled. The four of us also visited Bled castle together, and at the end of the day they accompanied me back to my hostel, as I was a bit tired after the long hike. It was an unexpected turn of my day, so far dedicated to the contemplation of nature and to silence. Who said that it's more difficult to make friends while backpacking Europe?

 

 

3)  Getting lost in Istanbul at night

 

Istanbul is not considered a particularly unsafe town, but getting lost in a new city is always scary. Moreover, I was slightly out of my comfort zone, in a country whose culture is not thoroughly European and where the native language is not one that I know. I was walking back from the European side of Istanbul, after a visit to the Galata Tower and Beyoğlu area.
 

Galata Tower by night

Galata Tower by day

Somehow, I got lost! Finally, after walking down unfamiliar alleys, I reached a bridge. I thought it was the Galata Bridge, because I could see a mosque with its grey minarets on the other side of the bridge, and I thought it was the New Mosque. I  had crossed the Galata Bridge on my way to the European side just a few hours before. It was already dark, around 10.30 in the evening, and it took me a while to realize that I was on the wrong bridge! Moreover, somebody had pointed out the area past that second bridge as unsafe. I wondered if that was true. I decided to make my way back and cross the Golden Horn on the bridge I knew already. There was nobody around to ask for directions, only an old lady. Of course, she didn't speak English. The only thing she could do was pointing the Galata Bridge.

Fishing at the Galata Bridge

It was to my right, but how far it looked! The streets were dim, the sidewalks all dilapidated, there was nobody around, and I was scared. What if I ended up in an unsafe part of the city? After all, Istanbul is big. In the end, nobody harassed me, nothing happened to me and, after A LONG time of walking, I made it to the tram stop in Karaköy. I was helped by a couple of concierges along the way. No catcalls, no shady characters, no dangers along the way. This taught me that there is always a silver lining, even when things are going wrong. 

I hope to have more unexpected travel moments in 2014. Last year, between writing a PhD dissertation and enjoying my new apartment in Venice, I travelled, but not as much as I had hoped for. My trip to India vanished and I'm stull looking for a travel companion to go to Morocco. These are two countries I've been wanting to visit for a while now. I hope to find a way to visit one of these two in the near future...
 

"Travel Your Way" Photo Competition

Rhino Car Hire has launched an interesting photo competition, and I have been invited to participate by Dana from Time Travel Plans. The prize are £1,000 for the overall winner, and a SONY Nex-3N Compact Camera System worth £379 for every category winner. 

 

Travel bloggers are invited to submit their photos of their travels on different means of transport. Not that I want to compete with "real" photographers, but I thought browsing through my old photographs would be both interesting and funny!

 

By road

 

I was on a road trip with my parents through the lakes of Northern Italy. We stopped in Omegna, on the northern tip of Lake d'Orta, a small yet lovely lake in Piedmont, when we spotted this car, parked in front of a driving school. How would it be to take a road trip on this jewel of a car?




Old 'cinquecento' parked in Omegna, Lake d'Orta

By air

I was at Girona airport after a trip to Barcelona, and I snapped this picture from the big window in the waiting hall. I call it "The Power of Ryanair".


The Power of Ryanair. Girona, Spain

By sea

This one is more about travelling by water, but I realized I hadn't posted this picture. Slovenia is a country for lovers of outdoor activities. In Lake Bohinj you can hike from one side to the other, or you can rent a canoe and paddle your way to the next beach.

Lonely canoeing in Lake Bohinj, Slovenia



By Rail

I travel by train a lot, but I struggled to find a good picture of my journeys on the railways of Europe and beyond. Then I had an illumination: the train is not the only way to travel on rails! And this is when I remembered about this picture taken last May in Istanbul. I was a bit bored and disappointed by Istiklal Caddesi: to me it looked like any other big commercial street. It could have been in any European city. Then I heard the ring of the tram, and I was suddenly ecstatic about Istiklal Caddesi. I travelled with the tram a lot while in Istanbul, and it is a safe and easy way to move around the city.



Tram and veiled woman in Istiklal Caddesi, Istanbul



Now it's time to nominate five other bloggers I follow and invite them to participate in this photo competition: Bon Voyage, Lauren, Travelling Book Junkie, abitofculture, You Should Go too! and Danik the Explorer.


Happy travels everyone! 

Lake Bohinj, Savica Waterfall and Vintgar Gorge - more Slovenian bliss

Lake Bohinj

 

If Bled is the pearl of the Julian Alps, and the proud of Slovenian tourism, Lake Bohinj is a more quiet place to enjoy the natural beauty of the country. More than one friend suggested that I should visit Lake Bohinj as well as Bled, so I did. Bohinj Jezero (Lake Bohinj in Slovenian) is only a short bus ride from Bled. I hopped on a public bus and in half an hour I arrived in Ribčev Laz, the first stop on the lake.

 

View of Lake Bohinj. Picture taken during my hike.

 

 

To welcome me a stone bridge over the river Sava in the point where it joins Lake Bohinj, and what is said to be the most picturesque and photographed church in Slovenia, dedicated to St. John the Baptist. First built in the tenth or eleventh century, it contains some stunning frescoes of St. Cristopher, who incidentally I found out to be the protector of travellers!



The lovely stone bridge and the church of St. John the Baptist
 

The inside of the church, with frescoes dating to the early 14th century

Did I mention that I fell head over heels in love with Slovenian churches? They are tiny, with slender clock towers reaching towards the sky and sometimes onion-shaped roofs. Inside they are very colourful, unlike most churches in Italy which I often find sad because of the dull colours.

Inside the church of St. Martin, Bled
 

St. Martin Church from the outside (and castle rock at the back)

After visiting this little pearl of a church, I hiked to the other side of the lake (1 h 30 min to a place called Ukanc). Lake Bohinj is less developed than Bled. Because it's inside a national park (Triglav National Park) the rows of restaurants and bars of Bled are out of the question. Instead you will find many quiet spots to have a swim, to go canoeing or paragliding. The water is absolutely amazing. At the end of the hike, I had lunch with trout skewers and roasted potatoes in a nice restaurant. It cost me 15,50€ with lemonade and espresso coffee. Not bad, eh!?

My delicious lunch (and yes, I do food porn sometimes)

 

 

Savica Waterfall

 

From Ukanc I took a path that led me to Savica Waterfall (Savica Slap in Slovenian): I thought it was closer but it took me 45 minutes to reach the car park for the famous waterfall. That hike was very easy, but a bit boring. From the car park I reached the waterfall in about 30 minutes of stone steps into the woods (ok, I was tired and you can do it in 20). The waterfall is really impressing: it's a very high jump, the highest I have ever seen. You can't swim or dive there, if you're interested to know (many backpackers who reach Slovenia are intrepid crazy people who would dive anywhere!). I found a bit strange that in Slovenia you have to pay to see things like waterfalls and gorges, but the fee is never more than 4€. A nice mention to the three guys who gave me a lift back to Bled is in need. I had missed a bus and the next one was in two hours and a half!




Savica Waterfall

 

 Vintgar Gorge

 

My last trip was to Vintgar Gorge, a twenty-minute bus trip from Bled. This is already my second gorge this year, as I have hiked the Samaria Gorge in Crete. Vintgar gorge is a lot smaller, it's a thirty to forty-minute very easy hike to the end, where there is yet another waterfall, larger than Savica Slap but not as beautiful. The water inside the gorge is incredibly blue and the wooden walkways are very cool. Some people managed to dive and have a swim, but I wouldn't dare.

 

Vintgar Gorge

 

Goodbye Slovenia, until next time! I hope it's going to be soon!!!

 

Slovenian Mountains seen from Bled Castle

 

Ever considered this for your summer vacation house?

 

 

Have you been to Slovenia? Have you got any suggestions to my next trip to the fairytale country? Let me know!