Never Left Home

Dijon, France: Mustard Capital of the Universe

Posted on November 13, 2013 by jayandtanya

This weekend we visited Dijon, arguably the mustard capital of the universe. This store, Moutarde Maille, is ground zero for mustard. Mustard with basil, with pimento, with figs, with truffles, olives, cherries and on and on….a veritable mustard heaven on earth. Naturally, we had to support the local economy and bring home our share of mustard products. Now, the question is how will we use all these different concoctions? Just slapping some this nectar of the gods on a bratwurst just doesn’t seem quite right. Well, it will be an interesting culinary winter.

Besides mustard, Dijon is the capital of Burgundy, or Bourgogne. And we all know from Julia Child that the local favorite here is Boeuf Bourguignon. We sampled some, along with a serving of Coq au Vin, just to make sure we weren’t missing anything. Quite tasty, but I think we’ll stick with our Mediterranean diet for now. One cool thing about Dijon, is the Owl’s Trail, a very clever, and useful, marketing gimmick to guide visitors through all the hot spots of old Dijon. You start by rubbing your left hand (the side closest to your heart) on the owl which has occupied the corner of the cathedral for centuries. This is to bring you good luck, and so far so good.

Another highlight is the town clock, which was taken as war loot from Courtrai (Belgium) by the grand duke and given to the people of Dijon in 1383, in recognition of their help in the war against Flanders.

The clock originally only featured the statue of the single man, Jacquemart. People joked about his bachelor status for a few hundred years (I guess a good joke can go on for a long time) until in 1651 a female companion was added for him, Jacqueline. Then, people made fun of their infertility and so that joke went on for another 60 years or so until in 1714, a little Jacquelinet was made for the clock. Having one child proved to be so hilarious for the next 160 years until in 1884 little Jacquelinette was added to the clock. The people of Dijon have been getting a good yuk out of this whole thing up to this day. Who says these folks don’t have a sense of humor?

Here’s a sample of other photos from our weekend.

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Santorini

Posted on November 8, 2013 by jayandtanya

This was our second visit to Santorini. When we first were here in March, 1992 it was a quieter place. We had arrived about 5am on the ferry from Piraeus, were dog-tired and took a shuttle bus from the dock up to the main town of Fira. This time we arrived on a luxury cruise ship, anticipating recalling happy memories of the place. Of course, much has changed in 21 years. Santorini is on the “must stop” list on cruise ship itineraries, a cable-car now whisks travelers up and down the hillside to town and the primary streets of Fira are packed with people ogling the T-shirts, jewelry and other required items for the tourists to show the folks back home.

But, the island still has charm and I’m sure, from a material standpoint, life is much better for the 11,000 or so people who live here. Prosperity has enabled Santorini to improve the facilities at its primary archaeological site, Akrotiri. Money, generated by tourism, has enabled the islanders to improve education, with over 90% qualifying to enter university. Apparently, local agriculture is even making a comeback as it attracts tourists to sample local produce. So, while Santorini was, of course, not the same place we visited in 1992, it was still beautiful and, yes, romantic.

Ruins of Ancient Akrotiri

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Messina, Sicily

Posted on November 6, 2013 by jayandtanya

OK, we know Messina is of historical importance. But spending about four hours here really didn’t give us a real feel for the place. In the photo you can see the Strait of Messina, which separates Sicily from the mainland of Italy. The thing we remember most about Messina is from the movie Patton, where the American Third Army, led by General George S. Patton and British General Montgomery were both trying to get to Messina first, in order to gain the glory for driving the Germans out of Sicily. It’s a great scene in the movie, by the way. But for us on this beautiful October morning, we had to be content with a little drive around town and a peak at some of the streets of town. Tanya and Jay both vowed that we need to come back to Sicily and spend a proper amount of time here.

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Rhodes, Greece

Posted on October 28, 2013 by jayandtanya

Rhodes is one of those islands that we really need to re-visit. On this trip in mid-October we got just a taste of this place and were able to see the highlights: the Plateau of Filerimos with the Church of Our Lady built upon the foundations of the ancient temple of Athena, the medieval town of Rhodes (a UNESCO world heritage site) and the Grand Masters’ Palace. So much history, such little time.

Entry to Rhodes Port

Church of Our Lady on Mt. Filerimos

Church priest sweeping up

Atop Mt. Filerimos

Outside the medieval city of Rhodes

Grand Masters’ Palace

Old City of Rhodes

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Patmos, Greece

Posted on October 27, 2013 by jayandtanya

Patmos is one of those small Greek islands one seldom hears about but yet has significant importance in Christianity. It was on Patmos that the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation while living in a cave after hearing the voice of God. Revelation is certainly one of the most popular books of the Bible and we visited the cave and saw where John supposedly wrote the book on a ledge inside the cave as well as the portion of the cave where he slept. A small chapel has been built over the entrance to the cave and a service was in progress when we visited. No photos are allowed inside the cave itself.

Entrance to the Chapel of St. John leading to the cave

Detail of artwork at entrance to Chapel of St. John

Afterwards, we visited the Monastery of St. John, where 15 monks continue to live the monastic lifestyle.

The head priest of the monastery instructing one of the monks

Later that afternoon Tanya fell in love with a swarthy Greek dancer

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Sorrento & Pompeii

Posted on October 26, 2013 by jayandtanya

It was a stormy, blustery morning two weeks ago when we got to Sorrento, Italy. The city itself is supposed to be beautiful and viewed from the sea we could understand why it’s such a popular destination. Sorrento is the starting (or ending) point of the well-known Amalfi Drive, the narrow road that connects it to Amalfi along the high cliffs overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. But for us this thrilling drive would have to wait for our next visit as today we set off to see the ruins of nearby ancient Pompeii.

Pompeii was the Roman city destroyed by the eruption of nearby Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. The city was buried by volcanic ash and 2,000 of the 20,000 inhabitants died. Presumably the other 18,000 beat cleats out of there after a series of earthquakes and most of the poor folks left were slaves looking after the place. It was long thought that the victims died of suffocation from the ash but a study published in 2010 reported that most of the deaths were due to extreme heat (up to 482 degrees F.) rather than suffocation. In any case, the city remained buried under about 25 meters of ash until it was re-discovered in 1748 and was then excavated over several years. So, while it’s little comfort to the people who were left in Pompeii, the city was remarkably preserved by the mountain of ash that covered it and it’s now a UNESCO world heritage site and major tourist attraction. One of the big tourist draws are the somewhat macabre plaster-cast figures of people that died in the city. These were made by pouring plaster into the spaces left by decomposed remains and they’re now displayed along with other artifacts found at the site.

Mt. Vesuvius

Beware of the Dog

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October Trip to Eastern Mediterranean

Posted on October 25, 2013 by jayandtanya

We just returned from an incredible 15-day trip to Israel, Turkey, Cypress, Crete and a few other amazing places. We’ll be posting photos and commentary over the next several days as we digest the amount of input we experienced over that short period of time. This trip was on a cruise ship, which we agree with Rick Steves is more of an exercise in hedonism, with a sampling of destinations, rather than pure traveling. But we certainly cannot discount the opportunity this trip gave us to visit many places within a short time. Hedonism it might be, but our lives were definitely enriched by the experience.

Here’s the TI booth at the Port of Civitavecchia, north of Rome. I guess the tourist season must be over.

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Karlsruhe

Posted on October 4, 2013 by jayandtanya

There are so many places in Germany that get very little mention in guidebooks. One of these is Karlsruhe in Baden-Württemberg. The town actually started in 1715, when the head guy of Baden, or margrave as he was called, ordered a lodge to be built in the middle of his favorite hunting grounds. Old Karl Wilhelm von Baden-Durlach liked the place so much that he decided to move there, have a palace built, and live out the rest of his days in peace, hence the name “Karlsruhe” or “Karl’s Rest”. Unfortunately the palace, along with most of the rest of the town, was destroyed by World War II bombing. But the palace has been completely restored and is truly impressive. Although Karlsruhe is not the kind of medieval quaint kind of German town most tourists are looking for, it is a pretty fun place. It seems to have an active kind of vibe and there are some good places to eat in the city center. We were glad we stopped here.

In front of the Karlsruhe Palace

Along the main street of Karlsruhe

Now, how realistic is this really?

Not completely sure what’s going on here.

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Weekend in Liechtenstein

Posted on October 2, 2013 by jayandtanya

Liechtenstein is one of those tiny countries we had always wanted to visit. Little places like this, including other midgets like Monaco or San Marino, seem to have an independent and fearless spirit. Despite all odds and through the quirks of history, these small gems have kept themselves from being gobbled up by larger neighbors. Their military power is non-existent and somehow this complete lack of defense gives them their strength. Who would dare mess around with Liechtenstein? Talk about an unfair fight. Anyway, who could not love a place where the Prince often comes down the hill from his castle to have a beer in his tiny capital of Vaduz. Where, on its national holiday on August 15, the main feature is having cows with flower headdresses walk from the hills into town. Where the country doesn’t even have an airport. 35,000 total population, 11 towns, nestled in a valley adjacent to Switzerland and Austria, Liechtenstein is a place worth a visit. There’s nothing like hearing the sound of cowbells echoing across the hills.

In front of the Prince’s castle

Looking across the valley to Switzerland

Looking up from Vaduz to the castle

One of Liechtenstein’s 11 towns

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Wiesbaden Stadtfest 2013

Posted on September 29, 2013 by jayandtanya

Germans love festivals! Throughout the year you can find some kind of festival practically anywhere in this beautiful country. And we don’t mean just Oktoberfest. This weekend in Wiesbaden we celebrated Stadtfest or “city festival”, complete with Oom-Pah bands, food, wine, crafts and a terrific Friday night show in the market place with Mike and The Mechanics. Here’s just a sample: