‘Still Life at Cabalus’ (edible!)

Off season in Burgundy, frosty nights and luminous days, are reasons alone to visit such medieval sites as Vézelay. But arriving “cold” on a recent winter Saturday, just before the tourist office closed, posed problems of lodging and a little nourishment. The few hotels open at this time of year were full or closed for the weekend. Luckily, after the cheery tourist office manager made two calls to chambres d’hôtes (B&Bs), a vacant room was found.

We continued an uphill walk along the steep main street of Vézelay to a twelfth century hostel-hospital for pilgrims, now renovated into four bedrooms and a very large, vaulted central room which serves as a café-gallery. Once inside the gate and small entry court of “Cabalus, une maison d’un autre temps “, we entered another time zone: ring a small bronze bell, as a pilgrim would in the thirteenth century, ascend worn stone steps and walk through a narrow passageway, to enter a large bedroom. Look out the single window over tiled rooftops to Burgundy’s Morvan hills, look down at old (but spotless) floor tiles and around at white-washed walls. Sink into the bed’s snowy white down coverlet and imagine who has spent time in this room – pilgrims or travelers – over the last nine hundred years. It gives one pause.

Dark wooden beams and white walls: simplicity prevails in the heated bedroom and bath. The shower and a sink with sleek faucets set above a wooden table are clearly not medieval, but contemporary and functional. After a walk through narrow streets and up to the Basilique de la Madeleine – do not miss the west façade’s tympanum at sunset – return for a supper of long-simmered soup and salad, the wise choice for a winter evening when most guide-book choices are closed. But, more important, be up for petit-déjeuner.

On Sunday morning we took our places at one of the marble tables set for breakfast. Each setting was a still life: a single apple, a tray of jam and ruffly shaved cheese, a basket of homemade bread – warm from the oven – and a tall taper in a brass candlestick to light the marble table. Perfection. And while sipping coffee or tea, we admired the twelfth century vaulted ceiling, the fire burning in a broad fireplace, herbs hung to dry, and books of all sorts tucked in between old objects. There are prints, drawings and calligraphy, jewelry displayed on branches, all against the natural tones of walls that have weathered time. If these old walls could speak, perhaps their best expression would be in the small polished stones subtly carved with labyrinth designs, pendants created by the artist who renovated this welcoming space. Whether for pilgrims or those of us just passing through, time at Cabalus nourishes the body as well as the soul.

Reserve with Mme Cabalus, tel: 03 86 33 2066, rue St.Pierre, F89450 Vézelay. Out of season, B&B rates run about 80 Euros for a double room. Book well in advance during Easter or Christmas seasons.

In between one mousse and another, a quick word on current and upcoming chocolate events: In Perugia, Italy,  Eurochocolate is this week, 13th to 21st October.  In addition to tastings and demonstrations, sit in on a round table discussing “The Sustainable Economy of Cocoa Producing Countries”. If not 2007, put Perugia on the Tasty Travels plan for October 2008.  Check www.eurochocolate.com/en/perugia for details.

Over 100 chocolatiers and 400 exhibits fill the Salon du Chocolat, the 19th & 20th of October  in Paris – events on the menu include chocolate-hued fashion shows.  In New York, Chocolate Week is the 4th to 11th of November, 2007.

Summer’s lush colors on the Italian Riviera are worth a detour, worth an extra day to literally smell the roses. Returning to France after a week in Tuscany, our last stop was Sanremo, famed for bicycle races and as a winter residence for royalty of the belle époque. This casino town is the heart of the Riviera dei Fiori, the flowering coast, a blooming stretch of Mediterranean shores that explode with color – even in the driest, hottest season of a hot and dry year. Brilliant magenta bougainvilla cascades down rocky slopes, barely stopping for spiny cactus, as trumpets of morning glories clamber through oleander bushes dense with blossoms. On this stage of such intense colors, I assumed we could explore intense flavors: I was not wrong. Before heading for the market, set in and around a central market hall in Sanremo’s old quarter, we rambled along the narrow streets as shops were opening and menus were being posted. Overhead, laundry strung between windows reflected morning light, geraniums nodded from windowsills, life was going on as usual. Stalls of clothing, bedding, hats and tools lined our way to the market hall, but once I stepped inside the hall and took a breath, I knew that Liguria’s best could be found here.

The shopper in me went into overdrive: taking home a bouquet of fresh basil didn’t make sense, but bottled pesto and unusual pastas did. If Livorno’s central market hall is a fish-shopper’s paradise, Sanremo’s market is the place to fill a basket with soft and fragrant olive oil, snappy pesto and all sorts of tid-bits to taste at home. At one point, I paused and glanced up, taking in the sunlight streaming into the hall. Set against the wall, high above the rustle and bustle of vegetable and pasta sellers, was a small madonna figure – her halo illuminated with electric candles, in blessing.

At noon, the cathedral’s bells announced pranzo, pause for lunch. Earlier, I had noticed an interesting menu posted at “Ristorante le Quattro Stagioni“, the Four Seasons Restaurant, so we made our way back through crowded streets to sample a local red wine and study their lunch menu. Tiny ravioli filled with borage in an herb sauce, a typical Ligurian marriage of herbs, fresh greens and pasta, were delicious, tender, perfect. We sipped a soft red wine with lunch, the local Rossese di Dolceaqua recommended by the restaurant’s owner, Gaetano Monaco. Wines served at the restaurant are supplied by per Bacco, his new wine bar next door. When I raved about the ravioli, he called the chefs, Luca Diano and Larissa Loapa, to tell us more about their summer menu. And as we left, I noted a sign by the per Bacco door announcing musicians lined up for summer evenings. Live music, good wine, more summer flavors to explore – more reasons to linger in Liguria.

Details: In Sanremo, Ristorante le Quattro Stagioni del vino/ per Bacco, Via Corradi 83/89. tel: 0184.573262. Reservations advised for dinner. Closed on Sunday. Light meals served in the wine bar, per Bacco.

Another Sanremo wine bar, a very contemporary neighborhood watering hole is: VinoPanino&Co, Corso Mombello 56/58. Their selection of wines, by the glass or bottle is outstanding, whether you explore Italian wines or switch to French or Chilean. Do sample any of a long list of paninos (small open-faced sandwiches) before tackling a plate of smoked swordfish carpaccio.

   What is it about river towns that draws me back? I reflected, inspired by the soft-toned facades of medieval buildings lining gentle bends of the river Arno.  Again, I crossed Pisa’s old bridges, marveling at column-edged Renaissance windows while the matter-of-fact daily life of buses and bicycles whizzed past me.  The same magnetic sensation had been at work earlier this summer in the Spanish town of Girona.  There I explored river-side medieval ateliers, shops and studios now restored and still in use by printmakers, sculptors and book-binders. In a glance through their doors and windows, one looks straight out to the river Onyar that flows through the Catalonian town, just as the Arno snakes through Pisa.  I felt a curious sensation of déjà vu.

So, unable to resist the tug to the Arno, we returned again this summer en route to a family gathering near Siena.  A pause, just a couple of days, in this historic university town gave me a deeper appreciation of the treasures of western Tuscany, its flavors and traces of Pisa’s rich past.  As I reported last year, the vegetable market is set in adjoining piazzas right in the center of town.  Basically the same vendors were still there, patiently tending red and green tomatoes, heaps of zucchini blossoms and plump plums.  I was reassured and took more photos, but this time around, I also found fruit and vegetables closer to the leaning tower of Pisa.  What? Fruit on the Campo dei Miracoli?  Well, these garlands of fruit date to about 1602.  Cucumbers on the vine, carved by Giambologna were cast in bronze, along with apples and plums – all to celebrate the Tuscan earth’s abundance.

Vegetation Motifs of Centuries Past
Click here to see full photo gallery

I delighted in discoveries of the Duomo’s magnificent carvings, on and around its enormous doors. The Duomo, the majestic church itself, was built early in the eleventh century. Giambologna’s doors replace earlier west portals which were destroyed by fire. In the last light of a summer evening, few tourists remained. An air of calm settled over the marble-faced buildings, placed neatly on the Campo dei Miracoli’s (Field of Miracles) verdant platter of manicured grass. We took advantage of the special summer hours, giving visitors access to the Baptistry and Duomo until twilight. This photo session of vegetation and grape vines inspired a good appetite.  We soon found our way toward the Piazza dei Cavallieri – only about ten minutes walk from the Duomo and leaning tower – for dinner at the Osteria dei Cavalieri on via San Frediano.  I knew we were taking a chance without reservations, but the waiter graciously brought us glasses of sparkling wine to sip for a few minutes until a table was free.  The informal atmosphere, prompt service and well balanced Tuscan cuisine keeps this osteria at the top of guide books’ listings.  I understood why as I dug into a plate of gnocchi with flakes of delicate fish: as it melts in your mouth, it lasts in your memory.

Inspired by delicious fish and our proximity to the sea, the following day we hopped on a train to Livorno – less than an hour’s ride through pines and farmland from Pisa.   We took a city bus from Livorno’s station and found our way to the central market hall, which was surrounded by canopied stalls stretching beyond it in all directions.  Heaps of  melons and tomatoes, dangling housewares and platters of aromatic ham -ready to slice – lined each street.  We stepped inside the hall, its center filled with vendors of fish and shellfish, flanked by stalls of bread, pasta and cheese.  But I was determined to see the old harbor, where fishermen sell their catch directly to shoppers.  By the time we found Livorno’s extensive marina, the sun was overhead and most fishing boats were being hosed down; the fishermen were on their way home.  Near the Fortezza Vecchia’s (old fort) slanting brick walls, I spotted a striped canopy over marble slabs, where a few fishermen still sold fish.  Change a few details, I thought, and change a few centuries, but the scene would be the same, and Livorno’s famous fish soup would be simmered for family suppers – whatever the century.

In Pisa: Osteria dei Cavalieri, via San Frediano 16. Tel: 050 580858. Limited seating, reservations suggested. Closed during August; closed Saturday noon and Sunday.

Please click image for an image gallery

Along Rethymnon’s Venetian harbor, a strong gust of wind almost caught me off balance – and with this surging spring wind, I caught a heady whiff of grilled meat.  Overhead, holiday lights outlined masks strung across streets in the town’s old quarter.  Music blared as costumed kids paraded in clusters or holding a parent’s hand.  We stepped aside as Smoky Thursday crowds ambled past, young revelers behind masks.  In all parts of Greece, we were told later, high-jinks and heaps of meat on the grill are the tradition on this Thursday before Shrove Tuesday.  Both are days of (over) indulgence  before Lent’s long privation, the forty days leading to Easter when no meat can be eaten.  For devout Greek Orthodox practitioners, no cheese, nor any oil pass their lips during Lent.  The practice is Orthodox, but the carnival atmosphere (dampened by a light rain) in this busy port on Crete’s north coast had a decidedly Venetian air – not surprising after four hundred years of Venetian occupation.  We ducked into one of the snug bars near the harbor for a warming nip of raki and noted locals sipping the same clear alcohol distilled from grape must.  Drummers marched past, masks appeared and vanished in the narrow streets, and a throng of teenage boys in wild, colorful wigs pranced along, (partially) disguised. We walked back to the hotel past the cybercafé, our usual spot to check Email messages.  But now it was filled to overflowing, and under a broad awning’s protection from the rain, I noticed that the pink and blue “wigs” were taking a cyber break.

Spring in Crete means more than Carnival antics and the hiss of meat on the grill.  During a weekend at the eastern edge of this long, mountain-ridged island, we spent a day with friends, driving along steeply winding roads into the hills above Agios Nikolaos. Wild almond trees in bloom sponged soft pastel tints across arid, rock-strewn pastureland. We paused as sheep scampered across the road; villages were silent, shuttered. One might wonder if anyone lived there.  Artemis was driving, and she rolled down the window to ask directions of a woman dressed in black. “You lookin’ for greens?” the old woman spoke first, in a local dialect (I was told).  “You know where to find ‘em?”  Their short conversation gave Artemis directions to a taverna, but yielded no secrets about where to find ‘horta’, the wild spring greens so prized to fill flaky pita (pies) as well as to keep for medicinal uses.  We drove on to a smaller village for lunch in a simple taverna with no sign posted outside – one has to know the lay of the land for lunch in these hills.

Settling into our places at a pine table, I asked “What’s for lunch?” The house specialty, I was told: boiled goat.   Not kid, nothing like cabrito (kid, a favorite for Mexican Easter feasts) that I had tasted, just the long-simmered goat.  The cook and his wife seemed to be eagerly awaiting our arrival.  First, a flotilla of plates arrived for us to share and sample: eggplant salad, a dish of dakos (barley buns moistened with olive oil, then spread with crushed tomatoes and crumbled feta cheese), pickled octopus, herbed beans, country bread and succulent black olives.  Then, a bowl of broth before the main course was set before us all: a platter of steaming meat and carrots. The first bite was surprisingly tender, definitely delicious.  A side of macaroni and a dish of greens came around, a light red wine was poured again, and I thought: Ah, spring in Crete, prefect timing for a memorable lunch of boiled goat!

Another year of tasting and traveling is almost behind us.  The packages have been wrapped and sent to our near and dear ones in distant spots around Europe and North America, but I’m still subject to last minute gift ideas – an almond torrone or perhaps a Spanish fig cake might delight a special friend.  Delinostrum to the rescue!  Ordering gifts of food specialties from their web site, www.delinostrum.com takes the hassle out of shopping and shipping. The quality of their products is always high, and the range is very well chosen.  This is my quick-shopper stop for Spanish almonds, with a tantalyzing selection of artisanal torrones (a Spanish almond and honey confection), and packets of Marcona and Llarghetta almonds straight from my favorite foodie nook in Barcelona: Casa Gispert. If I can’t zip south to the Catalan capital, Delinostrum saves the day, just short of the real experience of poking around in the ancient grocery while the aromas of roasting almonds or coffee fill the air. Almonds only begin the list of Delinostrum shipable specialties…their olive oils and vinegars are excellent, too.

For Italian food specialties, I turn to www.gustiamo.com, whose site is a wonderland of products and information. For Sicilian sweets and jams or the lightest, sweet loaves of Panettone, this is an excellent gift source. If not for Christmas, gustiamo’s savory and sweet temptations solve the hostess-gift puzzle.  Beatrice Ughi, whose spirit and savvy shines through in the gustiamo forums, is the manager and contact at gustiamo.  Gifts are dispatched with alacrity from gustiamo’s warehouse in the US.  It is difficult to choose from such a wide range of specialties.  Any (or many!) would be a great introductory taste for friends planning travel to Italy in the upcoming new year. And why not sample a special morsel while toasting the old year and ringing in 2007?

In the markets: Look for olives, olive oil and a selection of tapenades from Domaine de l’Arbre Blanc. Visits to the oil mill by reservation.
Corine Henuset & François Boutroux
Chemin du Pas de l’Arbre Blanc
66700 Argeles sur Mer
Tel/fax: 04 68 95 91 06
Email: arbre.blanc@free.fr

Lunch or dinner bites: Discover a menu of unique flavors in French-Japanese fusion cuisine, all prepared with market-fresh ingredients. This tiny restaurant is on a winding back street in Collioure.
Le 5eme Péché (the Fifth Sin) Restaurant
18 rue de la Fraternité
66190 Collioure
Reserve a table: 04 68 98 09 76
contact@le5peche.com