Mmmmm….tapas and sangria. I’ve got Spanish food on my
mind, and this book is making me sooooo excited to visit the Iberian peninsula next year. Cheese, meat, olive oil and
wine, wine, wine. Yum. This collection of 275 recipes is a cookbook, but one that transports you to a place in a unique
and captivating way. Through her food writing, author Anya von Bremzen, brings us to the heart of today’s Spain in
The New Spanish Table, which I learned about from the fine folks
at Powells. In her original essay for Powells, Spain Event,
von Bremzen explains that this book chronicles her two decades of travel around Spain. What a way to journey through
this land, researching its rich culinary traditions! The book is a great one if you love cooking Spanish food or
visiting the country itself. I guess all the Spanish food I’ve eaten this month is getting to me. Here’s a quick plug
for the two tapas restaurants I’ve eaten at so far this December: On the west coast,
Fernando’s Hideaway, which I mentioned during my visit to
Portland. And then this past weekend, I wined and dined at
Barcelona in CT’s SoNo neighborhood. Both were mouth-wateringly
fantastic, as I’m sure this book will be for Spanish food lovers too.
Tonle Sap on NPR
When I was in Cambodia a few years ago, one of the highlights of
the experience was coming out of Siem Reap and taking a boat through the floating villages and then up the Tonle
Sap, the massive river that runs through the country and past Cambodia’s capital city Phnom Penh. I’ve long thought
there would be a good story here and, well, looks like there is.
Give a listen to this NPR piece on the
Tonle Sap by Michael Sullivan, who journeys up the Tonle Sap and reports on the Mekong Delta’s legendary — and
endangered — Mekong giant catfish. With great sound and solid reporting, you will learn a great deal about the catfish,
life on the river and, the troubles facing the country. This is one of those pieces that put you there. I highly
recommend it.
Eating St. Petersburg
Reading about Moscow only made me hungry for more of Russian destinations. Sticking to those
that are relatively big, I found a small list of great places to get your belly full in St.
Petersburg. The source of all this delicious information comes from
Way to Russia, a travel site made by travelers
from Russia for the rest of the world to feast upon.
Now, first on their list is
–Na Zdorovie
and the place is said to have some slammin’ “pshyonnaya” porridge. After repeating that one three times to the
waiter ask for the traditional berry drink, Mors, made right in the restaurant. Other notable qualities of Na Zdorovie
include the interior which is comprised of both Soviet relics and Russian crafts. Sort of like a Russian history museum
and restaurant all in one.
Also on the list and in the area is the Idiot Cafe-Bar. This one serves entirely vegetarian and Russian
plates. No offense should be taken to the name because once inside you’ll notice tons of second hand English
language books and magazines to read while you relax and eat. Last is the Shinok Ukrainian restaurant. They serve
hearty Ukrainian 24 hours a day. Never know when you’ll be needing that late night fix of vareniki.
Moscow Blog Blurb
Kev and Sian have A LOT of impressive travel tales to share at TravelPod, but of all their treks,
this one on
Moscow really wowed
me. It’s not too often I think about Russia as a first choice travel destination, but they certainly make me
want to reevaluate my list. The pair start with a rushed and sopping entrance into the Bolshoi Theater for the last
performance of Swan Lake. Afterwards they make way to their hotel which to their luck was smack dab in the middle
(or close) of all the most popular sites. Imagine Kremlin, Red Square, and St. Basil’s pretty much at your
fingertips. However, due to the Russian Cyrillic alphabet, crazed drivers coming up on the pavement, and
lack of pedestrian crossing, getting to them could prove a little complicated. As an added bonus they’ve got some
amazing pictures to share. This colorful shot of St. Basil’s really makes me want to capture one of my
own.
Caffeine Picks You Up…Yay!
For those of us who have not been on the road lately,
that is those of us who have been working away and dreaming of travel, it was a refreshing, if
predictable flash of good news to read that our good old friend, coffee, is exactly the pick me up, memory enhancer
we always knew it was. Yes, according to a report released by Austrian researchers who performed functional magnetic
resonance (FUNMACS…OK, not really) imaging scans on people, we learn that just two cups of coffee result in an increase
in frontal lobe activity…frontal lobes, you might remember from biology class, are the place in your noggin where you
do your best thinking…or you may remember from One Flew Over the Cuckoos
Nest that they can be nicely scrambled in the heads of insane or dangerous people…or just for fun. Anyway, I guess
we already knew this, but
nice to have it in writing.