enlarge video
Most anything needed along the Autostrada, including a really good meal, can be found at many of the service areas, or area servizio. All of these stops have… CONTINUE READING>>
Most anything needed along the Autostrada, including a really good meal, can be found at many of the service areas, or area servizio. All of these stops have gas, groceries, souvenirs and a bar, that’s right, a full bar with snacks. Many have repair service and a full restaurant. Just look for the AutoGrill or Ciao (we have no idea if the Italians get the pun of this name for a place to chow down) signs.
The food is served cafeteria style but is always fresh and very good, this is Italy after all. They take their food very seriously. “To Go” food is almost nonexistent and we never saw anyone eating in their car. Italians will pull off the road even to consume a little picnic lunch or snack packed from home.
When a quick jolt of Joe was needed at a rest stop, we were in luck, Italy has about the best coffee in the world. After a time or two of babbling at the servers we learned the proper process. Go to the cashier first to order and pay for the desired beverage, then take the receipt to the bar, tell the tender, and proceed to knock back an espresso. Viola! Ready for another couple hundred miles.
Days Two & Three: Enter to win the most popular tee in our store! Short sleeved, black, m+t+nest=peace 100% cotton tee! (See photo above)
Be sure to visit our store all weekend for special discounts (use the code at the top of the store page at checkout!)
OFFICIAL RULES All contest
entries must be submitted between December 2, 2011, 2:01AM EST and December 5, 2011, 1:59 PM EST
– Multiple entries will not be accepted and will result in disqualification.
– Winners will be selected in a random drawing from all qualified
entries.
– Winners will be notified on this page (GypsyNester.com/giveaway.htm) and by e-mail in the afternoons of December 3, 4 & 5, 2011.
– To claim prize, winner must respond via email by December 8, 2011,
10PM EST
– Winners will be announced on this page (GypsyNester.com/giveaway.htm) in the afternoons of December 3, 4 & 5, 2011.
– One prize winner will receive a white “Empty Nester’s First Christmas” tree ornament.
– Two prize winners will receive a black, short sleeved “m+t+nest=peace” tee shirt.
– Approximate total value of the prizes are $67, there are no other
prizes.
– The prizes are nontransferable. There may be no cash or substitutions.
– You must be over the age of 21 to enter.
– You must be a resident of the United States to enter.
– By entering, each contestant agrees to be bound by these rules.
– Failure of the original winner to meet official rules or claim
prize within the specified time period will result in automatic
forfeiture of any prize.
To enter simply answer the following question by leaving a comment below (you may enter only once, daily drawings will be chosen from ALL entries):
“The BEST place to celebrate the Holidays is ______________.”
The Riviera is synonymous with playground for the rich and famous.
First royalty, then artsy types like Picasso, Matisse, Aldous Huxley arrived, and nowadays Elton John, Bono, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have all bought homes and frequent the seaside resorts. Of course two road weary GypsyNesters in a tiny rented economy car felt… CONTINUE READING >>
Our trans Europe trek in our little rental car “Benny” took us right across the five hundred miles or so of gorgeous Mediterranean coastline that has become known as The Riviera.
There is no official boundary to the area, but the name is widely accepted for the shoreline shared by France and Italy.
Riviera is an Italian term for a strip of land between the mountains and the sea, but we English speakers have adopted it to refer to this particular southern coast of Europe.
In fact it was the English that played a huge part in making this region so renowned.
The British upper crust began visiting the Riviera around the time of the American Revolution as a winter escape from dreary old England. Soon a railroad was built and the aristocrats really started flooding in.
The Riviera became synonymous with playground for the rich and famous.
First royalty, then artsy types like Picasso, Matisse, Aldous Huxley arrived, and nowadays Elton John, Bono, Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have all bought homes and frequent the seaside resorts. Of course two road weary GypsyNesters in a tiny rented economy car felt right at home…
Actually, we did, in certain places. It’s not all five star hotels and James Bond hangouts along the way. There are many beachside bungalows, bars and cafes for us regular folks to frequent.
Technically the name Riviera would only apply to the Italian part of the coast, but at one time all of this was controlled by one Italian dynasty or another, so we’ll allow it.
After changing hands between several European monarchies (c’mon – who wouldn’t want to own the Riviera?), the western section of the region has been under French control since the reign of Napoleon III. We may allow the area to be called the Riviera, but the French call their stretch Côte d’Azur, meaning blue coast. Très romantique.
On the beautiful day that we drove through, the name could not have been more fitting.
Stunning scenes of the blue Mediterranean were the order of the day. Meanwhile famous names appeared on the highway signs every few minutes. Exits for Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Nice, Monte Carlo and Monaco beckoned, but we simply couldn’t see them all. And we couldn’t dream of affording to spend the night.
Well, no one could stop us from dreaming.
We did discover that venturing from the superhighway above the sea down to the little two lane road right along the coast, while highly scenic and entertaining, involved unbelievable traffic nightmares that were only tolerable for short distances.
It would take several days to drive the entire Riviera down there. We opted to hop on and off the superhighway when something struck our fancy.
Once we crossed into Italy the views didn’t diminish in the least, in fact this may be the most scenic part of the Riviera as the mountains fall right into the sea.
The Italian Riviera is unofficially divided into two parts, the Riviera di Ponente, meaning the coast of the setting sun, to the west, and the Riviera di Levante, or the coast of the rising sun, to the east. One of our favorite cities in all of Italy, Genoa, serves as the dividing point between them.
While the names of the Italian towns aren’t as famous as their French counterparts, the Ligurian seaside resorts of Sanremo, Savona, Portofino and Cinque Terra are every bit as inviting. The entire coast is one fabulous resort after another, so there is no need to focus on the more famous names.
Our friends Claudia and Paolo recommended we stop off in Cella Liguria for a taste of the real Ligurian Riviera and they never steer us wrong.
Beautiful and yet not so overpowering with the opulence and luxury of its neighbors, Cella was perfect for an afternoon leg stretching and a gelato before we continued on our way.
Unfortunately for us, this was also the place where we had to turn inland and proceed over the mountains. As we climbed The Apennines we got one last look at the exquisite ribbon of Riviera behind us.
Benny’s wheels ain’t big, but they keep on turning.
It’s a beautiful thing to be entranced. When I was a child I would watch my father, an award-winning photographer, practically leave the planet when he found a subject that captured his interest. It wasn’t until I found myself wandering alone within the ancient walls of the old city in Genoa, Italy did I fully understand.
It’s a beautiful thing to be entranced. When I was a child I would watch my father, an award-winning photographer, practically leave the planet when he found a subject that captured his interest.
It wasn’t until I found myself wandering alone within the ancient walls of the old city in Genoa, Italy did I fully understand.
It was as if a fully developed story opened in front of my eyes and it was my job to capture it through my lens. My initial idea was to write about my experience, but I can’t express the feeling of this beautiful day better than the photographs alone. Words cannot enhance the magic I found.
enlarge video
Riding through Port Hercule in Monaco, the richest country in the world! Check out the megayachts! Just below the casino … CONTINUE READING>>
Riding through Port Hercule in Monaco, the richest country in the world! Check out the megayachts!
Just below the casino, the Bateau Bus Electrique Solaire de Monaco runs right through the thick of the bevy of bodacious yachts filling the harbor. Far and away the richest country on Earth, it’s no wonder these incredible private luxury liners are attracted to Monaco’s harbor.
For just one Euro, without a doubt the best deal in the whole country, the little electric boat took us smoothly past the giant status symbols to the dock by the Prince’s Palace on the other side of the port.
Our “low to the ground” style of traveling enables us to uncover unique regional fare. Right near the top of our list would have to be the bouillabaisse on the French Riviera.
While the city of Marseille traditionally lays claim to being the birthplace of bouillabaisse, the fact is that fishermen all along this rocky coast invented the soup as a way… CONTINUE READING >>
Our “low to the ground” style of traveling enables us to uncover unique regional fare.
By renting a car and driving through, rather than flying over, the French countryside, we have stumbled upon all sorts of delicacies.
And right near the top of our list would have to be the bouillabaisse on the French Riviera.
While the city of Marseille traditionally lays claim to being the birthplace of bouillabaisse, the fact is that fishermen all along this rocky coast invented the soup as a way to use the boney fish and leftovers that they couldn’t sell.
The seafood was cooked over open fires in seawater seasoned with garlic and fennel. After a while, restaurants in Marseille ran with the recipe, adding saffron, orange peel, basil and bay leaf to the seasoning – and tossing in a better class of fish.
We weren’t really up for fighting our way through the traffic of France’s second largest city to sample the soup at one of the many establishments in Marseille that claim to be the original home of bouillabaisse.
So we ventured down to the coast to the little hamlet of Six-Fours-les-Plages and struck gold with the restaurant Au Royaume de la Bouillabaisse.
Perched on a point overlooking the beautiful Mediterranean, perhaps this was the very spot where a fisherman first filled a pot with seawater and set it to boil, or “bouillir” in French, and reduce, or “abaisser,” his catch.
We’re not saying it was, but it certainly would have been the perfect place for it.
While we discussed this possibility, sipping our feather-light white wine and awaiting our order of Bouillabaisse de Gaou for two, we noticed that several tables had enormous platters of fish placed in the center.
Everyone was diving in for a communal supper.
Veronica, overcome by curiosity, bopped over and asked a group what they were eating.
Their answer had a certain “duh” quality to it, as in “it’s bouillabaisse, duh.”
But it sounded okay since it was in a heavy French accent. And everything sounds better when you’re hearing it in French.
We have had bouillabaisse all over The States, from New York to California, but this wasn’t remotely similar to any of our previous experiences.
Everything was always in one big bowl, but here in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region of France, that’s not bouillabaisse.
While these fish were boiled and reduced in the broth, they were not served in it.
Our server brought a ridiculously huge platter and placed it on a tray over a warming flame in the center of the table.
This was accompanied by a large urn of broth, also placed over a flame.
Looked like they were expecting us to take our time, good thing too, considering the amount of food delivered.
There were several varieties of seafood sharing the ample platter, so we set about trying to identify them. The waitress pointed out each of the participants, but the French names still left us pretty confused as to what we were about to consume.
The mussels (moules in French) were easy enough to recognize, we also found the octopus without too much trouble.
Then things got a little more difficult but, by Google, we were going to figure it out.
Traditionally bouillabaisse includes sea robins (grondin), a type of eel called conger and scorpionfish (rascasse) and as near as we could tell these were all present on our platter.
Luckily we had video documentation to go back to, and we are fairly confident that those guys were our dinner. Along with the fish, the platter was laden with veggies. Leeks, onions, tomatoes, celery and potatoes were all intermingled between the fins and shells.
After visually stalking what the other patrons were doing, it looked as though the proper method of consumption seemed to be filling a bowl with broth and then adding the fish and vegetables.
Once the desired mixture was attained, toasted bread topped with rouille, a thick mayonnaise-like spread made from of garlic, peppers and tomato, should be floated atop the stew.
This combination was so spectacular that we had to take a moment for our eyes to roll back into their proper positions.
Speaking of eyes, after we had torn into enough of the fish that shells, bones and fins were left dominating the platter, Veronica noticed a couple little white balls. “What are those, peppercorns?”
I told her that I thought they were fish eyes. I had seen these little buggers before, when cooking trout with the head still on, but she didn’t buy it. “No, they’re too hard, must be pepper. Eyeballs are squishy.”
Whatever you say honey, go ahead and try one. She did… and immediately spit it out into her napkin with a face of pure shock. “It’s horrible, all hard and chalky! It’s like eating flavorless Pez! What is it?”
Obviously she wasn’t going to believe my theory, so we asked our waitress.
Without the benefit of English, our server got the point across with incredible clarity… by simply pointing.
Luckily we had just enough wine left in our bottle for Veronica to rinse the eyeball residue out of her mouth.
Stuffed to the gills, we were thrilled to find that right outside of Au Royaume de la Bouillabaisse a trail led over a bridge to an island.
It looked perfect for a little walk to settle our meal.
We discovered quickly that it is also very popular with the locals as a swimming spot.
We also couldn’t help but notice that these zany French don’t much care for bathing suits.
Beyond the swimming hole, The Isle of Gaou is a nature preserve with trails all around the perimeter that skirt right along the tops of some vertigo inducing rocky cliffs.
The unbelievable views of our dinner’s home habitat seemed like the perfect finish to this perfect experience.
enlarge video
Unbelievable deliciousness! Veronica accidentally (?) eats an eyeball (?)! While the city of Marseille traditionally lays claim to being the birthplace of … CONTINUE READING>>
Unbelievable deliciousness! Veronica accidentally (?) eats an eyeball (?)!
While the city of Marseille traditionally lays claim to being the birthplace of bouillabaisse, the fact is that fishermen all along this rocky coast invented the soup as a way to use the boney fish and leftovers that wouldn’t sell. They cooked them in seawater seasoned with garlic and fennel. After a while, some restaurants in Marseille ran with the recipe, adding saffron, orange peel, basil and bay leaf to the seasoning and often using a better class of fish.
We weren’t really up for fighting our way through the traffic of France’s second largest city to sample the soup at one of the several establishments in Marseille that claim to be the site of the original bouillabaisse, so we ventured down to the coast in the little hamlet of Six-Fours-les-Plages, and found the restaurant Au Royaume de la Bouillabaisse.
