Month: May 2024

Sea, Sun and Saints

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DonQui has timed his arrival on the Med at the end of May to hopefully coincide with the sort of weather conducive to lazing around on a beach but without it being overrun with other sun seekers.

His destination is Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer with its 36kms of sand beaches at the mouth of the Rhône. It is only about a ½ hour drive from Arles.

It is a fairly laid back place and nothing like as expensive or as up itself as the Côte d’Azur further east. 

Les-Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer gets its name from the three saintly Marys (Magdalene, Clopas and Salome) who were present at Jesus’ crucifixion. In AD 46 the three Marys escaped Roman persecution in Palestine by boat, coming ashore at the village of Ra which is today (you guessed it) Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer.  Fortunately for them there were no patrols attempting to stop small boats carrying unwanted asylum seekers.

The ‘discovery’ of the relics of Mary Clopas and Mary Salome in the 15th century ‘verified’ the story and kicked off a lucrative pilgrimage which still continues today. The fate of Mary Magdalene is shrouded in legend and remains a favourite theme for thriller writers and holy grail hunters.  

DonQui admires the impressive 9th century fortified church which houses the relics of two of the saintly Marys. 

This is a serious fortification, complete with a well to sustain the 9th-10th century inhabitants when they sought sanctuary from Viking or Saracen raiders.

The view from the battlements provides good early warning of any malicious sea raiders. Perhaps DonQui is not the most alert of look-outs but then he has reliable intelligence that no Viking raiders are expected any time soon. 

With forecasts of windy days ahead, DonQui decides to embark now on a boat tour along the coast and up the Petit Rhône into the heart of the more than 340,000 acres of marshland that constitutes the Camargue. 

Along the way he sees a wide variety of birdlife including a couple of flamingoes flying overhead. Then (no doubt carefully timed with his boat’s progress) a gardian (Camargue cowboy if you like) rides up to the shore herding some of the animals in his charge. 

The Camargue is famous for its free-ranging black bulls and white horses. The former are bred for non-fatal bull fighting but also end up the dining table. DonQui can attest to the deliciousness of their meat. 

The horses are primarily work horses but, unlike their Veronese cousins, do not end on the dining table. The colts are born dark and only acquire the famous white coat when they get older.

After the boat trip DonQui spends a lazy few days at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. With day time temperatures pleasantly in the mid 20s and few other tourists to spoil his view, he very much enjoys his time by the beach.  The water is a little on the cold side still — not North Sea cold — but cool enough for DonQui to limit his bathing to simply getting his hooves wet.

Having previously tasted Camargue bull (gardiane de taureau) in Arles , he feasts on local seafood whilst at the coast. 

DonQui’s favourite dish by far consists of tellines cooked in a creamy garlic and parsley sauce. These are tiny clams (apparently wedge clams in English) raked up from the first 10 cm of sand at the water’s edge. A speciality of this region of Provence, they are not easily available elsewhere due to the labour-intensive harvesting. He likes them so much that he samples them at several restaurants on succeeding days.

He is also quite taken with poutargue. This is the same dried, cured fish roe he had in a pasta in Genoa where it is called bottarga. At the excellent Restaurant Les Launes the friendly waitress explains to DonQui that here it is eaten as a starter on thin slices of bread with butter and a squeeze of lemon. The taste is not dissimilar to a strong hard cheese with only a hint of fish. DonQui is very glad he got the opportunity to sample it.

Sojourn in Arles

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DonQui has stayed in Arles before and loved the city. So he is going to revisit for a couple of days before heading to the Mediterranean coast.

He loves simply wandering around the streets without any particular plan just to see what is around the next corner.

And Arles is an eminently walkable city. At this time of year (May) it is not overrun with tourists apart from a few small gaggles temporarily let off their cruise ships for good behaviour.

An important Gallo-Roman town and capital of Roman Gaul in the 5th C AD, there is plenty of good Roman stuff for DonQui to enjoy. The Roman arena served as walls of the city in the middle ages with most of the town (much reduced after the Roman era) being crammed inside it.

The arena was cleared and partially restored in the early 20th century and now once again functions as a place of entertainment — although without  gladiatorial combat as far as DonQui can ascertain.

The well-preserved Roman amphitheatre is also still in use for plays and concerts.

After a good trot around the place, DonQui pauses for a little sustenance at the delightful Restaurant Escaladou, just around the corner from the Roman arena.

When abroad DonQui likes to sample local dishes rather than something he might have at home. In this case his meal starts with this delicious Provençal fish soup complete with croutons, cheese and rouille (a sort of aioli made with egg yolks). It is followed by a traditional stew of Camargue wild bull (gardiane de taureau)— well, partially wild as although roaming freely through the salt marshes of the Camargue the herds are looked after by humans. The slow-cooked meat is lean, tender and flavoursome.

Arles was immortalised by Vincent Van Gogh who stayed here to paint some of his most famous works (1888–1889). 

There are couple of places that have been maintained more or less as they were when he painted them.

With the weather warming up to a pleasant 27º DonQui now heads to the sea to cool off and relax for a few days.

From Italy to France

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DonQui could quite happily have spent another day in Verona but he must be on his way to the south of France.

It is a long journey first through the flat fields of Lombardy and then into the Ligurian alps. He decides to break his trip with an overnight stay in Genoa.

Genoa is perhaps not the most exciting of cities but it is pleasant enough for a quick visit and it is about half way along his journey. DonQui spends an enjoyable afternoon trotting around the streets before stopping for an aperitivo to watch the evening passeggiata. 

Then he has his last meal in Italy which includes a delightfully flavoursome tortelli with sea bass, clams and bottarga (cured, dried fish roe). The bottarga adds a taste not dissimilar from parmesan cheese.

His car fuelled with petrol and his body fuelled with super concentrated Italian coffee, DonQui continues his journey the following morning. His route takes him along the coastal road that winds its way through the Ligurian alps and then the French alpes maritimes. 

Reaching Monaco at around lunch time he makes a brief pit stop.

Then he heads up the small winding road to La Turbie to visit the massive ‘Augustus Trophy’ (Tropaeum Alpium). Dominating the landscape for miles around, this monument was built between AD 14 and 27 to commemorate the subjugation of the last Gallic alpine tribes by the Romans.

It probably looked like this when first built.

A fine statue of Augustus, which was probably on the top of the monument, is now housed in a small museum.

The views from the top are stunning.

Saying goodbye to Augustus,  DonQui dives on along the Côte d’Azur to Arles where he shall be resting and exploring for the next couple of days.

Romans and Juliet

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Famous around the world as the setting for Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Verona is a wonderful place to spend a couple of days. Once you get through the ghastly industrial and commercial sprawl that blights the surroundings of most Italian cities — it is really stunningly beautiful.

DonQui is a bit of a sucker for Roman stuff and Verona has some very good Roman stuff. So he hightails it over to the Roman amphitheatre and museum to get there just as the doors open. The amphitheatre is impressive but little museum does not have much of note apart from this nearly intact floor mosaic featuring Baccus — DonQui’s favourite deity by far.

At the other end of the old city is a nearly intact Roman arena. Both the amphitheatre and arena are still in use — hosting regular concerts.

The old city is compact and mostly pedestrianised. DonQui spends the better part of a very pleasant day trotting around the place and taking in the atmosphere. 

Around midday the town has pretty well filled up with tourists (presumably day trippers as there were very few of them in the morning). So he takes shelter in a little bottega around the corner from the Roman arena to pay homage to Baccus. Here he spends a delightful hour with Bruno learning about the wines of Verona’s Valpolicella region.

Of course DonQui tastes some too — working his way from the relatively light twice-fermented Ripasso, up through the heady full bodied Amarone made from partially dried grapes, to the most ancient of the Valpolicella wines — the sweet Recioto which Bruno recommends having with cheese. Before getting into the Valpolicella DonQui also has a taste of a delightfully fresh and minerally white Lugano from the shores of nearby Lake Garda. Bruno explains that the retreating sea which created Lake Garda left salt deposits in the clay which gives Lugano wines their unique taste.

On less steady hooves than before, DonQui explores the delightful streets and squares a little longer.

Although not a great fan of churches he is most impressed with the 13th century church of San Pietro the Martyr.

He particularly admires the fantastic medieval art from the 14th and 15th centuries.

After a bit of a rest he heads out in the evening to taste some of the local specialties at the delightful Tosca Bistro.

Here he samples an excellent risotto with Amarone, and horse meat stew with polenta. Both washed down with a glass of rich Amarone wine.

Tradition has it that the Veronese got a taste for eating horse after the battle between Theodoric and Odoacer in AD 489 which left large numbers of dead horses on the battlefield to provide an unexpected feast for the locals. The stew is rich, full of flavour and utterly delicious — it is something he will never be able to have in the UK.

Before resuming his journey the following morning, DonQui visits the reconstructed house of the Capuleti — better know as ‘Juliet’s house’ as the Shakespearian heroine was from the Capuleti family (anglicised to Capulet by the bard). 

By arriving just after opening he is able to beat the hordes of tourists who were choking the place the previous afternoon. It is said that if you touch the statue of Juliet in the courtyard you will be lucky in love. DonQui does not bother as he is already lucky in that department.

Over the Alps and Far Away

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DonQui is setting off to cross the Alps into Italy. He has done this before and it always feels like quite an adventure passing through the magnificent natural barrier that separates Italy from Northern Europe. His route passes through a bit of Austria then into Switzerland. This means he has to purchase road tax vignettes for both Austria and Switzerland which is mildly annoying especially as he will only be in Austria for ½ hour or so. At least Austria offers a cut price 10 day vignette!

His plans nearly come asunder in the no-mans land between Austria and Switzerland. As Switzerland is not in the EU there are border controls.

DonQui shows his passport to the efficient Swiss border police. Then they ask for his car papers. The papers don’t seem to satisfy them so they direct him to pull over to the side.  They want the ‘brown car ownership form’. Not having such a form nor ever having heard of one, DonQui does his best to show everything else he has including car insurance certificate, driving license and proof of having paid the Swiss road tax. After much toing and froing, furrowed brows and consultation with head office they finally let DonQui through after he tells them he is only transiting through Switzerland into Italy.

More than a little relieved DonQui is on his way again. He makes a brief pit stop in Liechtenstein just for the fun of it. 

Driving through magnificent Alpine scenery he is heading towards the San Bernardino Pass at over 2000m above sea level. 

The pass marks the Italo-German language frontier. Although still in Switzerland, once on the other side, all signs are in Italian rather than German as they had been before. Then the road makes a rapid descent towards the border.

As he approaches the Italian frontier DonQui has a nervous thought. What if the Italian authorities also want this mysterious ‘brown form’ and don’t let him in? Will he then be stuck in Switzerland? He need not have worried. The friendly, if perhaps not as efficient, Italian border police give him a smile and wave him on his way with no fuss at all.

It takes DonQui about four hours to pass through five countries: from Germany, through Austria, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland into Italy. There he takes a much needed break for a proper Italian coffee — a delicious shot of thick, syrupy, pure caffeine. It is a good job he does, as the next 3 hours (which should have taken 2) are along the Autostrade around Milan, choked with lorries and moving at a snail’s pace. To top it off the heavens open up with a torrential downpour!

Feeling a little bedraggled DonQui is delighted to finally arrive at his pleasant lodging in Verona. To further improve his mood the weather clears. So he resolves to take an aperitivo on the balcony of his apartment.

Vineyards, forests and lakes

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For several days DonQui explores a corner of southwestern Germany. It is a region he knows well so he is partly revisiting old places and memories as well as making new discoveries.

His route winds through the flat Rhine valley and up into the vineyards on the Badische Weinstraße (Baden wine route). Baden wines are excellent but are pretty well unknown in the UK as virtually none are exported. Produced in relatively small quantities, the locals prefer to drink it all themselves!

DonQui stops off for a couple of days at Durbach where some of his favourite wines are grown in the vineyards surrounding the Markgraf von Baden’s Schloss Staufenberg. For centuries the Schloss has stood guard against invading French armies with the Markgraf (Marcher Lord) having responsibility for the defence of this border region on behalf of the Emperor in Vienna.

Needless to say DonQui picks up a bottle or three of the Markgraf’s wine— bringing him perilously close to the 18 litre limit he is allowed to bring back to the UK. He may have to drink a few bottles on his trip before passing through customs.

Then it is up the long and winding road into the hills and forests of the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) towards Freudenstadt.

Here he takes the opportunity to trot along some of the many nature trails. Hopefully he will burn off a small proportion of the calories he has been consuming!

This being an asparagus producing area and it being asparagus season, the vegetable appears on virtually every menu. DonQui enjoys the more delicate white asparagus for a change as they are very hard to find in the UK.

The weather turns when he makes a trip to the Mummelsee. It is said to be an incredibly beautiful lake but DonQui cannot conform this as the rain and thick fog reduces visibility down to just a couple of meters. The Mummelsee is said to be inhabited by Nixies (water sprites). The low cloud and mist makes it easy for him to imagine that this may very well be true.

DonQui’s route then takes him down to Lake Constance at the southern end of Germany. Switzerland is on the other side of the lake. Finding a relatively empty stretch of Autobahn on the way down he gets the chance to blow out the cobwebs from his car at 100 mph without having to worry about speed cameras (there being no speed limit on a German autobahn).

His final pit stop in Germany is the pretty town of Landau. The old fortified town is on an island in Lake Constance and boasts a most impressive 15th century town hall…

… and 13th century tower than once also served as a lighthouse. It is known as the Rapunzel tower. hence the ‘rope of hair’ hanging down from a high window,

Situated at the juncture of the German, Austrian and Swiss borders Lindau is a perfect jumping off spot to cross the alps and head down on into Italy. This is what DonQui will do tomorrow.

Fine dining in Alsace

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Eating well in Alsace is not difficult. There is very little about Alsatian cuisine than DonQui does not love. On this trip he decides he will try some of the best. He has managed to secure reservations at two of the top restaurants in the region: Au Crocodile in Strasbourg and L’Auberge de l’Ill in Illhaeusern just off the Route des Vins about half way between Strasbourg and Colmar.

Au Crocodile gets its name from a stuffed crocodile brought back from Egypt by Captain Ackermann, one of Napoleon’s officers. It became a restaurant in 1840 and the original crocodile is still there on display.

Taking his seat DonQui is most impressed by the ambiance. There is an intimate feel the the restaurant and a sense of its history with the painting of 1840s Strasbourg dominating the dining room. The waiters are very knowledgeable and professional.

Feeling adventurous, DonQui opts for the chef’s ‘discovery menu’: starter, fish course, meat course and desert. It is less expensive than 3 courses à la carte but it is what the chef has decided with no indication of what that is. Even the waiters say they do not know the menu. So DonQui must trust the chef’s expertise.

The absolute highlight of the meal is the starter of snails cooked with speck in a sabayon sauce with cheese — and snail caviar on the side. The flavours are perfectly balanced and the snail caviar an interesting addition. It is far less salty than the more usual fish caviar.

A close second is the pollock with spring vegetables and wild garlic mousse. It is the wild garlic mousse that really makes it. DonQui has some wild garlic in his garden and will attempt to do something similar next year (it being too late in the season by the time he gets home). He is advised by the knowledgeable waiter to pick the wild garlic before the flowers come out.

Being a bit of a cheese lover DonQui cannot resist sampling a selection of cheeses before moving on to desert. The star of the cheeses is the local Munster, kept under a glass dome — no doubt to prevent the pungent aroma from permeating the dining room.

L’Auberge de l’Ill has more of a country feel which is appropriate given that it is out in the countryside far from urban development. This time DonQui orders à la carte.

The homemade terrine de foie gras is absolutely delicious.

As is the filet de veau main course.

Then comes flambéed crepes filled with cream and sour cherries. If that is not calorific enough there is also a side of ice cream! DonQui washes this down with a fine calvados.

Both restaurants provide excellent classic dishes without fuss and without trying to be too clever or ‘chefy’. DonQui finds each dish executed to perfection by confident chefs who have no need to show off.

So if he could only choose one, which would it be? It is a difficult choice because the food at both is wonderful. If he had to make a choice, DonQui would probably go for Au Crocodile because of the ambiance and highly professional service. Incidentally the price of his meal at Au Crocodile was less than at L’Auberge de l’Ill.

On the Route des Vins d’Alsace

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After a bit of a wander around Strasbourg and a very fine meal (more on that later), DonQui decides to explore the Route des vins d’Alsace from Strasbourg to Colmar.

His first stop after leaving Strasbourg is Mittelbergheim — an unspoiled and non-touristy village in the foothills of the Vosges where the vines of Alsace are cultivated. He is quite excited to see a stork with chicks in her nest above the church.

At Hunawihr he makes his first purchase after a little sample of the wines on offer. Safety conscious readers should note that, as he is driving, he only takes a mouthful of each.

Then he trots up a hill to take a look at the 14th Century fortified church which is surrounded by walls complete with bastions and firing ports. 

Alsace has been tramped over and plundered by a succession of armies right up until 1945. DonQui imagines the medieval peasants fleeing the village below for the safety of the church as they see an approaching robber baron.

At dinner in Strasbourg the previous night DonQui had sampled a lovely pinot noir from Dambach-le-Ville so he heads there to procure a case. 

Dambach-le-Ville is a lovely little walled village with yet another nesting stork. 

DonQui dose not remember seeing so many storks in the Rhine valley before but on this trip he sees many of them. It is perhaps a good sign of nature recovering.

DonQui also stops off at Ribauville and Riquewhir. He remembers the latter village as being particularly beautiful on a previous visit years ago.  Yes it is pretty but it seems to have succumbed to a bit of Disneyfication. Unlike the other stops on his route it is also full of other tourists. Still it is enjoyable to walk around, although DonQui does not buy any more wine as post Brexit rules only allow him to bring 18 litres back to the UK.

DonQui’s final stop is the beautiful city of Colmar. From here he will cross the Rhine and head over to Germany.

All in all the Route des vins d’Alsace makes for a most enjoyable day out — leaving his car heavier (with cases of wine) and his wallet lighter.

A Pause for Thought

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On the way to the Autoroute which will take him to towards Strasbourg, Donqui passes dozens of First World War cemeteries. It seems as if there is another one every couple of hundred  metres.

He decides to stop off and pay his respects at the Vimy battlefield where in 1917 the Canadian Division captured a prominent ridge now topped by a colossal monument. 

A section of the trenches have been preserved with concrete ‘sandbags’. DonQui paces out the distance between the original frontline Canadian and German trenches. They are only 50 metres apart! Between them are a number of craters formed by shells and the larger ones by mines set off in tunnels dug underneath the trenches.

DonQui takes the evocative guided tour of a section of the tunnels — now reinforced and better lit than they would have been in 1917.  Parts of the tunnels served as field headquarters as well being a relatively safe way of moving between positions. 

One mine tunnel still exists, dug deep to work its way under the German trenches. This one was never blown. The big crater below was caused by an exploded mine.

Vimy is an amazingly evocative and sobering battlefield site — preserved, staffed and maintained by Veterans Affairs Canada.  DonQui had only expected to make a brief stop but ended up staying several hours. It gave him lots to think about.

Road Trip!

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DonQui Oaty is excited to be off on his travels again. This time it is a road trip through France, Germany (a bit of Austria) and Italy. 

So passport in hand and car fully serviced with new front tyres, he sets off on the first stage. He is heading for Alsace but intends to break his trip at Arras. 

Actually his first break is at the channel tunnel where he encounters a massive traffic jam trying to get out of the terminal carpark and into the border control lanes. Designed when one could just wizz through, the traffic management is not set up to deal with detailed passport checks — yet another of the Brexit ‘benefits’ along with higher food prices and critical labour shortages. Even though he arrived more than 1 hour ahead of time, Donqui misses his booked train and has to catch the next one.

Arras is a very pleasant town with lots of good watering holes around the Place des Héros. DonQui is glad to have stopped here.

It looks a lot better now than it did in 1917 when it was the centre of a British offensive in the First World War. The above photo being the same square where DonQui stops for a drink more than a century later.

Arras is twinned with Ipswich, close to DonQui’s home paddock in Suffolk. The Place d’Ipswich comes complete with a familiar looking phone booth.

After another drink and a decent meal, DonQui will resume his trip in the morning.