by Maureen | Dec 28, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Incredible Locations, Journal, Paris, People, Photos
By day’s end, my feet were screaming. The “slow museum shuffle” is exhausting, more so than walking briskly for 5 miles. I had to get back to my room, unload the few things I carried and take a break.
The subway system, with two transfers, consumed 45 minutes, then I arrived at the Maubert-Mutualité stop. I started up the hill to the Hotel Moderne Saint Germain and paused outside the Magic Shop. I’ve been passing by every day this week, and this time, wondered if there might be something magical to take home with me. I went in.
I laughed and asked the man if he speaks English. “Yes”. (Quite well, really!) I told him that I wondered if there might be something special for me to take home.
“Yes. Of course. Let me show you this trick.” He showed me “magic” with 8 playing cards and I was bowled over. 13 Euros. I had to have it. A simple set that would make a great party amusement (once I learn it).
Then he took two inch-and-a-half, soft, foam balls. He gave one to me and had me squeeze it tight in my fist. The other one he held tight in his own palm. “One, two, three”. He opened his hand, and showed me the other as well. No ball in either. I was reluctant to open my hand and said I’d have to fall on the floor if there were two balls in my palm. …There were, of course! (But I didn’t fall down.) I couldn’t believe it. Of course I had been very attentive to everything while he did the trick, but apparently not to the right things. How did that second red ball end up in my hand?!
One last trick: a Chinese coin and an American 50 cent piece. I picked one, the 50 cents. He handed me the Chinese coin and it went into my hand which clenched tightly around it, fingers down. The 50 cent piece was set onto the back of the same hand that was holding the Chinese coin. He took a playing card, covered the 50 cent piece with it and tapped the card. When he removed the card, the CHINESE coin was sitting on top of my hand and the 50 cent piece was tight in my fist. How the coins traded place, I have no idea.
So I ended my time in Paris with a short magical evening. Even if I never learn the trick I bought, the 13 Euros bought me laughs, entertainment, amazement and conversation.
The shop, Mayette Magie Moderne, is (allegedgly) the oldest magic shop in the world at 201 years. My magician for the evening was Quoc Tien Tran, who was born and raised in Paris and has been “doing magic” since age 6 or 7. (His mom told him it’s a “gift from God”.)
As I was getting ready to leave the shop, a mother and her very young son came in. Quoc Tien stepped right up to do a disappearing ball trick for the little boy (who will probably grow up to be a magician because of that ball.)
THREE BASIC RULES OF MAGIC (As they were explained to me):
1 Never explain the trick.
2 Don’t perform the trick twice in the same instance or for the same person.
3 Perform it only when YOU’RE ready to perform it, and you know it very well.
What an enchanting and amusing way to end my time in Paris!
Mayette Magie Moderne
8 Rue des Carmes
75005 Paris
TEL: 01 43 54 13 63
WEB: www.mayette.com
Metro: Maubert-Mutualité
by Maureen | Dec 27, 2009 | Cheese, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, Paris, Photos
Journal Entry:
“8:00 P.M. After a day at the Louvre.
I’ve just eaten the most sumptuous dinner at a little restaurant/bar, “Louis Vins”. The food had me melting at the first bite.
Le Louis Vins, 9 Rue de la Montagne Ste Geneviève, 75005 Paris, France
I ordered the warm goat cheese salad, which had rounds of cheese crusted with pistachios (?) and grilled, served on a dressed bed of mixed greens. The warm cheese was lovely.
For my main course, I absolutely savored the “Araignée of Porc with Trompettes de la Mort” mushrooms. The drizzles of sauces had me relishing every bite as the flavors lingered. Fabulous! I’m drinking a nice red, 2006 Crozes Hermitage.
(My language skills translated “Trompettes de la Mort” as “Trumpets of Death”, but when I researched the name, it came up as “Horns of Plenty”. Hmm. So much for my language skills.)
…Oh! They just brought my “Cold Creamy Cake Candied Chestnuts”, drizzled with some sort of heavenly sauce! Out-of-this-world divine! My mouth is in a dream.
by Maureen | Dec 26, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Journal, Paris
It seemed to me that the ultimate Parisian, Catholic experience would be attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. (And it seemed the thought occurred to thousands of others, too.) It was raining last night at 8:00 as I walked from my hotel, across the bridge and toward the cathedral. What a sight with the church illuminated in the blustery, late evening!
I walked around to the plaza in front of Notre Dame, and it was incredibly beautiful with the lights and the Christmas tree. (No. I didn’t retouch or recolor the image to make the tree look blue.)
When I arrived just after 8:00, there was another mass going on, so I walked around and looked at the side chapels. Toward the end of that mass, I and countless others, positioned ourselves, ready. Within little more than 5 minutes after the end of mass ALL of the chairs (no pews) were full of those that had been waiting. A short time later, an image/light show, “Lumen de Lumine”, was projected on a taut panel of fabric, suspended above the altar. It was a narrated (in French) picture story of the birth of Christ.
The light show was followed by Christmas songs sung beautifully in both French and English. When they sang “Silent Night” in French and invited the participation of the congregation, I sang aloud in English. I imagine others did, too.
There were 6 little choir kids without blue robes, like this little girl. She was SO little and so young, yet so very intent on her singing.
I don’t know how many people fit in that cathedral, but it was standing-room-only, even out into the small side chapels.
Notre Dame has a grand organ and it accompanied the choir and priests.
There were about 20 priests present to assist with communion, though they did not concelebrate. The mass was in French, with a few responsorials in Latin. It might as well have been a Latin high mass, though. A foreign language in a cathedral like that… it had the SENSE of a high mass.
I was seated just 3 rows back from the front, so the frankincense was thick and fragrant. I like it.
I had arrived just after 8:00 in the evening, and was leaving at 1:30 in the morning. What a memorable life experience: Midnight Mass at Notre Dame. The rain had stopped, and as I walked home to my hotel room, I could hear the church bells pealing loudly all the way.
by Maureen | Dec 25, 2009 | Cheese, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, Paris, Shopping & Markets
Hungry in Paris? Good food is never far away. I like that the stores are specialized and are clustered near each other. Hop from one to the next and gather enough for a very good meal. Here’s the selection of food stores at my metro stop, Maubert-Mutualité, on St. Germain.
The boucherie (butcher) and charcuterie (cooked meats and other delicacies):
The boulangerie (bakery):
The fromagerie (cheese shop) and wine shop:
And here are some of their goodies:
by Maureen | Dec 25, 2009 | Cheese, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Meals, Paris, Shopping & Markets
What was for dinner on Christmas Eve in Paris? Fast food, Parisian-style!
From my journal yesterday:
5:30 P.M. Christmas Eve, Paris.
I’m eating in my hotel room, after spending all afternoon at Musée D’Orsay absorbing the impressionists and Art Nouveau and before heading to Notre Dame for Midnight Mass. At the Maubert-Mutualité exit for the metro, there’s a charcuterie, fromagerie, boulangerie and wine shop that I stopped at to buy dinner. The ultimate “fast food”! On tonight’s menu, (eaten in my room with Christmas music on “shuffle” on iTunes on my laptop):
– Escargots in puff pastry with garlic herb butter. 3 pieces for 3,00 €
– Foie gras roll with pistachios. 1 slice for 3,40 €
– A sort of Chevre cheese, donut-shaped and very moldy. 6,80 €
– Flan de Legumes (with broccoli). 3,80 €
– Puff pastry rounds, (eggy and moist). 4 small pieces 1,30 €
– Bordeaux. (1/2 bottle remaining from before). 4,50 €
TOTAL COST OF CHRISTMAS EVE DINNER 22,80 €
(With today’s exchange rate, that’s about $33.00, but I figured that was fine for my Christmas dinner.)
…and it was delicious.
by Maureen | Dec 25, 2009 | Journal, Paris
Christmas. Friday. 9:11 PM. My suitcase just arrived from my flight on Monday.
I can change my clothes tomorrow.
(Don’t fly Air France.
They’ve handled this poorly.)
by Maureen | Dec 24, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Journal, Paris, People, Photos
Group tours aren’t generally “my thing” but I found out in Washington D.C. a few years back that hitching a ride on a tour bus is like a crash course in the new city. (Not literally, of course!)
So I decided to take the “3-hour cruise” of Paris with a tour group: drive around to see the main sights, then finish with a sunset boat ride on the Seine, seeing the Louvre, D’Orsay, Eiffel Tower and others from the water, shoreward.
My driver picked me up at the hotel at 1:15, a bit earlier than scheduled, then we drove across town in his touring van (no big, long bus) to pick up other passengers… Along the way, Eni (Eniel) gave me running commentary. We arrived at the other hotel and I waited in the van. Eni came back and told me I was having a personal tour. The others had cancelled.
Born in Cuba, and moved to Paris in 2004, Eni speaks half a dozen languages or more. We used English, Spanish and Italian, and I couldn’t have asked for a more pleasant afternoon in Paris. For three hours he whipped that van around the city as only a local could. (Oh, the traffic he wended through!) We talked about the city, but also about personal aspects of living here, of having moved across the globe, of world politics, of culture, of our lives. How could I have planned all that?! He loves history, so he’s absorbed details that made the time more than just a driving tour. And he pointed out things on back street corners that no visitor would hear about.
I was always “Lady”. (Maybe that’s what he calls all the female passengers.) “Lady! At that restaurant they charge you 10 euro for a cup of coffee!” He recommended a restaurant for Christmas dinner (Le Veux Paris) and told me where the cheaper shopping is located. In 3 hours, we just about covered all the arrondisements of Paris and their highlights, and it wasn’t from a slow-moving bus.
At the end of our drive, he dropped me off at the boat launch at the base of the Eiffel Tower. We shook hands and he saw me off.
I told Eni that I have friends scheduled to come to Paris, and got his contact information. If you’re planning to be in Paris and want a personalized tour like only Eni could show you, get in touch with me and I’ll give you his number and e-mail address. It was absolutely time and money well-spent and gave me an overview that assures me that I’ll just HAVE to come back again and again to this city.
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Journal, Paris, People, Quips
If someone had said to me: “You’re going to Paris for a week, but the only thing you get to wear is what you wear on the plane” I would NOT have picked the following: a bra, heavy opaque tights, black polartec pants (almost sweat pants, but snug), gray cashmere turtleneck, off-white polartec pullover, a red-striped neck scarf, my “chic” gray and white striped swing coat, black beret and gloves, heavy wool socks, pearls and gore-tex hiking boots.
But that’s what I’ve got. Tomorrow will be day four, Christmas Eve and I haven’t changed my clothes since Monday. So chic! So elegant! So Parisienne! (Not even a pair of underwear to worry about changing.)
My flight left a half hour late on Monday because of the weather. Patches of snow remained on the runway, and the sky was that “looks like snow” kinda sky.
After arriving in Paris at about 12:30, all of us passengers went to baggage claim and waited. And waited. And waited. I don’t know how in the world it was possible, but NONE of the passengers’ bags had been loaded onto the plane in Milan. So, a planeload of people piled around the baggage service desk and waited to talk to the ONE person that was there to hand out forms and then add names to the claims list. I was finally walking away after two and a half hours. There was no use getting upset. I had my wallet, computer and camera. I was here for a week. I had enough clothes to stay warm. I felt badly for the people that were transferring and flying on to another country! The woman at the counter said the bags would fly out of Milan that night and be delivered Tuesday.
Yesterday I talked to a girlfriend in Milan and she said they got a half foot of snow on Monday and the airport was closed. I guess I made it out of town just in time! Needless to say, the bags didn’t make it onto the next flight.
I had been sure to have clothes both warm (for anticipated snow and cold here) and chic enough befitting of Paris. Here I am, however, in hiking boots and sweat pants. Sigh. But I DID get here before they closed the airport in Milan and didn’t miss my time in Paris. I might have to go out and buy some clothes though. It’d be nice to wear something fresh!
by Maureen | Dec 23, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Graphics, Journal, Paris, Photo of the Day, Photos
Today I simply followed inspiration and ended up south instead of north. I had all sorts of wonderful encounters with people along my wanderings and saw beautiful, delicious arrays in front of me.
…But right now, it’s approaching one in the morning (again, same as last night) and I’m too tired to post much, so I’ll throw you a bone with this fun image.
Joyeux Noel and Bon soir.
by Maureen | Dec 22, 2009 | Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Meals, Paris
After walking in a cold rain for several hours on my first evening in Paris, I wanted something HOT in my belly. I wanted a hearty soup or stew. I walked into the Brasserie Balzar, about 3 blocks from my hotel. Quite brightly lit and full of people. When greeted at the door, I said to the man, “do you speak English?” “No.” “Italian?” “No.” “Spanish?” “Mexican!” “Great. We’ll speak ‘Mexican’!” (Even though my “Mexican” is out the door since I’ve been speaking Italian.)
He showed me to a tiny little table in the corner next to the window. Perfect. I told him I wanted a nice hot meal and his menu suggestion seemed to have been some combination of Spanish and French and I really didn’t understand much of it at all. I told him it sounded great, got out my journal and waited.
My actual, “designated” waiter came to the table and HE spoke English. He recommended the French Onion Soup, to be followed by pepper steak with some sparkling mineral water and a nice red wine. (Chateau de Brague 2006, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Superieur).
He and I ended up chatting here and there in between his serving the other patrons on a busy night. I had the perfect, cozy spot tucked away from the bustle and could just eat, drink, write, eat, drink, write for three hours. Ahh. Bliss on all counts.
Here’s a note from my journal: “The French Onion Soup was perfect after hours walking through rainy and cold Paris. That, and the lovely Bordeaux, have added a rose tint to my cheeks. The Pepper Steak, with its lovely sauce was fabulous and cooked ’til divine. I mopped up the sauce with the steak fries.”
The sauce on the Pepper Steak (after asking the waiter): Juice from the steak, pepper, cream, mustard, tomato (hardly a hint) and cognac.
I finished my first dinner in Paris with Creme Caramel. (Why not?) I was full and sated.
Brasserie Balzar (Ask for Jean)
49 Rue des Ecoles
75005 Paris, Latin Quarter
www.BrasserieBalzar.com
Tel: 01-43-54-13-67
While nestled in eating and writing, I also noted this: “I’ve been eating bread in Milan for 6 months and haven’t found any I like (except the Austrian-influenced bread from Trentino-Aldo Adige). I’ve been in France half a day and I already think the French make better bread than the Italians! (What I’ve found here in Paris) is dense, moist, varied, full of texture and flavor. THAT is bread that makes itself worth eating.” (I don’t mean to insult my Italian friends, but…)
by Maureen | Dec 22, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Discoveries, Featured Articles, Food!, Incredible Locations, Journal, Meals, Paris
From my journal entry, 21 December, 2009, 9:00 pm:
I just ordered French Onion Soup, to be followed by pepper steak and a nice red wine. (Chateau de Brague 2006, Grand Vin de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Superieur). I spent the last 5 hours walking across the Left Bank area, starting in the 5th Arrondisement, ending in the 14th. I was approximately aiming for the Eiffel Tower, but had to go all the way around the Luxembourg Gardens. It started to rain, just at the edge of snow, so I hopped onto the metro after staring at the map for a long time figuring the best route.
Cold and wet, I followed the crowds in the long-since dark evening for the several blocks to the tower. When it came into view, I saw that it was made of gold! (I hadn’t known that before.) (…Just joking.) Glimmering, illuminated, brilliant. Its spire disappeared and reappeared as the mist and low clouds drifted. What an incredible moment for my first sight of the Eiffel Tower!
The light, constant rain begged an umbrella but it was a juggle to steady it against the breeze and gusts while at the same time bracing the camera against a lamp post for low-light. I think the occasional rain drop on the lens adds to the wintry atmosphere in the images.
(By the way, no Photoshop filters, or otherwise, used on these photos. That’s exactly what the tower looked like.)
by Maureen | Dec 20, 2009 | Incredible Locations, Paris
Packing for Paris. Leaving early in the morning and I’ll get there at about noon. It’s COLD there, and snow is predicted much of the week. A white Christmas is almost assured. I’ve been gathering all the warmest clothes I have or can find. I’ve even decide to take my gore-tex hiking boots. Not so “tres chic”, but neither is frostbite!
Here are notes from a couple of web sites:
“December in Paris is generally cold, and often rainy or icy. Temperatures approach or descend below zero. Snow is rare and when it does come it usually melts on hitting the ground, often turning into a sludgy slush that can be both irritating and dangerous to navigate without good traction on your shoes. Wind chill can make cold seem more biting.
- Make sure to stock your suitcase with warm cotton or wool sweaters, scarves, coats, and socks. Bring at least one or two warm turtlenecks, and line your bags with clothes that are easy to layer.
- A sturdy umbrella is a must, as flimsier ones often won’t withstand sudden downpours or gusts of wind.
- Bring at least two pairs of shoes, both waterproof. One pair should provide good traction in case of snow or ice. Heels should be reserved for indoor events as the streets can be slick or icy. If your feet get cold easily, bring a pair of comfortable waterproof boots.
- A pair of light waterproof gloves and a hat can make walking around more comfortable, but you won’t need anything approaching snow or ski gear. Places like New York and Chicago get much colder in the winter.
- Toting around a small thermos for hot drinks can be a good way to keep motivated in the Paris winter wonderland.
- One more word of advice on packing: since this is shopping season, you may want to think about packing as lightly as you can to reserve space in your suitcase for holiday delicacies or gifts you plan to bring back home.”
http://goparis.about.com/od/planningyourtrip/a/ParisDecember.htm
| Average Weather in Paris for December |
|
Sunlight |
2 |
hours a day |
|
Coldest daily temperature |
2 |
Celsius |
|
Warmest daily temperature |
7 |
Celsius |
|
Coldest December temperature |
-13 |
Celsius |
|
Warmest December temperature |
16 |
Celsius |
|
Morning Humidity |
91 |
percent |
|
Evening Humidity |
82 |
percent |
|
Rain |
51 |
mm a day |
|
Wet days for December |
15 |
days |
http://www.weatherforecastmap.com/france/paris/
by Maureen | Dec 20, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Journal, Photo of the Day, Photos
In addition to the International Festival of Light that’s present in Milano right now, there are special light displays and decorations all over town. I like the illuminated scrolls that line the major avenues, these along Via Alessandro Manzoni, through the center of town:
Brera is the chic, creative, cultural neighborhood north of the Duomo. It’s home to theatres, museums and the Academy of Fine Arts, among other things:
Isn’t this a beautiful “chandelier” along Corso Garibaldi? The lighted animals are part of the international exhibition. There are several clusters of them spaced along the sidewalk:
The navigli, (canals), have their share of lights, too, and make for a nice stroll or boat ride:
Come up out of the Moscova metro stop, and you’re faced with a towering tree of these violet-lit spheres:
Standing at the entrance to Via Mercanti, I laughed at the conjunction of the decorative leaf of light, the street lamps, the curvaceous stone sculpture, the statue of Vittorio Emanuele II in the Piazza del Duomo, and the huge video display. What an array!
by Maureen | Dec 19, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Graphics, Journal, Photos
Milan is currently the host of 33 large-scale lighting installations. (6 December – 10 January.) In the evenings, I’ve wandered through town to see the pieces and love how it changes the night scene, the visual texture and energy of the city. These intriguing works of light encourage after-dark strolls.
Along Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Milano’s hot shopping street between the Duomo and the Galleria, these jewels of “Spiro Gira” hover over the street:
In the piazza in front of San Fedele, floats an illuminated satellite:
The facade of Teatro alla Scala requires a patient observation. Music is broadcast in the piazza and the theatre’s face is transformed with light throughout the performance. Here, the building becomes a library of treasured, old books, including Leonardo’s “Codex Atlanticus”:
One of Milano’s several luxe shopping sites is the Galleria di Vittorio Emanuele, with Prada and McDonald’s at its center. As a part of the lighting installation event, the Galleria dome is draped in blue lights, illuminated when two people kiss under the giant mistletoe beneath. (One euro is being donated for every kiss.)
Near my home, at the convergence of the canals, the arches at Porta Ticinese have been illuminated with long strands of sparkle and a changing wash of color:
I can see that there are many more pieces for me to seek out! There will be many more evening strolls after the first of the year.
This web site offers an index of the lighting installations:
http://www.ledfestival.it/index.html
Here’s the summary from the City of Milano website about the project:
DESIGN LIGHTS UP THE CITY
Milan calls the creative excellences in order to furnish and adorn with light the metropolis: young talents and great designers will transform the city in an open air stage of installations and works of contemporary art and design.
Milan lightens itself of design: a great competition among the young talents of the most important Schools and Academies of the metropolis and a special invitation to the most important designers of the contemporary scene, will transform the city in a laboratory of ideas and experimentation in order to give life to an open air stage of light’s installations, projections and stages of design and contemporary art.
LED is a project that will be developed in more phases, opening with a great competition. Students and former students, professional people, Italians and foreigners, are called to be compared and to project works of light in order to furnish the city and illuminate squares, avenues, historical parks, monuments and buildings, from the city centre to the suburbs. A skilful work of experimentation and research that, during the month of May, will see the exhibition of the winners and great designers projects. The finalists will be rewarded in that occasion from a prestigious jury and will win the realization of their own work in order to `adorn’ with light and creativity the city in the month of December 2009.
Out of competition: a special invitation will be addressed to the great masters of the design, ten excellent names both Italians and foreigners. Their projects will illuminate Milan for the next Christmas period alongside the works of the young talents.
Milan, already Capital of the design, becomes with LED an international display window, a place of innovation able to offer a stimulating ‘cultural experience’ for the exchange and the comparison of knowledge. An appointment that involves the entire creative and productive system of the metropolis, increasing from the first edition the expositive circuit from the public places to the art galleries, the ateliers and the shows-room, in a logic of a widespread event that can involve the city to 360 degrees.
by Maureen | Dec 19, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Journal, Photos
The fridgy day and the taunting sky followed through on their promise and have coated us all with 2 inches of snow. And it’s still coming down. What will I wake up to? If there’s a thick, white blanket of snow I’ll have to hop on the subway and go down to the Duomo to take pictures there and around town.
As the snow began to fall, before it stuck to the pavement, it clung to the winter coats going in and out of the retail shops surrounding the Duomo. Umbrellas kept snowflakes out of the eyes. Wednesday’s salt piles remained, and stained my black boots.
This snow plow was at-the-ready earlier in the evening at the Piazza del Duomo.
A classic icon – the Vespa – lightly covered with the first snow and awaiting more.
Here’s the view outside my bedroom window, to the courtyard Christmas tree across the street. Snow has accumulated to about 2 inches since this shot was taken a couple of hours ago.
by Maureen | Dec 18, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Journal, Paris, Photos
We awoke to a dusting of snow in Milano yesterday. Today the sky taunts us with more. The air has a chill I haven’t felt here before, and the thermometer in my apartment has dropped 4 degrees. With just two radiators in the place, I wonder about feeling warm enough and am glad I brought my Polartec pants over!
On Monday the 21st, I leave for a week in Paris over Christmas, so I’ve been keeping a close eye on the weather there. Today it’s snowing!
Here’s the comparative weather from a couple of days ago:
Everyone is wrapping up their work for the holidays. “Buone Feste”, “Buon Natale”, “Buon Anno Nuovo” are heard frequently. “Happy Holidays”, “Merry Christmas”, “Happy New Year.” Friends deliver the two-cheek kiss and say goodbye for a couple of weeks.
by Maureen | Dec 12, 2009 | Cheese, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Photos, Shopping & Markets
I have truffle breath. I’ve just “eaten my way across the country” without leaving Milano, and I sampled so many incredible foods, who needs dinner?!
It wasn’t enough to spend half a day at the Artisanal Fair last weekend, I had to go back and spend more time (and money) today. In 3 and a half hours, spent only in the Italian Pavilion, I sampled foods from every region of the country. I sampled truffle – tartufo – butters and truffle-flecked cheeses that made me swoon. I saw a white truffle the size of two fists, and black truffles to go with it.
There were infinite spreads of hot peppers, red onion, eggplant, artichoke and more truffles! I did side-by-side taste tests of olive oils of different ages, and levels of “fruttato” and “amaro“. Such differences!
(On this visit, I didn’t sample the jams and spreads, but last week I had bought some “Caffé & Cocoa”, “Hazlenut & Cocoa”, “Pistachio & Cocoa”, “Lemon & Cocoa”. Each unbelievable.)
I stopped at the licorice vendor with every form imaginable including silver-dusted. He had a bowl of licorice stems to show the origin, and gave me samples of pure, natural, STRONG, distilled-from-the-stem chunks of dense black licorice. After his booth, the vendor sampling thread-thin pickled fish knocked the licorice flavor right out of my mouth.
The woman at the booth selling Cinghiale, wild boar meat, was feeding me a whole dinner with all the samples she gave me, one from each type of cut and cure they offered. I even savored a shaving of cured wild boar lard, aged with herbs, melt-in-your mouth smooth. I was carrying around a 1 euro sample glass of chianti and it went well with the boar.
Of course, the pavilion offered plenty of things to satisfy a sweet tooth, but I’d rather photograph them than eat them. Sicilian Cannoli, rolled up and filled with sweet ricotta, look so appealing (but they’re MUCH too sweet for me). And the Torrone nougat is offered with a variety of nuts – almond, walnut, pistachio – and even tinted rosy pink with mirtilo, (much like a blueberry). One man had a hot cauldron in his booth, melting sugar to coat pistachios; he then worked them on cold slabs of marble, forming bars and cutting a sliver for samples. I did sample some deep, dark chocolates and had to bring home a box to add to the gift pile. They were too irresistible.
I bought a few Canederli, what I consider an Italian matzoh ball; they’re typical of northern Italy in Trentino-Alto Adige, where Austria is a neighbor. And last summer, when visiting L’Isola d’Ischia, I had purchased some Limoncello, but gave it all away; so today I bought a bottle for my own freezer.
After close to 4 hours in the Italian pavilion, I set foot in the French section of the European pavilion. I’m not sure whether I wish I had gone there first, or whether it’s a good thing I didn’t. The damask textiles made my heart rate rise as they always do, and I bought a lovely, blue tablecloth for my friend Ewa (that I met shortly after I arrived in Milano and still see almost weekly).
Milano’s Fiera Artigianale is perfectly timed to satisfy all of one’s holiday gift-giving desires! In addition to the foods (!) there are crafts, clothes, fabrics, and even an eco-home section. People come from all over the world both to browse and to sell. I think that one could spend a week and not see it all. With all the Christmas fairs, festivals and decorations, December is not a bad time to come to Italy for a visit.
by Maureen | Dec 8, 2009 | Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Journal, Photos
It was about 6:30 on a Sunday evening and I thought I was merely going to a champagne-tasting I had been told of. As it turned out, I came up out of the subway into a massive, standing-room-only crowd that filled the Piazza del Duomo in the center of Milan. Mini hot air balloons, about 2 feet tall and flame-fueled, were rising in the sky above the crowd and up over Milan’s jewel cathedral and the seemingly-just-as-tall, towering Christmas tree. Someone was filming the crowd’s responses and the video was being replayed on the building-sized, digital display facing the piazza. It was an energized, electric moment.
“Oh Holy Night”, a Christmas song I grew up with, was being broadcast out over the piazza; it would have inspired tears if I had let it.
“Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!”
I saw the local police clustering, and then moving together through the crowd. A procession began a swath through the people and I asked someone who it was. (Of course they responded in Italian and I forget what they said.) Moments later, the crowd roared happily as the lights on the tree were illuminated for the first time. The stained glass windows of the Duomo were backlit from within, and it was all magical.
The tree was covered with 100,000 lights, and white pointsettias.
And I had just happened to have shown up at the right moment! There’s something wonderful about popping up out of the subway tunnels into the midst of pleasant surprises.
DECEMBER 8 UPDATE:
I just read that the floating lanterns are intended to be “luminous symbols that spread the Peace, Hope and Love of Christmas”. The Christmas Tree, guy-wired to a number of surrounding buildings, is 164 feet tall, the biggest Christmas Tree in Europe.
“L’inaugurazione ufficiale del Festival della Luce e l’accensione della città prenderanno il via domenica 6 dicembre alle ore 18.00 attraverso un grande evento di apertura in piazza Duomo con il lancio delle ‘lanterne di luce’, simboli luminosi che diffondono nell’aria del Natale la ‘pace’, la ‘speranza’ e l’‘amore’.
I tram di luce, con la loro scia luminosa, daranno il via alla manifestazione. Come scenografia, i fiori luminosi trasformeranno Piazzetta Reale in un prato verde di luce. A seguire l’accensione del grande Albero di Natale, il più alto abete luminoso d’Europa – oltre 50 metri – illuminato da centomila lampadine ad alto risparmio energetico – e l’illuminazione della Cattedrale attraverso un progetto firmato dai light designer Castagna&Ravelli in collaborazione con la Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo, che dall’interno rivela lo splendore delle sue vetrate.”
http://www.comune.milano.it/portale/wps/portal/CDM?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/ContentLibrary/per+saperne/per+saperne/led/led+show/lo+evento+milano%2C+citta+di+luce/speciale+led_led+show_evento
by Maureen | Dec 8, 2009 | Cheese, Christmas & New Year's Eve, Featured Articles, Food!, Journal, Photos, Shopping & Markets
It’s the holiday season, and it starts with a rush here in early December. Today, December 7, is the Feast Day of Milan’s Patron Saint, Sant’Ambrogio; it’s a citywide holiday. This day is followed with a national holiday tomorrow, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, and all the Italian world is shut down for a very long weekend, (except for a few essential services).
On Saturday, I went to the Fiera Artiginiale at Milan’s space-age, ultra modern, expansive fairground, Rho Fiera. Aye! Many city blocks-worth of vendors presenting regional foods and handgoods from around Italy, Europe and the world. The Fair is an amazing gathering for taste-testing oils, jams, spreads, salami, olives and wines. One can oooh and aaah at textiles and handcrafts. In under 4 hours, my energy was spent, my feet were spent and my wallet was spent… and I was carrying home a heavy bundle to ship back to the States for gifts.
Here’s a map of the pavilions, showing the regions and countries represented:
http://www.artigianoinfiera.it/ita/visit_miniguida.php#
And then there’s “Obei Obei“, or “Obeh Obeh”. The name is inspired by “Oh Belli!”, the shouted calls from vendors luring passersby to stop and look at the goods for sale. What started years ago as a smaller market near the Sant’Ambrogio station, grew to a huge event. It was moved, and now surrounds the Castello Sforzesco with booths of food, crafts and antiques. I came up out of the subway to a chilly afternoon and a men’s chorus singing Italian Christmas songs.
The conjunction of the old Castello Sforzesco and the mylar Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) made me chuckle.
Along the way, I sampled spicy salami from Calabria, nut-studded Torrone, and cheese with flecks of truffle.
I photographed, but passed by, the Sicilian sweets vendor. (When I bought a few goodies from the same vendor before, the macaroons and pistachio-paste cookies were dried out. They must bake for weeks in preparation, and therefore, the treats get old.) But these guys have got signage down pat!
I decided against either a hotdog or hamburger (of course not!) and finished with a hot sandwich of grilled sausage, peppers and kraut with mustard and a long bun.
Or I could have gone for a sandwich of porchetta…
As a highlight of the holiday weekend, this fair is an intense, people-packed, push-and-shove opportunity. It was pretty difficult to move, and therefore, hard to see much in the booths. (I recommend the Fiera Artiginiale for it’s greater variety and higher quality of goods, although it’s also jam-packed with people.) It was dark and 6:00 p.m. by the time I made it back through the crowd. The holiday light show was underway and enjoyed by many who stood watching the display of changing lights on the castle.
Though I could have walked, I caught the subway to the Duomo to enjoy a champagne-tasting that I had been told of, underway all afternoon and early evening.
