In case you’ve been following along, Sunday marked our last day of scheduled events (and hotels). We rented a car and are setting out to just drive around and explore, heading first towards Lyon. I have some wonderful food adventures to share from Geneva and still need to write up my artistic thoughts about Gaudi and Dali from Barcelona.
We have to be back in Carouge (near Geneva) on Monday evening but so far, have booked no hotels and I am not researching any restaurants or eateries whatsoever; it is all going to be kismet. There was some concern about rain but it seems it will be just a sprinkle or two (funny, since my London bud informed me of snow a day or so before we arrived and that it snowed again yesterday). It seems that fortune is smiling down on the weather front, my only very rainy day was the visit to the Tate.
Second day in Geneva; not yet bothering with full breakfasts, each morning I have gotten up and just wandered the city. On my first morning, I settled into a tea shop for a small pâté-filled pastry as well as one twisted up with bits of walnuts. But this morning, I stumbled on a farmer’s market and was entranced with the wild strawberries — something we don’t see very often and quite delicious.
These are a handful of pics of food from Barcelona. Well, that first shot is actually behind a closed window of a dry-goods shop and the towels which were decoratively displayed in such a delectable fashion. Most are from the market. What the Borough market in London does for cheese, the St. Joseph La Boqueria market in Barcelona does for fish…
Yes, there is a lot more available for purchase as seen by the bounty of fruits and vegetables and meat, but it is the quantity and quality of fish which astound. We talked about renting an apartment so we could just shop at the market and prepare our own meals and I think that next time, that simply must be done. Especially since I was unable to eat at most of the finer restaurants I was hoping to… Not that what I ate was especially bad (okay, the Kangaroo Carpaccio ranks up there with being incredibly regrettable), but I know I missed some truly stellar establishments by sufficing with what was convenient.
Anchor and Hope is a gastro-pub located near the Tate Modern Museum and the Old Vic theater. It has been written about extensively on multiple food sites and lauded often by bloggers. It was recommended as a final dining experience one evening by a London local and I honestly had forgotten that I had received previous recommendations. Unfortunately, what transpired almost ruined what could have been a stellar dining experience.
This is very quick commentary which made me chuckle. As reported in this morning’s BBC news, the French government "says interest-free loans will be offered to ‘modest’
buyers to purchase works and it is expanding incentives for companies
to buy."
I love it. I want to buy art but can’t quite afford it. Full report here, but the gist, under the scheme, is that members of the public will be granted interest-free loans worth up to 10,000 euros ($15,000, £8,000).
Mrs. Christine Albanel, the French Culture Minister, said the idea was "to bring private individuals closer to
this act of buying a work of art" adding that the loan "was the price,
for example, of a flat-screen television".
Brilliant idea – replace very flat-screen television with a great work of art in everyone’s home!
