Archive for September 2016

[Florence, ITALY] Day 2: Piazza Republicca, Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria, Marco Ottaviano Gelato, Caffe Giubbe Rosse, PiazzaSignoria,Palazzo Vecchio (Secret Passage!)

Published on 9:00 PM By rika.C.

From Italy to Croatia, I've found the footsteps of the Roman Empire.

The Romans had a very systematic approach to city planning and it was unsurprising that the forum (or also known as the main intersection and heart of the city) was situated at the exact spot of Piazza Republicca. Usually you would find a thermae (public bath complex) and or temples of the Roman gods close by.

We can no longer see the remnants of the thermae, which was situated on the south side, or the temple of Mars (swept away in a flood in 1333), but you can get insights about the remains beneath the space based on the road names i.e. Via delle Terme.

There you would find the Column of Abundance, the witness of the demolished Piazza del Mercato Vecchio (currently known as the Piazza Republicca).

Piazza della Repubblica

We got tired of being disappointed by highly reviewed restaurants, and decided to try our luck at ones that we thought would be good instead. This trattoria only had 2 reviews on google map, but was one of the best ones that we've had during this trip.

Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria is one of those restaurants you would want to go to for family gatherings and celebrations. It was an indulgence to eat here! I would have wanted more if only my stomach could have accommodated it.

Cantinetta Allegri Trattoria

Proscuitto with Mozzarella cheese

Truffle with sliced steak and arugula

Florence is more of a meat city I would say, so indulge in the Florentines steak and beef stews if you ever get bored of the pastas here.

In the afternoon, we got coffee at Caffe Giubbe Rosse (famous for Futurist gatherings). It's a place where you go for the atmosphere and just chill to enjoy the children's laughter riding the merry-go-around. When my boyfriend first arrived Florence, he was shocked that there was NO starbucks at all. Being a starbuck's fanatic he was so ready to leave Florence just because of this. However, he gradually understood why.

No matter where we went, the coffee was perfect. The Muslims and Turks introduced coffee to the Venetians in the 14th century, and the first coffee house was opened in Venice in 1645. So Italians have had a long history of knowing how to brew the best coffee.

Piazza Signoria

At night, we signed up for the secret passage tour at Palazzo Vecchio, which covered the key history about the Medici family and the hidden study room of Francesco Medici. He was a great alchemist, and his love for art, literature and alchemy shows through these walls of painting.

Palazzo Vecchio Francesco Study Room

Each painting is a cabinet, where the painting infers from a Roman myth, or some symbols that are related to the treasure that he has inside the cabinet. For example, they believed Francesco kept potions, medicines behind this cabinet.

Can you guess what's behind this painting?

Secret passage!

The Hall of 500

The tour is about 30mins, and you get to visit the museum too afterwards. For the Dan Brown Inferno fans, you will get to see most of the secret passages that were shown in the movie!

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The Gate to Paradise: Meo Modo

EUROPE

Published on 3:33 PM By rika.C.

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I guess the best way to understand if someone is destined to be with you is through traveling. Too many things can go wrong and one conflict can easily lead to another. It was raining, my luggage was lost during a flight transfer, and everything that seemed could have gone wrong has.

It was raining the day on the day, and although the Val D'Orcia was as picturesque as it could be, I was in no mood for it. The rain stopped as we reached this monumental gate and there was a huge rainbow hanging across the sky.

Suddenly, it seemed as everything was ok, and that no matter what happens next, I should at least enjoy this dinner. We were greeted by staff with umbrella and a lavender towel. There is a farm on spot, where all the fresh produces were used for the restaurant.

It felt visiting a distant uncle's villa, rows of bookshelves, a warm fireplace, a living room with a grand piano... Finally we were seated at a table under the arcade, overlooking a beautiful garden of greens.

The restaurant, Meo Modo, recently received a Michelin star and is part of the boutique hotel Relais Borgo Santo Pietro. (I would love to come back here again for my honeymoon or something!). Chef Andrea Mattei is most known for creating seasonal dishes straight from their own organic farm.

[----- Our Menu -----]

Absolutely Borgo 150 Euro

Seasonal Vegetables with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and beet root sauce
Mushroom Sponge, Cherry tomatoes and goat cheese with fermented millet and olive oil
Sunflower seed, cream and coffee risotto
Sucking Pig with wild berry sauce and spinach cream (with Lavender infusion)
Dried tomato with lemon, zucchini with elder flower
Flower and Leaves, Mascarpone cream and vanilla

Infused tomato, millet and olive oil capsules with goat cheese

seasonal vegetables with beetroot sauce

Mushroom sponge

Risotto with coffee, cream and sunflower seed

Suckling pig

Flower and leaves with mascarpone cheese and vanilla

You could tell from the menu that it isn't your ordinary, over the top, sous vide style of cooking. Everything is engineered from seasonal flavors and food at its rawest form.

The suckling pig actually reminded me somewhat of a peking duck with its smokey, powerful flavors, which when paired with wild berry sauce really feels like you are hunting through a forest. It was good at giving you an imagery.

I would say the thing that really surprised us both was the dried zucchinis, which was almost as thin as hair!

All in all, I would say this is a place for a romantic dinner, with impeccable service and most of all, having chef that does justice to home grown organic food!

Dried zucchini that was so thin that you could see light through it!

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[SALZBURG, AUSTRIA] Festungs Fortress, Dom Quartier, Mozart's birth place, Residenz

AUSTRIA

Published on 12:10 PM By rika.C.

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The Festung Fortress had a fantastic view of the city of Salzburg. Much of it has remained as it was first built in 1077, though throughout the years the Archbishops have expanded the castle to prevent the Turkish invasion. Luckily, Salzburg also remained its neutral position during the 30 year's war, that largely helped to protect the baroque architecture to remain as it is today.

View from the fortress

This somehow reminded me of the town from Beauty and the Beast

the night view of Salzburg is just as dazzling!

The Bräustübl Tavern

We came across this gem when we found we were still a little early for our Michelin star dinner Esszimmer. The Bräustübl Tavern is a 1000 seat monk brewery since 1621. There were no clear signs and I believe we couldn't get any more local than this.

We felt the air froze when we entered, since we were the only Asian (and possibly tourist) there, but they soon resumed to their normal day to day conversations.

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[US] Top 10 Things to do in NYC

Argosy Bookstore

Published on 10:33 AM By rika.C.

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1. Go Picnic & enjoy for an outdoor movie at Brooklyn Bridge Park or Bryan Park

2. Visit the Frick Collection on Sunday (11am-1pm) for Pay As You Wish

3. Roam through the Chelsea historic district, walk the High Line and shop at Chelsea Market. (Remember to eat lobster roll! )

4. Experience Restaurant Week at Top Chef Restaurant in September -- Bar Boulud, Taboo's

5. Immerse in antique books, autographs and listen to old tales at Argosy Book Store

6. Get an awesome night view of NYC at The Press Lounge

7. Fountain hopping at Washington State Park

8. Snuzzle in at Kobrick Coffee for an afternoon read

9. Get an afternoon tea at the Palm Court

10. Gallery Gazing at historic district in Chelsea

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[Florence, ITALY] Day 1: Santa Croce, Ponte Vecchio, Antique Market Santo Spirito, Santa Novella Maria, Lobs Fish Restaurant, Duomo

Antique

Published on 2:33 PM By rika.C.

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Florence is a very walkable city, at every turn, there's something to amaze you.

Our apartment is literarily just at the corner of Basilica of Santa Croce, which is one of the largest Franciscan church in the world, and the resting place of Galileo, Michelangelo, Rossini and many others.

We took a long morning stroll around the city, making our way towards Ponte alle Grazie, so that we can get a good view of Ponte Vecchio, the only bridge that wasn't bombed in WWII (a last minute decision by the Germans to preserve it for its historic values). The Ponte Vecchio, also carries the secret passage "The Vasari Corridor" that connects Palazzo Vecchio to Palazzo Pitti and many of the other buildings in Florence. Supposedly the Medici instructed that every citizen's roof needs to be opened up to build a connecting passage that allows the family to travel anywhere above ground.

I think the best way to observe and understand a city, is to go to a local market. I was in luck, as the Saturday we arrived, there was an antique flea market at Santo Spirito, and it was a great place to watch people rummage through for treasure, hackle on price, and the owners chilling and chit-chatting with neighboring vendors.

Wonder if they picked up these wine from old sailing boats?

Amazing antique silverware

We then stopped by Basilica Santa Maria Novella and Officina Profumo - Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella to do some shopping!

Although Florence is not really the city to have seafood, but if you are craving for some, Lobs Fish restaurant is the one to go. I would also suggest getting the warm seafood salad for appetizer.

Since this is the first day of us arriving the city after a red-eye flight, we wanted to take things slow, so in the afternoon we took a quick tour at the Duomo.

Tips: If you want to get ahead in line, they have tour guides (10 Euro per person) waiting at the door, which I thought was pretty decent deal since you get a little introduction about Cathedral of Santa Maria de Fiore (Duomo) and you didn't need to wait for the long queue.