past equator

It’s middle of April. We’re past the equator which means summer holidays can be discerned on the horizon through the haze of two more months of studies. Time to plan new trips, work hard and look for inspiration – in past travels among other sources.

I’ve already spoken on the topic Reading & Travelling, how written texts accompany any trip, amusing or bewildering you, providing food for thought. And it starts right in the airport.

click on the picture for a closer view

Wien airport carries an ad of Austrian airlines with an inviting slogan We fly for your smile, promising a pleasurable experience, unique service and “new culinary heights while on board”. I can’t boast of this experience, but the flight with Austrian Arrows – Tyrolean Airways was really enjoyable, including cooking delights. When they were serving the meal, there was an aroma of freshly baked bread which was hot and tasted as if it had been just made on board.

Well, since I mentioned eating, why not tell more about it? When travelling, people sometimes skip breakfast or lunch, but you can’t go without a proper meal at least once a day, can you? What I mean is food can be part of exploring the city and culture.

Planning a trip to Venice, I knew where I would like to have dinner. One of such places was legendary Harry’s bar. Not even because of its history or impressive guest list: Somerset Maugham, George Clooney and many more, but because there’s a lot about it in Hemingway’s "Over the River and Into the Trees", it was his favourite restaurant. 
Harry’s bar turned to be next to invisible: no flashy sign or exquisite interior. Simple and elegant, it offered more than authentic Bellini and fabulous desserts, which were hard to resist. It offered atmosphere. After a hearty meal I spoke to the maitre d' about Hemingway, asking where he used to work, and believe it or not, I had chosen the same table in the corner! Intuition? Might be, Hemingway is among authors I deeply admire. The maitre d' was most gallant, he showed pictures and books and I imagined how Hem used to sit there scribbling away with a glass of wine.

One more must-visit was café Florian. You can hardly escape this in Venice, as it is situated in Piazza San Marco. I’d heard a lot about Florian before I went to Venice, and I wanted to come to the place Brodsky, Byron, Dickens, Goethe loved so much. How can you ignore a true landmark? The interior impresses by refinement and perfect taste. In summer, however, grand inner rooms are not as popular as the tables outside. Small wonder; there you have the privilege of the best view – the Clock Tower and St Mark's Campanile! At night when live music is heard from all around, in Florian you’re offered a fine musical kaleidoscope: from popular opera arias to Kalinka and Tyrolean tunes.

But sometimes you come across a delightful place unexpectedly, which is the best part of travelling in my view! It was this way with "Buba Gump", a cosy restaurant in Victoria Peak Tower. We were so much absorbed with tremendous views of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbor that we realized what Buba Gump it was, only after opening the menu. They offered an extensive variety of prawns (deep-fried, steamed, whatever), Mama’s garlic bread basket (obviously, Forrest's mama)); besides on each table you could read Run, Forrest, run! There were other references to Forrest Gump, like pictures and quotes from this great movie: I’m not a smart man, but I know what love is. I love Forrest Gump, and I loved "Buba Gump"!

 

Another perfect dining place relating to cinema – Osteria de Borg – is found in Rimini. Actually we were looking for Tonino il Lurido – Federico Fellini’s favourite trattoria. And we did find it, closed for holiday! So the proprietor of Il Lurido recommended another nice place, which was also frequented by Fellini and which now organizes events in his honour. In de Borg while your order is being made you’re offered a basket of warm piada (kind of flatbread), fresh from the oven. Formaggio is served with homemade jam (pomodori, cipolla and other weird ingredients), and everything is incredibly delicious!

 

The restaurant in Bratislava attracted both by the catchy signboard and the figure spying from round the corner.

 

In all European cities you can find excellent coffee houses to treat you with with local delicacies, traditional in the area. And I keep wondering why global chain eateries, like Starbucks or McDonald’s are so crowded in Madrid, Lisbon, anywhere? Why go for a regular Starbucks coffee in Vienna, when next to it there’s Demel café – 200 something years old – where Empress Sissi used to order her favourite candied violets, or Cafe Sacher serving authentic Sacher-Torte with a chocolate seal – proof that it is original? These are places to treat yourself instead of gulping down conventional coffee!

There’s one more perfect meeting-point in Vienna for bookworms – Pickwick's café. Should I explain what Pickwick is meant?)) It is cosy and home-like, furnished with old pieces of different style and fabric, and bookshelves covering the walls up to the ceiling. They practice book crossing, you can spend hours there!

Reading lovers, and Alice especially)) in Paris would hardly go past “Dormouse in the Teapot” – a fabulous tea house making mouth-watering pastries for which people queue up outside.

 

With outdoor snacks you discover local tastes, like waffles in Belgium – yellow vehicles make and sell them hot; Ghent delicacies – cone-shaped candies named cuberdon or Ghent nose; grapefruit fresh at the market in Rome – just a couple of examples...

 

With signs and souvenirs you learn about peculiarities of the national (or probably, local) sense of humour, wit and character. Have a look at a selection of hilarious T-shirts in Sardinia: Italian sex instructor offering first lesson free or Student’s hard life with unambiguous prints )))

 

Or a book store in Paris – what a yummy name for this kind of shop: Mona was reading!

 

Quite a Shock-o-latier Dominique Persoon offered an exposition of his products in Anrwerp. The chocolate head with an open brain called What’s on Dominique’s mind is a total riot!

 

There’s a lot more to speak on Reading & Travelling, the topic proved to be inexhaustible. I’ll wind up with the most inspirational – children and books. Is there anything better than that?

This curly creature on vaporetto reading a book was my first eye-to-eye contact in Venice. I fell for the city at once!

PS. Many thanks to my co-authors who are more numerous now.  Welcome to share reading & travelling impressions!

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