Into the heart of the St. Peter’s Basilica – The Vatican City and its treasures in Rome

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Small treasures on this trip to the Holy See – fresh summer fruits and some time away from the mid-day sun. This particular café served a good range of lunches from pizzas to fresh fruit and ice-cream.

We parked our car in Rome and then in all of about 300 meters, it seemed we were standing right in the middle of a different state; the Vatican City.

The Vatican state and its structures, to me, seemed to blend seamlessly with everything else Roman. Large, majestic looking sculptures, passageways and corridors that seem almost too large for any efficient or practical use of space, making one feel almost insignificant when walking about. I can imagine the purpose of the imposing structures from ancient times, that people needed to feel the power of the ruling, for the masses to feel at once diminished, yet safe. The structures work to the very same purpose today, except with a different flavour.

As a tourist, it’s splendid with so much space to conquer during your visit. And the Vatican state allows you these conquests as it invites hoards of visitors into its arms, into its heart which is St. Peter’s Basilica and into its treasure filled museum wings. The high arches and open spaces aid in dispensing with the overly crowded feel; a feel that Venice for example, could not overcome.

A curious feature: an Egyptian obelisk stands in front of St. Peter’s church.

Though small as a state, by foot, the grounds of St. Peter’s Basilica are still vast, with an intriguing sight of an Egyptian obelisk in the middle. Its slightly skewed alignment to Michelangelo’s building is said to have been compensated by Maderno’s nave inside the Basilica. Continue reading “Into the heart of the St. Peter’s Basilica – The Vatican City and its treasures in Rome” →

Getting to love the seasons

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Under an ivory BCBG Max Azria mid-length puffa jacket.

After several years in Sweden, I’m beginning to understand the seasons, and I’m loving them!

Puffa jackets come in a variety of designs, where belted down jackets are seen most on the streets these days.

My favourite jacket to combat the nordic cold is this ivory down puffa jacket from BCBG Max Azria. It wraps around you like a warm blanket and you can look forward to some winter white, easy.

Piazza San Marco: the heart of Venice

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In front of the Doge’s Palace, St. Mark’s Square in Venice.

When visiting Venice, it isn’t difficult to gravitate with the crowd and find your way to the heart of Venice itself, the Piazza San Marco or St. Mark’s Square.

I agree with art historian Hugh Honour when he described the Piazza San Marco as “beautiful at all times of day or night” (2001). The piazza, like a compass to Venice, it contains so many interesting facets that contribute to the personality of Venice itself, that we found ourselves drawn back to St. Mark’s Square several times during our stay there.

Basilica Di San Marco.

The wide space, devoid of any modern day traffic, is devoted solely to travel by foot. Souvenir vendors line the late 13th century herring-bone paved square, the patterns on the pavement reminiscent of the market stalls that traded in the square centuries before. The bustle is no less today, the colourful summer clothes of tourists around the square add to the festive feel of the place during the day.

A cozy sight is the vast number of pigeons that swelter in the shady pavement under the high arches of St. Mark’s basilica away from the direct heat of the hot summer sun, oblivious to the curious tourists seeking out their interests to the corners of the square. Continue reading “Piazza San Marco: the heart of Venice” →

Kueh Wajek with a Nonya twist

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Kueh wajek (also, kuih wajik) is a sweet morsel of Malay origin, eaten at anytime of the day as a dessert.

Kueh or kuih is the term given to various bite sized food items in the Malay archipelago. Growing up in the region, I had tremendous opportunity to savour the various kinds of kueh-mueh or cakes.

Kueh wajek has always been one of my favourite desserts when growing up. Though a home-cooked dessert, Singapore, since its early immigrant days has had a burgeoning food culture, which allowed this cake to be easily found at the Malay stalls in most any Singapore hawker-center.

A paradigm shift in the Singapore home culinary scene also began thereabouts during the 1980s where city life picked up speed and fewer people of all races, found time to eat home. So even back then, I remember buying kueh wajek at hawker-center stalls, biting into it convinced that I would never need to learn how to make this in my lifetime. Besides which, the only person whom I knew, who knew how to make this had in true Peranakan tradition, taken both recipe and method with her to the grave.

Living in Scandinavia however, meant a different home culinary experience. Dining out is fairly costly on a day to day basis and people here enjoy eating at home. Of course, there are also no Malay stalls in sight that sells kueh wajek.

Luckily, my mother had grown up making this very dessert with my great grandmother, so with her help, we’ve brought back into our households, the Nonya way of making kueh wajek, which in true IT age and tradition, I’d like to share with you.

This specific recipe is a variation of the one found at Kuali.com, which is in original Malay style. The Nonya twist is that only coconut milk is used, for a richer taste to the glutinous rice and that the glutinous rice mixture is fried in a pan rather than steamed. The frying renders an overall different texture to the kueh wajek, with the grains of the glutinous rice still intact. Steaming the mixture would encourage the grains of rice to melt into each other, producing a different consistency to the kueh (or cake). Depending on preference, either way will render a deliciously sinful treat for that afternoon tea! Continue reading “Kueh Wajek with a Nonya twist” →

Views from a Gondola

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Not a cloud in sight but the gondola excursion proved cooler than expected as the gondola glided into narrower waterways with shade from the brick-walled buildings.

With over 400 bridges in Venice, it is perhaps quite unmistakable that Venice has been built for one to navigate it on foot. Still, considering Venice’s history as a city of trade, with most building facades and main entrances facing the waterways, I think one cannot discount exploring the ancient waterways of this lagoon city when there.

Venice has always been connected with the sea with its triumphs, conquests and adventures being mostly seaward bound. Marco Polo for example, was a Venetian merchant during the 13th century who gave us the most fascinating insights to China in his book Il Milione, where he met with Genghis Khan and travelled the Silk Road trade route. In the 14th century, despite its population being halved by the plague, the water city succeeds in becoming the leader of four seapowers of the Mediterranean Sea. A century later, it conquers the island of Cyprus.

The Adriatic waters are seasonal in oscillation, with summer months being low tide and winter months, high tide. The waters go right up to the doorsteps of many private homes, shops and warehouses.

Because of its lagunal structure that somewhat prohibits the expansion of the city, Venice is one of the most unspoiled and untouched (with the exception of time) cities of Italy. Today, it is still the Adriatic waterways, with its seasonal oscillations, that run like veins through its buildings, coming right up to hundreds of individual doorsteps, shops and warehouses, going under hundreds of bridges. You can use these interconnecting waterways to explore the various lagoon islands of Venice – Burano, Murano, San Francesco del Deserto, San Lazzaro degli Armeni and Torcello – each lagoon having its own distinct characteristic traits and personality. Continue reading “Views from a Gondola” →

Anders Thorsell: capturing life in pictures

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Capturing rush hour in Thailand, Anders Thorsell snapped this buzzing picture of a BTS (train) station in Bangkok, Thailand. I thought it a perfect shot since he mentioned that photography was strictly forbidden there.

Great pictures can tell a story without words, and in that aspect, I think Anders Thorsell has many stories to tell, all of which are inspiring. He blogs about his travels, life in Sundsvall and the various aspects of photography in different walks of life. Continue reading “Anders Thorsell: capturing life in pictures” →

Il Canovaccio: The art of Venetian masquerade

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My favourite mask of the evening, a more elaborate Colombina mask with blue feathers and veil.
Text & Photo © JE Nilsson, CM Cordeiro-Nilsson 2008

Mention Venice and what comes to mind are masquerade balls and since 1979, the annual Il Carnevale di Venezia.

The Venetian carnival however, had its origins from the 11th century as a celebration of the passing of Lent, reflecting the etymology of the word carnival, from the Latin carne + vale meaning farewell to meat. Michael Tieuli lends a brief overview of the history of the Venetian Carnival, where he mentioned that the carnival was thought to be an annual celebration of Doge (Chief Magistrate) Vitale Michieli II’s victory over Ulrich II of Treven (the Patriarch of Aquileia) in 1162. Ulric was taken prisoner and his release was conditional, in that he had to pay an annual tribute to Venice in the form of twelve loaves of bread, twelve pigs and a bull. It was during this time that a tradition began of butchering a bull (representing Ulric) and twelve pigs in the Piazza di San Marco to commemorate the victory.

Continue reading “Il Canovaccio: The art of Venetian masquerade” →

Tiramisù

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A piece of absolutely delightful Tiramisu’, served at a restaurant in Venice.

Mistaking this dessert to be Japanese in origin due to its name (it somehow reminded me of miso), I had the privilege of tasting my first Tiramisu’ in the 1990s in Singapore. I was not particularly swept off my feet by this dessert at that time and it was only a few years later that I learned it was Italian. Later still, I learned when I had it ordered at a restaurant in Venice, Italy, that this heavenly morsel originated from Venice in its modern form, during the 1970s.

For those passionate about Italian food, Anna Maria Volpi, chef and author of several cookbooks, has a website on Italian cooking. She has also researched the history of Tiramisu’ and gives a detailed history of the dessert where she traced its origins to Zabaglione custard.

Zabaglione. Picture from Simply Recipes by Elise.

According to Alan Davidson (1999), Zabaglione was not originally a custard but a “caudle”, a sauce used as a custard to fill pies or tarts. It was invented in 16th Century in Florence, in the Medici court and was originally a drink reminiscent of today’s eggnog. Made with wine / ale, thickened with egg yolks, Zabaglione explains why Tiramisu’ is sometimes still served as a parfait, in cups or glasses rather than in slices. Mascarpone cheese, which is of a decadently thick, creamy consistency, was only used as a much later addition to Tiramisu’, so that it could now be served sliced if you wished.

From Alan Davidson, here’s what you’ll need to make Zabaglione:

8 large egg yolks and 1 cup confectioners’ (powdered) sugar placed in a double boiler. Whisk till foamy and then add 1/2 cup of dry Marsala (or Sherry). Beat the mixture for a minute or two so that it thickens in consistency but not so much that it solidifies or ‘scrambles’.

Ever since the Tiramisu’ in Venice, I’ve come to love this Italian dessert, and enjoy the great variation in its recipe. For me, Tiramisu’, despite its alluring sugar-caffeine combination, isn’t so much a pick-me-up as it is an experience of the palette, where one is whisked away to a time of the Medicis in Florence and Giacomo Casanova in Venice. One tastes in this dessert, the ingenuity of Florentine cuisine and the romance of Venice. If there were a dessert for a candlelit dinner for two, a quiet moment to be shared, then Tiramisu’ embodies the very sentiment and charm unique to Venice’s waterwayed rhythm.

References

  • Davidson, A., 1999. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press.

The mysterious ‘Notre Dame’ Cathedral in Chartres, France

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The heart of Chartres, the Notre Dame Chartres Cathedral looms impressively over the town and is visible from miles along the plains of Beauce.

The entire landscape around the city of Chartres about 45 km south of Paris, is mostly flat agrarian countryside. Mile after mile of fertile soil made the foundation of wealth that went into the building of this Cathedral. From a distance, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres seems to float among the clouds. This impossibly large structure strikes you as unlikely as Noah’s ark, just stranded on the mountains of Ararat.

The west facade of the Notre Dame in Chartres, a magnificent piece of mid 12th century high Gothic architecture. Its famous Portail Royal, completed about 1155, is currently under restoration. In this picture, the right (south) tower is the original, older, from about 1150. The higher, left (north) tower was rebuilt in 1513 after a fire.

The medieval charm of Chartres envelopes you as a warm cloak even as you approach the small town. The river Eure that runs through the town provides it with a picturesque backdrop and one is immediately taken in by the timbered architecture of the houses that line the cobbled streets, making them look almost right out of a Brothers Grimm fairytale.

At the heart of this city is the massive and striking Notre Dame Cathedral in its Gothic glory. From afar, the looming structure seems to float on clouds. It is only upon drawing closer that you realize that it sits quite solidly, on a hilltop, previously known as The Mound. Continue reading “The mysterious ‘Notre Dame’ Cathedral in Chartres, France” →

Visiting the Rothschild vineyards in Bordeaux, 2008

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Visiting Baron Philippe de Rothschild’s Vineyards in Bordeaux

The region of Bordeaux was legendary to me. I had heard of it long before I ever thought I would visit it. To me, Bordeaux was superior wines, it’s romantically undulating landscapes that the grapevines so needed to grow, the warm weather and the rustic lifestyle of grape harvesting and wine making.

Even though my knowledge of wines is limited to be able to recognize a good wine when I am served one, I expected to hit every single chateau in sight for some wine tasting, inspect all barrels of wines in different stages of aging and come away with much greater knowledge than before I set foot here.

It was such a disappointment then, that the day we had set out to explore Bordeaux, was a French national holiday weekend and all chateaus were closed!

With a sunken heart, we decided to travel around some and take a look at the vineyards and chateaus anyway, targeting one of our favourites, the Rothschild’s vineyards in the Médoc area just northwest of Bordeaux. Since the history of the Rothschild family, as well as the history of the vineyard and the wines all have approached mythical proportions, we decided this was worth doing even if there would be no one on grounds to meet.

A signpost leading the way to maybe the most famous of all vineyards in Bordeaux. The vineyards and chateaus are generally easy to find, following the signs.

The roads were tiny and winding slightly up and slightly down. They were also bare of any vehicles or crowds due to the holiday.
Continue reading “Visiting the Rothschild vineyards in Bordeaux, 2008″ →