Quirky Traveller's Tales

It’s always a pleasure to hear from new writers and I’m delighted to feature Jo Evans with her very first blog post.  She explains how the sweet aroma of travel and the powerful memories it can evoke, inspired her to start her very own Aromatherapy business in the Lake District.

The sense of smell is truly an amazing thing. I have a very sensitive sense of smell, indeed I can’t walk through a perfume section of a department store without getting a headache. So what have I ended up training in? Aromatherapy! I find the whole subject fascinating, how essential oils can work with each other to create wonderful healing synergies. Many of us have strong memories related to smells and that made me think about the sweet aroma of travel that evokes such wonderful memories of the people and places I have come across around the world.

The exotic smell of coconut suntan lotion makes me think of our holiday villa on the Greek island of Lefkada.  The pagodas that surrounded the house and the pool were hung with large red and pink blooms which smelt heavenly in the evening. To sit there with a glass of wine relaxing after a hard day soaking up the sun, was absolute bliss.  You really know you are on holiday when you can close your eyes and smell that coconut aroma wafting on the warm breeze …

America is somewhere that springs to mind immediately. When I remember my trips there I can always smell the food. The mouth-watering pancakes and maple syrup; the sticky sweet smell of the theme parks with their abundance of snack stands and restaurants; the fresh fruits on show waiting to be turned into smoothies.

I can clearly remember two very distinctive aromas from a holiday in Cornwall. First, and predominantly, salt. The gorgeous salty air of harbours mixed with the smell of the days’ catch reminds of the wonderful strolls I have had there, as well as people-watching whilst sitting on a harbour wall with a refreshing ice cream. The other aroma, and it is one of my all-time favourites, is warm scones. I can’t resist that smell and my obsession with cream teas is a constant source of amusement to my husband! 

And what about the Lake District? Although I now live, here I wasn’t born and bred here. Before relocating I had been visiting the lakes for about 12 years and every time I made the journey north on the M6 I would look forward to the sight of the fells and, more importantly, the smell of the Lake District. I can only describe it as ‘wholesome’. There is a fresh, clean, natural smell to the Lakes that always makes me feel content, which is probably why I now live here.

I’ve spent a long time experimenting with aromatherapy blends that people can take with them when they’re travelling for an aromatic boost on the go. Headaches, tiredness and stress are often unfortunate side-effects of travelling, so I’ve come up with three blends to help with these issues. Lemongrass and Peppermint for headaches and muzzy heads, Lime and Mandarin for a pick me up and Lavender and Bergamot to help relax and unwind. I’ve put these blends into little Rollerballs to keep in your travel bag and I have to say that I don’t go anywhere now without at least one of them tucked in a pocket somewhere!

For further information on Aromatherapy and any of Jo’s products visit her website BespokeAroma. 

In the second of her stories for the World Travel Blogger series, Karen Guttridge discovers a VERY unusual taste sensation on the beautiful island of Cyprus.

On the southern mountain slopes outside the Cypriot  town of Limassol,  lies the village of Doros, where I’d heard talk of mushrooms. Sugared mushrooms.  

I arrived in the village via a slightly convoluted route. I’d intended to approach via the excellent road which hugs the impossibly blue expanse of the Kouris Dam, reputedly the home of Cyprus’ answer to the Loch Ness monster.  However, I’d become distracted by a bevy of quail skittering before my car and ended up passing the same village kafeneion three times. To their credit, the chaps sipping ouzo and coffee had downed tools and waved enthusiastically each time I drove past.

Katerina’s Cyprus Sweets

I pulled up outside Katerina’s Cyprus Sweets where Katerina Christoforou is a lady determined to revive the old tradition of Glyka tou Koutaliou or spoon sweets.  As a child she used to spend hours watching her grandmother gather fruits from her garden which she then stewed and preserved for the winter in sugar syrup. Tiny tasters of these rich, sweet concoctions were served to guests on a spoon, accompanied by thick, strong Greek coffee.

“In the old days village housewives in Cyprus were forced to be inventive and thrifty and took pride in letting very little go to waste – even the peel of the fruit such as watermelon and oranges was used,” said Katerina. 

In the kitchen at Katerina’s Cyprus Sweets

And what of the mushrooms? Katerina certainly likes to experiment. Her daughter Mary hastened to the kitchen to emerge with delicate plates glistening with sticky fare. A large mushroom sat proud amongst a scattering of pistachios and two strawberries. “ I like to push the boundaries,” explained Katerina, “ to create my glyka from the less expected sources”.  She certainly does. A wander over to scan the shelves revealed jars of sugar syrup-preserved walnuts (picked from the tree whilst still soft and green), rose petals, olives, prickly pear and even garlic. All excellent, apparently, for their health-boosting properties.

Cooking Pots at Katerina’s Cyprus Sweets

Now to tackle that mushroom.  I didn’t know what to make of it. I normally eat my mushrooms savoury – and hot. The tiny fork cut through the thick flesh easily. I popped a smooth quarter into my mouth and began to chew.  The flavour was intense. Was that because of the sweet syrup? I’d no idea, but quickly pulled up my chair and focused on clearing my plate.  Absolutely delicious.

Katerina’s Sugared Mushrooms

As I ate, Katerina talked proudly of her success in the recent European business awards in Barcelona. “I was so proud. There I was, mingling with the chaps from Ikea …”

The Terrace at Katerinas’s

Karen Guttridge: fuelled by wanderlust and the odd cake, she likes nothing better than donning boots and rucksack, noseying around the UK and Europe and getting up to endless mischief.  Check out her blog Ladyhiker and find her on Face Book & Twitter@happy_rambler. You can read her article on Family Wine-making in Cyprus here.

Myriad stalls line both sides of Skipton High Street on Market Day, selling everything from home made jam, via chunky knits to Greek olives.  Whatever the weather the stallholders always seem to have a smile and a cheery greeting.  On both sides of the road, substantial, but not imposing, Victorian buildings jostle for space with a few older building and an occasional modern interloper in between.

Skipton Market and Holy Trinity Church

This quaint Yorkshire market town on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales is the ideal place to see modern-day rural England.  Skipton Castle testifies to the town’s ancient history.  Originally built in 1090, it was replaced by a sturdy stone castle to fend off attacks from the Scots further north. In 1310, Edward II granted the castle to Robert Clifford who ordered many improvements to the fortifications; he died in the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.  During the English Civil War the castle was the only Royalist stronghold in the north of England until December 1645.

Skipton Castle

Nearby, the 14^th Century Holy Trinity Church is the final resting place of Henry VIII’s niece, Lady Eleanor Brandon and there are also five Earls of Cumberland and an impressive memorial to 3^rd Earl, George Clifford.

The Woolly Sheep Inn

Sheep Street has lots of quirky little shops, boutiques and was the site of the old prison. Being on the tourist route, in an understated and genuine way, there are plenty of restaurants, pubs and cafes to quench thirst and tempt the palate.  A very popular and traditional pub is The Woolly Sheep with excellent choice of real ale and comfortable rooms.  One of my favourite places for a very unusual atmosphere is The Russian Tea Room – check out the window display of Russian dolls, costume and food.    Drop in to the pretty Three Sheep Tea Rooms for a great cup of Yorkshire tea and a bite to eat.

The Three Sheep Tea Rooms

Also on High Street is the Skipton Town Hall & Craven Museum.  When I visited recently there was an indoor market selling – I bought some brightly coloured wools for my latest knitting obsession!  My son got a Manchester City football pin and a couple of second hand DVDs – bargains galore here.  Upstairs is the fascinating little Museum showcasing artefacts from days gone by, including the very surprising hippopotamus skull, from the far-off days when they apparently roamed the surrounding countryside …

Indoor market wool stall

You can walk along historic The Leeds and Liverpool Canal, take a boat trip or just sit and watch the beautifully decorated barges, narrow boats and other craft drift slowly by.  The Canal Basin also has some great little shops in the converted warehouses.

Photo by LeedsLiverpoolCanal.co.uk

The Millenium Walk takes in a lot of the town as well as the Leeds Liverpool Canal.  It’s a great way to explore the industrial heritage of Skipton; originally a wool town, it went on to trade in  the more lucrative cotton industry and was the home of Silko Cotton.  My grandmother had hundreds of these brightly coloured reels in an ornate wooden sewing box in her front room.

So, next time you’re in the fair county of Yorkshire take time to visit Skipton – and see if you can find that hippo’s head …

In the sixth of our series of interviews with holiday homeowners from around the world, Jeff and Tish talk about how they bought a ruin in a spectacular setting in Andalucia and turned it into a stunning Moorish-style boutique villa.

 Originally from London, Jeff and Tish bought a ruin in the heart of Andalucia countryside 7 years ago. Their aim was to develop a rental property which offered all the services and facilities of a five star hotel yet had all the privacy of a home from home villa that catered for children and adults alike.  Lovingly restored in Moorish-style and beautifully furnished, Cortijo Bujio opened its doors to the public two and half years ago and since has been enjoying excellent occupancy rates.

 1.   What first made you fall in love with this area and why should people come here?  

Tish, a former teacher and myself, a property developer decided to buy Cortijo Bujio because of its close proximity to Granada airport which had just started flights from London. Set in a gorgeous valley near to Sierra Parapanda, the Cortijo offers unspoilt vistas of the neighbouring olive groves and oak forests, the panoramic expanse of the plains to the west of Granada and the snow-capped slopes of the Sierra Nevada beyond. It is ideal for those who are looking for a holiday where they can relax and enjoy peace and quiet and maybe even a bit of pampering.

2.   What’s the ‘best kept secret’ you would tell any visitors not to miss?

Our best kept secret has to be Rio Frio, a natural trout river and farm which runs through a village about 20km from the Cortijo. Here you can dine on freshly caught trout, traverse the meandering river or explore the countryside. Rio Frio is thought to be the first organic certified sturgeon farm in the world. It is also the only fish farm known to have rare species of trout indigenous to Andalusia but is thought to be extinct in the wild.

 3.   Where’s the place to go to just hang out, people watch and generally soak up the atmosphere?

8km from the Cortijo is the picturesque village of Montefrio where we live; Montefrio is exquisite. An agrarian village with plenty of modern trappings, however, it still manages to cling on to the past and is truly the real Spain, the only language spoken here is Spanish! The people are warm and welcoming and go about their business seemingly without a care in the world. We love it!

Montefrio is definitely the place to go and hang out, people watch and soak up the atmosphere; you can sit outside many of the bars and restaurants drinking good beer, wine or coffee and enjoying the great local cuisine. There are many fiestas which can also be enjoyed throughout the year. This friendly village enjoys one of the region’s most striking settings, with one of its churches perched on top of a bare, rocky pinnacle, overlooking the town and its surrounding hillsides clothed in olive groves and fields of cereal crops. It nestles between two memorable hilltop churches; you can’t miss either of them since they dominate the skyline.

4.       What would you recommend visitors either treat themselves to or take home as a souvenir?

Our most popular event and a must for all of our guests is the Flamenco evening, where local Flamenco players get together in our open courtyard overlooking the Sierra Nevada, and entertain with live music and dance, accompanied by Paella cooked al-fresco by our lovely cook Reme (who also makes divine Sangria!).

5.       Finally, what are the most ‘quirky’ things to do, see, eat, visit or experience in this place?

Quirky has to be a visit to Restaurante Piolas in the middle of nowhere, lost in the olive belt of inland Andalusia, and about 45 minutes’ drive from Cortijo Bujio. The restaurant offers a 15-course Spanish taster menu in a similar style to Heston Blumenthal but distinctly Spanish.

Leave yourself a couple of hours and sit back and enjoy. Changing by the month, the fifteen or so plates are so varied and unique. Arriving to strains of salsa and flamenco, the courses have included a strawberry salad with sardines, the most incredible ‘towers of cheese’ – looking like toadstools and made out of cheddar, Roquefort, parmesan and goats cheese – and a camembert and apple pie, with a vinaigrette of Mallorcan sausage.

Holiday Homeowner Q&A is brought to you by HomeAway.co.uk, the UK’s leading holiday rentals website with over 320,000 properties worldwide. From cute studios and city apartments to rural cottages and country homes, large luxury villas, quirky conversions and more, there are thousands of unique places to enjoy a more authentic and unusual holiday.

“Whoo – that’s the best meal I’ve had all holiday.” When a teenage boy tells a waitress that, you know something is very right.  When the main ingredient of that meal is a fish you’ve never heard of, in a foreign island far from home, then you know it is probably extraordinary.  But more of that later …

The climate, landscape and people help determine the cuisine of every region and the delicious food in Gran Canaria is the product of all that plus a unique eco-system.  This volcanic island off the west coast of Africa has succeeded in creating an appetising blend of Spanish, African, European, traditional and contemporary cuisine using the freshest and highest quality local ingredients.

Local fish include stone bass, sea bream,, combtooth blennies,  tuna, shark and the huge marlin; adventurous souls go out daily on fishing boats to do battle with these huge sea creatures.  Black Canarian pork is a real treat with rabbit and goat also found on island menus.  Other meat is imported, most especially for the tourist market.  Gran Canaria’s most treasured gastronomic secrets is the sheep and goats’ cheese produced in small quantities. Flor, Mediaflor and Guia cheeses hold the Protected Denomination of Origin label.  Possibly the most well-known are the tasty little Canarian potatoes.  Served in virtually every restaurant, most families have their own special potato recipes to bring out their lovely flavour.  Garlic is another favourite ingredient lending its distinctive essence to a wide variety of culinary delights.

During a week’s family holiday at the luxurious Holiday Club Resort at Sol Amadores my son, his best friend and I went on a fascinating tour into the heart of the island.  It was especially interesting as we were visiting places that were off the main tourist route so we got a sense of how the local live.  What surprised me most was the varied scenery and how every acre of vaguely fertile land is farmed in some way or other.   Large areas of the south-east west coast are used to grow Canary tomatoes, exported to Europe, along with magnificent varieties of peppers, cucumbers and onions. Even in the very harsh, barren areas prickly pears, aloes and various cacti are found, being used in very imaginative ways.

We stopped for lunch in the mountain village of Fontaneles at Restaurant Sibora.  In typically ‘rustic’ surroundings ie lots of ornate, highly carved wood, plenty of fading blue-tinted photos of island sights and some VERY quirky objects the use of which defeated us, we had a suberbly simple and delicious meal.  A starter of spiky peppery onion soup was followed by silky smooth goats’ cheese, delicate fish fritters and ‘Patatas Arrugadas’ and the restaurant’s red Mojo Picon, made with red peppers and garlic, complimenting the salty, dry potatoes most harmoniously.  

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to try it for yourself:

Canarian Patatas Arrugudas (wrinkled potatoes)

2lbs approx of small, clean potatoes (floury, older potatoes are fine)  2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with enough cold water in to cover and add the sea salt.  Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes till cooked and soft.  Pour off all the wasre then leave the potatoes to cool in the pan.  This is the most important part of the process – a layer of salt will encrust the potatoes.  Best served warm ideally with Mojo Picon or other tasty sauce.

*** Edit December 2012. Friend Liz who lives in Gran Canaria adds this to recipe (see Comments below): “I am not sure two spoons of salt is enough – I use a lot more! My local recipe says 250 gr salt for 1 kilo of potatoes. They only take as much salt as they want apparently and they never taste too salty.” Cheers Liz!

The main course was a simple dish of succulent falling-apart pieces of pork in a sweetly herby sauce (rosemary I think) and chunky, crispy chips.  The boys finished off with ice-cream and I had a crème caramel, as good as any I’ve ever eaten in Spain.  Clean plates all round.

In a nearby village we found a quirky general story selling an enormous range of local foods including cheeses, piquant cured sausages, flaky pastries including Bienmesabe, made with island almonds, lemon and cinnamon, densely scrumptious cakes, spicy sauces, flower-infused honey, fruit jams, red and white wines and the usual very sweet licqueurs that will be relegated to the back of the cupboard once you get home.  There was also a veritable pharmacy of aloe products all promising various health and beauty benefits.

In the VERY touristy resort of Puerto Rico it’s easy to find ‘English’ type food and not so easy to get find decent local food.  However, it was at Grill Costa Mar (opposite the Fishing Excursion stands in the Port area) that the boys declared their delight at the fishy dishes put before them.  This little gem of a restaurant serves supremely fresh fish straight off the nearby boats.  After smoked mackerel pate, mayonnaise and garlic bread pate we chose the specials – chunky white marlin, wahoo (tastes a bit like chicken – see photo above) and quite simply the best tuna steak I have ever eaten.  Accompanied by some citrusy Spanish white wine and crusty bread rolls it was a sublime meal.  It was the wahoo that produced the “whoo” from my son, perfectly summing up the delicious food on Gran Canaria!

We stayed at the luxurious Holiday Club Sol Amadores on Gran Canaria.  They are members of the Timeshare trade body Resort Development Organisation.  and their owners can stay in a wide variety of different properties around the world.

Heat enveloped us, forcing its way through our lightweight clothing, beating down onto a wide variety of headgear as the sun seared its way across the sky, shimmering through the bush on its daily journey across the Australian desert.  Brittle twigs snapped and distant scuttlings broke the hot silence as we followed in a straggly line behind Arty, our Aboriginal guide. He richoted knowledgeably around this, to me, totally alien landscape, with the familiarity garnered from years of experience searching out bush food.

Suddenly Arty stopped and knelt down in the dusty red earth.  Using a smoothly curved  piece of wood (a Coolamon) he pointed out an irregular bowl shape beneath a straggly tree. “Honey ant nest.  The women from the local Anangu tribe have been here digging them out.  The ants harvest honey dew produced by aphids which suck sap from the trees.  The ants use their antenna to stimulate the aphids to release the sweet liquid. To eat one, pick it up by its head, pop the abdomen in your mouth and bite it.  It’s a real delicacy for our people.”  Fortunately for those of us who are a tad squeamish about eating live insects, we were not going to try one today.

In the past Aboriginal women were the main food gatherers searching for seeds, vegetables, fruit and witchetty grubs. They used digging sticks and carried the food in Coolamons. Men hunted kangaroo, lizards, snakes, goanna and small birds with boomerangs, throwing sticks and spears.  Arty demonstrated how they made the spears using different types of hard and soft wood and an adhesive made from tree sap.  We had to avoid the tough, tussocky spinifex grass which is as sharp and jaggy as it sounds.

Further on Arty found tiny seeds which could be hammered into coarse flour to make ‘bush bread’ or damper, now becoming quite fashionable, dipped with different oils and herbs, rather as the Italians use foccaccio or ciabatta and olive oil.

Wandering through this sparse, sun-bleached land, not far from awe-inspiring Uluru, where nature seems to wage a perpetual battle for sparse natural resources,  it brought into sharp focus just After an hour of walk about we were starting to wilt so we were  led back to a canopy-shaded area where we flopped down out of the sun and drank eagerly from chilled bottles of water.  Laid out in front of use were more coolamons filled with a wide variety of seeds, berries, flowers and nuts.  Arty explained how each one could be used and then we could taste some of them.  That was a real culinary adventure in itself, as the majority of flavours were totally new and very different.

I must admit I was worried in case he presented us with a plate of big, fat, white witchety grubs but fortunately they weren’t on the menu that day.  My favourite was the bright red quandong (or desert peach), used in a variety of dishes to add sweetness and the kernel of the fruit has high levels of Vitamin C.  The reason I liked it is that it tasted great – some of the others were quite bitter or sour and would take some getting used to by a westernised palate.   We tried tiny bush tomatoes, wattle seeds and lemon myrtle, which has to be most ubiquitous of all seasonings, appearing in many modern bush food dishes today.  Prettiest food award must go to the Grevillea ‘Honey Gem’ a vivid green and yellow frondy plant that produces a sweet nectar – perhaps nature’s partner to the honey ant …

By the end of this fascinating two hour SEIT Bush Tucker adventure in the Uluru area of the New Territories, I felt privileged to have been a given a brief glimpse of just how tough and skilled the Aboriginal peoples were to have survived totally unaided in this fierce desert area for thousands of years.  Plus an insight into how foods that have been foraged for over the centuries are now being used in a wide variety of imaginative ways.    And thankfully, not a witchety grub in sight …

I was on an Aborigine Bush Food & Culture tour organised by Tourism Northern Territory.  It was my first time in Australia and I fell in love with this captivating region.  My stay included time in tropical Darwin, visiting the awe-inspiring area of Uluru and Kata Tjuta and exploring in and around Alice Springs.  During my time in Yulara I stayed at the 5 star Sails in the Desert Hotel run by Ayers Rock Resort.  If you haven’t already been to this part of the world, then do put it on your list of places to see – it is a truly unique and hypnotisingly wonderful place to visit.