Bellagio on Lake Como

Last year, if someone told me I would be spending the 4th of July abroad, I would have laughed.  Although last year Ram and I fell asleep before the fireworks started, but I digress....

This year we spent the 4th with a bang in Bellagio on Lake Como, Italy.  We fell in love with this small town, population 3,000 (sans George Clooney, more on that later).   With the sun beating down on us, our first stop was for gelato, and boy was it tasty. Thereafter, our carb-o-cide binge began (starving myself before this trip was an excellent idea). Day in and day out we had pasta, rissotto, and pizza.  Of course the meal would not be complete without dessert and wine.

Chef Luigi

We also took a cooking class with Chef Luigi at Salice Blu.  Chef Luigi gained experience at a michelin rated restaurant which he left in 2005 to return to Bellagio to take over his family restaurant.  At the age of 28 he's received many notable mentions for his creative cooking style. So it was a no brainer that we wanted to take his cooking class.  The first thing we did upon arrival at the restaurant was go to the Chef's private garden around the corner.  We picked our fresh herbs for our pasta: thyme, parsley, and even lavender.  The class had 12 people so we were divided into 3 work stations.  Each station made a different flavor of pasta spinach, saffron yellow (ours), and beet root. Later we  combined the flavors to make tricolor pasta (Ram's favorite) which mirrored the colors of the Italian flag.  In addition, we made fresh gnocchi and chocolate souffles for dessert.  It took about an hour for Chef Luigi to get the pasta dough the right thickness and consistency after we rolled it as thin as we could with rolling pins.  I admired his patience while feeding the machine one foot of dough at a time.  As much as I liked the final product, I don't see myself going through all that effort for house guests anytime soon but I have the recipes just in case;) Here's a preview:

The tricolor pasta

The Final Product

 We capped our last night in Bellagio with a boat tour around Lake Como.  The Lake is 1200 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in Europe. The Lake is in the shape of an upside down "Y" and Bellagio is located at the fork, just before it splits.  We cruised by all the neighboring cities and the gorgeous villas.  It is now my mission to one day own a villa on Lake Como, hopefully in the city of Laglio where I can be neighbors with Clooney.  Unfortunately, there were no Clooney sightings on this trip:( Our stay in Lake Como was way too short, and I can't wait to go back to experience some of the other larger cities on the lake!

LOVE

  

Stavanger, Norway

This past weekend I met Ram in Stavanger, Norway where he has been working for the past week.  I was greeted by a city that gives new meaning to "right of way."  The cars will literally stop in the middle of the road so you can cross (I tested this theory several times). We stayed in the city centre at the Radisson Blu Atlantic.  The hotel was perfectly located within walking distance of all these unique boutiques and restaurants around the North Sea harbour.  Even after spending several hours walking around, I still hadn't seen it all!  Along the cobblestone roads, every street has its own character and colour, I fell in love.  Notable restaurants and cafes included Bacchus, Chilli House, and Hall Toll.  The sushi there was amazeballs! But I could not get over how expensive the city is! One entree and one glass of wine would cost $60!!! It was pretty ridiculous. I wonder how much minimum wage is there....

Aside from giving the local economy a boost, I went to the Petroleum Museum and learned some interesting facts about the oil industry.  Then on Saturday, under the threat of rain and husband in tow, we took a 3 hour cruise to see the fjords. A fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, carved by glacial activity.  The lack of sunshine left us wondering how different the scene might have looked.  But even with the gray clouds, it was beautiful. We cruised by a famous attraction, Pulpit Rock.  We were told that the 3 hour hike to the top of the rock can be difficult and with the rainy weather upon us, we declined to make the trek. The sea view of the rock magnified its height and I have to admit I felt a pang of regret not doing the hike. The views from the top of the rock are supposed to be amazing. We also cruised by a natural waterfall and tasted the fresh, untouched water.  Just as I thought the tour was over,  we came upon a very rocky area where, out of nowhere, 3 goats came running towards the ship! Apparently the cruise line often makes a stop there to feed the goats (and it looked like they hadn't missed many meals).  I got the perfect picture of them lined up and waiting for food.  I also saw groups of jelly fish along the harbour.  I've never seen one up close and it was alarming to see so many of them so close to the shore.  All in all, it was a wonderful sightseeing adventure and I'm so glad we did it.

So now I can cross Norway off my list.  It's a country I probably would've never visited but glad I did.  Next stop, Lake Como and Venice.  Can't wait!!!!!!!

Barca

Hola amigos y amigas! Como estas? 


After a decade, I made the trip back to Barcelona.  It was Ram's first time so he was super excited.  Unfortunately, he went there for a conference so it was mostly all work and no play for him. But we kicked off the weekend right at the W Hotel when they upgraded our room to a corner suite with coastal views on both sides.  IT WAS GORGEOUS.  That night we had dinner at Wave at the W and it was deliciosa! We had a nightcap at the W bar, Eclipse, and it was fun to people watch:) 


The next day we checked in to Le Meridien on La Rambla so we could be closer to Ram's conference. This time around, I didn't really do any sightseeing since I've already seen the Olympic pool, Gaudi's amazing work, Picasso, etc.  I just immersed myself in the culture and shops and thoroughly enjoyed it. Well I did do one touristy thing, I went to the Erotica Museum.  What can I say, it was walking distance from the hotel and I was curious.  It was a bit shocking to see their portrayal of the emergence of erotica in various cultures including India. They even had an S&M toy display and I immediately thought of Christian Grey...Surprisingly, they allowed photography, so I took a few pics before I started feeling like a perve...   


Ah but La Rambla was just as I remembered it.  We saw cool street performers, had our share of sangria, tapas, and people watching.  I also got to check out La Boquaria Market. They had everything including fresh juice and a wide assortment of candy.  I cannot believe I had the will power and refrained from trying the candy!  Looking back at my pictures, I regret it now.

Next stop Stavanger, Norway!  

Coastal Hike

This past week has been eventful! Last Thursday I did the longest hike I've done thus far.  It was a 10.5 km (6.5 m) hike with my ex-pat friends.  It was the last "official" group hike until fall.  Since everyone travels often over the summer, the ex-pat activity groups stop from June-September.  Hopefully, I can get an unofficial group together over the next few months to continue push my hiking limits...The leader of this activity group just finished a 3-5 day walk in Barcelona.  Her experience was very inspiring....needless to say, 10.5km was nothing for this group.

It was quite a beautiful walk, despite the horrid coastal fog that hovered over us.  (Seems like there's always a weather infraction but I'm just glad it wasn't rain and hail). The first half of the walk had a gradual rolling rise inland.  We walked to Inverbervie, Benholm, and Gourdon.  On the second half of the walk we encountered large patches of the rapeseed plant (I wish they didn't call it that), which is used to make canola oil.  The bright yellow plant smelled so good and created a lovely backdrop against the countryside.  At one point on the hike I had the scottish countryside (we saw skinny cows!) on my left and the sea on my right.  It was pretty awesome.

Countryside on my left...

Skinny cow! 

Ocean view on my right.

St Cyrus, Sandy Beaches and Nature

So yesterday I went along on a hike to St Cyrus, about 45 minutes outside of Aberdeen.  Unfortunately our week long 65 degrees and sunny weather was gone and it was back to 50 degrees and chilly.  I'm thankful it didn't rain or hail this time.  I enjoyed walking along the sandy beach and then hiking in the area around it.  It was an awesome workout with a calming view.  The beach was actually clean and the water was definitely not the dirty south brown I'm used to seeing (haha).

St Cyrus has a rich history, dating back to the 14th century.  Few interesting facts of note, the sea claimed a castle built in the 15th century.  There was also an old graveyard in the middle of the nature reserve.  The graveyard is home to a famous poet, George Beattie, who died in 1823.  It was quite sad to see some of the tombstones were for children that died at a very young age.  I think the youngest tomb I saw was for a 7 year old girl and the oldest for a 33 year old man (eek).  I guess 33 was like 80 back in those days.

The area now is cultivated mostly for farming and the like.  Although we did see a sign that said to watch for toads on the road which I thought was hilarious.  I guess toads are vital to the farming community!

Next on the agenda is our vacay in sunny Barcelona.  Well, holiday for me and work for Ramji:) Almost a fortnight away!  I can't wait to go back there.  Mmmm, I can just taste the Sangria.....

 

Behind the Wheel, a dó

Tuesday, we took driving lessons arranged by Ram's company.  Our instructor was a retired cop turned owner/operator of his own driving company.  He has contracts with all the large companies to assist newcomers, like us, to get adjusted to driving in the UK and pass their driving test.

We drove around in his mini cooper, which is powerful for such a small car.  He pushed us to our limits that day.  He had us drive out of Aberdeen and into the country to conquer our fear of small roads.  We drove to Inverie, a small town with coastal views, farms, and fishing.  We even saw Highland Cattle, which are long haired cows. I've been hearing about them ever since we got here and I finally got to see one! They are so funny looking.

During our 6 hour lesson, we learned some interesting facts about the traffic laws in the UK.  As I mentioned before the driving speed usually varies between 20 and 40 mph.  So if the sign has the speed with a green circle, it's merely a suggestion.  If the sign has the speed in a red circle, its required.  To make things even more complicated, the speed changes every block or two.  And most of the streets have cameras, so if you get more than 12 points in a year, you're license is suspended! Each speeding ticket is 3 points.  I've never been known to speed but it's SO hard to drive 20 mph.

Another difficult habit to break will be learning their system to change lanes and reduce your speed.  They have an acronym MMSM, which stands for Mirror Mirror Signal Maneuver.  Over here you are required to look at your rear view mirror and your side mirrors BEFORE signaling or changing your speed.  They call it defensive driving.  I call it nonsense. The speed changes so often here it's impossible to keep checking your mirrors to make sure the car behind you won't hit you.  If they hit me, it's their fault, why should I kill myself over preventing them from hitting me? Automatic fail for both of us.

Over here they also "feed the wheel" instead of hand over hand when making turns.  Our instructor assured us that it's okay if we don't use that technique but if you lose grip of the wheel, that's an automatic fail.  Another FAIL for both of us.  Another interesting bit we learned- if you splash a pedestrian while driving, YOU're the offender.  Not the pedestrian who got too close to the curb or basically stood in the puddle, no sir.  If I ever get a ticket for that, I'm going to make sure that pedestrian is soaking wet.

Anyway, keeping all that in mind throughout the lesson made me consistently nervous aside from the fact that our instructor was playing on my fears (how dare he).  He even made Ram and I both drive on the most dangerous round-a-about in the UK, the Haudagain.  After surviving that, I was DONE. Mentally exhausted.  I felt like I was 16 again trying to learn how to drive.  But the good part is, once I pass the driving test over here, our license will be valid in all of Europe too.  Wish me luck!  

Edinburgh

Last week was hectic, to say the least.  We finally moved out of corporate housing and into our permanent home.  After several panic-driven phone calls, we finally got confirmation that gas and electricity is set up (there is no sense of urgency for ANYTHING here).  Also, we were able to get cable and internet set up within a week after our request for service (I heard it 3-4 WEEKS, geez!).

The day our furniture arrived, I felt like a kid on Christmas.  I can't believe our one bedroom apartment produced 89 boxes (including big furniture items).  I swear, when we move back all I want to take is our bed and clothes! Having said that, I still don't regret making the decision to ship our stuff over here.  The feeling of sitting on your own couch, bed, and using your own plates and cups while living in a foreign city is priceless.  We still have a few boxes left to unpack and minus a few pieces of broken furniture, its starting to feel like home.

After an emotionally charged week, we headed to Edinburgh (pronounced "Edinburough").  Two and half hours and a few hands of cards later, we (Ram, Luca and I) arrived in the lovely city.  It's a big city, unlike Aberdeen, and its full of culture and sites and not to mention tons of shopping:) (Got my Anthro fix:)) We kicked off our first night at "The Elephant House," the place where J.K. Rowling found inspiration for the Harry Potter books.  Its a small cafe but just outside the window you can see the Edinburgh Castle.  I'm still not used to seeing castles everywhere...

The next morning we walked up Calton Hill.  The top of the Hill has panoramic views of the city and is also the home of The National Monument.  The National Monument is an unfinished national memorial to honor the Scottish soldiers who lost their lives during the Napoleonic Wars.  It's modeled upon the Parthenon in Athens, Greece.  The views from the Hill top were breathtaking.  Our pictures don't even come close to capturing what we saw.  But we had fun with the photo shoot;)

After working up an appetite walking up and down the Hill, I took Ram to Castle Terrace for lunch.  It's Michelin rated (and the first one we've tried since we moved) so I'm glad I added it to Ram's list.  We ordered their fixed 3 course lunch along with the wine pairings.  It was there, during the main course that Ram slipped me his tongue...an Ox's tongue that is! I had no idea that was part of his dish- he tricked me! It was tasty but I don't think I'll be ordering that anytime soon but at least I can say that I've tried it.

Though lunch was quite satisfying, I really wanted to experience high tea.  So we went to the Sheraton in One Square.  I was so impressed with the tea selection and how they make your tea (I want one of their fancy steepers).  We were also given a timer that lets you know when your tea is ready to drink.  Of course, you can't have high tea without all the yummy finger sandwiches, scones, and desserts. All in all a great trip! I can't wait to go back there in December to watch Dirty Dancing, the Musical!