by Glotime | May 29, 2018 | Featured, Travel
We know that many of our readers like a sip of bubbly and often opt for Prosecco, but for those seasoned connoisseurs, there is nothing quite like the flavour of the produce from the revered regions of Champagne itself, in Central France
For those of you who have a ‘bestie’ and want to go on a ‘Patsy and Eddy’ weekend, or wish to share a memorable break with your other half, Grape Escapes will organise it for you.
One word of advice though, and we don’t want to be a Party Pooper, but make sure you drink plenty of water, and pace yourself throughout the stay, as you really want to relish every moment of this amazing holiday, and remember it when you get home! Have fun!
Here is what Grape Escapes have to say:
DESTINATIONS/CHAMPAGNE
The delightful Champagne region remains our most popular destination, but what makes it so great? In part, it is because the region is so easy to get to. It is accessible from central Paris in just 45 minutes using the high speed rail line linking Paris with eastern France. Charles de Gaulle airport is even closer with a journey time to Champagne of 30 minutes on this line. For our UK customers, it is situated less than 2 ½ hours’ drive from Calais making it the UK’s closest premium wine region.
Other reasons include the recently UNESCO Classified picturesque hillsides and valleys, covered in vines and forests and the sense of history associated with the region. The city of Reims is home to no less than four UNESCO World Heritage sites, including one of the finest gothic cathedrals in northern Europe where 25 kings of France were crowned. It was on the front line in both the first and second World Wars, and is also where the formal surrender was signed at the end of World War II. However, all of these reasons tell only part of the story. The main reason remains the world-famous wine.
As the leading specialist organiser of Champagne tours with over a decade of experience, they offer a huge selection of Champagne tours to suit all tastes and budgets!
Their friendly team would love to hear from you on +44 (0) 1920 46 86 66 or at info@grapeescapes.net to discuss your requirements and suggest suitable packages, Here are some of our favourite Champagne tours, which are also available to book online at Grape Escapes
If you can’t find what you are looking for on their web site, they will be thrilled to put together a tailor-made itinerary for you. Just get in touch!
One of their recent clients commented:
‘Reims as a city was a delight to encounter and a very pleasant surprise. The hotel was perfectly situated. Both Marco and I learnt a tremendous amount about the production and history of champagne and thoroughly enjoyed every second from the moment we left home. Even the weather was kind to us.’
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by Dee | May 23, 2018 | Featured, Travel
Ballydehob – A Pub, A Castle and A Movie Star by Dee Anderson
As the whole world is speculating where Harry and Meghan will go for their MiniMoon, Ireland has been whispered, as has Botswana.
Although Botswana is a favourite of the newlyweds, they could not go wrong by visiting Ireland, which is much nearer and gives the guarantee that they will be greeted with a true Irish welcome.
It reminds me of when I was on my way to a friend’s birthday bash in Dublin a few years ago. Gary Whelan was then starring in a TV series called Ballykissangel, and his lovely wife Gabe had thrown a surprise party for him in Dublin, inviting the entire cast and close friends.
We all had to be careful that he didn’t spot us in the town of Dublin, so I decided to drive over with another guest, and he suggested we stop off to see a writer friend en route in a little town called Ballydehob.
I went with the flow on this occasion, and we ended up arriving as dusk was setting in. My friend Sam suggested we meet up with his friend in the little town itself, as he knew the area, and so we stopped off at a bar in the centre of town, to the cheers of the locals – not at our arrival, but for the local violinist and his magical musical abilities.
It was an amazing night, and it was a fight to stay sober as the drinks were lined up on the bar as a welcome to the new girl in town, namely me.
But we eventually left the pub to be ferried by the local driver, who then ventured to drop off all the locals who lived in farms and houses dotted around the outskirts of the area.
The next couple of days were filled with joyous adventure as we explored the town and found two sisters, both in their nineties. They were unmarried and had opened their family house as a shop and a bar, and were still humping beer barrels from the cellar. They had letters from the Kennedys and Clinton on the wall, and I was speechless with reverence for their charismatic charm as they cracked jokes and sent one another up with skilful Irish banter.
We then drove out to Kilcoe Castle a mile or so away, which is owned by Jeremy Irons and his wife Sinead Cusack, and to the little fishing village nearby which is idyllic.
The home cooking in the local cafes and restaurants were second to none, and the very raison d’etre of the locals was to feed us up as much as possible with the local produce and exquisite cuisine, which left the UK in the shade food-wise, as far as I was concerned.
I was sorry to leave Ballydehob and go to Dublin, although the birthday party there was amazing and was full of fabulous food, celebrity guests and brilliant musicians, and we all partied into the early hours of the morning.
It certainly was a party fest like no other, and if Harry and Meghan are going to Ireland for their MiniMoon, they will love every minute, as it holds a magic like no other place on Earth.
Why not visit the Ballydehob website and plan your trip
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by admin | Feb 1, 2018 | Featured, Travel
Budapest. Pearl of the Danube. The Heart of Europe. Have you been? If not, move it to the top of your “must see” list. It may not have the name appeal of a Paris, or a Rome or a Barcelona, but it is on par with any city in Europe in terms of beauty, design, art, fashion… and (my favourite) food and drink culture.
Specifically, Budapest – for my money – is the city with the most consistently pure coffee scene of any place I’ve ever visited (and I used to own a restaurant in Bushwick!). Third wave coffee shops (the ones that look at coffee like oenophiles look at wine) abound, and I tried to hit as many of them as I could.
The whole city amazes me. They came out of communism around 30 years ago and have taken to their new-ish democratic ways like a fish to (blue) water. I like to say that you can often tell how evolved a society is by the quality of their food, and Budapest is crawling with good food everywhere you turn. In fact, because the city is actually a combination of two ancient cities (Buda and Pest), depending on what you fancy, you can choose which ‘city’ to go to for a different experience. Go classic on the Buda side with caviar or a Michelin Starred restaurant, or go off the beaten path in Pest with something up-and-coming and more decidedly hipster. Whatever you’re into, just remember to start the day off with a beautiful boost of caffeine to get you energized as you take to the streets and explore. And while there are many quality coffee spots to choose from, one stands out above the rest.
Kontakt Coffee.
A small, narrow space hidden tucked away in an off-the-beaten-path little alleyway, Kontakt has a clean, minimalistic interior which speaks to their focus on what is really important – namely, cupped lighting, jitter juice, liquid energy, or any of the other great nicknames for that glorious beverage: coffee.
You can’t help but be drawn in to the centerpiece of this café – a beautiful, white, glossy, handmade-in-Florence La Marzocco Espresso Machine, set on a smooth, wooden countertop. Behind the counter you will always find a bearded gentleman or two, fastidiously brewing a pourover, or pulling a perfect cup of espresso.
This probably isn’t your spot if Starbucks caramel lattes are your jam. This place has some strict philosophies, and “No Sugar Yes Good Coffee” is one of them. In fact, that phrase is literally plastered on every table in this java joint, and they live by it. You won’t find any sugar in this place, nor do you need it. Much like adding soy sauce to properly prepared sushi, dropping sweeteners into good coffee would be considered an affront. They unapologetically believe that when sugar or any other sweetener is used, it becomes the dominant taste, therefore ruining the coffee. I tend to agree. Kontakt seeks out the finest coffee beans in existence and, in turn, their coffee has a natural sweetness, rendering sugar unnecessary.
They also don’t have your typical espresso drink names, such as cappuccino, latte, macchiato, cortado, etc. They believe that properly prepared libations are all simply espresso with varying levels of milk, and it’s up to each person’s taste to decide what quantity of milk is desired – a little, a medium amount or a lot. They also have a strict “No Americano” rule, insisting that adding hot water to a beautifully prepared espresso dilutes the flavor, thus ruining the taste and missing the point. They will prepare a less concentrated longer coffee, if that’s your thing, but they do it by employing a pourover manual filter method and forbidding the addition of milk to it, saying that filtered coffees already have a gentle flavor profile.
So yes, you’ve picked up on the fact that these guys are coffee snobs, but that’s not a bad thing. The chefs at the best restaurants in the world don’t allow substitutions or changes to their recipes. There are high-end Italian chefs who will kick you out of their restaurant if you try to put cheese on fish. Gordon Ramsey once eviscerated a restaurant-goer for ordering a steak well done. Why should coffee be any different?
I know it may seem like a lot of rules to deal with when you just want your daily caffeine fix, but trust me when I tell you that they know what they’re talking about. This coffee is one of the smoothest, brightest, most enjoyable espresso with milk experiences I’ve had. Coffee is so complex and deserves to be treated with respect. Kontakt is a place that takes coffee seriously, and expects their customers to do the same. With so much bad (or improperly brewed) coffee out there, I implore you to try it… and to bask in it. We trekked out of our way to start the morning here every day we were in Budapest. As I mentioned, we still travelled all over town to try coffee elsewhere, but kept coming back here. I still dream about my ‘No Sugar, Yes Good Coffee Espresso’ with a little bit of milk that I had every morning… and you will, too. Enjoy!
You can find Kontakt Coffee at 1052. Budapest, Károly krt. 22. or email them at kontakt@kontaktcoffee.com
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