Amazing Places...

"To move, to breathe, to fly, to float, To gain all while you give, To roam the roads of lands remote: To travel is to live." -Hans Christian Andersen

Meteora, Thessaly, Greece

 Snow Cathedral, Norway    

Sagrado Cenote Azul, Cancun  

    

     Interlaken, Switzerland

Korakaram Highway, Pakistan

Milan, Italy

Boat Hotel, Cocoa Island, The Maldives Islands

Bridge Tea Rooms, Bradford-Upon-Avon, England



Tree Tunnel, Belgium

Takachiho Gorge, Miyasaki, Japan

Greece (Mykonos)

Paris, France on New Years Eve

Rio Celeste, Costa Rica

Sun Island, South Ari Atoll, Maldives

Balaa waterfall - Chatine, Lebanon

 

 

Skaftafell, Iceland

Terraced Rice Field, China

Cave of Crystals, Mexico

Innsbruck, Austria

Antwerp, Belgium

Pictures: 1-20

Travel: Move, Eat, Learn

So I was getting my daily Cup of Jo the other day when I found a post on these inspiring clips from STA Travel. 3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage. Australia’s STA Travel commissioned director Rick Mereki to capture the essence of moving, eating and learning throughout their journey.

After watching these clips, I want to drop everything and get on a plane with Danny!

Actually... I wanted to do that before, but seriously these clips kill me!

You will love them.

P.S. How do I get a job like Rick Mereki's?

MOVE

EAT

LEARN

Gwyneth Goes To Italy

Gwyneth Paltrow is wonder woman…She’s a do-it-herself mom, actress, blogger, and finds time to travel the world, eat amazing food, write cook books and exercise! What a gal! How does she do it?

Here is a repost from her blog goop.com. She recently spent the weekend in Italy for her movie premiere -- Contagion. Here are a few Italian recipes from her travels.

Thanks for sharing Gwyneth!

Hotel Cipriani
Hotel Cipriani & Palazzo Vendramin,
Giudecca 10,
30133 Venice
+39 (041) 520 7744

Pasta al Pomodoro

2 lbs mix of regular and cherry tomatoes (peeled and roughly chopped.  Make sure the tomatoes are as ripe as possible)

2 white onions (finely chopped)

1 garlic clove (peeled)

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp unsalted butter

De Cecco Spaghetti

Parmigiano Reggiano

Salt and pepper to taste

Basil

Heat the oil in a casserole dish, add the garlic and brown slightly. When the garlic is golden remove it from the oil. Add the chopped onion and fresh butter and stir thoroughly.  Cook until the onion is no longer shiny, then add the peeled tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook over mild heat for about thirty minutes.              

When the tomatoes are cooked, beat with a whisk in order to refine the tomato sauce, adjust the taste and keep warm.                         

Cook the pasta “al dente” in a large pot of salted water, then drain it and add it to the tomato sauce. Add basil leaves torn by hand, a knob of fresh butter, and a generous sprinkling of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Stir thoroughly and serve immediately, steaming hot.   




Grand Canal Restaurant
Hotel Monaco
San Marco, 1332
30124 Venice, Italy
+39 (041) 520 0211

Bigoli in Salsa (whole-wheat spaghetti in a light anchovy sauce)

300 gr. "bigoli" Whole-wheat Spaghetti

500 gr.  white onions
350 gr. salted anchovies cleaned
200 gr. extra virgin olive oil
2 bay leaves (simmered)
black pepper to taste
5/6 gr. wild fennel
Salt and pepper to taste
40 gr. Parmesan cheese (optional)
50 gr. butter

 To make the sauce, slowly braise the peeled and finely chopped onions in the oil together with the bay leaves and the black pepper for about 10 minutes. Add the cleaned and de-salted anchovies. Cook gently for another 15/20 minutes, or until the anchovies and onions have melted together into a creamy sauce.                    

Cook the Bigoli in unsalted water until “al dente”. Season the bigoli with the sauce, butter, parmesan and wild fennel



Terrazza Danieli
Castello 4196
Venice 30122
+39 (041) 522 6480

Lobster Salad (with purple potato foam and Italian caviar)

1 L water

2 stems of celery

1 carrot

1 onion

250 ml white wine

salt, pepper

1 lobster

Place the water, celery, carrots, onion, wine and salt & pepper in a large saucepan. Bring to boil. Drop in the lobster and simmer for 4 minutes. Remove the lobster from the broth, remove its shell, and cut the tail in half, then in 2 cm medallions. Set aside.

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Salad - Ingredients

Mixed loose leaf salad

Fresh mixed sprouts

Edible flowers

Place all salad ingredients in a bowl and dress with vinaigrette made of 1 part lemon to 2 parts extra virgin olive oil. Set aside.

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 Purple Potato Foam - Ingredients:

2 medium purple potatoes

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Peel the potatoes and cut in half. Place in a saucepan of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for approximately 20 minutes or until cooked. Drain. Mash the potatoes together with a little olive oil and salt, pepper to taste. Place the mashed potatoes in a canister, close the canister and charge it with a N2O catridge. Set aside.            

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 Sauce - Ingredients:

Salt

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Fresh thyme

Fresh majoram

Whisk all ingredients together to make a sauce.                    

__________________

Pickled Artichokes - Ingredients:

500 ml water

500 ml white wine vinegar

2 artichokes from Sant’Erasmus

Clean and trim artichokes removing tough outer leaves and its heart. Combine water and white wine vinegar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the artichokes and boil for 20 minutes or until just tender. Drain and cut into quarters.                                                         

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To decorate:

Black caviar (optional)

Maldon salt

To assemble the salad, place the lobster pieces under a salamander or warming grill for 2 minutes. Arrange lobster pieces in the middle of the serving plates and dress with the sauce. Decorate each plate on one side with a shot of purple potato foam and garnish the foam with a teaspoon of black caviar. Place a handful of dressed salad on the other side of each plate and arrange the artichoke quarters over the salad.

Complete the plates with a light sprinkling of Maldon salt.

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OR/CA Road Trip: Day 11

Today we were in San Luis Obispo with our friends Dany and Evan! We had a nice relaxing time hanging out with our best buds. We went for drinks and dancing at Downtown Brew and dinner at Habit. Here are some pictures of San Luis and our amazing burgers!

Evan and Dany <3

Daniel and I had an amazing road trip. We had fun visiting all of our friends and family and seeing new places along the way. Thanks to all of you who put a roof over our heads. We are so grateful for each and everyone of you. We love you.

Brittany and Daniel

OR/CA Road Trip: Day 10

 Day 10 of our road trip! Dan and I had lunch at Tartine before driving to San Luis Obispo to see Evan and Dany.

Very cool -- the bridged disappeared into a thick cloud as we drove over it today.

Tartine Bakery

We got a Lemon Cream Tart! I was digg'in the flower petals.

These looked good too!

Chocolate pudding cups!

Crogue Monsieur -- Béchamel sauce, gruyere cheese, thyme and pepper, topped with smoked Niman Ranch ham.

Well done Tartine! I am thoroughly impressed.



OR/CA Road Trip: Day 9

Today we drove into San Francisco! We stopped off at some of our favorite places to eat and then drove to Pier 33 for my first trip to Alcatraz.

Dan and I loved visit the Bay whenever we'd stay with our buddies in college, but I had never been to the island...we finally did the touristy thing and jumped on a boat to Alcatraz. It was surprisingly fascinating! I enjoyed every second of it!

Here we are at Lucca's! The greatest place to get Italian deli foods.

The Best Cannolis!

Then we went to Oyster Depot for some chowder, oysters and shrimp!

Lotta's for a Baba au rhum -- brioche bread soaked in sugary rum syrup!

A walk through China Town.

Almond Snow! So good! Kobe Bento I am obsessed!

And then we went to Alcatraz!

It was so windy -- I could lean into the wind without falling over!

In September 1961 three men escaped by digging holes through the vents in their cells. They made mannequin heads to fool the guards as they walked by for the nightly inspections. The prisoners crawled through the vents and climbed up the utility corridor until they reached the rooftop.

The next morning police searched for the men, but no one was ever found.

Typical Dan...

We love you San Francisco!