After a few minutes of deep reflection and analysis I have concluded that it makes sense to merge Been There Eating This in to theTravelsketcher blog. The Travelsketcher travels, eats, and sketches, so why not include all together.
So if you follow this blog but not http://www.peninkandpaint.com I hope you will start following it. I plan to post more often about where our travels, eating, yes and of course sketching takes us.
Thanks for understanding, and thanks for following this blog over the years.
Last Monday we returned to Assisi. We went down the stairs in the Basilica of Saint Francis to the chapel of his tomb. Two priests were there, quietly available, they handed out prayer slips to those who wanted to submit a prayer, or they just acknowledged your presence with an encouraging nod. I sat in a pew midway back and pondered what I saw. As I sat there, other people came in and also sat quietly, some with heads bowed, some looking at the sarcophagus where St Francis laid.
No one seemed to care about theology nor denomination, no one cared about politics, no one cared about Protestant or Roman Catholicism. This was just a place for each person to feel and express their faith and to seek some comfort or a bit of hope in their lives.
What I realize, is that for most of Christianity’s history, most followers just expressed their faith, seeking grace, mercy, and hope. Their leaders may have been corrupt. The scholars debated non-essential questions of theology, and sadly, the politically inclined used the church for their own objectives. But the person in the pew recited the Our Father, said a rosary, verbalized their faith through the Creed, and tried to live life as best they could.
Jesus prayed for unity, while Paul feared that wolves would come in to distort and divide the church. True to his fears the church has a history of division, distortion, and even evil. Yet through it all the faithful have continued to express their faith.
The Apostles left us documents to refer to, the early councils combined the essentials of the faith into easily memorable creeds, churches displayed icons and cut-glass images to teach and remind us of the Biblical stories, and a liturgy was developed that repeated the heart of the Gospel week after week.
Each week the liturgy proclaimed “the Lord’s death until he comes.” Even corrupt clergy proclaimed the message each week as they recited the liturgy of the Mass, and the faithful responded. Paul said in Philippians that some preach out of selfishness, even with a desire to do damage, yet he was thankful that even then Jesus was proclaimed.
Jesus said that the gates of death would not prevail against the church, and for centuries people have distorted the message and attacked the church, still, this week, there were people sitting in a basilica expressing their faith. The human-tainted side of the church may be a sad demonstration of the selfishness of humanity, yet the hearts of many common people, the kind of people that Jesus has always sought, still express their faith.
We have visited so many cathedrals, basilicas, and churches during our travels. Fortunately here in Europe the doors are often open so we can go in. The architecture is amazing and there is wonderful art. Some are magnificent places like Chartres or Assisi, some quite simple like the Église Notre-Dame-sur-l’Eau in Domfront, yet each draws people to sit for a bit and take it in, I call that faith, and it gives me hope.
Yesterday we returned to Assisi to visit the Basilica of St. Francis. The weather had changed from sunny Sunday to Normandie rain. We parked at the end of the city near the Basilica, which we discovered was the end with few restaurants. Lunch being a higher priority at the moment, we searched for food. We did pass a couple of places with groups of people standing outside eating some pizza or something, but that is not our idea of a good lunch, bien sur.
After climbing up some long flights of stairs, our app said eight flights, I saw a restaurant sign on a wall – Il Frantoio. Tired of walking, we decided it was perfect, without knowing anything about it at all. To our pleasant surprise we had stumbled upon a Michelin listed place, a sure sign of good dining. Here is the photo Tricia took from the main entrance, we entered from the other side so had not even looked at the menu until we were seated at our table.
Most have heard of Michelin restaurants and stars, here is a bit of the background. If you are an auto racing fan, or even just a drivers that appreciates quality you know that Michelin is first and foremost a tire manufacturer. To increase tire sales they produced a driving guide in 1900, correctly calculating that if people drove more and longer distances they would wear out their tires and need new ones. The guide listed hotels and places to eat all over France.
Just being included in the guide was an endorsement, this was long before Yelp or Google Map comments. Eventually they began to evaluate restaurants giving a star to those deemed most worth, the system developed into 1, 2, or 3 stars.
1 Star: “A very good restaurant in its category.”
2 Stars: “Excellent cooking, worth a detour.”
3 Stars: “Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.”
Il Frantoio does not have a star, but it must be close. We had an amazing experience. The first thing they brought was what the chef called a “welcome plate.”
Well it was actually four plates. In the distance, to the left of the bread, were two red potato chips, thin and hollow in the center with two different mayonnaise drops on top. There was a mini-taco, and a red pepper crème brule.
For our entree we asked to share scallops. No bringing the dish with two forks here, nope, the chef split it between two plates for us.
For Mains Tricia had gnocchi, I had pigeon.
We were going to pass on dessert but a cocktail on the menu was just to interesting for me to pass up – and I am not a big cocktail fan.
It had Cointreau, lemon sour, olive oil, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, and one egg white. I had never heard of olive oil in a beverage so was interested. It was beyond good, not overly sweet, a hidden taste of the oil, with a texture that was silky smooth – perfect desert. It was actually invented by our server, which was a nice touch.
Thanks to being in Italy, as opposed to expensive Geneve, it was not a terribly expensive meal, less than we thought it would be when we first realized we had settled in to a Michelin listed place.
After a satisfying meal we visited the Basilica, a bit of food for the soul made the day complete.
We got back home on Tuesday, 6 February, which means for us it is time for cuisiner chez nous, cooking at our place. We love restaurants yet we miss cooking ourselves so we don’t eat out a lot between voyages. Here are a few of the highlights from the last two weeks.
Tricia started notre aventure culinaire with vegetarian shepherds pie. I love that you can have something so hearty without meat, which I eat plenty of when we travel. Watch her blog in the upcoming weeks as she assures me she will be posting her recipe soon.
We have a few favorites that are quick and easy. The pre-made pizza dough here in France is so good and so quick that it makes a regular appearance on the menu. Since confession is good for the soul I will also admit that we love the frozen fish and chips that we can bake in the oven; I of course make the mayonnaise myself which is better than store bought, and so easy to make. Some other favorites are Tricia’s pasta, and we both like paninis.
For our first Sunday lunch, our regular tradition, I made grilled salmon with braised lentils. The dish was inspired by something we had in Paris, and it turned out quite well. It was accompanied by grilled vegetables in the style of Peñiscola. I may post the salmon and lentils recipe in the future.
Here are the veggies, served on the tres cool slate plater from Mukilteo, a gift from our friends Claudine and JJ.
Yesterday we had nachos, which are a bit of a challenge here in France, at least rural France – you just don’t find refried beans here, so I tried making them. All I can do is quote Ina, “How good is that!” Refried beans are now added to mayonnaise as something I will never buy again as they are too easy to make and so much better than any pre-made.
Saturday I made cauliflower soup, another of our favorites and so easy. Topped off with Parmesan cheese toasts and a Roquefort salad, with a glass of Cotes de Rhône it was perfect.
We do like food, so I better finish this up as we are heading to The Citadel in Granville, one of our favorite restaurants. It is just 90 minutes away near Le Mont-Saint-Michel, so we have views of that to add to our trip on this sunny day.
I hope you are eating well and following Tricia’s maxim of cooking good food for the people you love.
We are back in wet Normandie, thankfully, the cold snap we escaped a few weeks ago is over and temps are in the 50sF (10sC), so, other than the rain, it is feeling a bit like spring – Snowdrop flowers have even come up. In some cultures February is considered the first month of Spring, I agree.
We were in Peñiscola during the Festival of St. Anthony. On the closing weekend of the festival they spread sand on the main route through the castle area where we were staying. Then on Saturday there was a procession of horses and horse-drawn carts. Sunday morning we went to church at Santa Maria de Peñiscola. We exited the church and discovered a crowed lined up for a second procession of horses and carts. I am not sure of the significance of the horses but it was quite a thing to see.
We discovered that most all of the restaurants are quite similar in their offerings: paella, grilled fish, shellfish, etc. There was though quite a variety in quality, seasoning, service, and ambience. Towards the end of our stay we discovered a place so good, and a bit different, that we went there twice: Porto Rico. On our first visit we ordered too much, but we ate it all, I was sated, and then some.
On our second visit we shared croquets again as an entree, then for my main I had grilled Iberian pork marinated in spiced red wine, c’était superbe.
We only had one meal that was disappointing, and it was all our own fault for picking the place. The host was working too hard to fill the tables and the menues were quite tattered, which should always be a dead giveaway to avoid a place. Other than that the food, service, and amazing views made Peñiscola dinning a pleasure.
We have been eating well these last couple of weeks. We started off in Paris, where we met up with some friends before heading off to Spain.
A couple of the meals stand out. It doesn’t get much better than falling-off-the-bone braised lamb with sauerkraut.
Then there was this amazing meal. Three kinds of grilled fish, a shrimp, and mussels – served over sliced potatoes with a cream sauce. This one was memorable for sure.
In Spain, and particularly when near the Mediterranean, seafood is ubiquitous, with of course Iberian ham and chorizo just for good measure.
For our first meal here we went to the Taverna just next door. We shared patatas bravas and grilled veggies. I had flaming chorizo.
The next day I had grilled sardines and we shared a seafood paella.
And of course another paella on another day – both were perfect.
Yesterday, I had one of my favorites in this part of the world, grilled octopus, with patas bravas, at the taverna next door.
Add in plenty of green olives, a sip of cava, along with some spectacular views and you have the perfect place for a couple of foodies like us.
I hope your travels and meals are delicious, we are constantly reminded that the best seasoning is the people you are eating with, so gather a friend or two and eat, it just doesn’t get better than that.
We left San Diego and our California family and headed to Portland, Oregon. It has been a whirlwind, mostly. Our first stop was Newberg, OR, with our daughter and son-in-law, Alexis. We had lunch with my son and daughter-in-law, visited my other son in Vancouver. We stayed with friends in Portland, then back to Newberg for a few days then back to Portland. We drove from Portland back to Seattle, stopping along the way to visit my stepmother and my stepbrother. We were invited to multiple gatherings and met some wonderful people. This was a Christmas season we will long remember. Here are a few photos I took along the way, I could have taken many more for sure.
Peacock Lane in Portland with Alexis and Joe
Dinner at Papa Hayden’s with Alexis and Joe
Dinner at Clark Lewis with Tim and Lisa.
Tricia worked hard to bond with Cleo
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Zoo Lights at Woodland Park Zoo with Dave and Rosanne
At a New Year’s Eve party in Seattle with Tricia’s sister and family
One of the kittens tried to get a snack
We are at the Doubletree Hotel next to SeaTac airport, we head to the airport in an hour for a flight to London. Thanks to our many frequent-flier-miles we get to go First Class, should be fun. Then it is the Eurostar to Paris, and the train from Gare Montparnasse to Flers, then a short drive back to La Thebauderie. Our place in rural France seems like a world a way, and it is, yet right now, sated with love from friends and family, saturated with wonderful memories, it is a welcome destination. We have had a great trip, better than I could ever have imagined, yet as Dorthy said so simply, “There’s no place like home.”
On Tuesday of last week we picked up a rental car and headed north to La Conner, WA. It is a picturesque town at the mouth of the Swinomish River. A perfect place to spend our 36th anniversary.
We have been to La Conner many times over the years so it holds a lot of good memories. Some of the best memories are of when we took my mother there almost every year for her birthday, she loved it there.
We ate lunch at Nell Thorn Waterfont Bistro & Bar since our favorite place, The Oyster Bar on Chuckanut Drive was closed that day. It was a good time for sure. We stayed at the Channel Lodge in a room with overstuffed chairs, a gas fireplace and a view of the channel.
Wednesday we headed south toward Mukilteo, stopping first in Mount Vernon for a nice lunch with my sister and brother-in-law. It was good to get caught up.
Two of our best friends live in Mukilteo, if you follow my blog you have met them already since we joined them in October in Provence. Shirley goes all out on Christmas decorations. We were greeted with this amazing tree, which Tricia, of course, took a photo of. (Her last blog was all about trees, including this one.) They think it has 1200 lights, I can’t even imagine doing that, but it sure is beautiful.
If I had a patron of my art it would be Jim and Shirley, they have so many framed pieces of my art, even postcards that I have sent. Their home has hundreds of wonderful pieces of artwork, some quite interesting. I am not sure I want to know the story behind this one, but am honored to have my art shown in such a creative space.
They invited friends over for a couple of holiday get-togethers, Shirley put out quite a spread. Since they love France there was of course croissant.
Saturday we drove back up north for our postponed anniversary lunch at The Oyster Bar, and it did not disappoint, bien sûr. After a few oysters we shared an entree of smoked sablefish (black cod) on marinated beet with pumpkin seeds. It reminded me that the reason I detested beets for most of my life was not the fault of God creating them, nor of the poor beet itself, it was just poor preparation. This was so good.
I had the plat du jour, petrel sole roasted on a cedar plank.
After our leisurely repast we drove south to Ballard where we are staying with Tricia’s sister. Yesterday we helped out with our nephew’s birthday party at the Lynnwood Swimming pool. Oh my! A room full of eight year old boys sure do have a lot of energy.
Thanks Tricia for the photos
We have had a great time so far. We are so grateful for the folks that have taken us in and put us up. But most of all we have relished the conversations. Tomorrow we are off to San Diego for a couple of days, we have a new, well new to us, grandnephew to meet, should be fun.
We arrived at SeaTac on a direct Delta flight from Charles De Gaul Paris on Friday afternoon, our first time back in the US in almost two years. We stayed downtown for a few days to do a bit of shopping and adjust to jet lag rather than imposing our groggy bodies on friends and family.
The view from the 22nd floor.
Seattle has been changing for a long time, we were aware of that before we left, but our absence of 22 months made the toll that COVID and street people have taken on the city quite dramtic.
My first real impression happened at the airport. After clearing customs, which was quite easy, though slow, I stopped at les toilettes. In CDG airport the facilities are imaculate, at SeaTac it smelled like an outhouse and there were pieces of toilet paper all over, yuck. Not a good first impression.
American showers are a joy, spacious and water that maintains its temperature. This of course is from the perspective of someone who lives in a rural, 230 year old cottage with bad plumbing. Our water is scalding if someone else in the neighboring cottage is using water, it makes for exciting mornings.
In Seattle, at least this part, a lot of restaurants and shops are either closed or gone. Some did not survive COVID, others are victim to the unsafe environment. Many have closed rather than struggle with the rampent shoplifting. We went in a Bartells, which is closing in a week, it was awful. Tricia wanted nail-files, she had to get an employee to unlock a case where they were kept to prevent theft. We needed a gift bag. All of the bags on the rack had the backs cut out so they could not be used for theft, another employee had to go to the stockroom and find us one, it took him close to ten minutes – I almost felt bad for asking. It is a sad state of affairs.
We did get our shopping done. We ended up eating at the same restaurant a few times just because some of our old favorites are gone.
This part of Seattle seems tired. We started to walk to Pike Place Market but with all of the street-people it just did not seem inviting. We did not get to the waterfront which may be more vibrant as it is, or was, a big tourist area.
I hope somehow Seattle recovers, I have so many fond memories of the town.
As we walk the streets of European towns we often pass servers and clerks taking their breaks, often it is a pause fumeurs,a smoking break. While we were in Basel, Switzerland I started capturing some candid shots. My interest has expanded to other folks just doing life.
On our fjord cruise in Bergen.Basel, SwitzerlandBasel, SwitzerlandParis, FranceMontsoreau, FranceHonfleur, FranceArles, FranceHonfleur, FranceHonfleur, FranceCarcassonne, FranceSaint-Rémy-de-Provence, FranceThe signs can be confusing. Basel, Switzerland.
What better way to end this post than with a candid photo of my travel and life partner, The Accidental Photographer.
Been There, Eating This 