Iceland Archives - TRAVELIFE Magazine

A small town in Iceland serves the best lobsters

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 03:42:12 +0000

One summer not too long ago, we traveled to one end of the earth to sample the best lobsters in a simple wooden shack in a tiny town.

DRIVING AROUND ICELAND

Eager to explore the extreme countryside on a trip to Iceland, we drove along a desolate coastline about two hours out of Reykjavik. This area was made even more dramatic by endless craters over the horizon, created over time by the inflows of lava from one volcanic eruption after another.

The result was a surreal 360-degree landscape. The barren earth looked like the surface of the moon on one side. Meanwhile, on the other, the gusty winds created ripples on an otherwise calm sea.

A QUIET TOWN AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD

However, hunger pangs eventually set in after hours of driving. As luck would have it, however, we ended up in a tiny town. It was basically one quiet street with brightly colored wooden houses interspersed with pocket gardens and old-fashioned picket fences.

In another universe, this would be a regular street in a slight time warp — perhaps in the 1960s. But in that part of Iceland, this was actually a significant outpost of civilization. And the restaurant we found looked like the hub of social activity for miles. There was nothing much else except for a tin shack that sold cold drinks and chocolate bars.

WHERE TO EAT LOBSTERS IN ICELAND

The restaurant at the end of town was simple and clean. As Icelanders like to drink, it had an extensive bar that took up half the room. There were also several long tables with wooden benches, and token shells and a fisherman’s net adorned the bright red wall.

LUNCH BY THE SEA IN ICELAND

However that lunch will forever remain in my memory as the time I tasted the best lobsters I have ever had in my #Travelife. Fresh off the fishing boat, these were cooked with a slap and a dash in butter, garlic and chopped herbs.

Then the cook dished these into a tin pail, accompanied by potatoes, a basket of bread and little plates of marinated cucumbers and tomatoes picked just that morning from the owner’s greenhouse.

The lobsters were small and sweet, and ever so tasty. So all conversation at our table stopped while we pried the flesh off the shells. We needed no words between us, as we understood very clearly that this was a meal unlike any other in the world.

We savored it solo and slowly, so as to remember every morsel and every moment for a very long time.

Read more about traveling around Iceland in Travelife Magazine.

THE BEST PLACE TO GET MARRIED IN SPAIN

The post A small town in Iceland serves the best lobsters appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

How to travel around the world in style

Sun, 20 Oct 2019 06:28:26 +0000

Alexandra D. Foster is the owner of a handmade silk pillow company that includes travel-inspired designs. She shares her experiences in Marrakech, Rome, Venice, and St.Tropez. You can also follow her travel adventures at Destinations Perfected.

HOW DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH TRAVELING?

When I was 16 years old, my best friend who I grew up with in Boston took me to her family home in Connemara. This is in Ireland, outside Galway. It was the first time I had been abroad, an experience that was both a shock to the system and completely exhilarating at the same time. I haven’t stopped traveling since.

HOW HAS THIS CHANGED YOUR LIFE?

It was actually by the pool at the Hotel Il Pellicano on the Tuscan coast that I decided to quit my job and start my own luxury handmade pillow company. Now each and every pillow that I design is inspired by a place in the world I have traveled to. My inspirations have included the patterned dome of a church on the iconic Amalfi coastline and a beautiful wrought iron gate found on the Left Bank in Paris.

Travel directly influences my work as each of my pillow designs are inspired by a place in the world I have visited. I am also the author of a luxury travel blog called Destinations Perfected. So in order to have new content I have to keep traveling.

WHAT KIND OF TRAVELER ARE YOU

My hostel days are over! I am definitely a luxury traveler, so 4-star or 5-star hotels, without a doubt. However, when it comes to food I much prefer eating in a tiny restaurant where a local is cooking in the kitchen as opposed to a Michelin-star restaurant. Authenticity over pretension.

WHAT’S YOUR TRAVEL PHILOSOPHY?

Be open for whatever comes your way and don’t be afraid to veer off a planned itinerary. Interact as much as you can with the local people. Embrace and immerse yourself in the diversity.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE YOUR NEXT DESTINATION?

I read a lot to discover new places—from magazines to newspapers and travel blogs; then I add them to a running list of must-visit locations. If a friend returns from a trip absolutely raving about the destination, then I will add that to the list as well.

Lake Como, Italy

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE TRAVEL ACTIVITIES?

Eating! I love experiencing new cuisines and regional food specialties; it tells you a lot about the culture. A good dose of shopping is always high on my list as I really like buying special pieces that you would not find at home—be it artwork or clothing. If the hotel has a spa, a massage after a long day of sightseeing is definitely an indulgence.

WHICH CITY IS MOST MEMORABLE FOR YOU?

I remember the first time I went to Venice, Italy. I was completely blown away by the fact that it was entirely constructed using a series of small bridges. I still think it is one of the most unique cities in the world. I studied at the University of Padova, so almost every weekend I would take the train 20 minutes to Venice and just wander. There’s nothing like Venice in the dead of winter when you can hear your own footsteps.

Spices inside the souk, Marrakech

DESCRIBE ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE PLACES IN THE WORLD

St. Tropez in the off season before the maddening crowds get there is pure heaven. You can eat your breakfast in the morning sunshine at one of the cafes on the port, then browse the local market in town, and then drive to one of the beach clubs for lunch. I can’t get enough of the local tarte tropezienne, an indulgent cake made with thick cream sandwiched by two brioche and sprinkled with rock sugar on top.

WHERE CAN YOU FIND THE MOST CREATIVE INSPIRATION?

Marrakech. I was blown away by the patterns, designs, hotel interiors, level of craftsmanship, sights, sounds and smells. It is hands down the most inspiring city I have ever been to and truly engages all of your senses.

WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO BACK TO AGAIN AND AGAIN?

I’m half Italian so call me biased, but Italy is the one country not lacking in any of my travel requirements: gorgeous landscapes, beautiful coastlines, delicious food that varies from region to region, inspiring fashion and design, and of course, the warm people and their ability to embrace the dolce far niente lifestyle.

Spanish Steps, Rome

TELL US ABOUT A TRAVEL EXPERIENCE THAT BLEW YOUR MIND AWAY

It’s either running out in the dead of winter in a snowstorm wearing nothing but a swimsuit and jumping into the Blue Lagoon in Iceland, or waking up at 4 AM to witness the famous fish auction at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo followed by a 7 AM breakfast consisting of the freshest sushi I have ever eaten.

WHERE WOULD YOU GO IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW?

Boston. It is where I was born and raised and where all of my family live. I would eat my Italian mother’s delicious home-cooked food and sit in the sunshine on Boston Harbor.

The post How to travel around the world in style appeared first on TRAVELIFE Magazine.

Buying fruit, bread and vegetables at a Munich food market. And about shopping along Storchenstrasse in Zurich.

Sun, 26 Jun 2016 00:11:00 +0000

On the last day of my most recent #Travelife to Europe, I walked to the food market of Munich in the Old Town to buy food from Germany to bring back home to Asia on a flight that evening.

I’d arranged for a late check-out just in time to take the car to the airport, so after a leisurely breakfast, I went off shopping, returning just in time to pack, order a pasta from room service, and then jump into the car with my three large pieces of luggage.

I’d been in Europe for close to three weeks — and here I am now flying back in that same direction again next weekend, after just two weeks in Manila; and in fact, to the extreme area of Europe instead of the centre of Europe this time — and I’d not even come close to doing any major shopping for anything during this entire period.

This was because we’d stayed mostly in the countryside on this last holiday and I’d actually become quite passive about going into stores.

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SHOPPING IN STORCHENSTRASSE

IN ZURICH

With the exception of a few hours of retail therapy along Zurich’s lovely Storchenstrasse, that is.

The Storchenstrasse is the best street for shopping in Zurich in my opinion, unless you want to buy a Swiss watch, that is, in which case you’re better off heading for the more commercial area around the Banhof.

As for me, I’d done my only shopping in Storchenstrasse and literally nowhere else, so I’d not even had time to purchase a souvenir. Or even a bar of Swiss chocolate.

SHOPPING FOR FOOD

AFTER BREAKFAST AT

THE CHARLES IN MUNICH

So after a big breakfast at The Charles Hotel in Munich, I’d walked to the stores for an hour or two of intensive shopping.

Nothing major as I didn’t really need anything, and all I wanted was food.

My main objective was to bring back the Bavarian sausages I’d completely fallen in love with on one of my earliest trips to Munich years ago, as well as the sweet Bavarian mustard that you must eat with this to complete the experience, as well as authentic Bavarian pretzels I thought I might buy chilled or semi-frozen and then keep in my freezer and bake as needed.

AN AUTHENTIC BAVARIAN BREAKFAST

Sausages and pretzel constitute an old-fashioned Bavarian breakfast, although this set is also served all-day via room service at The Charles Hotel — lucky me — so I did have it for a midnight snack on the day I arrived in Europe at the start of my holiday three weeks prior.

I hadn’t been to Munich in four years so I was long overdue for a proper Bavarian breakfast.

But any German from this part of the country will tell you that no one eats these Bavarian sausages after 11 AM in Munich and its environs.

LOOKING FOR FRESH BAVARIAN SAUSAGES

Anyhow, at the butcher’s shop I could not find freshly-made Bavarian sausages that would weather well the flight back home which included a long stopover in Middle Eastern heat.

And neither could I find the frozen pretzels. The fresh Bavarian pretzels, which are truly addicting, would not make the journey and these should be eaten within the same morning or you might as well not have them at all.

The fresh Bavarian pretzels are a world wide away from the store-bought commercial variety, by the way. Freshly baked artisanal pretzels are chewy and soft inside although slightly crunchy on the outside, while the store-bought kinds are just hard outside and rather dry inside.

As I couldn’t find the pretzels that were in a condition for long storage, I decided to buy some French-style baguettes that I could pop into the oven for baking just before serving instead. Haven’t tried them but I hope to do so when I get back from a rather crazy series of trips over the next few months.

I bought these packs of semi-baked bread on a whim and I hope they’re good.

But these ended up to be very good buys because I needed the equivalent of space buffers in my luggage for some lovely golden glass bowls I’d bought that same morning in Munich at a glass store, and these bread packs certainly did the trick quite nicely so all my glass bowls made it home intact.

BUYING STRAWBERRIES AND WHITE ASPARAGUS

IN GERMANY

For the most part, however, I ended up in the food and vegetables stores where I picked up a couple of things for my two weeks back in Asia. The strawberries were purchased with fingers crossed as strawberries do not usually last in heat, but I bought a few cartons anyway.

The best buys were the white asparagus which came in different sizes.

I only took photos of the smaller versions, but the food market had much larger ones, and these were what I bought. I served these to friends back home in Asia last weekend, lightly steamed with a dash of French butter and Camargue sea salt.

Absolutely delicious.

ONE SUITCASE FOR SHOPPING

Luckily, I’d brought along one empty suitcase just for food shopping. Yes, I brought three pieces of luggage to Europe.

But I’d left the empty suitcase in storage at The Charles Hotel in Munich upon arrival as it was completely empty anyway, and then I just picked it up on the return to Munich and filled it with food just before flying back to Asia.

FINALLY BUYING AN OLD-FASHIONED

EUROPEAN PASTA MACHINE

Then, a bit of pyschology kicked in.

I still had space and luggage allocation back to Asia in spite of two very full and heavy suitcases already, so I finally bought an old-fashioned pasta maker from a German company that I’d had my mind and eye on for months — if not years.

I’d hesitated all this time because wonderful fresh artisanal pasta is so easy to get from my food source near my home in Tokyo. My neighbourhood food source uses Hokkaido ingredients and Italian techniques with a dash of Japanese diligence to make the best fresh pasta I’ve ever tasted. No need to make my own.

HAVE LUGGAGE SPACE,

WILL TRAVEL

And in Manila, I’m so rarely at home to actually make my own pasta. So there was little incentive to pick up this pretty heavy pasta maker until now.

But with luggage space and the exact machine I’d been thinking about at a store I happened to walk into, I decided to go for it and this got stuck into my suitcase as well.

NO TO THE ISSEY MIYAKE DRESS

IN ZURICH

So no major shopping in Europe on this last trip, although I’d fallen in love with a dress from Issey Miyake displayed in his very comprehensive boutique along Storchengrasse in Zurich, and I seriously thought about this as the top-end of Issey Miyake clothes differ per store since they don’t produce a big lot per design.

So if you’re an Issey Miyake fan like me and you find something you really like somewhere else in the world aside from at the main Issey Miyake boutiques near my home in Tokyo, you should really just buy these as you’re unlikely to see them again.

But I didn’t buy them for some reason, and instead I’d come home from Germany with a suitcase full of food.

SHOPPING IN SCANDINAVIA

I’m not so sure if my trip to Scandinavia this weekend will follow this pretty puritanical route, though.

I’m traveling with a wonderful bunch of friends who are all pretty diligent in the shopping department. And the last time we’d traveled together as a group — which was for a holiday to Morocco — we’d all enabled each other to maximize our credit cards.

And already I have in my mind to load up on the freshest fish oil in the world, some rare Icelandic herbs and some nice kitchen things from Copenhagen and Malmo over the border in Sweden, as we are also spending one day in Malmo as a last hurrah.

As always, living a never-ending #Travelife. #psyched

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