How to Watch the Tour De France in Paris

As we were discussing our upcoming trip to Paris last week, I suddenly realised that we were going to be there for the last and final 21st stage of the Tour de France. I had been watching some of the stages, and got really excited (others were slightly more nonplussed).

The Tour de France is probably the biggest cycling race of the year (bigger the the 'Giro yo!), with some of the top athletes in the world. In the final stage, the winner has already been decided, and cycling etiquette indicates that no one is allowed to pass the winners - they have already won. This makes the last stage more of a show-off parade than an arduous race up the alps - only a measly 107 KM to race with no mountain peaks and no speed trials!

The day before the final stage we headed down the Champs Elysees and saw Frenchmen and Frenchladies busy stringing up flags, building seats, putting up barriers to hold back the crowds, and hammering the presidential box together.  Very cool! On the walk we stopped at a tourist information centre and picked ourselves up a map that outlined where the race was going, and at what times. Highly useful.

London Transport: Boris Bikes Turn One

Every day, London transport deals with 6 million bus journeys and 4 million tube journeys. 3 million people travel into the city centre every day as part of their commute. And try travelling at rush hour (roughly 8am-9:30am, 4-6pm) and you'll see that the transport system is barely coping with demand. How this pans out during the Olympics when the transport system will have to double its capacity will be...interesting to see. At the moment if you travel during commuting hours, you're likely to be jam-packed into a tiny corner of a train with about 50 other people's armpits smashed into your face.

To help deal with demand, Boris, London's mayor, has introduced a new cycling scheme into the city centre called Barclay Bikes. In a delicious anti-corporate turn, everyone just calls them Boris Bikes- pretty much negating the millions of pounds that Barclay spent to have their name put on the bikes.

 The scheme turned one years old a few weeks ago, and has been pretty much a success. Only 15 bikes were stolen over the first year (there are thousands of bikes), and they are pretty popular. 

But, naturally, there are a few complaints too. 

Spelt

This past week I have been experimenting with a spelt, new kind of flour for me.  Spelt is a type of  ancient grain that's a distant relation of modern-day wheat. I hadn't heard of spelt before, but in Italy it's called "farro" which is a slightly more familiar word to me.

Spelt was originally grown in Iran in around 5000-6000 BC. It then migrated to Europe a few hundred years ago, and finally to North America in the 1800s. It's renowned for being healthier than other flours, with lots of vitamins, and lots of fiber.

"The spelt is the best of grains. It is rich and nourishing and milder than other grain. It produces a strong body and healthy blood to those who eat it and it makes the spirit of man light and cheerful. If someone is ill boil some spelt, mix it with egg and this will heal him like a fine ointment." -St Hildegard, 1200 CE

With a recommendation like that, who could resist?

Creating the Perfect BBQ

Since March I've been on a steady diet of char-grilled vegetables, burnt meat, and fresh salads. I am lucky enough to live with a bunch of people who love barbecuing as much as possible! Every sunny hot-ish day (This being a very relative state sunny London) we get out the coals and slowly whip the grill into shape. 

So luckily I have had lots of time and space to practice creating the perfect BBQ spread. I've discovered that it's absolutely essential to have two things: piles of vegetables (they shrink), and Haloumi cheese. 

Vegetables

The first rule of thumb is that every vegetable is better grilled. Obviously firmer vegetables stand up better to the heat of the grill.  When prepping the veggies, I get a big glass pan and coat the bottom with olive oil. As you stack the vegetables into the pan, rub them on both sides into the olive oil so they get a light coating. This will ensure they don't dry out on the grill. 

After all the veggies are piled into the pan, sprinkle everything with salt and pepper - and maybe some rosemary sprigs.  

These are my top veggie recommendations (in no particular order):

1. Beefsteak tomatoes: thickly slice and put on the grill plate - they will slip through the grill rack.

2. Button mushrooms: put whole onto metal skewers

3. Zucchini: you have to options here: cut into short round thick (the size of an enormous man's thumb) chunks and put onto skewers. The other choice is to cut into long thick chunks and put straight on the grill. 

4. Portobello mushrooms: these should go whole onto the grill - ideally with a few teaspoons of pesto piled on top.

5. Bell peppers: These are best sliced into quarters, and put straight on the grill. If you have left over peppers, just cover them in olive oil and use in a pasta salad later in the week.

6. Eggplant: This is probably one of my top favourites - I recommend trying it even if you aren't a big egplant fan. the eggplant cooks perfectly and becomes crispy on the outside, soft in the middle. About 40 minutes before you are ready to start grilling, cut the eggplant into 1 inch circles. Sprinkle salt onto each piece, and leave in a strainer. This will draw out the bitterness of the eggplant. When they are ready to go on the grill, spread with olive oil and grill until crisped. 

7. Corn on the cob: cut the cobs in half, cover in a bit of butter or olive oil, and slap on the grill

Haloumi Cheese

Haloumi cheese is the cherry on top, the icing on the cake, and the best thing you will ever grill - hands down. The trick is to cut it into pretty thick slices (about 1/2 inch or so). After much trial and error, I've found that the cheese is too dry and crumbly to fit onto skewers - best slap it straight onto the grill.

Salads

Fresh crispy herby salads are the best accompaniment to the salty charcoaly deliciousness.  Tabouleh is a good option, along with potato salad, or homemade coleslaw. 

Of course, some meat is also pretty quintessential! I recently discovered a Polish deli in the neighbourhood with the most fantastic sausages to choose from. 

What are your top grilling tips?

Traveling in Italy: Ostia Antica, the Roman Forum and Colosseum

I think it's about time I wrapped up my journal about our trip to Rome. It's been a few months since we finished the trip so I thought I would quickly go through the last few days we spent happily hopping around Rome. Last time I wrote about how we went to St Peters and the Vatican. After visiting the biggest church in the world, we managed to visit about 10 other magnificent churches sprinkled around the old city. Rome has 400 churches within the city centre- and all of them are pretty big, covered in murals and crusted in gold leaf. Two days after John Paul II's  beautification, I was impressed how many churches already had a full shrine set up for people to pray to him. Someone must have been working overtime making candles and painting pictures to prepare for the moment!