Posts filed under 'Food writing'

The home of marzipan

As part of our trip to Madrid, we stayed on for the weekend, and took a day trip to Toledo.

This is probably our moment to make a plug for the Spanish trains, which got us to Toledo in a very short space of time, and are also very comfortable. It showed us also how the landscape to the south of Madrid does remain fairly flat, although we had some hills to climb within Toledo itself.

Toledo is known for making swords, but also for marzipan - good news for me! We had to take a photo of one of the specialist shops, which had a model of the front of Toledo Cathedral. Given that the cathedral is huge and detailed, that’s quite a modelling job. We were happy to sample some marzipan, just to make sure the batch was up to scratch.

We enjoyed seeing a whole range of architecture, including an early mosque, a Sephardic synagogue and some more classical European buildings. There were also others with Visigoth influences, although we didn’t manage to see them too.

Here’s a couple of pictures to show off the marzipan - and the surroundings it’s made in.

Marzipan shop in Toledo

Add comment November 30th, 2006

Searching for the perfect coffee

One advantage of trips abroad is the opportunity to try out the local food and drink.

When we had a few days in Graz, Austria, coffee arrived on individual trays, each with an additional glass of water.  We worked hard to try out coffees in lots of different locations across town - one way to visit stylish places on a budget.

Graz is getting well known for its ‘friendly alien’, the curvy modern art gallery next to the river Mur.  Not as well known, though it deserves to be, is the ‘island on the Mur’, a shell shaped structure that acts as a bridge but includes an outside cafe and an inside bar.  It’s particularly beautiful lit up at night.

Searching for the perfect coffee in Graz

Probably the most beautiful option is the bar near the top of the Castle rock.  This can be reached up a slope around the side, but as the rock also includes a glass lift, and an interior that looks like a Bond villain’s lair, you can guess which option we chose.  It was so pretty we pushed the boat out…and had a hot chocolate instead.

Sadly we’re not gaining any money from Ryanair for our support of Graz, but let us know if you want any more top tips on where to visit.  

Add comment November 26th, 2006

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