Sue Bryant's Blog
Posted by Sue Bryant
Such is the popularity of world cruising nowadays that cruise lines are launching their 2008 voyages before the 2007 cruises have even departed. Having just enjoyed a thoroughly decadent week of spectacular food and wine and impeccable service on Silversea’s Silver Cloud, I must say that the prospect of a full 110 nights on Silver Shadow, its larger sister, is highly appealing!
The ultra-luxurious Silver Shadow is to circle the globe in 2008, starting and finishing in Fort Lauderdale. The cruise is themed ‘The Rhythms of the World’ and sets sail carrying 382 privileged and pampered guests on January 16, 2008 on a 110-day voyage to 50 ports of call in more than 25 countries.
Silver Shadow will sail through the Panama Canal and along the Mexican Riviera, to four tropical Hawaiian hideaways and intriguing island destinations like Majuro in the Marshall Islands, Pohnpei in Micronesia, Apra Harbour on the island of Guam, and historic Iwo Jima, all previously unexplored by Silversea.
Other highlights will include extended overnight calls in Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok, Mumbai and Barcelona.
Guests who book the full 110-day cruise will enjoy exclusive shoreside events, including a hosted event on the eve of departure with hotel accommodation and private transfer and baggage handling between airport, hotel and ship; onboard
spending credit; escorted shore excursions to exotic sites in select ports of call; a gala farewell event; and special commemorative gifts. For more information, visit www.silversea.com.
Posted by Sue Bryant
I'm in the middle of updating a book I wrote two years ago, the Insight Guide to Great River Cruises, which has got me daydreaming about life in the slow lane, drifting along Europe’s waterways, pottering around picturesque towns and villages, or lazing on deck watching the scenery drift by. My three hot tips for 2007 follow!
Short break cruising: Most river cruises last a week or more but for next year, Viking River Cruises is offering three night ‘Taste of the Rhine’ voyages from Basle to Cologne, stopping en route at Strasbourg, Speyer and Konigswinter and passing through the dramatic Rhine Gorge, where ruined castles perch on top of sheer-sided cliffs and mile after mile of vineyards cling to impossibly steep slopes. These cruises are on board Viking Helvetia II, Europe’s longest river vessel, launched in 2006. www.vikingrivercruises.com
Russia: A cruise from Moscow to St Petersburg is like two comprehensive city breaks with none of the hassle and a whole lot more in between. The luxurious Viking Kirov spends two nights in Moscow before wending its way north and west through Russia’s complex Volga-Baltic Waterway, past rustic villages and ancient cities like Uglich and Yaroslavl, visiting monasteries, kremlins and elaborate orthodox churches. The boat crosses Lake Onega to the beautiful wooden village-museum of Kizhi and arrives in St Petersburg with three days to see the palaces and the fabulous Hermitage art collection. Cruises operate from May to October; www.vikingrivercruises.com.
Barging: Cruise the Canal du Midi in the south of France on the beautiful wooden hotel-barge, Athos, with just six double cabins, new for barge specialist European Waterways. Gourmet meals are prepared on board by the resident chef, with food from local markets, and all drinks and excursions are included. Guests are picked up in Montpellier and the barge spends a week pottering along the canal at a wonderfully soporific pace, with visits to Carcassonne, Argeliers, the hilltop village of Minerve, Capestang, Narbonne market, Agde and the Etang de Thau, which contains Europe's largest mussel and oyster park. Various decadent side-trips include wine-tasting, olive-oil tasting and a visit to the Noillly Prat Vermouth distillery. www.gobarging.com.
Posted by Sue Bryant
I was lucky enough to attend the inaugural celebrations in the UK this weekend for NCL's latest 'Freestyle Cruising' ship, Norwegian Pearl. The ship is spectacular, and a genuinely positive sign that cruise lines really are waking up to what younger cruisers want.
The decor is lighthearted and funky - my mini-suite was in bright pinks and turquoises - and there's a huge choice of restaurants and bars. I sampled the fantastic teppanyaki room in the Lotus Garden Asian Restaurant, complete with knife-throwing and egg-juggling chefs, and later, Cagney's Steakhouse, where my dining companions tucked into huge steaks. There's also a tapas restaurant, a French bistro, the modern European Indigo, burgers and fast-wok dishes... no wonder cruisers pile on the pounds. I loved the high-tech gym and the fitness studio is of a decent size and offers classes either free or at token prices. The spa is gorgeous, with fantastic thermal suites for men and women which you can use for $15 a day. Bliss Ultra Lounge is by far the best nightclub I've seen on a cruise ship - really stylish, with huge, decadent day beds draped in gauze and plush velvet lounging areas, not to mention four ten-pin bowling lanes.
I'd certainly recommend this ship to families, couples and groups of friends who like to do their own thing, aren't bothered about a formal, regimented lifestyle and enjoy eating somewhere different every night. It's a big ship, but not so big you feel lost and there's so much to do on board that getting bored isn't an option!
Posted by Sue Bryant
For those of you who have shown an interest in Peace Oil culinarytravel.suite101.com/article.cfm/peace_oil, but missed the discussion below, I have been corrected by the Seattle-based supplier of the gourmet olive oil to the US and Canadian markets. You can buy Peace Oil from http://www.peaceoil.biz/ at $12.50 for a 500ml bottle, with shipping throughout the USA and Canada and free shipping if you happen to live in Seattle. This version of the oil is produced by Israelis and Palestinians and the proceeds help Palestinian farmers on the West Bank, an area where they need all the support they can get. It's a worthy cause and I'm assured that the oil is delicious.
Posted by Sue Bryant
The ski season in Europe has begun and already attracting a lot of attention is the brand new Top Mountain Star restaurant, high above the resort of Obergurgl, 3,080m (10,100 feet) above sea level in the beautiful Austrian Tyrol.
With 360 degree views across the Austrian Alps, as far as the Italian Dolomites, the all-glass restaurant is dazzling, with its futuristic, crystal-like design designed to blend in with the snowy peaks that surround it. Without doubt, it will offer one of the most romantic and breathtaking locations in the Alps, and its association with Swarovski (also based in Austria) can only add further sparkle; the bar, in fact, is adorned with signs of the zodiac, picked out in Swarovski crystal.
As well as being a mountaintop lunch venue for skiers, the restaurant can be hired for exclusive private parties, with travel there and back by snow cat.
The menu offers Austrian gourmet specialities – and when Austrians do gourmet food, they do it brilliantly. Needless to say, lunch will need to be washed down with champagne served in a crystal glass!
Visit www.obergurgl.com for more information about the resort and its fabulous skiing.
Posted by Sue Bryant
Isn't it a great feeling when you find a fantastic restaurant where you not only eat well but feel you had incredible value for money? Of course, it's always someone else who finds the place! My parents have just returned from Spain's sunshine coast, the Costa del Sol, which is traditionally pretty glitzy and expensive. They 'discovered' D'Herminia at Estepona, an upscale resort along the coast from jetset Marbella. My dad, Peter Bryant, says: "The restaurant offers an extensive a la carte menu but above all a marvellous value-for-money three-course table d'hote menu at the attractive price of 15 Euros per head." (That's $19 US, $21 Canadian.) He continues: "The half-dozen or so starters included a very tasty spinach pancake and a vegetable tartelette. This was followed by a significant fish selection - sea bream, sea bass, monkfish, prawn skewers, or an excellent entrecote steak, with a good selection of vegetables. For dessert, there was home-made tiramisu, profiteroles, various ice-creams or the un-Spanish bread and butter pudding. There's a long wine list but you need look no further than the house wine at about 7 Euro a bottle.
"But it's the additional dishes that make this place such good value. On arrival, we were greeted with a glass of pink cava (Spanish sparkling wine), olives and crudites, followed by a hot, mini-vegetable risotto, and smoked salmon and cheese canapes. After dessert, chocolate arrived - a white crisp and a dark square. To finish, we were offered a glass of fruit schnapps on ice. All this without any addition to the bill!"
I would challenge anybody to come up with such an impressive range of extras! If you've got a recommendation, email me! D'Herminia lies between Estepona and San Pedro de Alcantara at Centro Comercial Costasol, tel. +34 952 88 76 73. It's closed Sundays.
Posted by Sue Bryant
I'd like to see this section as being a mixtures of foodie travel ideas and experiences, and entries based on one unusual or exciting ingredient, with the stories around it and ideas of what to do with it, whether it's sampling gold leaf martinis in a hip bar, or discovering purple vinegar for the first time (thanks to the wonderful Patrice Martineau, head chef at The Savoy in London, to whom I shall be eternally grateful). I'll also be reviewing books, raising travel and food issues and passing on fun anecdotes. I feel very strongly about the use of seasonal, local ingredients and the Fair Trade movement in farming, so these will certainly come into it as well. Can't stand convenience food and fast food (unless from an Asian street stall) so probably won't touch on these!