Stalin’s gift to Poland

Go to Warsaw… yes, it’s definitely recommended. Go to Warsaw. But remember that its most striking building on a fast rising skyline remains…

This apparently was Stalin’s gift to Poland after WWIIThe Palace of Culture and Science (Palac Kultury) built in the early 1950’s. On reflection, I suspect it was very much a box for bureaucrats, and locally, it’s understandably more likely to be thought of as a Monument to Soviet Oppression.

Whatever your political view on the history and meaning of this building, its vision of granduer and solidity are unmistakable and still manage to draw attention from the more recent steel and glass offerings to the sky. It also happens to have a great viewing platform for views around the city…

Until we speak again, Stalin’s statement of occupation to Poland serves as a reminder that we can successfully repurpose gifts we hate and see them from a different perspective… eventually.

Conspiracy theorists nightmare

I can’t say there was much I didn’t already know as I took a guided tour of Auschwitz Birkenau… but wow, does being there pack an emotional punch to the gut.

It’s been almost 50 years since it was first suggested to me that if the chance comes along, I should make the visit. The nearest thing we will know to the gates of hell.

In all of those years, I’ve been dumbfounded when I hear of holocaust deniers and the unbelievable nonsense perpetrated by conspiracy theorists. The Nazis tried and failed to cover up their own evil

There is no way conspiracy nut jobs should be given any space for their lies and disinformation to cover over the truth. I’m more convinced that conspiracy theorists were deliberately created so that those of us who have a brain shouldn’t become complacent! The right wing thugeratti just happen to be their main way of communicating their message of fear. Sometimes… the truth is far more terrifying.

Until we speak again, today’s visit only showed me even more strongly what happens when you ride roughshod over diversity, equity, and inclusion. Wake up, world, the lesson has yet to be learned!

Putin’s poodle

We can’t say we weren’t warned by the first moronic incoherent instalment. The pathetic images of an American President fawning almost on his knees before a grinning psychopath who knows he only has to spin a few congratulatory lies to a fellow thin-skinned narcissist to get what he wants.

Where were you, America, when the free world needed you to justify your self-congratulatory position as its lead? I know the alternative choice was very underwhelming back in November 2024, but don’t say you didn’t see what was coming… for you as much as the rest of us. Did you really think a convicted felon serial liar and attempted overthrower of your own electoral system was a good bet?

I see Psychopath 1 has changed from grinning to smiling… ventriloquism has a lot to answer for! Having his arm up the rear end of an orange poodle is an image I’ll leave you to conjure for yourselves. By all means, fill the following space with your own image, and try not to blame me if it continues to torment you…

Until we speak again, we’ll need to be sad witnesses to the unpalatable retreat of America into the lies and disinformation that the MAGA movement of Dumbfuckistan thrives on to ingratiate themselves with their new Russian overlords. Putin feeds his poodle the Kremlin lies machine, and his new American poodle buys and trumpets it without question. The Mega Arsehole Gobshite Alert is also a serious wake-up call to Europe to get its act together.

Water, water, everywhere…

Nor any drop to drink… but a room with a view that let’s not a heart sink (apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner!)…

Water, water, everywhere you look…

Even up the side streets, you’re just as likely to need a boat…

Water, water, everywhere… so it must be Venice

Until we speak again, “Water, water, everywherenor any drop to drink. ” But maybe that’s what S. Pellegrino was invented for…

Atmospheric Firenze!

History, culture, atmosphere, the home of the RenaissanceFlorence has it all in abundance…

Who’d have thought it was the place to devour a whole cow as well? From the stomach as a burger from a hole in the wall…

To a high-end experience of a slow cooked cheek…

Then there is the quintessential Florentine Steak. Brought to your table prior to cooking. All that’s missing was a name… let’s call her Daisy for polite dining…

Until we speak again, go to Florence and be drawn into an atmospheric experience and a feast of consumption…

They did what?

Eating out is always a treat to be savoured. But just occasionally, it’s raised to another level when you get to ponder the question… they did what?

Restaurante Lebeche in Santa Cruz (Tenerife) is definitely one of those moments.

Arriving there a few minutes before opening already provided me with that rare few moments of being in my own private restaurant. I was greeted by name, from the reservation made earlier, and briefly enjoyed being outnumbered by the attentive staff.

My appetite dictated that I was going to eat light this evening. The Prawn Carpaccio may resemble a contemporary art installation, but it also provided the ideal starter of a delicate mix of flavours.

I was thinking salad as a main course. However, a combination of tomato, watermelon, ice cream, and a topping of pistachio certainly wasn’t what I was thinking. Ensalada Lebeche is quite something to behold… a dish that asks you to double-check that you’re still on planet Earth. Other worldly definitely describes this dish… in a very good way.

Now, I’m not one who usually indulges in the desert end of the menu. That local white wine needs my full attention. But I’d seen from previous reviews that this place does something original in its presentation of Tiramisu. Eating light has the advantage of leaving space for the unexpected. And was this Tiramisu unexpected…

Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you… the gorgeously balanced dish arrived in a cafetiere!

Until we speak again, it’s nice to identify a wonderful restaurant while gazing down on the street below from your private sun terrace…

Syd meets Santa

For those of you looking for a feelgood Christmas tale, look away now. This is a tale of architectural wonder… of reality, not make belive fairytale. This is where Santiago Calatrava stamps his signature on various places around the planet… and we gaze in awe (well, some of us do anyway).

He was born in Valencia and first came to my attention when visiting the Freedom Tower in New York City in 2017. Santiago Calatrava was responsible for the futuristic design of the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub.

So, where does Santa come into this picture, you ask. Well, seeing as you asked so politely… here I am in Santa Cruz, Tenerife, and would you believe it, Santiago Calatrava got here before me. He designed the Auditorium de Tenerife Adan Martin… a stunning performance venue on the harbour…

And what of Syd, you ask. Well, it’s just my random thinking that if you take a look at the Sydney Opera House when you’re next passing by that way, have a think of what those architectural curves remind you of.

Until we speak again, as Juno often remarked… I might have been her erstwhile servant, but get a proper hobby fella, and pack in these random trains of thought 🤔

Dumbfuckistan returns

What’s the difference between Russia and the USA? The leader of one of them going forward hasn’t been convicted of any charges… yet? Only one openly boasts his misogyny, while the other enacts it more secretly.

Beyond that, they seem to broadly share psychopathic, narcissistic, lying tendencies on an industrial scale.

On the morning of 6th November 2024, a deeply troubled world took a devastatingly darker turn, as one of the few bastions of freedom and openness embraced it’s full on Dumbfuckistan character.

That this wasn’t the will of the minority is perhaps the most shocking outcome of the last 24 hours. Even the popular vote has underpinned this world tragedy. For once, it seems the anachronistic Electoral College, famed for truly stealing elections from the people, has provided the American people what they want.

Until we speak again, I will uphold my personal principles of so-called, lefty liberal elite wokery by enacting my own boycott of the USA. I don’t intend to spend…

… on an economy of a country that can shut down its collective mind to the behaviour of a narcissistic racist misogynist and promote him to Liar-in-Chief.

The years ahead will be interesting… for all the wrong reasons. Goodbye, America… from someone who visited quite often and loved many things about your former country!

Double take

It’s not often I go to a fabulous restaurant on holiday and risk it a second night running. You know all about those wonderful memories that you could be putting in jeopardy!

Well, Alegoria was that good, I just had to roll the dice. The atmosphere is somewhat like a Greek taverna… but this definitely isn’t Greece.

The welcome was warm from the moment I arrived and throughout the meal from a small group of staff who really seemed to be enjoying their work. So this is clearly not one of those chain restaurants churning out mediocrity with a fake smile.

The menu is relatively short, so the quality of what is presented on the plate is a top priority. So this isn’t one of those places that aims to offer something for everyone.

For the record, the accompanying photos include padron green peppers and melt in the mouth iberic pork cheek on the first visit. The second visit matched the whole experience with melon & iberic ham followed by a gorgeous ribeye steak seasoned with just the right level of salty tears!

Unlike a few other places I visited nearby, a selection of wine by the glass was offered, and I found something I had never heard of but was one of those wines where one glass could never be enough… just like one visit to this restaurant is never enough.

Until we speak again, you don’t think I’m going to tell you where it is, do you? You’d all be going there and I’d have to book my table!

The previous ‘iberic‘ references might also help. It’s not France, Italy or Portugal… but it might be close to them on a big map. The city has a successful football team in the mould of Pep Guardiola, and also miles of beachfront and marina with Olympic references. It’s also located within 100 metres of a very busy tourist street where people Rambla along… but unless you’re searching for it, you’ll never see it.

Barcelona Maciatto Tour

What, you thought I’d do all the tourist stuff about Antoni Gaudi, La Rambla, and all that Barca FC shtick? Think again, it’s in the archives back in March 2019! This was a completely unscheduled visit planned in the airport arrivals, having missed a connection onto Florence!

After a tiring day of travelling and improvising, a marina side evening stroll culminated in a visit to the upmarket Barceloneta restaurant.

The food and wine were of the expected high quality. What was unexpected was the presentation and quality of the maciatto. This was a ‘performance coffee‘ with the waiter providing the milk/foam finish with a flourish at the table!

This got me thinking, as my following morning experience confirmed my previous recollections… Barcelona is not a place that will trouble competitors in the world cappuccino stakes!

Needless to say, I had now found my pointless mission for this very relaxing visit to a stunning city. Ocana in the Gothic Quarter may not have provided the best post Flamenco gig meal, but they unexpectedly raised their game with the maciatto!

Alegoria, located neatly down a narrow side street and then an even narrower alley, so that the tourist hordes along La Rambla don’t even know it’s there… is undoubtedly an absolute gem of a restaurant. More about this one in a separate post!

They didn’t need a sugar gimmick to remind me where I was languishing, but the maciatto not surprisingly maintained the high standard I had come to expect. That wine was delicious to.

Until we speak again, if you want pictures of the photogenic place that Barcelona is… go there!