For a whistlestop tour Tunis and surrounding area provided a great insight to the history and culture of this fascinating country… the most liberal of Arabic nations. Independent since 1956 and more recently experiencing the Jasmin Revolution of 2011, Tunisia is an open and very welcoming country.
It does plenty of very old. From the Medina…
… to Carthage…
Then there’s the hustle and bustle. From the Tunissouks (but so deserted at night)…
… to the attraction of Sidi BouSaid blue & white village…
Indigenous fresh street food often panders to those with a sweet tooth. From dates or almondMakroud in the Souks…
… to fresh and extremely light Bambalouni donuts in Sidi BouSaid…
And, of course, they do the sea big time: fresh calamari as well as fishandchips (redsnapper) with a twist. Not forgetting options for roof terrace fine dining (duck & lamb dishes at Dar El Jeld)…
Until we speak again, a few days sampling the delights of Tunisia might well result in you declaring…
Unwittingly, 2025 is turning into the ‘without‘ tour. Previously, on Junos View, Dundee was explored without the famous cake. Now, that unpronounceable place (to foreigners and indigenous idiot’s) – Wuss-ter, has been discovered without any of the Lea & Perrins strange brown thing (sauce).
So, here’s the thing…
Once upon a time, across the border, there’s this old thing… called Ingerlund. And, it’s full of these really old things… called cities, and towns, and things. Some are older than others, but Worcester is definitely an older thing.
If you’re coming here, it’s probably going to be a history thing… particularly if you’re into Tudor things.
Or, maybe, it’s a religious thing… with a particularly impressive one of those cathedral things.
Then again, perhaps it’s an imbibing thing… with a good few of those old pub-like things.
But, it’s definitely an eating thing. Though, in my case, the pieandapint thing was fully booked up… so it had to be an Anatolian thing…
Then again, for me it’s that strange notion of being the largest place in the UK by population I haven’t visited, thing… until now. After all, that’s what Dundee was prior to Worcester.
Until we speak again, it used to be a thing… now it’s done! As for you, it depends on your thing…
Travel anywhere in the world, and two of the most likely visions you’ll encounter will be an Irishpub and an Italianrestaurant.
I originally developed my taste for Guinness in London back in the 1980’s, mainly because the locals preferred their beer flat and uninspiring. As with excellent coffee, so it is with good beer, it’s all in the quality of the foam/head!
As 2025 has necessitated my regular return to London, I’ve had an unexpected opportunity to experience a little of what Italy has bequeathed to the old city.
First impressions may seem a little comical. Spend a few minutes in Little Venice. But please don’t think of it as an introduction to the real thing… if you’re dreaming of a mini version of Venetian wonder, this is decaf in its most underwhelming form. Romance has definitely left the building in this strictly gondola-free zone.
However, you don’t need to stray far in any area of the city to find authentic Italian influences.
If you happen to be out far west in Uxbridge, you’ve probably taken a wrong turn out of Heathrow! But never fear, NonnaRosa will provide good sustenance while you recalibrate your bearings.
Finding yourself in the City of London, why not call in on Eataly at Liverpool StreetStation for a choice of Italian restaurants and a high-class Italian deli all under one roof. A quatrostagione with a rich glass of Valpolicella should be an ideal interruption to your travels.
But to top it all, I couldn’t resist a trip down memory lane… or strada dei ricordi for my Roman conquerors. It’s the east end of London, it’s Wapping, and it’s my first return to Il Bordello in 20 years. A truly perfect way of repurposing an old Thamesside bonded warehouse. This was a favourite Italian restaurant of mine at the time, and I can even report that a few of the same waiters in burgundy waistcoats are still there!
Until we speak again, if you find yourself in Londinium, it’s not too difficult to experience authentic buonappetito. Just be prepared to give those chains a miss and instead search out and support the independents.
History, culture, atmosphere, the home of the Renaissance… Florence 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 atmosphericexperience and a feast of consumption…
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 Greektaverna… 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 padrongreenpeppers and melt in the mouth ibericporkcheek on the first visit. The second visit matched the whole experience with melon & ibericham followed by a gorgeous ribeyesteak 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.
What, you thought I’d do all the tourist stuff about Antoni Gaudi, La Rambla, and all that BarcaFC 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 ‘performancecoffee‘ 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!
Corsica is widely referred to as the islandofbeauty… so, let’s check out this bold claim. Bearing in mind that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, or so they say. I guess it depends on what you expect when you decide to visit a place. Stunning landscapes, maybe historical legacy, culinary delights, and a place to simply relax and unwind.
Corsica certainly has an abundance of stunning beaches for the dedicated sun worshiper…
There are very few areas of flatland, with mountains rising almost immediately behind the beaches, making for dramatic visual backdrops in all directions…
And don’t expect any speedy train journeys across the island. The few trains spend most of their journeys slowly navigating the inclines and meandering through the mountainous interior. If train journeys bore you, I challenge you to try and stay scrolling your social media without becoming more entranced by the views outside…
Its history is a complicated succession of Italian (Genoese) and French control, though their widely represented proud flag is one of the head of a Moorish man representing a strong sense of freedom…
Look closely, and you’ll even witness a rare graffiti message for their more recent French overlords…
The historical architecture is dominated by seven citadels located in key places around the coast (six in coastal fortresses and one being inland at Corte)…
As for culinary delights, there is no shortage of places to sample genuine Corsican cuisine… Veal & Olives, RisottoalaCreme, Sanglier (WildBoar) pate, a local stew, and Poulpe(Octopus) on a base of citrus confit and humus to name a few! They have a wealth of their own wine to sample as well. And, yes, that French bread comes with everything and really does taste fabulously fresh…
As for those moments of pure relaxation, just sit and listen to the boats bobbing in Marina’s in Ajaccio or Calvi with the sound of ropes knocking against masts. Alternatively, there’s the sound of waves lapping the shores of those stunning beaches. Simply empty your mind…
Until we speak again, Corsica definitely seems to have cornered beauty. Even that blue sky instilled a feeling of awe…
You have the whole of the Algarve to be soaking up rays in… so why bother taking the other direction out of the airport into the city?
For a start…the rays are here as well! No, not just on the other side of the track…
It’s got a genuine OldTown… not just something that’s about 30 years old, which the sun worshippers already consider to be uncool and out of date…
There’s a restaurant with a well in the middle of it that’s over a 1000 years old…
Your safety isn’t just guaranteed from falling down unexpected holes in your eating joint… it’s also a matter of 24-hour vigilant surveillance. With a nest like this, do you really think the occupant has any other intentions…
The food elsewhere may claim to come from the sea, but here, the smell of the sea leaps off your plate (believe it or not, there’s a salmonfilet residing beneath this roof of shells and veg!)…
The local residents are so chilled they can’t even raise the effort to flutter a few feathers…
And did I mention the much sort after rays can be found here as well. Why not take a boat out across the nature reserve to find beaches in the shadow of a 170 year old lighthouse…
Then, there’s the matter of the SmokeTiki. After a couple of these, your trusty correspondent struggled to remember what an Algarve was supposed to be used for… an implement for sun worshipping… possibly? Who needs the sun when your drink comes with a blow torch accompaniment, anyway?
Until we speak again, you’re welcome to go to everywhere else on the Algarve in search of your rays. Me, I’m not venturing far from Faro! Just maybe, those SmokeTiki misdemeanours are rendering movement a bit more restrictive!
If you’ve heard the saying… I diedandwenttoheaven… well, dying is no longer obligatory! The good news is that you just need to go to Portugal!
If proof of heaven were needed, then MensagemRooftopRestaurant in Lisbon puts forward an application based on a starter of VealCarpaccio with a Syrah red wine from the nearby Beira region…
Not yet convinced? Faro quickly steps up with a main of ArrozNegro (blackricewithcuttlefishink, andcrispysquid) accompanied by a robust Tomato & Roast Pepper Salad. The local Algarve wines provide an extremely dry white, aptly named ‘SoBlanc‘…
What do you mean, where’s the dessert? This is Portugal, where the best dessert is widely available throughout the day. PasteisdaNata are what Portugal was invented for, didn’t you know? Best taken with a proper cappuccino side…
Until we speak again, whatever your version of heaven is… I’m sticking with this one!
JUNO's VIEW 