In the meantime…

Enjoy some beautiful pictures of my dog Bailey at the park.

Best,

Katty

James studied at the Italian Culinary Institute and is the first North American to earn a degree at the famous Carpigiani Gelato Institute.  He uses all of the old-world Italian methods of creating his particularly elegant epicurean frozen delights.  James is a tall, well-groomed and gregarious chef – think, a younger Tim Gunn from “Project Runway” – who readily communicates his passion for what he does.  It’s said you can taste heart and soul in food, and boy-oh-boy, did I taste a whole lot of lovin’ in James’s gelato! 

 James began my tasting tour with the sorbets: pink grapefruit (tangy and refreshing), frutti di bosco (ripe berries bursting), Sorrento lemon (tart-sweet) and kiwi, which tasted exactly like biting into the fruit without the fuzz.  Next, he moved me to the mellow gelati: the pure creaminess of Fior di Latte, the otherworldly dreaminess of Tahitian vanilla and the exotic Thai coconut milk.  Of the richer flavours, my favourites are the lavender, the pistachio and the hazelnut, each an orgiastic explosion on the tongue.  James purposely left the chocolates for last.  And, oh, my, was it worth the wait!  If the ricotta chocolate gelato showcases James’s unique talent (so smooth, so rich), the 85% chocolate sorbetto is a masterwork.  A labour-intensive confection, James slowly melts gourmet chocolate just so for the gelato to chill properly, which he blends without cream and only with H2O! 

 Completing the “tour”, now I had to choose.  I went with lavender and pistachio, which, according to James (and trust me, trust him!), is not the most ideal pairing.  So what does our gelato genius do?  James creates a “sundae” with five gelati – lavender, vanilla, pistachio, espresso – topping it off with B.C. cherry gelato – who needs fudge sauce? 

Bella Gelateria has been in business less than a month, but word is getting out, and lines are queueing up.  James stays open late (I’m not sure if he ever really closes), and you can always drop by any time with a bottle of wine and be welcomed.  Classy guy, classy shop: go, explore, delight!

 Guest Post by: Chef Gene Gerrard Smith

 Chef Gene Gerrard Smith lives part-time in Vancouver and is the chef/proprietor of Divoon Dining, a personal chef service.  http://divoondining.com/blog, www.facebook.com/DivoonDining.  He is an amazing cook so if you are hosting a party he is your GO TO GUY FOR FOOD!

I have had a lot of friends and family respond to my request for guest bloggers. This afternoon I will be uploading a post from Chef Gene Gerrard Smith … stay tuned as this is a post you don’t want to miss.

Best,

Kathleen

• Millennium Trilogy – Stieg Larsson
  • The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
  • The Girl Who Played with Fire
  • The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest
  • Available at Chapters

The Millennium Trilogy is fantastic and Lisbeth Salander is the ultimate heroine. Her own moral code dominates the series. The series is a real page turner and great to take on a long flight. They are rather large volumes so you may want to upload them to a Kindle or iPad.

Interesting fact that in some European countries The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was entitled The Man Who Hated Women, my guess is it would not sell well in some countries under the name.

Would love to hear from readers, tell me who your favorite character is. Mine is LISBETH … if only I could hack computers.

• The Man Who Forgot How to Read – Howard Engel
• Available at Chapters

Howard Engel is known for his crime fighting detective Benny Cooperman (“City Called Judy”). “The Man Who Forgot How to Read” is about the journey Engel encounters after a stroke. He is not able to read and overcomes the challenge through immense support and perseverance. A very inspiring read! This book is perfect for a short plane ride. I read through it in a few hours.

• The Forgotten Garden – Kate Morton
• Available at Chapters

This book has intertwining story lines of a family throughout generations and across two continents. The story is about two women trying to uncover a family secret. Once these secrets are resolved peace and tranquility are found. The story makes for a heart tugging mystery. The character of Nell is fully painted as a little girl left on a dock to her life as a loving grandmother taking in her daughter’s daughter. The story focuses on two women overcoming great loss and finding strength and the will to continue by digging into a family secret.  As an avid mystery reader I found parts of the book easy to predict although one twist keep me on the edge of my airplane seat. This book was all I read on the flight from Shanghai to London. A great summer read, completely spell binding!

I am currently reading Between the Assassinations by Aravinda Adiga – expect a review to appear soon.

I already have the travel bug and have decided my next destination must be IRELAND. EH and SH are you ready?

Wish I were travelling,

Kathleen

More posts to come!

Wish I were travelling,

Kathleen

I want to thank everyone for reading the blog, commenting and passing it on. If you know of anyone travelling to China or Europe, please send them my blog. I have kept many maps and travel brochures and would gladly scan a copy.

I feel as if “yours in travel” no longer applies … I have settled on using a simple BEST when posting from home.

Best,

Kathleen

I couldn’t resist going into Luxemurgerli! The sell many delicious desserts, I really wanted to get something but we waited for twenty minutes and decided to leave the store after seeing what a production it was to wrap the box. It was like gift wrapping jewellery only baked goods fill the boxes they wrap.

In the early evening we meet up with E’s cousin and took the bus to their apartment. The bus system in Zürich is one of the best in the world. With buses running every minute minutes on the hour and a computer screen which projects the time to the next destination and last stop. I was really impressed with the transit system. We were informed by our hosts that parking is extremely difficult to find in Zürich and accounts for many people taking transit. It was great because the areas we walked felt car free. Something we were not used to.

My favourite part of the city was the Niederdorf which literally means, the minor village. There were old second-hand book stores where I bought my first German book about religious sites. The streets were cobbled and many art galleries are easily accessible. E’s favourite was “Galerie Alexander E. Raber” (http://www.galerie-raber.ch). The old apartment buildings and scenic churches provided breathtaking architecture to photograph.

The churches we visited were PREDIGKIRCHE and WASSERKIRCHE. The stained glass windows by Stimgar Polke were breathtaking that lined one of the churches we visited. Each glass window told its own story.

E and I also had the opportunity to visit Kunsthaus Zürich which was an amazing museum that offered a wide variety of art.

The weather was extremely hot when we were in Zürich reaching levels of thirty degrees. The lake provides a fantastic place for people to swim or boat around. We did not have a chance to try out the “badis” (lake beaches) but would go again for a day of swimming or water skiing.

I would suggest three to four days as being the perfect amount of time to spend in Zürich. The best times to travel are in the summer months of July or August and then in the winter months of January and February. You want to avoid the rain and fog that plagues the city in late Fall and early Winter.

Overall Zürich was a fantastic city! The people were very friendly and it offered a great amount of architecture. The food is not comparable to that of Italy but no one can object to eating French fries with mayonnaise and there are a ton of restaurants to choose from for those who want to avoid eating Swiss food.

Zürich is a great city and definitely worth adding to one’s list when on vacations.

Yours in travel,

Kathleen

Other Information:

• There is an area on the River designated for women to bathe in and one designated for men to bathe in and both have bars
• The men’s bar allows women in after a certain time, which isn’t surprising but the women’s area only allows men one day a week
• Every male in a certain age group has to participate in two weeks of military training on a yearly basis and is given a riffle. This is because Switzerland has a citizen army that could mobilize. It is important that Switzerland stay protected considering they are in the middle but many would argue that much wealth is kept in the country and with globalization people from different countries are friends and live within other European countries which would prevent attacks such as those that we saw in WWI or WWII.

This is the fantastic lake in Zürich, you can rent paddle boats and go on a little adventure.

There were so many cute swans on the lake. (Ducks too!)

A beautiful garden. I wouldn’t mind sitting out here and finishing “The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest”. Will be so sad when the trilogy is over though rumor has it there is another manuscript on his computer that his partner has access to. Could another book be coming? http://www.stieglarsson.com/biography-the-legacy

Chocolate, need I say more.

People jumping into the lake. The water felt great and the temperature was over 28-29 degrees.

Hello, Ciao and Bonjour from Zürich. Miss you all.

E says CIAO to everyone back home especially Noah and Aria.

Outside of the Kunsthaus Zürich Museum. This was the doorway to the gate of hell.

Flags.

Thanks to our wonderful hosts in Zürich Umberto and Federica.

Yours in travel,

Kathleen