The European
Vol. 1, Issue no. 16
March 27, 2007
Paris, France

Where to be at noon in one of Europe's most beautiful cities

Although all of Europe has just added an hour for summer (daylight savings time started in the early hours of March 25), that doesn't mean that our watches show the same time. There are still three distinct time zones here: Western, Central, and Eastern European time. The western bloc (U.K., Ireland, and Portugal) still lags an hour behind the central European countries of France, Spain, and Italy. The countries in the Eastern Europe time bloc, including Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Greece, and Cyprus, are an hour ahead again.

Planning on traveling between zones in Europe? Make sure to check train times or connecting flights (see the list below) before you set off. And to find out where to go in Prague just before midday-in summer or winter-read on…

Bests,

Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European

P.S.

The best seat in Prague

by Don Wilkinson

There is a park bench in Prague that is unarguably the best seat in the entire city--a bench with a view so spectacular that I am loathe to divulge its location.

There are two essential times during the day to get to this bench. The first is at 11:30 a.m., so that you are seated precisely at noon. The view doesn't change at that time, but your impressions surely will. The reason? At 12 noon every day of the year, each bell begins to ring out across the city from Prague's numerous spires, towers, and steeples. Is it any wonder that Prague is known as the "city of a 100 spires"?

Experience the crescendo

From the old city spread at your feet, the melodic chiming of hundreds of bells gathers and channels into a crescendo that echoes around the orchard-covered hills surrounding you. Anyone lucky enough to be sitting on that bench, at that moment, will feel each and every note that seems to set the air dancing in celebration of the day.

The chiming of the bells continues for at least six-sometimes as many as 12-minutes after the hour, but the resonating tones remain long after the last bell has been struck. You can never tell precisely when the last note has gently retreated from your conscious memory.

Golden reflections

While you sit on the bench, gaze down at the numerous bridges that span the winding river, the castle and cathedral on the hill to your left, the many churches scattered across the city, and the vast orchards cascading down the slopes at your feet.

Now imagine that marvelous view at midnight (again taking your seat at least a half an hour in advance) with those same towers and churches illuminated and reflecting golden in the sluggish waters of the river. Imagine it with the sounds of those bells counting off the final minutes of the dying day.

I really don't wish to share "my" bench. But I will. It's halfway along the upper path that runs between Petrin Hill and Hradcany, just below the Starhov Monastery.

Take back your Michelin stars!

by Leigh Fergus

Alain Senderens (one of the pioneers of real nouvelle cuisine) ran the gastronomic heaven known as Lucas Carton in central Paris (a stone's throw from Place de la Concorde) for more than 25 years. He had acquired an international reputation and a continued run of three Michelin star awards. This time last year, he gave the stars back to Michelin and, in the ensuing media flurry, was informed that they were not his to return. He was then awarded two of the usually coveted twinklers-whether he wanted them or not.

A royal feast for less than $130

Monsieur Senderens renamed his restaurant Senderens (www.senderens.fr), and now offers three-star service and quality at a more affordable (though never cheap) price. In a recent interview, he said that his regulars had previously been able to visit once every couple of months, but now, with his pared-down menu, and no frills approach (you won't see any tablecloths), his regulars can visit every week. Where once you paid $500 per person, you can now have a royal feast for less than $130. But is it worth it?

A recent visit to Senderens-hidden carefully from gawpers by a new white air-lock door-revealed cute modern touches to the venerable interior, with pink details, funky ceilings, and the signature butterfly in light projections. But we wanted to see if the essentials were up to standard. We were not disappointed.

No risk of mismatched food and wine

Size doesn't enter into the servings, everything is presented lightly and with style, and the menu is more inventive now that M. Senderens is concerned about his budget. The food is rich yet subtle, pleasing to the eye and palate. Something I particularly appreciated was the wine: the menu suggests a wine to accompany each dish and, even better, it's available by the glass, thus avoiding the need to agonize over whether to have fish all the way and a whole bottle of Sancerre, or to risk mismatched wine and food.

So, here's my lunch-time banquet: an open vegetable ravioli drizzled with a light creamy herb sauce, followed by Apicius duck, cooked in honey, Roman-style, with a touch of quince and apple purée and a surprising dash of spiced date purée--a sultry chestnut daub on the plate. Although replete, I couldn't resist the poached apricots with almond milk ice-cream. Coffee came with yet more refinements: irresistible mini macaroons and chocolate. And the bill? Eighty euro ($100), plus wine. Well worth every cent…but perhaps not every week.

Morphing from hotel guests to tenants on the Côte d'Azur

by Susan R. Lyons

As the euro edges higher, my husband and I refuse to turn our American backs on the French towns along the Mediterranean. Skyrocketing hotel rates began giving us pause a few years ago as we thought of returning to the Pampellone beaches of St. Tropez, Cannes, Nice, and Monte Carlo. Thanks to the Internet, however, we have morphed from hotel guests on the Côte d'Azur to tenants, happily indulging our passion for this part of the world at far less cost.

Awakening to the local church bell

One year we rented a two-story stone house just off the town square in La Garde Freinet, a hill town in the Var, where we awoke to the tolling of the local church bell and the gurgling of a fountain where Napoleon is said to have refreshed himself. Pampellone is a 25-minute drive through hillside forest and seaside vineyards.

We have also relished the convenience of apartments in Antibes, 20 minutes west of Nice. In the café across from Place du Général de Gaulle, we enjoyed a morning café-croissant, and read the local edition of Nice-Matin before collecting our bathing suits and heading for the beach. Antibes' daily market in the nearby old town is a riot of color, with the local sausage and salamis, herbs, jams, olives, and tapenades (olive pastes), and the Picasso Museum and garden, where the master worked and lived for several years, is another treasure to visit. Convenient trains and buses make renting a car here unnecessary.

Six things you should know before buying a property in Crete

by deTraci Regula

Most of the guidelines for buying property in your own country hold true when acquiring a home in Crete-with a few extra points specific to this sun-drenched island. Here's what to look out for:

1. Lucky enough to find land on the coast? You may need official military approval to own part of Greece's "border" with the rest of the world. As it is all considered "border," any coastal property in Greece technically requires military approval. In practice, this is a straightforward process and approval is generally not denied unless an area of special sensitivity is involved-for example, if the property has a clear view of a military installation where you could conceivably watch the arrival of military vessels or planes.

2. Location is still key. Don't choose an area that's too remote: While you may start with the fantasy of getting away from it all, chances are that, once you settle in, you'll want to be within a half-hour's drive of a major town. If you decide to sell, this will be a factor.

3. Romance will cost you. If you want to build a house in the traditional style with traditional materials it will cost about 40% more than a modern-looking home constructed with standard materials and craftsmanship. Kreta Plan, who built the house pictured above, quotes 1,300 euro per square meter (roughly $161 per square foot). Most of these small new-builds run at about 130,000 euro, or roughly $173,000, excluding the land purchase.

5. Never give all the construction money in advance. Reputable companies will let you break up the payment, asking for as little as 10% to begin, with additional payments at agreed-upon construction milestones, and a final payment only when you receive the keys to your new home.

6. U.S. citizens can buy property in Greece, but the process is still simpler and quicker for EU citizens. Many sales agents may not have handled a sale to a U.S. citizen and may simply prefer to tell you it can't be done rather than go to the trouble of figuring out new paperwork. IL