Where To Find Venetian Charm Outside of Italy-Without the High Prices 
The Italian Riviera? No, but Italian influence is
everywhere in Rovinj.
Photo courtesy of Steenie Harvey. |
The European
Vol.1. Issue no. 33
July 24, 2007
Paris, France As the dollar dips ever lower, you'll be looking for ways to make it go further in Europe. In Paris, at least, there are two good news items to report: a free bike service, and now free wifi Internet access all over town. Although some corners of a few arrondissements are still waiting to be kitted out (the whole of Paris should be covered by September), most of the French capital now offers free wireless connections to the Internet in various parks, public libraries, town halls, and museums-A total of 400 wifi hotspots have been installed. Be warned, however, that the service runs from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.-and if you're working in a library, closing hours are likely to be 7 p.m. Check here: http://wifi.paris.fr and click on "Localisation des points Wi-Fi" to find your nearest access points. The bicycle service (Ve'lib) we reported on a couple of weeks ago (The European, No.30) seems to have pedaled off to a good start. But in hot weather, with the steep inclines found especially in the 18th, 19th, and 20th districts, one temptation is to leave your bicycle at the bottom of the Butte Montmartre, say, rather than risk a sweat-drenched appearance at your rendez-vous in a chic café. The service is free if your trip takes under 30 minutes but you'll need to sign up for either a whole year (for 29 euro) or leave a deposit of 150 euro for the occasional use of two wheels, for a day or a week*. And now that individual métro tickets have gone up to 1.50 euro this might be a good time to start that keep-fit regime. Read on to discover a well-priced movie-house in the capital, and tot up the costs in a pleasant part of Istria. Enjoy, Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European *Be warned, however, that the system is not yet ready for US credit cards.
Rovinj, Croatia: A bed for $33 a night and cherries for free by Steenie Harvey 
A medieval harbor town, Rovinj has many
charms, and is the affordable face of Istria.
Photo courtesy of Steenie Harvey. |
It's cherry harvest time in Rovinj, Istria. Many town gardens boast at least one tree, and my landlord has urged me to help myself.
A land of forests, vineyards, and lost-in-time hill towns, Croatia's Istrian peninsula is lovely in early summer. The weather is hotting up, the Adriatic ripples turquoise, rosemary and lavender perfume the air, and swallows swoop over the town's jumbled roof tiles. This is rapture for any artist, but thankfully there are no pretentious airs and graces about Rovinj. Tourism is important, but this is also a real town with around 12,000 inhabitants and a tobacco factory. Complete with winged lion sculptures, Rovinj is one of a clutch of medieval harbor towns dating back to when Istria was under Venetian rule. If somebody told you this was the Italian Riviera, you probably wouldn't argue. Or at least not until you discover that a coffee costs a dollar, half a liter of house wine is $5, and a two-course lunch of seafood soup and fried fish is $9. In a restaurant like La Perla, where locals eat, a plate of homemade pasta smothered in shaved white truffles sets you back only $13. As you know, truffles-or "white gold"-are a gourmet delicacy, and you'd pay a small fortune for such a dish in Italy.
Pizza, ice cream, and architecture all betray any denials of an Italian influence, as do the street signs that are in Serbo-Croat and Italian. A square is both a trg and a piazza; a street is an ulice and a via, and Rovinj itself is also called Rovigno. During most of the year, car license plates suggest that most foreign holiday makers are from Germany and Austria, but Italian visitors arrive in droves in August, upping the pace a notch. Expecting the same rook-the-tourist mentality as I found in Dubrovnik for meals, drinks, and shoddy accommodation, it's a pleasant shock to find Istria so affordable. In early summer, the chatty owner of the modern apartment I'm renting charges $33 weekdays; $40 at weekends when short-breakers arrive from Zagreb. At a push, it would sleep four. Blue-mauve hydrangeas and hot pink geraniums turn even the humblest stone house into the kind of place a romantic might dream of living in. But how much would it cost to have a home here? Istria isn't undiscovered and I haven't come across any obvious bargains yet. The town has numerous real estate agencies, but the cheapest Rovinj property I've seen advertised is a $130,000 studio, with living space of not quite 400 square feet.
Studio 28 by Leigh Fergus 
Step back in time in this movie house
in the 18th arrondissement and
discover the Cocteau connection.
Photo courtesy of Studio 28. |
Where in Paris can you find a reasonably priced champagne bar, quiet garden terrasse, light fittings by Jean Cocteau, and see the best films? Not in the touristy Quartier Latin, that's for sure, but rather in the 18th arrondissement at Studio 28.
An independent cinema established in 1928, Studio 28 shows the latest films as well as the occasional art movie, introduced at the weekend by the owner himself, Alain Roulleau. The cosseted feel of the screen along with personal touches added by M. Roulleau, and an occasional singer-songwriter performance in front of a (captive) audience, have combined to create a loyal following of regulars. The small group of regulars here includes Francophile American residents as well as immaculately made-up bourgeoises of Montmartre. On my last visit, I went for the avant-première of the latest Borat comedy. As I waited for the previous film to end I sipped a coupe of champagne in the little bar, and was given a Borat moustache, which I promptly stuck on--as did a couple of smartly dressed women in fur coats, up for a laugh. The atmosphere was jolly as more Borat fans joined us, their moustaches firmly in place, and the film was packed out. The screen is small and the seating capacity is only 170, but the room, decorated by Jean Cocteau, is unique. The quirky light fixtures look not unlike cute mushrooms and pixie hats, but doubtless the great artist had other ideas. He became one of the cinema's sponsors in the 1950s and helped promote the exhibitions, concerts, and debates that have always been a feature here. Studio 28
10, rue Tholoze, 18th arrondissement
Metr Blanche or Abbesses
The program changes every week, and 10 films are usually screened.
Tickets: 7 euro, but a loyalty card gives an even better price. Accomodation in Paris
Experience the City of Light as a true Parisian. Stay in a renovated 17th-century pied-à-terre with all amenities, minutes from the Seine and Louvre in one of Paris' most charming neighborhoods. Close to art galleries, cafés, and restaurants-yet removed from tourist hordes. Weekly/monthly rental options, from 185 euros per night. Sleeps four. E-mail: France@InternationalLiving.com for availability.
A bite of bretzel brings back the past by Elise Warner It's hard to resist the mouth-watering aroma of freshly baked breads, pastries, and muffins that drift past the door of the Bretzel Bakery in the cherry-colored building at 1a Lennox Street, Dublin. Its rich, warm smells conjure up memories of the past while offering an irresistible invitation to today's passersby. Established in 1870, the Bretzel began as a kosher bakery; the Portobello district to Clanbrassil Street was once the center of Dublin's Jewish community. Though many Jewish families emigrated to America, England, and Australia, along with other Irish citizens during Ireland's lean years, the Bretzel remained a kosher bakery until the 1990s. The baked goods have become as diverse as the customers, but these bakers still use traditional recipes and the double-decked oven dating from the 1900s.
It's hard to decide which goodies to buy-the selection includes white twists (a soft, braided loaf with an egg white-glazed crisp crust called Challah that traditionally ushers in the Sabbath and holidays), seeded baguettes, small walnut loaves, tomato bread, chocolate macaroons, buttery croissants, snappy cheese and pepper focaccia, almond pastries, plus fine olive oils and Helen Gee's homemade gourmet jams and marmalade. The bakery is named after the bretzel, usually defined as a pretzel, although purists hold that a real bretzel is soft and moist on the inside with a reddish-brown, crispy crust sprinkled with salt crystals. No matter-each bite of these bretzels is an experience to be savored. I chose an almond pastry that lingers in my memory and makes me yearn for Dublin, several jars of marmalade destined to be slathered on one of the Bretzel's sinful baguettes, and one of the Bretzel's bretzels, which more than lives up to its reputation. The Bretzel Bakery is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am until 6:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.; tel. +353(0)1-4752724; website: www.bretzel.ie. P.S. For culture with your munchies, visit the nearby Irish Jewish Museum, or George Bernard Shaw's house at 33 Harrington Street and 52 Upper Clanbrassil Street-a site mentioned in James Joyce's novel Ulysses as the birthplace of Leopold Bloom. |
