The Most Stylish Resort in Croatia, the Hottest City in Spain, and the Coolest Food in Paris 
| Enjoy some regal shade at the Royal Palace, Madrid Photo courtesy of www.istockphoto.com. |
The European
Vol.1. Issue no. 36
August 14, 2007
Meaux, France Tomorrow is a public holiday in France, but I'll be getting ready for our Live and Prosper in Europe Seminar, which is only two weeks away now. Right now I'm sorting through more photos and real estate information to share with you about my two favorite European countries-no prizes for guessing which they are. If you haven't reserved your place yet, don't delay-check out the program here. I'll also be reading our latest publication, Motovun's Magic Moment. This promises to be a fascinating mine of information about this corner of Istria, packed full of facts and details about the local culture, real estate, festivals, and stunning countryside. From what I've seen so far I may have to vote for Croatia as my favorite country after all. Watch this space to find out more about this hidden pocket of Europe. This week, Steenie Harvey is captivated by the old-world charm of a seaside resort on the Adriatic, and our local contact in Madrid has the lowdown on how to spend your summer nights like the madrileños. Enjoy! Bests, Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European
Summer nights in Madrid by Teba Orueta 
| The best way to cool down is with a glass of hot fragrant mint tea, Arabic style. Photo courtesy of www.istockphoto.com. |
A growing number of madrileños now choose to remain in the city during August when Madrid recovers its true origins of villa y corte (town and court), becoming a tranquil, romantic city again, emptied of commuters and the buzz of business. Hopeless Romantics
The Royal Palace is one of the most romantic settings. Despite the name, the Palacio de Oriente sits on the edge of a hill facing west--perfect for watching sunsets. Take a leisurely stroll through the adjacent Jardines de Sabatini and you may be treated to one of the fountain water and light displays in the evening. If you have a regal budget, sip a glass of chilled wine on any of the outdoor terraces overlooking the palace in the Plaza de Oriente. The esplanade facing the Palace hosts the sunset classical music concerts, organized as part of Madrid's Veranos de la Villa (Summer in the City) festival. Despite the acoustic difficulties in performing outdoors, this is a magical musical event. Get there early if you want a seat. Otherwise bring your own cushion and join the majority who sit on the ground to listen. Royal Palace esplanade and Jardines de Sabatini; Open 9 a.m. - 8 p.m. from May - September, free entry. Entrance through Calle Bailén. Veranos de la Villa: full program available online as of May - June. Search under www.munimadrid.es Recipe for Té Moruno (4 cups)
Hot mint tea is consumed by the bucket in the high temperatures of Arabic countries as it combines the cool, refreshing taste of peppermint and spearmint leaves with the warmth of tea to raise your body temperature and reduce the feeling of outdoor heat. Recipe for Té Moruno (4 cups) Hot mint tea is consumed by the bucket in the high temperatures of Arabic countries as it combines the cool, refreshing taste of peppermint and spearmint leaves with the warmth of tea to raise your body temperature and reduce the feeling of outdoor heat. Recipe for Té Moruno (4 cups)
5 teaspoons green or black tea
1 bunch fresh spearmint
1 bunch of fresh mint
3 - 4 drops of orange-blossom essence (Agua de Azahar) per cup
1 tablespoon of sugar per cup 1. Warm an empty teapot with a little hot water.
2. Empty the pot and add the sugar, tea, mint, and spearmint leaves.
3. Fill the teapot with freshly boiled water.
4. Add the orange flower essence, cover, and let steep for 3 - 5 minutes
5. Serve in small individual glasses or cups. |
Spanish under the stars
Take a friend or go alone to the Cine de Verano, which screens films under the stars. If you're still learning the language, this is a great way to train your ear and practice, as the films are dubbed into Spanish. Head out to La Pipa (the original venue) in the heart of the Casa de Campo park, or for a city option, there's Parque de la Bombilla.
Outdoor Cinema: La Pipa, Casa de Campo subway station, or Parque de la Bombilla, in San Antonio de la Florida, Norte subway station. Arabian nights
Spain has always had its own version of Operetta or Musicals, known as Zarzuela. The Teatro de la Zarzuela is devoted to this genre year-round, but in the summer, Veranos de la Villa brings you this light entertainment in a privileged outdoor location-the ruins of the Muralla Árabe, the Arabian wall that encircled the town back in the 9th century. Madrid's Arabian origins are a refreshing discovery. Madrid, or Al-Mayrit, as it was called back in the 9th - 16th centuries, is home to a restored underground cistern, the Medina Mayrit. Here you can soak with other bathers in waters of varying temperatures, get a massage in an ambiance of peace and quiet, and then enjoy couscous in the restaurant. For a well-prepared cup of Té Moruno, or hot mint tea, head to Madrid's only white marble mosque or mezquita to sample this delicious and refreshing drink. You will also find a restaurant serving mouth-watering culinary delights from Morocco to Pakistan. Medina Mayrit, Atocha, 14; tel. +34-90-233-3334; www.medinamayrit.com. Madrid's mosque (mezquita): Just off the M-30 inner-city motorway. Rooftop Terraces
For a premium view of Madrid, the rooftop terrace and pool at the Hotel Urban has the best cocktails in town. This hotel set the standard in tasteful and stylish boutique hotel design a little over two years ago. The Meliá chain followed suit and recently refurbished the ME Reina Victoria in one of Madrid's most happening pedestrian plazas. If you want something more laid back where you can eat, drink, or party overlooking the "township" side of Madrid, look no further than El Viajero. Hotel Urban: Carrera de San Jerónimo, 34, Banco de España area. ME Reina Victoria: Plaza de Santa Ana. Terraza El Viajer Plaza de la Cebada 11, La Latina area.
Searching for Abbazia: Following royal footsteps along Croatia's most elegant promenade by Steenie Harvey The elegant seaside town of Abbazia once vied for the title of Europe's most stylish health resort. But the only way to pin-point Abbazia on a map today is if your local antiquarian book shop possesses a copy of Three Months in Abbazia, by Victorian explorer Sir Richard Burton; the town has vanished from maps and memory. Like the blooming magnolias, the town itself still exists, but after the formation of Tito's Yugoslavia, it was renamed Opatija. Countries, borders, place-names
In the Balkans, geographic markers change with head-spinning frequency. Opatija now belongs to Croatia. Guarded by a backdrop of densely-wooded hills, it sits where the Istrian peninsula joins the Kvarner Riviera. From the mid-19th century until the Jazz Age, Abbazia was one of the true pearls of the Adriatic. Escaping Vienna's winter chill, the Hapsburg nobility of the Austro-Hungarian Empire set the fashion. Drawn by the mild microclimate, Abbazia's glittering guest list included crowned heads, composers, novelists, and other celebrities of the day. They flocked here to take in the sea air; revive their health in hot baths, cold baths, and the sanatorium; and to dance or gamble until dawn. So did Alfred of Nassau, one of the Grand Dukes of Luxembourg. A long smoke
The Duke certainly turned heads. When his physician told him to cut his cigarette intake to one a day, he obeyed…sort of. He took his daily constitutional to the concert pavilion puffing a specially made yard-long cigarette.
Other distinguished visitors included Chekhov, Puccini, and Gustav Mahler-who came to convalesce here after a case of tonsillitis. James Joyce regularly took tea on the Hotel Imperial's terrace. Isadora Duncan danced to the swaying fronds of a palm tree outside her balcony in the Villa Amalia, an annex of today's Hotel Kvarner. Where to get a nostalgia fix
Although Opatija/Abbazia's glory started fading in the aftermath of the First World War and the break-up of the Hapsburg Empire, it retains an air of dowager duchess opulence: grand hotels with crystal chandelier ballrooms; Viennese-style pastries slathered in cream; elderly Austrian and German visitors sporting old-fashioned finery. You get the impression they return year after year for a nostalgia fix. The ideal way to work up an appetite for a leisurely al fresco lunch is a walk along Opatija's promenade-the Lungomare, much of its paved eight-mile length shaded by chestnut and laurel trees. Handily placed benches invite you to sit and contemplate the Adriatic where the islands of Cres and Krk loom in the shimmering blue of Kvarner bay. Following the Lungomare eastward brings you to Volosko, a fishing village of flower-hung stone cottages, a tiny harbor and fish restaurants. Sadly, the seascapes in this direction are spoiled by a gigantic power station, belching out fiery fumes on the outskirts of the industrialized city of Rijeka. (In Opatija's heyday, Rijeka was called Fiume.) Going westward toward the larger seaside village of Lovran is the prettier option. Lovran has a small pebble beach, a historic center with green-shuttered Italianate houses, and a specialty cake made from chestnuts. The Belle Epoque villas flanking the Lungomare are as eye-catching as anything on the French or Italian Riviera. Sometimes adorned with stone balconies and turrets, a few are what you might call Gothic-Mediterranean. Others are painted honey, butter yellow, or sugar-almond pink, with the occasional brave splash of blue or green. P.S. If you want to linger in style, the Mozart Hotel (www.hotel-mozart.hr) opened its doors in 1896. It decorates Opatija's main street like a sumptuous rose-pink wedding cake. Depending on season, daily rates for standard doubles with breakfast range from $188 to $235. For a gourmet meal, try La Mandrac in Volosko. Menus change weekly but expect creations such as homemade ravioli stuffed with shrimp and wild asparagus, black polenta with cuttlefish and scampi, and octopus with rocket salad and pumpkin pesto. By Croatian standards it's expensive-around $50 per head with wine-but the food is outstanding.
Where to find a cool taste experience in Paris by Leigh Fergus The echoingly quiet and shuttered streets this month in Paris' urban trellis of stone, steel, and glass just make me even keener to get my hands on a cone of real ice cream. Forget the everyday brands like Nestlé or Häagen Dazs-you should go for the quality stuff while you're in Paris. But with Berthillon, ice cream makers par excellence, adding to the number of closed doors in August, their loyal Parisian customers having deserted the capital, where can you go? Fortunately other establishments offer Berthillon's unrivalled selection of flavors-including pear-and-caramel, melon, gingerbread, and chocolate-mandarin-all naturally produced without artificial flavoring or preservatives. You just need to head for the Ile Saint Louis, across the way from the Ile de la Cité and Notre Dame, and follow the long lines snaking their way along several street corners. The icey treats come in cones or tubs for upward of 2.20 euro a scoop, if you don't mind waiting. Unusual tastes
If you want the most unusual chilled taste experience, however, try the Bac à Glaces on the Left Bank. As well as the traditional ice creams and sorbets, this company offers sugar-free sorbets and flavors such as matcha green tea, dried tomato and olive oil, mango and Sichuan pepper, or lemon thyme with preserved fennel.
A great Italian standby has to be the fresh taste of Subito's ice cream. Particularly recommended are the amarena, tiramisu, and cappuccino flavors. The prices are good for its location-just off the jewelry heaven of Place Vendôme-at 2.50 euro a scoop. And my local supplier of fruity ices? The best baker in the quartier, two minutes' from our office-Délices de Manon. The mango sorbet is icy perfection… Berthillon, 29-31 rue Saint Louis en l'ile, 75004 Paris. Open: 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Métr Hôtel de Ville or St. Michel.
Bac à Glaces, 109 rue du Bac, 75007 Paris. Open: 11 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. Mon-Sat. Métr Rue du Bac.
Subito, 33 rue Danielle Casanova, 75001 Paris. 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Métr Opéra or Pyramides.
Délices de Manon, 400 rue Saint Honoré, 75001 Paris 6 a.m. - 10 p.m. Métr Concorde or Madeleine.
Bronzed Beauties in Spain by Regina Galasso 
| Bronze belles by Valdés promenading in Valencia, part of the temporary public art project. Photo courtesy of Regina Galasso. |
One of the things that I probably love most about Spain in summer is that you can always see people of all ages on the streets at all hours of the day. Walk through any plaza and you'll find grandparents sitting on benches watching their grandchildren play, while at the opposite end, teenagers make weekend plans. Young couples stroll hand-in-hand down the streets stopping at every corner to kiss, oblivious to the roars of laughter and frequent shouts from groups of friends and families gathered around small tables at terrace cafés. And older couples promenade before dinner in their best clothes, to stretch their legs and enjoy the cooler evening air. Monumental women
Recently, in Valencia, I noticed some exceptionally big and beautiful women spending time in the middle of the palm-tree-lined Gran Via de Marqués del Turia, one of the city's main arteries. On any day of the week, these monumental-sized Mediterranean-inspired women of bronze are lined up waiting to be admired along with another 10 colossal statues as part of an exhibit titled "Manolo Valdés: Esculturas Monumentales."
Manolo Valdés is a Valencia-born artist widely known for his painting and sculpture. In this particular outdoor exhibit, the gaze of his large female bronzes adds tranquility to the many sounds of passing cars, buses, and motorcycles. Although these sculptures take up a lot of space on a busy street, their presence is welcome. An elderly man, who reads the newspaper alone every day here before lunch, now has company… For a mother walking with her young child, "Las Meninas" becomes a way in which her son can practice counting from one to five. The exhibit is part of a project called "Arte en la calle" sponsored by the Catalonian bank La Caixa, funding the installation of temporary public art in parks and other spaces throughout cities in Spain. It provides an opportunity for city residents as well as visitors to enjoy and interact with impressive artwork. P.S. These beauties recently moved from Valencia to Palma de Mallorca where they will be until October 15, 2007 on the Passeig des Born. Throughout 2008, they will travel to other cities in Spain. Be sure to check out www.lacaixa.es for updates and more information about the exhibit and overall project. IL | 
