The European
Issue no. 2
December 12, 2006
Paris, France

Sheep, monks, spires… and bakers

In the next few weeks we'll be covering crime and punishment in one of the European Union's more recent member countries, discovering gastronomic delights in a popular area of Italy, as well as shattering some myths about a country with a shadow that's hard to shake off.

And in this issue, we scale the heights…Steenie Harvey is befriended by a sheep and visits one of the loftiest villages in Spain. Elise Warner climbs to dizzying peaks in northern Greece's mountain monasteries, we check the spires in Milan's duomo, and I take you to the highest district in Paris, and share the reasons I chose to live there.

So get yourself a steaming espresso or a glass of wine and enjoy the latest reports from The European.

Ciao!

Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European

P.S. For more news and views about Europe, keep an eye on our Europe website at www.internationalliving.com/europe

P.P.S. If you have any comments or queries, please send them to theeuropean@internationalliving.com

Exploring Spain's La Alpujarra…walk from here to Greece!
by Steenie Harvey

This is a first-I've never been nudged in the rear end by a brown woolly sheep before. Irish sheep usually run away when they see me-this Alpujarran sheep is getting too familiar for my liking!

La Alpujarra is the name given to the hills and valleys on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Granada province. If you enjoy rambling along mule tracks shared with shepherds and their flocks-and doing it among some of Europe's most gorgeous mountain scenery-you can't beat it.

Picture cherries ripening on trees…mixed flocks of sheep and goats snacking on thyme-scented mountain pastures…a myriad butterflies dancing in the sunshine. Add in almond and walnut trees, terraced farms and a network of mule tracks winding toward tiny white villages of flat-roofed houses with prominent stumpy chimneypots.

Capileira, where I'm staying, is Spain's second highest village. A white tiara clinging to the Poqueira Gorge, the old part of the village is a maze of cobbled streets that are too narrow for cars. Here lies a fountain, there a bakery where bread still gets baked in a wood-fired oven. Slinky gray cats prowl amid colorful displays of roses, geraniums and petunias; small vegetable gardens thrive, beans climbing up poles and tomatoes ripening in the hot sunshine. Every bar and hostelry has huge cured mountain hams hanging from the rafters and the small supermercado sells local wine at 1.50 euro per liter (bring your own plastic bottle!).

In almost every direction, enticing-looking tracks spool out. Some walking tracks form part of the GR7-a long distance trail that runs from southern Spain all the way to Greece. I can't imagine how long it would take to walk it…and I'm not about to try. One of the easier walks-around four miles-is to Pitres village. Good walking maps are vital. I can recommend the Elma Thompson series, available for guests to borrow in Finca los Lllanos Hotel www.hotelfincalosllanos.com.  These maps have an abundance of interesting information snippets. After ducking through a gap in some rocks, I realize I'm in the woods of the Barranco de la Sangre (Valley of Blood), scene of a fierce battle between Moors and Christians. According to legend, the blood of the Christians flowed uphill so it wouldn't mix with that of the Moors.

As I continue a short distance further, I come to a rocky viewpointfrom which I see most of the toytown villages that form what's called the Taha spread: Pitres, Portugos, Mecina, Ferreirola, all sparkling white in the sunshine. These villages were once known for their mulberry trees and silk production.

Before heading downhill, I cross a stepping-stoned little stream and pass through a hamlet called Capilerilla. No bar, but it has an ancient lavadero or washing house where village women once did their communal laundry. From here a steep track (lamp-lit at night) plunges down to Pitres.

For much-needed refreshment, head toward Pitres church tower and you'll come out on the main square. Never has a beer tasted so good!

As we drive through the Thessalian plain in central Greece, stark, rugged masses of rock rise before us as far as the eye can see. The clusters of surreal black crags stand guard over the villages of Kalambaka and Kastraki. On their giant pinnacles, disciplined communities of monks and nuns live in isolated monasteries known as the Holy Meteora. 

At first, the monks resided in clefts in the rocks, exposed to the vagaries of weather so as to" feel closer to God," but by the end of the 15th century, 24 monasteries had been erected.  The monasteries served as a repository for Hellenic culture and a retreat for philosophers, artists, scholars, and writers. Painters covered the walls with frescoes and monks copied ancient manuscripts, carved crosses, and decorated icons. Until the 20th century, when steep steps were cut into the rock, a system of ladders, baskets, ropes, and pulleys over an abyss transported food, building materials, and the monks themselves. Religious faith (or a sense of humor) would be needed-the ropes, the story goes, were only replaced when they frayed and snapped. 

Do not look down as you climb the 140 steps to Agia Tridada: the Monastery of the Holy Trinity's lofty perch on a narrow spire is not for the faint of heart but does offer a breathtaking panorama of Kalambaka, the Penios River, and the Pindos Mountains. The steps are cut into the rock, taking the visitor past the circular Church of Saint John the Baptist, with its dome cut into the rock and wall paintings that date from 1682. This is where scenes from the James Bond film, For Your Eyes Only, were shot.

The Roussanou Monastery, also known as Saint Barbara, covers the crest of a slim mountain tower accessed by a pocket-sized bridge. Founded by two monks in 1529 on the ruins of previous structures, it has a wealth of wall paintings, iconostatis, (wood screens that divide the sanctuary from the main body of the church), and icons. Donations are cheerfully accepted. Abandoned after World War II, it was resettled by 23 nuns.

By the 17th century, the population of monks had fallen to one-third of its size a century earlier. Today, six monasteries remain in the Meteora and are open to visitors.  UNESCO named the Holy Meteora Monasteries a World Heritage Site in 1988.

More to Milan than Da Vinci
by Lori Hein

Call it the Da Vinci Code effect. Viewing Leonardo's Last Supper at Milan's Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie can require a minor miracle. Reservations are mandatory, and tour companies buy blocks of tickets, reducing the number available to solo travelers. And, even if you score reservations, expect big lines and long waits. If you can't see the famed fresco, head instead for Milan's historic core for the best of the rest of Lombardy's lively capital.

Nearby, the soaring Galleria Vittorio Emanuele, a glass, stone, and wrought iron confection begun in 1877 and arguably the world's most elegant mall, attracts Milanese and visitors. Look for the floor mosaic depicting a bull under the galleria's central dome: Tradition says that a twirl on the bull's nether parts brings good luck.

The galleria's side portal opens to the venerable La Scala Theater. A facelift has the 250-year-old grande dame looking good, and her acoustics are perfect. The adjacent museum's collection of costumes, sets, and instruments is a journey into La Scala's rich past. Backstage tours can also be had.

A few blocks west is the red-orange Castello Sforzesco, the Renaissance fortress that served as seat of the Sforzas, Dukes of Milan, and now houses an impressive art collection that includes a Michelangelo Pieta. In good weather people relax in the green Parco Sempione outside the castle walls.

Some of Milan's best sights move. About 20 tram lines serve Milan and environs, but several historic liveries with some 150 vintage trolleys run through the old city on iron rails laid into the pavement. Buy a hop on/hop off tram pass, settle into the shiny, varnished wooden seats, and enjoy a rolling tour of Milan's historic heart.

What to see:
For Last Supper reservations, visit www.cenacolovinciano.org or call +39 (0)28942-1146. Closed Mondays, entry: 14 euros
The Duom open daily 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. No shorts, short skirts, or sleeveless shirts
La Scala performances can be booked via www.teatroallascala.org. La Scala Museum hours: 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.-5 p.m. Closed Mondays, backstage tours Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Castello Sforzesco (www.milanocastello.it) is free and open daily. Entrance to the museum, open 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. except Mondays, is 3 euros
Touristic Tram Tour tickets are sold at the tourist office on Via Marconi, Piazza del Duomo. 20 euros for an all-day pass
www.Ciaomilano.it and www.hellomilano.it have information on hotels, restaurants and sights

Interested in real estate? Here are a couple of agencies to contact:
Eres, Via Urbano III, 2 Milano; tel: +39(0)2894-08373; email: eres@askesis.it; website: www.agenzie.casa.it/eres for sales and rentals.

20 Reasons I love the 20th arrondissement…(Part One)
by Leigh Fergus

1. It's the highest area in Paris (yes, higher even than Montmartre) and the air is fresher.
2. There's a rich mix of people: laborers, white- collar workers, immigrants, craftspeople, and liberal professionals.
3. There's true solidarity in the local communities.
4. The rue des Cascades has a real village feel with its little front yards, old lock-up, and steep cobbles-you could be in a quaint French village outside the capital.
5. One of the largest open green areas in Paris is here: Père Lachaise Cemetery.
6. The second largest Chinatown, Belleville, offers great shopping, at bargain prices.