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Postcard from Montpellier, France: Jardin des Plantes

10 Jun

The second leg of my work trip involved going to Montpellier, France for another round of meetings. I headed there straight from Senegal, which meant I arrived a bit early and could do some sightseeing. Montpellier has many lovely things to see, but I had to prioritize. And truthfully, my heart was set on one main attraction: the Jardin des Plantes–France’s oldest botanic garden, established in 1593 by King Henry IV and managed by the University of Montpellier. Armed with a bottle of water and my camera, I explored every inch of the Garden, spending almost 5 hours there; in fact, I was the first person to arrive that morning. It was so peaceful and beautiful (and a very welcome change from sitting in meetings all day). As the day wore on, people arrived to picnic on grassy areas, read books in shady nooks, and wander around admiring the plants–all in an environment that seemed far removed from the normal bustle of Montpellier life.

Here are a few sights from the Jardin des Plantes: the Garden’s arches, benches, staircases, and pathways; the famous Wish Tree (a phylliria) where lovers leave messages; and a few other plants (a pink Cistus, a spiky Agave stricta Salm-Dyck, and a close-up of the polka-dotted Opuntia microdasys cactus).

 
    
 
   

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Postcard from Senegal, Part II

2 Jun

After a week of meetings in Dakar, we had a nice opportunity to get out of the capital city and go on a field trip: first to a farming cooperative east of Dakar and then south to the Bandia Wildlife Reserve. It was lovely to be able to see a bit of the countryside.

The area around the farm and the reserve (and in fact, a large part of Senegal) is savannah. The landscape is dotted with the famous baobab trees, which store water in their trunks and can live for thousands of years:

 
… and also with acacias (new foliage, left; old vine creeping around acacia trunk, right).

  
On the farm, okra plants were in bloom. I had never thought about okra flowers before (which shows that I have never grown okra)–but I now know that okra flowers are quite lovely–as are the pom-pom like flowers of the Acacia robusta trees lining some of the farm’s roads.
 
We did not make it to the Wildlife Reserve until the afternoon, when most animals would normally be taking a siesta in a shady spot, but we were lucky to see monkeys, antelope, warthogs, ostriches, zebras, rhinos (from a suitably safe distance), and giraffes.
 

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Postcard from Senegal, Part I

26 May

After two weeks away, it’s amazing what has happened in the garden in my absence–but more about that later. I spent the first leg of my work trip in Senegal. In and amongst all-day meetings, we were able to get out a bit and see Dakar and Goree Island, and to go on a day trip to a farm and wildlife preserve.

It was a lovely trip, the only downside being that I never got a good photograph of any of the delicious things I ate, including  Thiéboudienne (a traditional Senegalese dish made with fish, rice, and stewed vegetables in a rich and flavorful tomato-based sauce) and Poulet Yassa (another favorite, made with chicken in a lemony onion sauce). Since Senegal is on the coast, seafood figures prominently on the menu–with the exception of the Poulet Yassa, I had fish almost every day.

In the early evenings, people gather at key spots on the beach in Dakar to buy fish straight off the small, colorful fishing boats (I took the photo below from a moving car, so it leaves a bit to be desired, but gives an idea of the lively beachside fish market).

Here is another photo of the fishing boats, taken on Gorée Island, a trading post from which slaves were transported; the House of Slaves shows the cells in which the slaves were kept and features a museum as well.

 

The island is very colorful–boats, walls, and flowers.  I was struck by a blue bench at a small eatery on the island, and a splash of orange bougainvillea against a yellow wall.

 

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Postcard from Rome

20 Apr

Apologies for the silence–I was on a jam-packed work trip last week. But the meeting was near Rome, so I can’t complain!

Immediately after arriving in Rome on Sunday morning, I headed to a delicious lunch at the home of some dear friends, where I was treated to chicken rollatini and a ricotta mousse topped with melted Nutella. It was the start of a fantastic eating fest. After lunch, we headed to Eataly for coffee and to have a look around. Of all the beautiful things to see there, here is just one that struck me because of its appearance and name:  Ox Heart (or Beef Heart) ribbed tomatoes (Pomodori Cuore di Bue). On the way back to the hotel, I counted myself very lucky to be in Rome at just the right time to see all the wisteria in bloom.

[Please note that these blog photos were taken with my iPhone — the day-time/outdoor ones turned out a bit better than night-time/indoor ones….]

 
Pomodori Cuore di Bue                         Wisteria

I had very limited in Rome itself and since we had lived there before, I eliminated any sightseeing and focused solely on the gastronomic. And of the wealth of options on that front, I was miraculously able to eat two of my favorite things in Rome (ok, in the world). The easier of the two involved a lightening-quick pilgrimage to Della Palma gelateria near the Pantheon for a scoop of Roché gelato– dark chocolate base with crushed hazelnuts and wafer pieces, like the famous chocolates — topped off with a scoop of Duplo gelato, a rich caramel base interlaced with liberal swirls of Nutella.  There are many gelaterias in Rome, including some very famous ones, but this is the one I like best because it is where we always used to go as a family. And because of the Roché and Duplo…. I am sighing now, knowing it will be some time before I taste either again.

The other dish I was hoping to have was Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia (Spaghetti in Squid Ink) — a dish that would be a serious contender on my last-meal list. The problem is that very few Roman restaurants offer it. So I owe a deep debt of gratitude to a kind friend who told a restaurant owner that an overseas visitor had a serious craving for the dish, and to the owner for going out and buying the squid-ink sacs just to prepare the meal for us on the evening of my arrival. The jet-black sauce is made with squid ink, garlic, white wine, olive oil, red chilies, and tiny pieces of squid. It is dish that tastes as if it came straight from the sea, and it’s fantastic. But it turns your lips black; you will end up looking like Cruella De Vil. It is so worth it, however.

 
Gelato at Della Palma                          Spaghetti al Nero di Seppia

The very last night, after non-stop meetings in a suburb of Rome where there was not a lot to see, another lovely friend suggested an outing to Bracciano, a charming town with a beautiful lake and an old castle. I loved the many flower pots the residents had everywhere: on stoops, staircases, walls, lattices, etc.  And I was struck by the hardiness of the fig tree; the ones I saw were all growing straight out of high walls, having found a tiny foothold and enough nutrients to somehow survive.

 
Flower Pots, Bracciano                       Fig Tree by Lake Bracciano

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