Parking in Monte Carlo is very difficult, so we decide to go by train. There is a tiny station beside the beach in Marina Baie and we eventually get going after several ticket mix-ups and cancellations! Doug and co have already left earlier this morning to set up the film shoot. They leave with the MGTC on a trailer and the back-up cars following on. This is an exciting day, particularly for Doug who has planned this trip for many months.

The train route passes through many of the pretty villages that line the Côte d’Azur. There are hundreds of apartments and villas looking out to sea and even more high rises as we reach the outskirts of Monte Carlo. Property Prices here are amongst the highest in the world and many wealthy people live in this tax haven.

The train pulls into the station and Doug, Peter, Richard and Kevin are waiting to greet us. They have set up the cameras around the Grand Prix circuit (the race was held over the previous weekend, so many of the markings are still visible on the road). We start with coffee and Paul finds his namesake Cafe before driving off in the No.36 MGTC with Doug, recreating the famous route of the Monaco Grand Prix – but not quite as fast!

During the morning all of us have a spin in the car although some of us prefer to be chauffeured around the circuit. It is a great experience, for which we are very grateful to Doug and his son Ian for making it possible.

Lunch is at Stars N Bars Cafe. Doug is friends with the owner, so we have a very good table which is outside, under cover and next to the water. We watch the world and the wonderful cars pass by as we eat our lunch and admire the view.

After a busy and very warm day, we catch the train back to Marina Baie where we are glad to shower and relax, ready to meet up at the at the Italian restaurant tonight.

We have invited everyone up to the apartment for an aperitif before dinner. We have beers, wine and champagne cocktails (see recipe) before walking to the restaurant. The food here is excellent with the biggest pizzas we’ve ever seen.

CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS

If you don’t have champagne, use any sparkling dry white wine, such as Blanquette de Limoux, Cordorniu Cava, or Prosecco.

Purée a couple of large strawberries and raspberries with a teaspoon of caster sugar. Add a splash of lime juice and pour some of the mixture into a flute. Add the fizz and garnish with a slice of strawberry.

Put elderflower cordial into a flute and add the fizz, garnish with a slice of cucumber

Salut!

We start the day with breakfast in the Hotel Du Lac. The fresh food is delicious with so much choice. Strawberries, served with champagne. Crispy bacon, served with poached, fried, boiled or scrambled eggs. Selection of cheeses and smoked Italian meats. Olive bread, crusty white Italian bread, tomato bread, rustic brown bread and various different types of freshly baked rolls. We decide on fresh strawberries with champagne, followed by scrambled eggs with smoked salmon (see recipe) – what a lovely way to start the day! We do a little shopping in the town and admire all the elegant Italian styles, which we can’t resist. We arrive back at the hotel with a few more shoes and handbags to add to our collection. Ed is thrilled with even more stuff to squeeze into our already stuffed car! But with his incredible packing skills we are soon ready to hit the road and we say our goodbyes to the staff at this lovely hotel. Doug and the boys have already gone on ahead with their caravan of various cars, trailers and motorhomes. We may pass them on the road or we’ll catch up with them tomorrow in Monte Carlo.

En route to France we skirt Milan and drive down to the coast, passing through so many tunnels and driving over so many bridges, we lose count. We see some lovely cars on the road and Dot and I decide that the orange one is for us girls. Crossing the border into France, we drive past Monaco and Nice and finally pull into Karine’s lovely apartment in Marina Baie Des Anges. The views of the bay are stunning and we relax after unpacking with a drink on the balcony.

My brother Paul and his wife Carol are already here in a nearby apartment so we meet up at a restaurant on the front. We enjoy the meal, and Paul orders a Crepe Suzette which arrives with all the usual theatre of cooking it in front of you and the obligatory flaming process before presentation. We finish with a nightcap and take the short walk back to the apartment, where are glad to get to bed, ready for our trip into Monte Carlo tomorrow.

RECIPE FOR SCRAMBLED EGGS WITH SMOKED SALMON

Use two eggs per person

4 eggs

2 tbs cream

100gm smoked salmon cut into strips

25gm butter

Salt and pepper

Beat the eggs in a bowl and add the cream and salt and pepper

Heat the butter and add the eggs. Keep the heat low and gently stir the eggs with a wooden spoon until they start to thicken. I prefer the eggs soft and a little runny, so remove them from the heat once they start to set. Add the chopped smoked salmon and stir through gently. Sprinkle with parsley and serve with orange juice, coffee or Champagne!

Bon Appetit

Today we are visiting Sirmione, a few minutes from our hotel, at the tip of a narrow peninsula on Lake Garda. The village is known for its Roman ruins and Spa waters. Maria Callas the opera singer, resided here with her wealthy husband, the Veronese businessman, Giovanni Batista Meneghini. They lived in a beautiful villa from 1952 until 1958, until Callas fell in love with Aristotle Onassis and left her husband for the multi millionaire shipping magnate.

We park just before the entrance and walk across the bridge into the tiny village. The streets are narrow and cobbled and we board the little train up to the summit to take in the stunning views of Lake Garda. Sirmione is also famous for the Mille Miglia (thousand miles translated) motor race which was started in 1927 by two young counts, Francesco Mazotti and Aymo Maggi and took place from 1927 to 1957. The race continues today, but is limited to 400 vintage cars, produced no later than 1957.

Today we are meeting up with Doug and pals who are touring in a 1936 MGTC car that once belonged to Betty Haig, (part of the Haig whiskey family) one of the first female rally drivers, who took part in the Alpine Rally Race in 1949. Doug is recreating the rally route and we will join him on several stages. We meet them in the square at Sirmione on a very hot day.

We stop and have lunch at one of the cafes and choose pasta vongole, one of Ed’s favourite Italian dishes (see recipe). We sit for several hours, enjoying the food and drink and discussing the next few days, where we will follow La Route des Alpes.

RECIPE FOR PASTA VONGOLE

Use about 10 clams per person, this recipe is for two

20 clams in their shells, cleaned

2 tbs olive oil

I small onion chopped finely

I garlic clove chopped finely

2 ripe Italian plum tomatoes, with skin removed, chopped (you can use any sweet ripe tomatoes)

2 tbs dry white wine

Small chilli chopped finely

Salt and pepper

Spaghetti (about 260gm)

2 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

This dish takes minutes to make, so have everything ready before you start!

Put the spaghetti on to cook in a large pan of boiling salted water (usually about 10 minutes for al dente). Heat the oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic and chilli and cook until the onion is soft (a few minutes if the onion is fine enough). Add the tomatoes and wine, season with salt and pepper and cook for another minute. Then add the clams and put a lid over the pan. Cook for 3 or 4 minutes until all the clams have opened, throwing away any that remain closed.

Drain the spaghetti and toss it in a little olive oil. Transfer to warm pasta bowls, spoon the clam mixture over the spaghetti and sprinkle with the chopped parsley.

Eat this dish with a very cold white wine such as Lugana (where the grapes are grown on the southern shores of Lake Garda) or Chiaretto – a Rosé variety of the famous Italian Bardalino wine. Bardelino Classico red wine is produced in the province of Verona to the east of Lake Garda.

Buon apetito

LAKE GARDA

After a great time in Austria, we leave Ehrwald and the fabulous Spielmann Hotel http://www.hotel-spielmann.com. We drive across the Fernpass to Innsbruck, stopping briefly for coffee under the Golden Dachl (Golden Roof). Built in 1500, the roof was decorated with around 2,600 copper gilt tiles for Emperor Maximilian 1, to mark his wedding to Bianca Maria Sforza. Many young couples have their wedding pictures taken under the beautiful roof.

We bid a fond farewell to Austria, and drive on to Lake Garda in Italy. We are greeted by the lovely Tony at the Relais Du Lac, who shows us to our room facing the pool. We unpack and don our swimsuits, ready to jump in the pool to cool us down, as the temperature is soaring.

After a swim and a glass of fizz, we order a taxi and go into town. We discovered a wonderful restaurant here a few years back called Alla Stella where the food is all fresh, home made and delicious. Tonight we order a plate of Italian meat and cheese to share, followed by sole with artichokes. Stella make their own focaccia – delicious (see recipe). We finish with Italian espressos and walk down to the lake to watch the world go by.

RECIPE FOR FOCACCIA

This is for a bread machine which is a lot easier than pounding the dough by hand!

300ml water

4 tbs olive oil (Italian obviously!)

475gm white bread flour (strong)

1tsp salt

1 tsp dried yeast (fast acting)

6 black olives roughly chopped (optional)

1 tsp Maldon sea salt

Take the pan out of the bread machine and add the water, 3 tbs olive oil and flour. Put the salt and yeast in separate corners. Put pan back into machine, close lid and select dough setting. Press start.

When the programme is finished, take the dough out and flatten it to expel the air. Roll out to a 25cm round. Grease and line a round metal flan tin and place the dough in the centre. Gently push dough to the edge of the tin. Loosely cover with oiled cling film and leave to rise for 30 minutes in a warm place.

Once risen, push the olives into the mixture and make deep small holes all over the dough (I use my porridge spurtle) Brush the remaining olive oil over the bread and leave to rise for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle the Maldon sea salt over the bread, just before baking.

Heat the oven to 200C/FAN 180ºC, spray the bread with water and bake for 20-25 minutes until light brown (not dark). Remove and once cool, cut it (I like to serve it like a slice of cake). Eat with charcuterie, olives, tomatoes, cheese – or on it’s own, whatever you fancy!

Buen apetito!

EHRWALDER ALM

During winter in Ehrwald we take the cable car up the valley and ski down to the village. The Ehrwalder Alm is the halfway stopping point for skiers and walkers and we stop at midday for something to eat and a glass of fizz or beer.

One of Ed’s favourite meal is Germknodel. This is a sponge pudding made with yeast and served with custard and it’s huge (see recipe). Ed and my brother Conor often have one EACH after a ski session, then head back to Spielmanns for a sleep!

After skiing we take the cable car back down to the village and walk to Mario’s Bar. This is a great place, full of atmosphere and we have been visiting it since Abi was a little girl. Most of the ski instructors can be found here after work, enjoying a beer or two.

After Mario’s we walk up to Spielmanns http://www.hotel-spielmann.com and take a hot shower before dressing for dinner. We are very much looking forward to the evening as it’s dessert night at the hotel. We start with a buffet of assorted salads, meats and fish. Main course tonight is saddle of veal with asparagus, followed by the main event. A huge selection of sweet treats, including a chocolate fountain, ice creams, sorbets, macaroons, patisseries, freshly picked berries and pancakes cooked to order. This has been a wonderful day and we finish the evening by sitting at the bar with a nightcap, discussing our ski triumphs and disasters of the day.

RECIPE FOR GERMKNODEL

130ml milk

2 tbsp sugar

400gm flour

2 eggs

50g butter

42gm yeast

2 tbsp poppy seeds

8 tbsp jam (plum or damson)

1 tbsp icing sugar

Pinch of salt

Vanilla custard (Creme Anglais)

Warm the milk in a saucepan over a low heat, then add the yeast and a little of the sugar and whisk for about 2 or 3 minutes, until the yeast has completely dissolved.

In a separate bowl, put the flour, remaining sugar, salt, butter and eggs and mix thoroughly, then gradually add the milk and yeast mixture a little at a time, until it forms a smooth dough.

On a floured surface, form the mixture into a ball and put back in the bowl. Cover with a tea towel and leave for about an hour until the dough has doubled in size.

This dough will make around 8 dumplings. Divide the mixture up and roll into a flat disc, add a tablespoon of jam into each circle and fold over, pulling the circle together. Make these into round dumplings and leave to rest for 15 minutes.

Put the dumplings in a steamer and steam for around 15 minutes.

Serve the dumplings in separate bowls. Pour the custard over the top, sprinkle with poppy seeds and dust with icing sugar.

Take a rest after you’ve eaten one!!

Guten Appetit

Today we are driving over the border into Bavaria to Schwangau, where we are visiting Neuschwanstein Castle – literally translated means New Swan Castle. The castle was built for King Ludwig II who was Wagner’s patron and the name is taken from Wagner’s opera character, the Swan Knight. Wagner never saw the castle as he died before it was completed. Although it looks like a medieval design, construction began in 1869, and was never finished before Ludwig’s sudden death in 1886. To this day, work is still being carried out. Christian Jank, who drew up the plans, was a theatrical designer and many of the rooms look like a setting from Wagner’s operas. Disney’s Magic Kingdom was said to be based on Neuschwanstein.

When we arrive, we park at the bottom of the hill, collect our tickets and take the coach up the winding and narrow road to the drop off point. We then walk another 20 minutes up a steep lane, to get to the castle. We take the tour around this fascinating fairytale palace and then walk across the bridge to gain more stunning views.

We walk back down to the car and head back to Ehrwald where tonight we are dining at Restaurant Holzerstubn (otherwise known as “Darlings” to us, as the patron always addresses us as Darlings). Holzerstubn has rooms above the restaurant and is always busy during summer and winter.

Holzerstubn serves delicious soups, meats and specials of the day. Tonight we choose the pork, sourced from a local farm and the crackling is the best we have ever tasted. (See recipe). There is also Black Angus beef steak, with a choice of 200gm, 300gm or XXL 400gm weight. Sauces are pepper cream with brandy, mushroom herb sauce and garlic butter. Dot chooses a chicken salad with raspberry vinegar. After dinner we head back to Spielmanns for a night cap at the bar.

ROAST PORK WITH CRACKLING

The most important ingredient for this dish is good pork from a reliable butcher. We use Rolfes of Walsham Le Willows in Suffolk. They prepare the pork for us and score the skin which is so important to achieve crispy crackling.

Serves 4

1kg of rolled, boned shoulder of pork and salt – that’s it!

Make sure the pork is dried out well, if it is in any way wet, the crackling will not crisp, so remove it immediately from the wrapping and leave it in the fridge uncovered. I take the meat out of the fridge for a couple of hours before I cook it, to make sure it is completely dry.

Just before you put the meat into the preheated oven, sprinkle salt liberally over the scored skin and place in a very hot oven 240ºC (220ºC FAN) for 20 mins. Then turn the temperature down and leave the meat to cook for one hour and twenty minutes at 180ºC (160ºC FAN). Remove from oven, check it is cooked through and leave to rest for 10 mins. Remove crackling and slice meat onto a serving dish. Serve with gravy made from the meat juices and Speck-Kartoffel (recipe for this is in my first blog on Austria). Roast potatoes also go well with this dish, plus either a salad or green cabbage.

Guten Appetit

To celebrate our silver wedding anniversary we travelled to Austria to meet up with friends at the Spielmann Hotel http://www.hotel-spielmann.com We had a wonderful week including a blessing of our marriage at the church in Lermoos (a village just across the valley from Ehrwald), a hike up the mountains and a Tyrolean concert held in the village on the day of our anniversary.

After the blessing we returned to the hotel, where Margaret and Christian Spielmann had arranged for cake and champagne to be served. We sat enjoying the celebration and our friends made some lovely speeches to celebrate twenty five years of marriage.

The concert at the village hall was excellent, Lizzie made another new friend, Abi danced on the table and everyone had too much wine.

The following day we went on the hike – on one of the wettest days we’ve ever experienced in the mountains. We drove to the meeting point just outside Garmisch and waited for everyone to don their hiking boots and weatherproofs. Lizzie had brought her dainty suede sandals and a lipstick! Christian was astonished when he saw her “climbing” shoes and rummaged in his rucksack and produced a pair of hiking boots (one of the many spare pairs he carried for occasions such as this). Lizzie donned the shoes, checked her lipstick and we were off.

The first stage was easy, up on the cable car and then a fairly gentle start to our hike. From then on it became much steeper. Crossing rivers, wading through streams that snaked in and out of caves and all the time climbing higher and higher. We were absolutely soaked and cold but we have never laughed so much and the scenery was breathtaking (once the fog lifted!).

We reached the Almhutte at the top of the peak and were glad to get into the warm and take our wet coats off. We had various drinks, including beers, schnapps and hot chocolate with rum. We ate Wurst (German sausage) with mustard and brown bread, followed by Kaiserschmerrn – a delicious pancake-type pudding served with sugar and apple sauce, named after the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph who loved this dessert (see recipe). After the food and drinks, we were ready to tackle the descent. Christian put Abi on his shoulders and climbed down the mountain ahead of us. We finally reached the bottom and were glad to get into our cars and head back to the hotel for a hot bath and another great evening at Spielmanns.

RECIPE FOR KAISERSCHMERRN

130g plain flour

240 ml milk

3 eggs

60gm butter, melted

2 tbs icing sugar

Raisins soaked in rum (optional)

Sunflower oil for cooking

Put the flour, milk, eggs, melted butter and a pinch of salt in a bowl and whisk thoroughly into a thick batter.

Heat the oil in a pan (use a hob to table pan if you have one). Add the batter (and the rum soaked raisins if you wish) and let the mixture cook until the bottom is brown. Flick the pancake if you’re brave, if not use a plate to turn it out and replace it in the pan for another few minutes until that side is brown too. Once the pancake is cooked through, chop it into small pieces in the pan. Sprinkle the icing sugar all over and serve with either apple sauce or jam. Blackberry or damson jam is good with this dish.

Please send photos of any recipes you try and I will post them on the blog. Guten Appetit!

Today we leave Denmark and drive through Germany to Austria. We have visited this country for many years and took Abi when she was just was nine months old. She started skiing when she was three and still loves to visit Austria.

As we drive down from Munich, the scenery becomes more and more spectacular. We cross the border at Garmisch-Partenkirchen and soon reach the delightful Tyrolean village of Ehrwald, which sits in the valley surrounded by the Wetterstein mountain range. This range runs from Germany into Austria and the summits can be reached by cable car, hiking or ski lift, depending on the season. The Zugspitze mountain is the background to Ehrwald and the views are stunning from the Spielmann Hotel http://www.hotel-spielmann.com

We book into the hotel and are greeted by Margaret and Christina. They have a new addition – Christina’s daughter Laura, the next generation of Spielmann in Ehrwald. On our first visit, Laura’s great grandfather, Papa Spielmann, welcomed us. Two generations on, it is Christina, his granddaughter, who now runs the hotel, along with her mother, father and brother, Margaret, Christian and Andreas.

Lizzie often joins us in Austria and we’ve spent many a night in the Spielmann dining room, enjoying the wine and the music played by Papa Spielmann, Christian and Englebert. Barbara serves us in the restaurant and has worked there since Abi was a baby.

This is one of our favourite lunchtime dishes in Austria, sometimes served with Wurst (sausages). We also like it with fried eggs.

RECIPE FOR SPECK-KARTOFFEL (potatoes with bacon)

500gm floury potatoes (King Edwards or similar) peeled and cut into quarters

4 Rashers smoked bacon cut into 3cm strips or smoked lardons

1 medium onion chopped

Sunflower oil for frying

Boil the potatoes in salted water and cut into 3cm cubes.

Fry the onion in the oil until cooked, then add the bacon and continue to cook until the bacon is crispy. Remove both and add potatoes to the oil. Cook these until browned. Put the onion and bacon back into the pan, mix and place in a warm serving dish. Fry a couple of eggs and put them on top – serve with brown or tomato sauce.

Today we are spending some time with Henrik and Gitte at the summer house. We reminisce about the time we lived in Jeddah. The boys are both good at anything to do with gadgets or engineering so when we lived in the Middle East, Henrik and Ed would spend the evening puzzling over a new piece of technology or trying to mend an old piece of equipment or discussing new cars. One time Ed taught them cribbage and made them a crib board which they still use. At the end of each month in Jeddah, there wasn’t much left in the fridge, and it was invariably chicken, so Gitte and I would have a drink and discuss some new way of cooking poultry. She is an excellent cook and when we stay with them, she bakes fresh bread or rolls every day.

Tonight in the summer house, history repeats itself and the boys sit out on the terrace, discussing a new project or a car they both like and Gitte and I drink some good wine whilst discussing recipes and preparing the food. We’ve had a wonderful day down at the beach and walking around this beautiful area. Soon the meal is ready so we bag up and sit down to enjoy another fabulous meal in Denmark.

GITTE’S CHILLI CRAB 🦀

Crab claws

Peanut oil (use sunflower if you are allergic to nuts)

3cm piece of fresh ginger chopped finely

3 garlic cloves chopped finely

3 fresh chillies chopped finely

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup sweet chilli sauce

8 tbsp tomato sauce

1 cup water

Heat the oil and stir the claws until the colour changes. Remove from the saucepan.

Now add ginger, garlic and chillies to the pan and fry for a few minutes. Add soy sauce and vinegar, then put claws back in. Stir fry for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, chilli sauce, tomato sauce and water. Put the lid back on and cook for further 5 minutes.

Eat them – to do this you need to wear either a good apron or a plastic bag because to really enjoy the meal you have to use your fingers and the sauce goes everywhere!! Yum

God Appetit