Food & Wine

Since my heart very strongly lies in Austria, my favorite country in Europe, let me describe the great annual festival that my wife, Judy, and I have attended on eight occasions in the past dozen years.

The Bauernherbstfest (Peasants Fall Festival) is held the third Saturday in September in Maria Alm, right in the Austrian Alps. The village is 45 to 60 minutes from beautiful Salzburg. 

In my quest to experience Europe as the locals do — intimately and on all fronts — I make it a point to eat well. My trip is always the better for it. (My challenge is broadening my perspective while leaving my waistline unchanged.)

These days, my job of eating well is getting easier all the time. Food tours and cooking classes have become a big deal all over Europe.

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One of the things that I love about Asian food is that the preparation is so easy. 

8 days, 7 nights on island of Poros, GREECE (through October 2016). Hosted by chef Katerina of the Odyssey Centre. Highlights: Transfer from Athens to Poros/prepare meal from fish bought at market/visit island of Hydra/cooking lessons and ingredients farm visits. $2,550-$2,750 ppdo. Groups of 3 or more, $150 less per person. Noncook price, $400 less. Single supp., $200. The International Kitchen (Chicago, IL; 800/945-8606, www.theinternationalkitchen.com).

In the article “Breakfast Musings” in his column “The Discerning Traveler,” Philip Wagenaar wrote about the Grand Prix de la Baguette in Paris (April ’16, pg. 50). The winning baker provides the French president with bread each day for a year.  

On May 1, 2013, our local paper The Villages Daily Sun had an article on Ridha Khadher, who won that year’s prize in Paris. It just so happened that my wife and I were leaving soon on a trip that included Paris.

Based upon another ITN subscriber’s recommendation (Sept. ’14, pg. 46), in January 2015 I arranged for a private tour in Madagascar through Mr. Jenita Jaozandry, owner of Madagascar Natural Tours (Antananarivo, Madagascar; madagascar-natural-tours.com).

I planned to arrive in Madagascar on June 27, 2015, and fly out on July 17. Mr. Jaozandry arranged my ground itinerary and transportation and booked the best-available 3- or 4-star accommodations, all for $5,347. 

On Paris’ Îsle de la Cité, the specialty is seasonal vegetables at the bistro Mon Vieil Ami (69 rue Saint-Louis en l’Ile, Paris, France; phone +33 1 40 46 01 35, http://en.mon-vieil-ami.com).

My daughter, Linda, and I had saved the bistro for a splurge on our last day in Paris in early May 2015. What a perfect choice it was — simple but sophisticated, small and cozy, with only a few tables (so do make a reservation). Luckily, for us, the sweet table for two beside a window had just become available for our late lunch.

The most traditional pizzerias in Naples, Italy, are visited on a 3-hour walking tour with Select Italy (in the US, 800/877-1755, https://selectitaly.com).

Led by an art historian/pizza expert, travelers see a Roman-era pizza oven at the archaeological site at San Lorenzo Maggiore and sample pizza at the restaurants L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele, Pizzeria Trianon, Di Matteo and others.